Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!

I’m guessing you’ve heard the quote credited to athlete Martina Navratilova “The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs.  The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.”

So are you a chicken or a pig?

Here are a few examples from history for your consideration:

•Abraham Lincoln started his political career on March 9, 1832 and between then and March 4, 1861 when he took the oath of office as sixteenth president of the United States of America, he suffered multiple election losses; 8/6/1832, 12/3/1838, and 2/8/1855.  We all know that he went on to change the face of history, define what it means to be committed to an idea to make this country better with no easy victories along the way.

•Roald Amundsen, arctic explorer, reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911 with methodical, disciplined consistency.  He followed the famed 20 mile march.  Each day, despite perfect or poor conditions, 20 miles each day until the goal was reached.  The approach compares to his prime competitor, Robert Scott, who perished along with his four men on their 700 mile return.  A commitment to an approach yielded success and survivability.

•Thomas Edison’s business suffered a fire in 1941 that burned ten of his buildings costing him approximately $23 Million (today’s dollars) in losses that the insurance company only covered about a third of.  A significant setback could have been, and often is, the end of prominent businesses but not to a committed soul.  He said, ”There is great value in disaster.  All our mistakes are burned up.  Thank God we can start anew.”  With a loan from Henry Ford he was back up and running three weeks later.

Quitting, changing course, even slowing down are not options for the committed.   There is only picking one self up when knocked down by public sentiment, relentless weather, chemical fire or any number of various obstacles this world throws at each of us…daily.

Have a blessed weekend!  Stay committed.

Oink, oink