A great business leader once said:

The most important single factor in individual success is COMMITMENT. Commitment ignites action. To commit is to pledge yourself to a certain purpose or line of conduct. It also means practicing your beliefs consistently. There are, therefore, two fundamental conditions for commitment. The first is having a sound set of beliefs. There is an old saying that goes, "Stand for something or you'll fall for anything." The second is faithful adherence to those beliefs with your behavior. Possibly the best description of commitment is "persistence with a purpose".

Persistence with a purpose….. About a year ago, my son asked for 2 baby leopard tortoises right before he went off to college. Since he would not be home to care for them, I reluctantly agreed not knowing the nature of the care they required.  One of these little tortoises, named Shelbert, ended up being very sick very early on.  To say the least, we spent countless hours at special exotic pet vets, Cornell University, researching on line, and just sheer frustration trying to understand what was going on with this little guy.  You can probably guess how many people, told me I was crazy and to take him back or to just “get rid of him”.  My vet said to me on one of my visits, “You know Joni, you could spend thousands of dollars and Shelbert just may be one of the sick ones that was never meant to survive.”  I remember my words to him very clearly.  “When I purchased this animal I made a COMMITMENT to him.  This is a living, breathing creature.  Just because things get tough does not mean you just give up.”  My vet never questioned me again.  The next two treatments we tried cured him. Shelbert is now thriving and growing by leaps and bounds!  (Did I mention these grow to be 40-50 lbs.?) 

Everything I have been successful at I have been totally committed to; owning my business, my 27 year marriage, my son and even little Shelbert. Any type of success whether it relates to business or your personal life is not possible without commitment. 

Stay Committed;

Joni