Commitment is tough. Typically, it provides pleasure, but sometimes it takes hard work. I have made many commitments over the course of my almost 63 years on this earth. They include a commitment to love and cherish my wife, even from before our actual marriage almost 24 years ago. That commitment has been wonderful, and though all marriages are hard work, it has been pretty easy to live up to because she is truly an amazing woman, mother, and partner!
What other commitments have I made over the years? Of course, there is the ongoing commitment of hard work, ROI, and industry-leading advice to our clients at Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists® as well as to my bosses and the companies I have worked for over the years. Like my marriage, this has been a pleasure. It is so great to be hired to do something, work hard at it, deliver success, and where possible, overdeliver on results. That is a pleasurable commitment.
I committed to quit drinking alcohol one day at a time over 28 years ago. I also made a commitment to my wife-to-be that I would quit smoking and delivered on that commitment 15 years ago. I wear a bracelet made by my now 19-year-old daughter when she was five. She gave it to me for Christmas that year and told me I can only take it off when I shower, swim, or sleep. I have continued to live up to that commitment as well. (Yes the elastic inside the bracelet has been restrung a few times.)
But one commitment that I get a great deal from continuing to deliver on is a commitment to you. Yes, you! It was 15 years ago this week that I wrote my first official weekly TMC (Tuesday Morning Commentary). So, 780 publications later, I continue to commit to this. Each week, I share with you my thoughts, knowledge, opinions, and sometimes a rant or two that have nothing to do with business. But what the heck! I enjoy sharing what I know and continue to learn with you and others. What I also really enjoy and what provides the ongoing fuel to write TMC 781 and onward is your feedback. Sometimes it is comments such as, “I needed this today,” “I shared this with my team,” or “I so agree. I have done that for years and it really works.” Of course, there is the feedback that can be as opinionated as I: “You are an idiot and don’t know what you are talking about” or “That is crazy and will never work.” But I appreciate all of it.
Where are you with your commitment? What work commitments are you delivering on? Where have you fallen short? What commitments (short- or long-term) are you most proud of? Check in on your commitments often and make sure they are truly being delivered. Each morning and evening, I am grateful for anther day not smoking and drinking; I talk to my wife every day—even when I am on the road. Every day we talk, and I tell her I love her. I check in with clients, past and present, on a regular basis and see how we are doing in our commitment to them. And each night, when I climb into bed and take off the bracelet from my daughter, I know I have lived up to my part of the commitment. Each Tuesday, when I hear back from readers like you, I know I have delivered on my TMC commitment.
Make a point of checking in on your commitments, both in your personal life and in the professional world.
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