A Tribute To My Friend

This is a very hard post for me to write, but I wanted to write a tribute to my friend. I’ve been absent from WordPress for the last couple of weeks for a few different reasons. Normally I’ll spend a couple of hours a day reading and commenting on different blog posts. Recently, several things have happened that have gotten in the way of my normal day-to-day activities.

Firstly, one of my other businesses has become busy and I’ve had to write some rush reports and meet some quick deadlines. Secondly, I’ve been dealing with a torn meniscus and arthritis in my left knee. It is very painful and has limited my activities. I’ve had to stop my morning walks which gives me the energy and inspiration for the rest of the day.

The main reason is, I’m dealing with the unexpected death of a friend. Last month, I wrote about how he was in the hospital fighting for his life. He recovered, was released from the hospital, and seemed to be back to his old self. On Thanksgiving afternoon, he was rushed back to the hospital and we were told Friday afternoon he was gone.

A Tribute To My Friend

Tom Keller was a great man. Everyone should strive to live their life like Tom lived his. I write a series about inspiring people whom I admire and Tom would definitely make that list. During his Celebration of Life Service, the pastor spoke about how God wants us all to live a life of abundance. Tom was the perfect example of living an abundant life. Tom had an abundance of love, an abundance of compassion, an abundance of unselfishness, an abundance of leadership, and an abundance of joy.

I met Tom 13 years ago when we moved to South Florida. Our daughters were in the same second-grade class. One evening I took my family to the soccer field to watch Tom’s daughter, Chrissy play. I was introduced to Tom and instantly liked him. This will tell you a lot about Tom because at that time in my life I didn’t like many people, especially when I first met them.

Even though we didn’t see each other much, I still considered him a friend. I always enjoyed the times when I would run into him. That’s how Tom was, everyone enjoyed seeing him because he always made you feel welcome. I never saw him when he wasn’t smiling.

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A Tribute

A Godsend

About four years ago, Tom and his wife Livi asked my wife to join their business. I then got to spend more time with Tom and get to know him better. Whenever we were together, Tom asked a lot of questions and was always interested in my opinion on different topics. I always came out of our discussions much smarter than when I went in.

One story that sums up the type of man Tom Keller was, happened about two years ago. I was getting ready to move my two daughters to college. One was moving into an apartment in Orlando and the other into a dorm in Alabama. One day, Tom asked me how I was going to move all their things. I told him that I was going to have to rent a truck because they each had a lot of stuff.

Immediately, Tom offered to let me use his Ford Expedition. I knew he had just recently purchased the vehicle and I turned him down. Tom wouldn’t take no for an answer and over the next few weeks continued to insist I take the truck. As Sofia and I were driving Tom’s Expedition to drop the girls off at college, I looked at my wife and asked, “Who else do you know that would just give you the keys to their vehicle?” My wife responded, “Nobody except Tom Keller.”

Abundance

Like I said before, Tom lived a life of abundance and had so many quality traits. These are a few of Tom’s traits that I’m going to try to emulate in my life.

  • Leadership – Tom was a great leader and was looked up to by many people. He worked diligently with the youth in his church. He always led by example and didn’t mind getting his hands dirty.
  • A Provider – Tom was an intelligent businessman and worked hard to build a profitable business with his wife. He provided for his family and passed on his knowledge to his children.
  • Unselfishness – Tom was the most unselfish man I have ever met. He would help anyone at any time. It didn’t matter where, what, or when, Tom would be there. The story above about Tom giving me his vehicle is just the tip of the iceberg of his unselfish acts.
  • Joy for Life – Tom was always smiling even when I knew he was going through stressful situations. I never had a conversation with him that wasn’t positive. If things weren’t going well, a minute with Tom would brighten your day. Tom loved his family and enjoyed getting the most out of life on family vacations.

