The Critical 0.05 Percent
It takes 1,800 electrons to equal the mass of a single proton.
Protons and their cousins – neutrons – make up 99.95 percent of the mass in the universe. Yet it's the electrical charges of the seemingly insignificant 0.05 percent – those tiny orbiting electrons – that hold our universe together.
Commitment. Purpose. Focus. Passion. These are the electrons of Happiness. Orbiting our actions. Binding us together. Keeping us from flying apart.
Shift gears, new subject: Is commitment a manifestation of passion, or the cause of it? In other words, are we committed because we have a purpose? Or do we have a purpose because we chose to commit? (Please don't make me tell you the answer. I'm begging you to see it for yourself…)
Ah. You see it now. I'm relieved.
I'm alarmed at the number of people who act as though purpose is somehow inherent, tied to destiny, a thing mysteriously willed to a chosen few by the gods. They moan, “I don't have a purpose. I don't have a passion. I'm not happy.”
Frankly, it's all I can do to keep from slapping them.
Let me say this plainly: Your life's purpose will be chosen by you. It's a decision you will make. If you're waiting for your purpose to drop mysteriously from the sky, you're wasting what could have been a wonderful life.
Passion comes from having a focus.
Focus comes from having a purpose.
Purpose comes from having made a commitment.
To whom or what will you choose to commit?
Shift again, third subject: The world stands knee-deep in unrewarded talent because most people are unable to survive the death of their dream.
Every dream of the future is a seed. But until your dream falls into the ground and dies, it cannot burst from the ground and deliver the harvest you seek.
Is your commitment strong enough to survive the death of your dream? Will you be found still hanging on when hope has fled, the room is dark and everyone believes you a fool?
Believe it or not, this is usually the key to the miracles that follow.
Roy H. Williams
“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson, (1709-1784)
“Truly, truly I say to you, unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit.” – Jesus, in John 12:24
PS – Long experience has proven to me that a business owner who possesses the critical 0.05 percent will usually find a way to secure the other 99.95 percent. Successful men and women instinctively know the truth of the words of young Gaelen Foley, “Leap, and the net will appear.” My friend Marley Porter echoes her words by adding, “The gift of flight is reserved for those who jump.” Are you ready to leap?
PPS – The deadline for submitting the details of your experience is noon (central time) Wednesday, January 18, 2006. I'm referring of course to the challenge described in last week's Monday Morning Memo.