As an SBO the one thing of which I am keenly aware is that being successful in business takes a serious level of commitment! Without commitment, a deep rooted sentiment of redeeming quality and value with transcendent intentions, a business idea is nothing more than a waste of time. There are many obstacles, distractions, previous obligations, detractors, haters and enemies to be met along this journey to have less than a well thought out, practiced and entrenched commitment. Something that becomes the essence of your being!
This project is in the works for three full years now. My belief in it and why I do it is clear. My desire to be where I see myself in years to come with this project is vivid. My interest in being successful at this is as high or higher than my interest in any of my previous successes. But just last week I was planning on launching my social media intro video and I got sick. The plan was for Wednesday the 27th, I wasn’t prepared. Getting sick just slowed me down and caused me to loose focus and not work on getting prepared. Too many things were pressing upon me at the same time and now I’m sick.
While laying on the couch on the 28th, as miserable as I have ever been, mind you I’m never sick. Last time I was sick was covid at Christmas 2019 before they were telling anyone. Historically I’m sick once every five years or so where I work until I’m too sick to sit at my desk then sprawl on the couch the rest of the day. Usually I get sick from working too much. In any case, I’m so bad on the 28th that I go from my bed to my couch. At some point in the morning I say to myself, “you didn’t do your launch yesterday because you weren’t prepared. All that other work you did, did not prepare you any better. Now, you’re a day late, too many dollars short to count and sick on the couch. Are you going to do this or what?”. Enter Hernando Cortes…..
Hernando Cortes de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano was born in December of 1485 in Castile, Spain. In 1519 he was residing in Cuba with his sights set on the mainland, present day Mexico. This man was committed! There was an expedition being planned to the Yucatan. He was made Captain of the expedition. He then organized the entire crew of hundreds of men and ships in a month, but before he left, a message came that the expedition was being recalled by the Governor, jealous of his feat to raise the expedition. He ignored it!! He sailed in February and by July had conquered several coastal cities including Veracruz. Upon victory here he dismissed the Governor of Cuba as his authority and placed himself directly under King Charles of Spain. Then, so that there were no wrong ideas, misgivings or thoughts of anything but GOING FORWARD, Cortes BURNS his entire fleet of ships, all eleven, to reinforce the conviction to set up house!
Show me that kind of commitment and I will show you a successful man! Imagine the gall to override the authority of a man given to him by the king, oft times a cause of death. Imagine thinking that the King is going to talk to you now because of who you just became. Imagine the the audacity to burn ships big enough to hold fifty men and a couple of horses, eleven even. These are the types of people commitments this country needs starting businesses. People with passion, interest, desires, discipline, will power and drive.
So, I played this mind dance game on my couch until I noticed that it would be getting too dark to do anything. This was going to become just another day. No! Dammit! It isn’t! I got off of my couch at 4:30, grabbed my tripod, stool and phone. Set it all up in my yard with a nice back drop. Then went and rewrote the script, put on my best outfit, combed my hair and took a dozen takes. NO I DIDN’T! I could hardly get all that stuff together I was so bad off. I put on a 30 year old button up shirt (because it was handy) over my sweats, sat down on the stool with sick face and hair did it in two takes because the first one was full of gibberish. Then published it how it was. Went inside, took a shower, vommitted and got back on my couch. Burn baby burn! Come on baby light my fire! I see ships blazing in the harbor to stay warm by tonight. Cortes commitment got me off of that couch.
Here’s the best part, not that I have that level of commitment but now that I am on the other side of this grievous ordeal it is so sweet! The boost in my self esteem is monumental. The idea that I can do anything is ever clear and present once again, that feeling is priceless! And most of all, I’ve started, the most difficult and scary part of it all!
I DID IT!
Go get you some of these good vibrations for yourself, make a Cortes commitment right now,
Greg