Day 35 – 99% is a Bitch; 100% is a Breeze

“Successful people adhere to the ‘no exceptions rule’ when it comes to their daily disciplines. Once you make a 100% commitment to something, there are no exceptions. It’s a done deal. Nonnegotiable. Case closed! Over and out.”

Jack Canfield, p. 251

Imagine a table sitting before you with 100 glasses of water. Every glass looks the same and has the same amount of water in each. 99 of those glasses is pure water and one is not clean. Do you pick one up and drink? What if you waiting to board a plane at O’Hare International Airport and knew that there was a 99.9% commitment to safely land each flight? You would witness two unsafe landings a day. There is a huge difference in a commitment of 100% compared to 99%.

When we have a 100% commitment to do something on a daily basis, we do it regardless. There is no alternative, no letting it slip this one time. It doesn’t matter if we had a long day, or if we are traveling. You may not feel like it or you may have had a full schedule. There are no excuses to a 100% commitment.

What discipline do you need to have a 100% commitment to daily? Do you need to write, learn a new language, do 100 sit-ups, read a book, meditate, or make a certain number of calls to achieve one of your goals? Make a 100% commitment to the daily disciplines that will get you to your intended goals.

Here are a couple of examples Jack gives of a 99.9% commitment:

• 16,000 lost pieces of mail per hour
• 20,000 incorrectly filled drug prescriptions every year
• 50 newborn babies dropped at birth by doctors every day
• 22,000 checks deducted from the wrong account each year
• Your heart failing to beat 32,000 times each year

This is why a 100% commitment is important. Imagine what your life would look like if you made this kind of commitment to excellence in all that you do.

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(Our daily journey of the last 64 days of 2011 is centered on the principles found in Jack Canfield’s book, “The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.” In his book, he encourages his readers to begin teaching others these principles. I would highly recommend that you buy a copy of the book and join us on a journey to a better you.)