Committed Vs. Interested

It is hard to believe it is the end of October.

I wanted to share something with you as I continue to focus on the one question that will increase your focus and help you attain the level of success you are looking to achieve.

Are you doing the best you can with what you have to become the best you are capable of becoming?

For 24 years I executed and produced in three incredibly competitive industries; college coaching, finance, and recruiting. I was a part of some dynamic teams and had the good fortune to choose mentors who were going to tell me the things I needed to hear and stress the importance of holding myself accountable.

As time went by and my career picked up momentum I experienced a lot of adversity, change, and resistance. Some of my own doing, some of it the industry conditions, others from people who doubted me and may not have believed I was capable.

Regardless, I moved forward and continued to find ways to win even though sometimes it felt like I was also finding ways to lose.

Certain skills, traits, and behaviors of highly successful people started to show up in my life and my awareness of the game-changers in my career, heck in my life for that matter too, began to crystalize.

The one I write and talk about a lot is authenticity. It is no secret that the book that goes with me everywhere in my backpack is Legacy, by James Kerr. In that book, Kerr defines authenticity as honesty plus integrity.

Being honest to yourself is a powerful starting point to help move from where you are to where you want to go. To be honest with yourself you need to develop the ability to consistently ask yourself the tough questions. Some questions prove more powerful than others over time and the one that was asked to me years ago, one which I ask all my clients at some point is this:

Are you committed or are you just interested?

Being interested means you are curious and curiosity is a great thing when you are learning. But when you want to achieve significant changes, raise the trajectory of your career path, realize your potential, and to be the leader you not only desire to be but are capable of being, then interested does not get it done.

Take a step back and look at what you may be struggling with right now or a project you are on the fence about starting. Are you committed or are you interested?

Are you committed to becoming a better communicator by listening to understand or are you just curious as to how that works?

Are you committed to having a morning routine to establish a positive habit of consistency in your life or does that sound like something you could be interested in?

Let me put on my entrepreneurial hat for a second and speak from experience. Being an entrepreneur is awesome but being a highly successful entrepreneur who can build a sustainable business model is a bitch. Interested is not going to get it done. Not even close.

I have come to believe that commitment is about doing things that are not comfortable and doing them when no one is watching. Commitment means that you know and embrace your purpose, are all-in, whole-heartedly dedicated, have resolve, faith, commitment and enthusiasm.

When you dial into your purpose and are emotionally attached to the outcome, you are committed. Hey, it is not all unicorns and rainbows, it is a grind and you must be very intentional about raising your level of grit.

Integrity is what gets things done. It is when you do what you say your going to do, how you said you were gong to do it and when you said it would be done… consistently! Authentic leaders are committed.

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.” – Ken Blanchard

Committed people are:

• All-in: they find a way even when there doesn’t seem to be one
• Resourceful: do the best they can with the resources they have
• Aligned: thoughts, words and actions are aligned with their values and goals
• Decisive: have the ability to address obstacles and adversity quickly and move toward a solution
• Full of positive energy: they make a decision every day to have a positive attitude and to focus on those things that will create the right emotions to drive the behavior responsible for success
• Comfortable with being uncomfortable: they understand that it is at the edge of your ability, both physically and emotionally, where you are going to find greatness.
• Mentally strong: they refuse to let any adversity or excuse be bigger than their commitment

What areas of your career and personal world need a greater commitment? Are you committed to being a great teammate or are you waiting for others to commit to your agenda?

Keep doing great things,

This was originally published as a weekly newsletter from Ed Molitor, with The Molitor Group. If you’d like to receive the weekly newsletter, follow this link to subscribe.