In life, you don’t get what you want, you only get what you’re committed to doing. Everything in life is about commitments; you have to go all in, you can’t go halfway. Nothing happens if you only wish, hope, and pray for it.

Starting is easy, but committing is the hardest part of every journey. When you commit, then things start to happen. Most men don’t commit because it’s easy to dwell on the what-ifs. What if this happens, what if I fail, what if people judge me? It’s hard to keep on trying when it’s hard and you don’t see the results you want. The reality is that you may fail. You may get punched in the face. People may talk shit about you because they don’t believe in what you do.

Commitment alone is not enough. Every time life gets hard, there’s a little voice in your head that tells you to quit. When your current reality doesn’t match your expectations, your mind wants to create a story that validates your feelings. The first feeling that shows up is the urge to blame. You look for someone or something to blame because you don’t want to take ownership of where you are. When you start blaming, you start creating excuses. Excuses for why you didn’t get the results you wanted. When you blame and point fingers, you become committed to your excuses rather than committed to results.

The key is creating momentum. You must create momentum every time you commit. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you are going, momentum will keep you going.

5 ways to create momentum:

1- Get clear on where you are.

Most men lie to themselves. They tell themselves the story that their life is not as bad as it is, or more accurately, the problem is not as urgent as they think it is. They tell themselves the story that this is as good as it can get. Don’t lie to yourself about your situation. The worst thing to do is to lie to yourself and tell yourself the story that it’s okay to be where you are. You have to see how things are, not as you want them to be.

Get clear on where you are and ask if you like where you are. That pain can fuel you to create momentum. If you don’t like where you are, use the pain for fuel.

2- Take extreme ownership.
The victim mentality is contagious. Avoid it like the plague. When you stop blaming other people, you take back your power. Now is the time to own your power. Nobody is coming to save you. The government won’t save you; it’s up to you to get shit done. But if you don’t get shit done, you’re always going to blame someone else for your situation.

3- Create a compelling future.
You have to create a compelling future in your mind first. Visualize your compelling future to get yourself excited for the future. If you can’t imagine the possibility of winning, it’s going to be hard to play the game. You have to visualize the wins. If you can’t feel the possibility of winning, you can’t get excited. You have to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or eventually, you will crash.

Your job is to see that light at the end of the tunnel. Create a compelling future based on the impact you want to create. The compelling future is not just for business, it’s for every area of your life. Statistics show that people who have something to look forward to work harder than those who don’t. This is when you start raising your standard and step into your purpose.

None of us are where we want to be, but we are all exactly where we need to be.

4- Know the possible nightmare.
You have to ask yourself, what is the nightmare scenario if you don’t succeed?
Visualize the worst-case scenario. When you are clear on what can go wrong, then you can either be scared of your nightmares or use them to motivate you. To drive you. To pull you. When it isn’t easy to do the work, the threat of your nightmare scenario will give you the discipline to do the work when you don’t feel like it. When you are present to who will suffer the consequences if you don’t get your shit together, the game changes.

5- Measure your progress.
Most men fail because they don’t measure their progress. What you don’t measure doesn’t get done. Have a system that will measure success. How will you know you’re winning if you don’t keep score? Measure the base hits so you can hit home runs. Most men only celebrate home runs. But if you celebrate building your momentum with the goal of getting 1% better every day, you will be 300% better every year.

When you commit to doing something, the challenge will be creating momentum at the start. You may get punched in the face, but at least you know you’re in the arena. Your mantra to create momentum is fuck excuses, focus on results. You will always have excuses. There is always a distraction. You have to ignore the noise and focus on the signal.

In life, you can be committed to your excuses or results, but you can’t be both. You have to choose. It all comes down to you. What can you commit to? Unless you commit to something greater than yourself, you’ll spend every day wondering what if. Regret is hell.

The victim mentality is contagious. Victims create more victims. You attract more victims into your life. The opposite of a victim is a creator. Your job is to be a creator. Create solutions. Create results. Create opportunities. Create love and compassion. Don’t judge victims, have compassion for them. No one is coming to save you, you have to create a compelling future.

What is the excuse that you’re going to stop making today and focus on your results?