What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.
Alexander Graham Bell
I used to think I knew what commitment and persistence meant. Trying hard. Making a lot of attempts. However, I didn’t grasp the true meaning of these concepts until I read a small paperback book entitled The Ultimate Secret To Getting Absolutely Everything You Want, by Mike Hernacki.
Commitment is the essence of The Ultimate Secret.
According to the author, the key to getting what you want is the “willingness to do whatever it takes” to accomplish your objective. Now, before your mind jumps to conclusions, let me add that in saying “whatever it takes” I exclude all actions which are illegal, unethical or which harm other people.
So, exactly what do I mean by this “willingness”? It’s a mental attitude that says:
If it takes 5 steps to reach my goal, I’ll take those 5 steps; If it takes 55 steps to reach my goal, I’ll take those 55 steps; If it takes 155 steps to reach my goal, I’ll take those 155 steps. Of course, at the outset, you usually won’t know exactly how many steps will be required to reach your goal. This doesn’t matter. To succeed, all that’s necessary is that you make a commitment to do whatever it takes — regardless of the number of steps involved.
Where does persistence fit in? Persistent action follows commitment — that is, you first must be committed to something before you’ll persist to achieve it. Once you’ve made a commitment to achieve your goal, then you’ll follow through with relentless determination and action until you attain the desired result.
