5 ways to develop commitment

The word 'commitment' is defined as the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself. I wrote about the importance of commitment here. It is one thing to know the importance of commitment but actually being committed is another thing.

Without committing or really engaging, it is impossible for us to reach the goals we have set for ourselves. With that in mind here are some keys to developing commitment:

1.         Have a clear purpose: When you work towards a goal, it is easy being committed in the beginning stages. But as you start facing pressure the temptation to quit increases and that is where you need something bigger to hold on to. That is where a sense of purpose will help you stay committed for the long run. It might be to loose weight, expand the business, reach more people etc. Always ask yourself the purpose for the goal and keep that the focus.

2.         Have the right tools: Do your homework and find the best tools that you can get. There is no point in wasting energy and time doing things ineffectively. If there are tools that can help you accomplish things in an effective way, use them. This will help you avoid frustration and burnout.

3.         Be accountable: Don't work on things by yourself. To the best of your ability try to have someone tag along with you. Even if they don't work on the same goals, be accountable to them. This will help you push towards the goals and stay committed.

4.         Create a reward & punishment system: Take some time and create a system by which you can reward yourself for accomplishing the things that you have set out to do but don't stop there. Create a punishment system as well. Punishment can be very different from person to person. For some people shame is very effective, for others it might be loosing money. Figure out what works best for you and work with that.

5.         Tell others: By telling others about the goals that you are working on, it will force you to give it your best and work as hard as possible at it. Since nobody likes to fail, you will stay committed and think twice or thrice before you quit.

Do you agree or disagree with any of these points? What are some other ways that you can develop commitment?

Turning dreams into reality.

I have big dreams and I have no doubt that you do too. I also realize that there are many small things and some big things that need to be done in order to make the dream a reality. As I learn and grow I realize that I will not be able to accomplish the goals and make the dream a reality if I am not really committed.

Commitment takes guts. It might be easy to dream, but making it a reality takes hard work! It is hard to fight against the resistance. Hard to say 'no' to certain people and also hard to hear others say 'no' to you.

But again, if making dreams a reality was an easy thing, then everybody would be doing it. Since someone has to do it, why not you? Why not do the hard thing? Why not make the commitment to press through and fight the resistance to see the dream become a reality!

Lack of commitment is the biggest reason for not getting things done.

It is the reason we don't accomplish the things that we set out to do.

It is the reason we give up when we face a resistance. It really doesn't matter where the resistance and pressure comes from. Fight it with everything you have, because on the other side is the reality of the dream you have been dreaming about!

An Interview with Jason Anderson

Pastor Jason Anderson of Living Word Bible Church in Mesa, AZ recently released his first book. He travels to many countries around the world preaching the Gospel and teaching believers.

I recently had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his book. Here is the interview. 

1. What is the journey? 

Simply put, many people address life and vision as though it were a sprint. Others have recognized that the complexity of growth and faith requires patience, and they will see life more as a marathon. Neither is true if you wish to grow perseverance into patience or self-control into godliness. Life is a journey. This statement compels us to understand patience.

2. When and how did this idea of ‘the journey’ become real to you?

The idea of the journey was a gift from God. He urged me to read and reread the story of the exodus as told throughout Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Joshua. Five books of the bible dedicated to leading people from slavery into the Promised Land.  If God dedicates that much space in the word to one seamless story, recanting many details in multiple places, well, that means something, doesn't it? As I studied deeper and deeper, created a timeline, studied feasts, it suddenly became clear of a pattern that goes from slavery to Rest.  For instance, there are many stories that we follow to the Promised Land, across the Jordan, having stopped off in Egypt, and spent time in the wilderness. It's Abrahams story, Christ's Story, the Israelites story, they all have these four elements in them.  Thinking in terms of being enslaved to the law, we can see Saul was under the law (wilderness living); David operated in grace, experienced some wealth and success but was constantly battling (Joshua's promised land experience), and then Solomon, a picture of rest, success, prosperity, forty years of peace (Gideon's Promised Land experience, one battle, forty years of rest).  So many pictures tying together found me digging in deeper to see how God has created a single plan, a simple path, where God's word is literally a lamp unto my feet.

3. In the book, you write about "The Rest". Give us an idea of what it is?

REST: It's Abraham sitting at the entrance of his tent, resting, having been blessed by God in EVERY way.  It took him a lifetime to get there, the only hero of faith in the book of Hebrews who "inherited what had been promised". It’s Jesus in the bow of the boat sleeping through the storm, and then calming the seas not because He had to, but because He could. Jesus knew the word would carry Him to the other side. Complete trust in God had Him sleeping knowing full well that He was going to die on the cross, not on a boat. REST.

