Commitment: The Bridge Between Intention and Achievement
We all want success. We admire it, chase it, and often measure ourselves against it. But success rarely shows up without its steady companion: commitment. Commitment is the force that pushes you forward when excitement fades, when results aren’t immediate, and when the price feels steep. The question is—what does it really mean to be committed, and how does that shape your version of success?
Success and commitment are good things, right? Many people say commitment drives success and that hard-charging people who are committed move towards success.
As Scott Adams put it in his book _How to Fail at Almost Everything_, you need to figure out the price for success and then pay the price. This does bring the notion of personal success and what the price is you are willing to pay. Just make sure success is defined on your terms, not society’s.
Brian Moran brings in the emotional side when he offers that commitment is when you bring in both the emotional and intellectual course of action. You must feel it, not just know it. You need a strong enough emotional why to stay committed—not just knowing you should. Everyone knows exercise is good for you and you should commit.
Jeff Goins, in _The Art of Work_, says you get clarity from action and commitment. Do you find out who you are through your commitments—what you commit to? Or is it because you commit to something that you see what you are made of?
Then there is the animal instinct of just push: commit to doing 10 repetitions of the thing. No matter what, get 10 reps done. Is this enough of a tiny experiment to get you enough information to see if it is worth it?
On an emotional level, is commitment a promise to yourself? Can you keep promises to yourself? Brian Moran offers this up in his book _The 12 Week Year Field Guide_. Can you keep these promises? What does this say about your ability to remain consistent and committed? Should you?
Darrin Donnelly, in his book _Think Like a Warrior_, brings a bit of Stoic philosophy into commitment by offering that you should only commit to things you have total control over. This has merit, as it is hard to commit to something where you are relying on others for your success or fate.
This ties into the book _The Gap and the Gain_ by Hardy and Sullivan, where they talk about internal vs. external comparisons. Success, and the commitment to it, come from focusing on internal comparisons vs. external—commit and remain committed to improving yourself, against yourself. You control this.
Goins also offers that successful people don’t succeed despite failure but rather as a result. Is failure—or perceived failure—the result of lack of commitment? If you are committed and act on that commitment, then you will have success, be it information to see if what you are doing works for you.
Finally, Hugh Culver on _HughCulver.com_ offers a simple thought: success comes from doing the work. Just be consistent.
### The Takeaway
Commitment is the bridge between intention and achievement. It’s the promise you make to yourself and the follow-through that proves you mean it. Success isn’t about never failing—it’s about staying in the game long enough, and consistently enough, to discover what works for you. Define success on your terms, commit with both heart and mind, and then simply do the work. The rest follows.
Art and Sketching
I am developing an art skill, drawing. To this point, I have no sketching or drawing talent. Hopefully, this will inspire you to create a creative outlet and talent.
I came across Danny Gregory from Sketchbook Skool on YouTube. Danny has a wonderful way of demystifying art and sketching. He builds your sketching and art skills by focusing on increasing your confidence and a positive inner voice vs. the technical drawing skills/techniques.
To sketch better, you need to sketch.
I am taking his course How to Draw Without Talent, A self-directed course that'll get you drawing in 26 easy, fun steps. I have phased the 26 videos into daily chunks. Danny also takes you through technical discussions and drills during the course.
Each video works on your confidence, repetition, or a specific sketching skill. If there isn't a particular assignment, I pick something to sketch.
I aim to draw and post something for the next 365 days.
Consistency and Self Discipline
Sketching every day and the accountability of posting online drive improvement.
Patience and consistency are essential for improvement and transformation regardless of the skill. Works for everything from public speaking to running and sketching. I'm using self-discipline to bring consistency and improvement to my sketching.
Here is my first sketch – My Left Hand
Danny considers this a benchmark drawing.
It is where I am now and provides a benchmark for me to build on.
The key is that I am not striving for perfection, just using self-discipline, consistency, and deliberate practice to develop and improve my drawing skills—no burst or bust, as Ryan Holiday states. In "Tiny Habits," BJ Fogg indicates, "Consistency helps scale your habits/behaviors from small to large."
What creative outlet can you develop through consistency?
Book Review – Living with a Seal by Jesse Itzler
I recently read Living with a Navy Seal by Jesse Itzler.
The author, Jesse Itzler is the founder of Marquis Jets and husband of Sara Blakely the founder of Spanx. I picked up this book after hearing Jess on Jeff Sanders’ The 5 AM Miracle podcast. A great podcast that I strongly recommend.
Book Summary
Jesse hires a Navy seal to live with him and his family for thirty-one days to transform his physical fitness but actually produces a greater transformation. Seal, as he is referred to in the book, has only one rule – Jesse must do everything he says; no exceptions. This 251-page book reads like a diary with each chapter a chronological discussion of the thirty-one days Seal spent with Jesse and his family.
Jesse actually includes the workouts that Seal puts him through and you can clearly follow his progression, however this isn’t a how to workout like a navy seal book. Rather this book is a description of a deeper transformation. Jesse is able to subtly describe and take you through the transformation day by day. Like watching your kids grow you don’t actually notice the transformation as you laugh and admire the daily activities.
My Takeaways
Respect
Respect what you do, where you are, and the environment you are in. Seal really instilled this in Jesse by continuous demonstration. Seal never complains or uses anything as an excuse. He shows you that you can respect something but also not being intimidated or daunted by something. Acknowledge whatever it is and then get after whatever you are there to do.
Minimalism
I also took away how powerful and useful minimalism can be. Seal came into Jesse’s home with a small backpack for the month, which was enough and didn’t interfere with what needed to be done or completed. Seal made what he had irrelevant. It was all about execution.
Total Commitment
Until you totally commit you have no idea about your true capabilities.
Seal described something called the 40% Rule. This is Navy premise that once your mind says you should quit you are really only at 40% of your true physical limit.
“If you want to be pushed to your limits, you have to train to your limits.” Seal
You don’t know your limits until you push and push and push. This was demonstrated on day one when the Seal had Jesse complete 100 pull-ups. And they stayed on the gym until they were done. Seal’s approach is the ultimate Getting Things Done approach.
Great read and highly recommended.