Making Your Promotion Stick: The Power of Renewing Your Commitments Daily
I received tons of great feedback on last week’s post on How to Get a Promotion. Promoting yourself is an act of declaration and commitment – of declaring who I will be and committing to come from that place. So I’d like to expand on this idea and stress the importance of renewing your personal commitments on a daily basis.
A few years ago I learned about the remarkable story of Deuce Lutui, an offensive lineman for the Arizona Cardinals in the National Football League. Deuce was struggling with his weight (nearly 400 pounds) and his performance on the field. He met my coach’s coach, Steve Hardison, who artfully challenged Deuce to DECLARE his commitment to be “TBOLITNFL” – “The Best Offensive Lineman In The NFL.” This declaration of a personal internal commitment (PIC) changed everything about where Deuce was coming from. Deuce went on to have an incredible season for the Cardinals. (If you have a few minutes to listen to how this occurred, you can check it out on the video posted here.)
But that’s not the full story. A friend of mine, Will Keiper, just published a very compelling book, Life Expectancy. Will’s book is a wake-up call to baby boomers (and all of us) about the urgency of recreating our lives and financial futures at a time when notions of traditional retirement are obsolete.
In the book, Will relates the rest of the story about Deuce. After his great season, Deuce was offered a two-year, $8M contract to play for the Cincinnati Bengals – contingent on him passing a physical exam. Yet Deuce weighed in at 381, at least 30 pounds over the target weight. Presumably Deuce knew this requirement in advance and yet for whatever reason, Deuce failed to make weight. The Bengals sent him back to Arizona where he continued to play for much less – some estimates are $6 million less.
As powerful and impactful as Deuce’s original declaration proved to be, the point of the rest of the story is that PERSONAL INTERNAL COMMITMENT must be RENEWED DAILY and reinforced with practice.
At the Apex Ki Do Kwan where I train, we have a tradition among the black belts that we leave our belts in the school. We acknowledge that the belt doesn’t really belong to us. We don’t take them out of the school to show off. Every time we come to train, we pull our belts off a case on the wall, kneel at the edge of the mat, and then tie on our belts in a particular fashion. It’s our way of renewing our personal commitment every time we step onto the mat.
What is your personal internal commitment?
What ritual do you follow to affirm your commitments daily?
Where does this apply in your business, relationships, and life?
