Commitment at the Point of Decision

I know many of you reading this article have a tendency to listen to those motivational guys, the people who inspire folks and make them believe at a higher level. Hopefully you listen to me this way… at least occasionally. A lot of people listen to these inspirational presenters, but never really believe that they can achieve or reach to those levels being “preached”.

They usually get inspired, they get pumped up. But then at some point reality sets in and they say, "Yeah…it sounds good, it might work for others." In that moment they get excited and want the “pay off” – to be thinner, sexier, drive around in a Porsche, have girls and parties and the (imagined) incredible life of a “celebrity” or the ranch out in the country… However, most people don’t do anything with it. They just don’t do anything, so they don’t really want it. But they want the benefits, the results of “it.”

Want Motivation? Watch Infomercials...

That is why infomercials are so effective. We get to see what exciting things are happening to other people using this “product”. We want that too, we want to be thinner, richer, freer, a real estate mogul, work less and make more money… You know you want it… We get pumped up, we are going to lose weight, we are going to sell real estate, we are going to start our own home based business… OOooooAAAAAhhhhhhhh!

Then the box comes and by the time we open it up, there is still excitement, usually somewhat subdued from before, but excitement nonetheless. We do the activity, or maybe read the book, watch the video… our journey begins… BUT… at some point life takes over again. “Reality” kicks in and we have our “normal” life to live. The kids have their activities, there's work, chores around everyday life, maybe working hard to squeeze in a workout, or make time to improve yourself… And you'll get back to it – 6 months, 1 year later… if you're lucky, maybe 2 months later. But mostly by then it's not even in your conscious mind.

There is this disconnect from the logical understanding of the “issue” or “process,” yet for whatever reason you don’t really believe you can do it. You don’t really believe that it is possible for you. I mean really, really, really believe…

... Click here to read the whole article. Also, see today's Action Plan for more.

As Mr. Black says in today's article, making a decision is different than making a commitment. His examples from infomercials make the point that we all can be motivated to make decisions quite easily. But following through with full commitment to achieve these goals isn't as easy.

This natural tendency we all have is one of the important reasons Empower U CEO, Scott V. Black created the radio program, "Under Construction with Mr. Black." It is an outstanding place to get support for living your life like it matters. And, you'll gain some additional tools to help you along the way.

Today's action plan is to commit to using this powerful tool to help you live your dreams. It will have a huge impact on your life if you do. Better still, it's completely free! Listen on Saturdays 12-1pm CST on BizRadio 1360 am Dallas, or on LIVE streaming Audio at BizRadio.com. You'll also find replays of past shows on our web site at EmpowerU.net.

The warehouse was real big, like a Costco, with shelves full of pallets of food stacked up to the ceiling. There were two small fork lifts driving back and forth.

The individual volunteers, probably about 14 of us in all, were taken through the warehouse to a large room in the back corner. In that room were three large metal tables with scales on them. We broke up into teams of about 4 or 5, and each team went to a table. I worked with two high school students and a high school teacher. The four of us got along real well together.

Our task was to apportion what from 30-pound boxes into 2-pound sacks. Then we placed the apportioned and labeled sacks back into the box and arranged the boxes on a pallet. There were four jobs at the table - the person weighing, the bag holder, the bag labeler, and the bag sealer and stacker. We each took turns with the different jobs.

What I gained from this:

1) The work was not difficult. It felt refreshing to get up early in the morning on a weekend. I felt good and proud of myself for helping out.

2) My actions will have helped in the effort to feed thousands of elderly people that can't work. I am sure that the food I helped organize will go to thousands of people that desperately need it.

3) I gained the benefit of self-satisfaction of helping others I helped myself. It was a simple gesture for me, but I contributed to a worthy cause much bigger than myself and that felt good. I don't ever want anyone to go hungry and the fact that I helped in some small way to alleviate someone's suffering is an enabling and empowering feeling. Think about how surgeons must feel!

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