Posted on: 18 July, 2002
Author: Gordon Bellows
This article is about involvement and commitment, two of thethings we need to be successful. This applies to our jobs orbusinesses, relationships, and even our recreational pursuits.Any type of succes... This article is about involvement and commitment, two of thethings we need to be successful. This applies to our jobs orbusinesses, relationships, and even our recreational pursuits.Any type of success, whether it is personal, professional,academic, or athletic, will usually require a combination ofinvolvement and commitment.I hope the headline stirred your interest. Here is how chickens,pigs, and even cows, can help define involvement and commitment.Think about a meal consisting of eggs and ham and consider thecontributions made by a chicken and a pig. A chicken provided theeggs and a pig provided the ham. It can be said the chicken wasinvolved, because the chicken continues to live as it lays moreeggs. It can be said the pig was committed, because the pig gaveits all to provide the ham and other pork products.The same principle can be applied to two cows and a cheeseburger.The cow that provided the milk to be processed into cheese wasinvolved, while the cow that provided the beef for the hamburgerpatty was committed.It is not my intention to make light of animals that lose theirlife to provide food for humans, nor to offend anyone that doesnot eat beef or pork for religious or dietary reasons. Theseexamples simply illustrate that being involved may mean being aparticipant with little or no effort, while being committed takestime and energy, and means much more than just being involved.Consider a recreational activity, such as a game of chess, or asoftball game. You can be involved by just playing the game, nomatter how good you are. However, to really be successful, to winmore than you lose, you must have made a commitment at some pointin your life. For chess, it means taking the time to understandthe game and study winning strategies. For softball, it means atsome point you practiced hitting and throwing a ball. There are afew fortunate people with a large degree of natural ability to docertain things, but most of us need to work at it.Most of us have made some commitments for which we put forth asmall effort on a regular basis. For example, things like takinga bath/shower and brushing our teeth are often taken for granted.However, those things can be thought of as a commitment to goodgrooming and proper hygiene.Marriage definitely takes involvement and commitment. You can beinvolved just by signing a marriage license and saying some vows.For the marriage to be a lasting success, it takes a commitmentfrom both people. It means working together toward shared goals,communicating with each other, and resolving the occasionalconflicts that may happen. It may take a little effort, but thepersonal rewards are well worth it.A commitment isn't something to fear, nor does it mean that yourentire life must revolve around the commitment. You simply directsome time and effort toward accomplishing your goal. You may haveseveral goals in your personal and professional life. Things suchas striving for a promotion, improving your golf game, losingthat extra twenty pounds, and being a better spouse or parent areexamples of worthy goals. It takes a commitment of both time andeffort to reach each milestone.Involvement and commitment are also important when it comes tobusiness opportunities; especially network marketing (MLM). Youneed to put forth some effort to really make things happen, nomatter how much hype you hear about your downline being built foryou. When you look at an opportunity, try to find out the levelof commitment that is needed to reach a desired level of success.People who are successful in their chosen endeavors agree that wecan all get more out of life when a little bit of involvement andcommitment is applied to the things we consider to be important.Start making improvements today by deciding which things are mostimportant to you and make a commitment to do those things better.Often, just a little more effort will produce tremendous results. Article Tags: Help Define Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com