Commitment – First Key to Success

Last night at 9.30pm I e-mailed my completed book to my book coach and hit the deadline I had agreed to have the book to her so she can commence the editing. This was a massive ask with all the work I have on at the moment but I committed to the date and together with my sister Christina we hit the deadline.

Quite a few people had told me that it would be very difficult to write a book in 8 months and because I have never written a book in my life before I decided to ignore those comments. My mindset was positive and I didn’t allow any doubts to enter my head.

Tough Journey

There were times along the journey when I could have done without the extra pressure of writing but now I am very glad that I took on this project. As a speaker on Mental Resilience I need a book to give me not only credibility but also authority as an expert in this field.

The more time I spend coaching, training and speaking on this area the better I become and the more impact I have. Commitment is one of the 5 key pillars of Mental Resilience and this is described in the first chapter of my book. In basic terms committing to something is like making a promise and keeping it.

All high achievers have commitment as a key principle and when they commit to something they won’t let go until it’s done. I was committed to playing basketball for England no matter what the cost and made it. I was committed to setting up my own business which I am now running. I am committed to finishing my life well and this is a work in progress – with plans to be working to the age of 80.

Unexpected blessing

My sister has been working for me for quite a while now and she has done sterling work with my vat, tax, expenses, e-mail marketing, admin etc but it wasn’t until recently that we discovered a great talent she has for research and the written language. This has helped tremendously over the past few weeks and as I sit here writing this it’s her birthday today so congratulations Christina!

We are celebrating her birthday with a cream tea in a nice posh hotel this afternoon where my mum, my wife Julie her son Peter and very close friend Dina (who lives in Japan and always flies over for Christina’s birthday) are going to celebrate another great year.

Key Pillars

There are four other key pillars of Mental Resilience which are described in the book and these together with Commitment are fundamental for success. My book coach was surprised and very pleased that I had hit my deadline which indicates that she wasn’t over confident that I could deliver on time.

The mindset is very powerful and whether it’s positive or negative it will steer your life in the direction it is set. So developing a positive mindset helps you to move in a positive direction and is important to see your life improve. There are many techniques to develop a positive mindset and these will be covered in future blogs.

Isle of Man

I’m off to the Isle of Man on Monday as I have been commissioned for more coaching with my client and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the island once the coaching has finished. As I stay committed to my business opportunities are appearing in many directions and as long as I stay focussed and on track things will continue to develop.

The next couple of weeks will be very busy with the editing of the book as I go backwards and forwards with my book coach until she believes it is ready for proofreading and going to print.

Today’s tip

1. Write down all the things you have committed to over the past 12 months
2. See where you are with each one
3. If you are on target to complete some then that is good
4. For each of the ones you are not on target to complete dissect each one and see if there are reasons why you are letting other people and yourself down
5. Identify the actions you can take to get these things back on track
6. Take action on the things you have identified and remember to just take the next step – action creates momentum and momentum creates energy plus motivation
7. There may be one or two things you have committed to that you won’t be able to complete for various reasons including the change of circumstances. If this is the case close them down and tell the people involved

Until next week have a great weekend and stay positive.

Warm regards

John