It’s one thing to set big goals and dream big dreams. It’s another thing entirely to make a total commitment to pursuing those goals and dreams.
Lots of people dream about what they want to achieve and what type of life they want to live, but very few people are willing to go ALL IN on chasing their biggest dreams.
You can’t tentatively pursue a major goal and expect to achieve it.
The odds of success will be stacked against you if you’re not willing to sacrifice other opportunities and distractions.
Too often, people get so worried about what will happen if they pursue their dream and fail that they spend most of their time and energy creating backup plans and building safety nets in case their dreams don’t work out. They always have one foot out the door as they cautiously pursue the thing they really want to do. This approach makes it too easy to quit whenever inevitable challenges and setbacks arise.
At some point, you have to have the courage to go ALL IN on your dreams. At some point, you have to decide that you will FIND A WAY to make this dream come true…no matter what.
The NFL’s all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith, recognized the importance of going ALL IN on a dream early in his career…
If you don’t commit to consistently working for the life you want to create, guess what happens? You get the life that is handed to you.
When you fail to take responsibility for your own life, time does not stop. The world keeps revolving. And very quickly you can find yourself caught up in events and circumstances that are beyond your control.
To commit is to act. Those who aren’t committed can only react.
If you find it difficult to commit to a particular goal or a job, then go and find another goal or another job—because an uncommitted life is no life at all. It’s a life without purpose or passion.
A commitment is essentially a pledge or promise. It means going all in and all out, pushing yourself and developing your talents and skills to their highest levels.
When you commit, there is no turning back. You keep going despite challenges, doubts, and fears.
Honoring your commitments often means you give up something, whether it’s time, effort, money, or other opportunities. But the rewards of commitment are usually great—not just in financial terms, but in the respect you earn, the character you build, the relationships you establish, and the satisfaction you achieve from keeping your promises.
When you go all in, you build a life of consistent achievement and, even better, complete fulfillment because you always know that you’ve done your best.
— Emmitt Smith, from his book Game On
When you study successful coaches, athletes, and entrepreneurs, you’ll quickly find that one key difference between the top achievers and everyone else is their level of commitment.
Are you willing to go ALL IN on your dream career or biggest professional goal? Are you willing to burn the bridges behind you and ensure that there is no turning back as you pursue your passion?
If you’re not willing to go ALL IN and fully-commit to your goals, you will get beat by someone who is willing to.
