Vision is the first thing I think every person must have; I call it “walking your critical path“. By soul-searching, goal-setting, learning yourself, or whatever you may call it, you learn those things that you put first - those things most dear to you. Is that enough?

No, I don’t think so. In life, I believe there are 5 truths that really make a person strong - 5 resounding principles that make you, well -  YOU!

About 10 days ago, I posted on 1 of them: Vision. So the next, natural question involves commitment. Are you committed to walking your critical path - your vision?

I have been practicing a form of Aikido for almost 2 years now. Aikido is a very subtle martial art, very unlike Karate or Thai Kick Boxing. It involves reading your opponents movements and redirecting the energy they offer in the attack - not combating it force-on-force.

One of the key things I am taught is to move, to enter, to commit to action and pursue an outcome of my choosing. I’m still learning how to get to that outcome and expect many more years of practice before I can expect the door of wisdom to crack open. What is important, however, is that I commit. I commit to pursue an outcome and move accordingly. If I falter, or pause (and I have faltered and paused), the attacker almost always demolishes me - seeking their own outcome.

The same is very true in almost every aspect of life, and especially in business. Business compels you to act, yet I see so many choosing to stick their head in the proverbial sand. What are they afraid of? What is it that makes them take pause?

Laziness, stupidity, stuck in a rut, closed-mindedness, [clinging to] tradition, fear of the future, bullheadedness, pigheadedness, noheadedness? - Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles.

All of these things are reasons (admitted or not) that give individuals and companies pause - that cause them to falter. Lack of vision, and lack of commitment to that vision, is a killer.

You will have peaks and valleys in business, and in your life. The view at the tops of the peaks are spectacular and don’t take much energy or commitment to sustain. However, the valleys are riddled with doubts and fears. It is your commitment, and clear focus on your vision, that allows you to climb back up your next peak. When you loose either, you risk falling down - or worse - settling.

Tags: advice, commitment, vision