The Power of Commitment & Pursuing Your Dream

  

 

“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 to 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 dreamt would have come his way. I 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!’” ~W. H. Murray

As we ride the planet around the sun, life can sometimes be hard and complicated. We dream of living better lives or achieving great goals. For many, our present lives result from being born into difficult circumstances or surviving tragedies. 

No matter where we find ourselves, it is also a result of all the choices we’ve made along the way.
Yet we hear about people who overcame impossible odds to achieve wealth or fame. They’re often tales of being at the right place at the right time, a coincidence, or meeting the right person just when they need to. What’s going on with this? Did the lucky few who made it find Aladdin’s magic lamp that delivered these miracles? How do the rest of us get one of those? 

Turns out we all have a magic lamp. It is our unshakeable commitment to achieve our dreams. No matter where we find ourselves, I believe that this commitment is always inside and waiting to be tapped. But how do we tap it? How do we get the genie out of our own magic lamp so miracles happen for us?

I believe success — however each of us defines it — is achieved by following these steps:

1. Choose to commit to your goal or dream.
2. Pursue relentless action aligned to your commitment.
3. Expect and have faith that you will get help along the way.
4. Show sincere gratitude for the help and results.

If this sounds too simple, understand that simple doesn’t mean easy. W.H. Murray, quoted at the beginning of this post, survived 3 years as a German prisoner of war during World War II. During captivity, he wrote a book about mountaineering in the Scottish Highlands. He wrote the first copy on the only paper available, rough toilet paper. The Germans discovered it and destroyed it. To the amazement of his fellow prisoners, he rewrote it despite the risk his captors would find and destroy the second copy. It is the second copy that became famous and inspired international interest in mountaineering. 

Read the quote above again. The same message has been said numerous ways over the years: “God helps those that help themselves” or in any number of books written about achieving goals. I won’t speculate why these miracles happen, I just know from experience that they will. I followed the four steps and now have my story to add to those who overcame the odds to achieve incredible dreams.
The secret is commitment, which at heart is a declaration that you believe in yourself.