A Recipe For Failure
Here is my bullet-proof "recipe for failure":
don't commit. Instead, leave yourself the option of quitting.
Leave the back door open.
Question your dedication to your goal (or your vision/direction) and indulge in doubt about whether it is possible, likely, or worth the effort.
Delay your decision to commit and spend an infinite amount of time exploring all of your options.
Don't commit to your vision, instead, "try" to reach your goal.
Avoid the fear of failure by not committing 100%.
That way if you don't reach your goal, you can say you didn't really try that hard and you can pretend you didn't really want the goal after all.
Sound familiar? I think we've all taken this approach before. It often leads to failure. Fortunately, there is a better way.
"Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so."
- Belva Davis
No More Trying - Only Doing!
I frequently quote Yoda from Star Wars when one of my coaching clients uses the word "try". Yoda, the Jedi Master, guided young Luke Skywalker, "Try? There is no Try! There is only DO and NOT DO."
Being Committed
You can relate to your vision like it's a fantasy or dream, and hope that it comes true; or you can commit to achieving your vision. Even if you don't know "how" to reach your goal yet, you can still commit to its achievement. You can choose to trust that you will discover the "how" along the way. In fact, commitment usually precedes having your strategy fully flushed out. First you commit, then you go to work developing a strategy and a plan.
Commitment accelerates your progress and makes you more effective; and it makes you more attractive to people and resources that can help. Here is my favorite quote about commitment.
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: 'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.'"
- William H. Murray (from his book "The Scottish Himalayan Expedition")
Do you have a compelling vision for your life and business?
If so, on a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to achieving that vision?
Commitment is a choice. If you're not at a 10 already, I invite you to make the choice to step into full commitment... 100%.
Commitment looks much scarier and challenging from the perspective of less-than-full-commitment. Once you step fully into commitment, you'd be surprised at how much easier things get.
Here's to your commitment, and success!
Ryan Eliason
Business Coach for Changemakers