President Dwight Eisenhower was raised on a Kansas farm, and he never forgot the lessons he learned there. He's said to have told the following story in response to a tough question from the press.
"An old farmer had a cow that we wanted to buy," Eisenhower recalled, "so we went to visit him and asked about the cow's pedigree.
"The old farmer didn't know what the word 'pedigree' meant, so we asked him about the cow's butterfat production. His answer was that he didn't have the foggiest idea. Finally we asked him if he knew how many pounds of milk the cow produced each year.
"The farmer shook his head and said, 'I don't know. But she's an honest cow, and she'll give you all the milk she has!'
"Well," Ike concluded, "I'm like that cow. I'll give you everything I have."
Eisenhower didn't just want to get by. He was committed to do his best. You can see when people are committed to a project or cause; they refuse to settle for anything less than their best. They are willing to learn and work hard.
Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie said people fall into three basic categories: Those who did not do all their duty, those who only professed to do their duty and those who did their duty plus a little more.
If you make a commitment, you need to see it through. No slacking off, no excuses. Commitment must start from the inside out. Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it in has left you.