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December 1999


Ten Years of Upline

To What Are You Committed? - John Milton Fogg

Until one is committed there is always 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 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 unforseen incidents and material assitance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way."W.H. Murry, in "The Second Himalayan Expedition"

John Milton Fogg Just what is commitment, anyway?

Commitment - It's Not Something You Choose To Do

"Huh? Of course I can choose to be committed or not be committed." Nope. Truth is, when it comes to being committed, we don't have a "yes or no" choice-- only choices about being committed to this or to that. You are already committed, I guarantee.

We are, all of us, merely by virtue of being human beings, flat-out, pedal-to-the-metal, commitment machines. We just can't help it. We are born as commitment just waiting to happen ... we are commitment seeking experience and expression.

(Put another way: It's possible that you are not really committed to anything. However, in that case, you also are not breathing.)

"Hold on there! How can that be when lack of commitment lurks behind every dysfunctional relationship, failed business venture, sub-par performance, and ... ?"

Good question. I assert it is not "lack of commitment" that's the "problem." Commitment is not what's missing. The issue is what are you committed to?

Who's On First?

Sometimes (actually, all the time) commitments are engaged in a power struggle. Remember the game "King of the Mountain"? A bunch of kids would get together around a big mound of dirt and the game was to be the one on top-- king of the mountain. Once there, the object was to stay on top. All the other kids would try to knock the king off and get to the top themselves.

Commitments just love that game. They play it all the time. At any given point in time, in any situation or set of circumstances, one commitment is king. Like our "real-world" monarchs, some are better kings than others.

  Commitment is a realist. You cannot and will not commit to something you do not absolutely believe is possible.
Some commitments are dictators. Some are beneficent and wise. 

It's not that there are good or bad or right or wrong commitments. There are only commitments that empower you-- and empower others-- and commitments that do not empower you and/or others.

For example: 99+ percent of us are committed to being right. Same number are committed to looking good. Many people are committed to their comfort. Others to convenience. Control is another one. Committed to not being controlled is, too. There are lots of things to be committed to.

Do any of these commitments show up for you? What others?

What you are committed to is what rules your life. That's why commitment is so powerful, and the highest-level commitments are ones that empower you and others.

How does the commitment to being right empower you? How does the commitment to looking good empower? In what ways does a commitment to be in control-- or to not be controlled-- empower you ... empower the people you live and work with?

The Possibility for Commitment

Commitment is a state of being where one takes the following stand: To do whatever it takes to accomplish ___________________ (you fill in the blank.)

Having a blank to fill in is what creates the possibility for commitment. Commitment comes from having a goal, expectation, desire, vision, result ... something to achieve ... a place to get to.

Since commitment comes from filling in the blank, what's really neat is how you do that. You create it. You make it up. Literally, you make something from nothing.

Add to that creation the commitment to do whatever it takes to bring it about, and voilà-- life in the fast lane.

Sound exciting ... productive? Possibility of fun there? You bet.

Commitment to the Possibility

People can commit only to what they believe is possible to achieve.

Commitment is a lot like water: It has the persistent power to make mountains into molehills over millennia and the hurricane force to level entire communities in minutes. It is even more powerful than water-- much more so. Murray's quote shows us that.

And also like water, commitment seeks its own level. The level it seeks is dictated by each individual's ability to believe in the possibility. No possibility-- no commitment.


To harness the power of commitment, we must create and cultivate belief. There is not one successful person in Network Marketing earning $100,000+ and empowering hundreds of others to do the same who does not believe it is possible and is not committed to accomplishing that-- not one!

One last thing:

Commitment Is the Tool of the Professional

Author and educator Robert Fritz once gave me his definition of a professional: One who does whatever it takes to get the job done, whether he or she feels like it or not. In short, one who is committed.

What does it take to be a professional Network Marketer?

Doing whatever it takes to get the job done ... whatever it takes to accomplish your goal-- the possibility you made up to fill in the blank and then committed to achieving. One more time ... To What Are You Committed?

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Reprinted with permission from Upline, To What Are You Committed? - December 1999, 888-UPLINE-1,