Making Choices and Committing To Them

I spent the evening perusing various titles at one of the local bookstores tonight with a very good friend. Interestingly enough, we both share a commonality in the sort of books we enjoy reading. Not fictional, biographical, home or gardening, but those of self-improvement. No matter how hard I try, I can never, or I should say rarely, read just for the pure entertainment of reading. I always gravitate to the very spiritual, or to titles involving self discovery, understanding, or really boring books about economic globalization and politics, but that’s for another day.

I bought three books tonight, first a book by John C. Maxwell, titled “Talent Is Never Enough” – Discover The Choices That Will Take You Beyond Your Talent. Second, “Gung Ho!” – Turn On The People In Any Organization by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. And third, “The Power of Experience” by numerous writers over the age of 50 on the “Quest for a Lifetime of Meaning.”

All are the embodiment of so many of the beliefs and philosophies I frequently read on popular Blogs all over the Internet. They all convey the same “principles” only in their own uniqueness, which make all of them inspiring reads. But what’s even more fascinating to me is how so many people buy these books, understand their meanings and the practicality of application to their own lives but continue to fall into the same old mindsets and habits they have consistently been entrapped by. Why do we repeatedly know what to do when we comprehend the simplistic ideals laid out in black and white in these books, but after a day, a week, or a month seemingly forget about everything we just read?

It’s because these simple practices, these simple ideals are so uncomplicated it’s difficult for us as intelligent, intellectual beings to understand. We complicate and over complicate. All we have to do is consistently apply these straight-forward ideas everyday in our own lives, businesses, relationships, and friendships. They can be fundamentally applied and have a profound effect in every aspect of our lives and success. But we often “choose” to ignore them. We see those who are successful and think why can’t I be rich? Or why can’t I be that successful? Or why can’t I be that happy? Well, it’s pretty simple. You have to “choose” that THAT is what you really want.

Ultimately, everything we do is a choice. To do nothing, is a choice. So, go get a book or two, or ten for that matter. At some point you are going to figure out that it is not rocket science or some complex deep understanding or enlightenment that makes those chosen few successful. What is it? It is an extraordinary level of commitment, a relentless determination that was nurtured and grew out of one simple choice.