4. What do you want the reader of the book to walk away with?

I hope mostly the reader will leave seeing that every day is an opportunity to grow. An opportunity to believe more, give hope, share love, stand in faith, move a mountain, heal the sick, give a gift, and serve another. GROW.

5. Other than The Bible, what books have impacted you the most and how?

All time favorite book has to be John Maxwell's Winning Attitude.

6. What is a big idea that you are thinking about a lot and gets you excited these days?

What gets me excited - big idea?  I'm excited every day that The Journey is gaining momentum, distributed in stores around the nation, it is positioned to impact people. This is getting me up in the morning and praying. Mostly, I just love teaching, and playing with my family.

You can pick up a copy of the book at Amazon. 

Rest like Jesus

There is a pretty familiar story in Mark 4:35-40, where Jesus tell his disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side."

³⁵ On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 

In this story we see that both Jesus and His disciples were experiencing the same situation and storm but the the way they reacted was very different. On one side we see the disciples panic and think that they were going to die and on the other hand we see Jesus resting like there was no storm.

As Christians we know that storms are a part of life and we also know that Jesus is our example on how to live our lives. Since we know that there are going to be storms that are unavoidable in our lives, we need to make sure that we prepare ourselves to act the way that Jesus did. 


We often find ourselves reacting the way the disciples did because in most cases we don't trust place our faith in God's Word. We know this because of what Jesus said after calming the seas. In verse 40 he asked them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”. If the disciples truly placed their faith in what Jesus said they would not have panicked because He clearly said, "Let us cross over to the other side."


So the real question is do we believe God's Word and do we really place our trust in Him? How we react in the storm reveals a lot about who we really are. It would do us good to learn from Jesus and rest like He did when we face our next storm. Let the Word do the work. 


Rest in Him and you will cross over to the other side. 


Why is it hard for us to rest in a storm? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. 

The Journey by jason Anderson - Book Review

A few days ago I started reading The Journey by Jason Anderson and here is a quick review of the book.

I think the book is a great read for every christian. It matters very little if you just started learning about Jesus and became a Christian or if you have been one for decades. There are things you will learn from this book that will help in your personal journey no matter what stage of life you might be in.

The author writes the book in a conversational style and draws parallels between the Israelites' journey from Egypt to our Christian walk with God. So if you are feeling stuck or just need to make sense of what is happening and where you are in your life, this book might just help you answer those questions. 

Currently reading/listening to..

1. Churched - One Kids Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess by Matthew Paul Turner.
2. The Next Story - Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies 
3. The Journey by Jason Anderson
4. Strategic intent by Gary Hamel & C.K. Prahalad. 

What are you reading or listening to these days?

Faith in God ...

1. ... is a gift from God. 
2. ... is a servant. 
3. ... works by Love.
4. ... gives.
5. ... takes.
6. ... can move mountains. 
7. ... is the victory. 
8. ... is the currency in the Kingdom of God. 
9. ... is the substance of what we hope for. 
10. ... is the evidence of the unseen. 
11. ... comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. 
12. ... does not consider the circumstances. 
13. ... is no respecter of person. 

and when we have IT, God is pleased! 

Life manifesto

I came across this manifesto while I was checking out HOLSTEE, so I thought I would pass it along. 

Notes from Dave Ramsey from Chick-fil-a Leadercast 2011

Here are a few things that I got out of the talk. 

1. Leadership is a service and it is a privilege. 
2. When you as the leader mess up, you not only have a negative impact on the people that you lead but also on their families and community. 
3. Leadership has its privileges but it also comes with a lot of responsibility. 
4. 5 things that caused us to win:
• People matter: Its how we live. Customers matter. Your team matters. People are not commodities. Eat, live and die for your team. Make sure you are loyal to your team, before you wonder about their loyalty to you. 
• An excellent team matters: Excellence needs to be a part of the DNA. Absolutely no gossip allowed. 
• Slow & steady matters: Slow and steady wins the race. Don't get distracted. Business done well is a crock pot. you have to cook it long. 
• Financial principals matter: Stay out of debt. Run your life and your organization on a budget. Be generous. 
• A higher calling matters: Play for something bigger than yourself. You will fight harder and think smarter when you do. You will not quit when you play for something big and have a sense of calling. Answer the question, "Why do you do what you do?"