I am Truly Blessed

I didn’t know Tom as long as others but I feel blessed and honored to have known him these few years. Even though his body is gone, his energy remains and you can see it in his children. Ryan has his leadership qualities, Lauren has his unselfishness, and Chrissy has his joy for life and determination to succeed. On the program printed for his Celebration of Life Service, it shows his date of birth and date of death separated by a dash. The two dates aren’t nearly as important as the dash which represents what he did with his life. Tom Keller made the most of his dash and will be missed.

He is now with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is home and has earned his wings. I believe that there are angels that walk among us here on earth, Tom Keller was one of them.

Inspirational Quotes On Commitment

I began thinking about commitment a few days ago and I looked up some inspirational quotes on commitment. This all started when I attended a webinar a couple of weeks ago hosted by Sean Croxton from his website, seancroxton.com. I have added a link to his site if you would like to check it out. In the webinar, he talked about our limiting mindset when it comes to making money. Our brains protect us, which can actually stop us from acquiring abundance.

“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
~ Zig Ziglar

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Inspirational Quotes On Commitment

Our brain is wired to block us from change. This has happened to me several times when I decided to make a change. Has it ever happened to you that you decided to improve yourself and an assortment of negative things started happening? This is your brain blocking your change. Soon you will slip back into your old habits. Most New Year’s resolutions only last till January 14th. This is why gyms are crowded in January and empty out in February.

“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the right stuff to turn our dream into reality.”
~ James Womack

The main thing I took away from the webinar was that most people don’t succeed when they try to make a change. The reason for this is that the decision to improve yourself is 25% of the solution. The other 75% is commitment. People simply make a decision but they don’t commit to that decision. If you don’t commit, then you will not be successful.

“Love is not maximum emotion. Love is maximum commitment.”
~ Sinclair B. Ferguson

Relationship Commitments

In relationships, both people must be committed to making it work. Commitment is simply this, it’s 100%. You can’t expect to make a 99% commitment and be successful. It’s all or nothing. If you make your decision, you must commit to it. If you are not going to commit, then don’t make the decision. You will do yourself more harm mentally. Whenever I decided to lose weight and I committed to that decision, I could lose weight rather quickly. If I did not commit to that decision, I wasn’t successful and would beat myself up mentally.

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”
~ Vince Lombardi

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Photo by Sides Imagery on Pexels.com

Fight

When you see a fight you can tell who is committed. Before the first punches are thrown both fighters have the same look on their face. They look stern, angry, and focused. When one of the fighters gets hit in the mouth, sometimes you will see a total change in their face. All the adrenaline and anger leaves their body. You can tell that they do not want to continue. This is because they made a decision to fight but weren’t committed to winning.

“I will demand a commitment to excellence and to victory, and that is what life is all about.”
~ Vince Lombardi

It seems like an easy thing to commit to anything but for whatever reason, most people don’t do it. The reason has to do with your brain which is always in conflict. There are scientists who devote their lives to studying the brain and its many functions. I’m not one of them but I do read a lot and listen to these scientists.

“You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear.”
~ Sammy Davis, Jr.

Our Brain

The brain is made up of different parts and each part performs different functions. The main function of the brain is to protect us and keep us safe. It prefers balance. When you decide to make a change it creates a conflict. The way your brain handles this is that it’s wired to pull you back into your comfort zone. As long as you stay in your comfort zone, your brain perceives balance. This is why simply making a decision is not enough for success.

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” ~ Mario Andretti

You have probably heard of the fight, flight, or freeze response to danger. Because your brain under stress operates on your subconscious, you don’t think about what you’re doing. You just react to the situation. Your subconscious thoughts are made up of your training and experience. On 9/11, you saw first responders run into the Twin Towers while everyone else was running away from them. The only way they could override the brain’s primary function of survival was to be committed to saving as many lives as they could.

“Commitment is an act, not a word.”
~ Jean-Paul Sartre

WHY?

The best way to make a commitment is to have a big WHY. I’ve said this many times before and I will continue to beat this drum. If you have a WHY that is large and emotional, you can be or do anything you want. Your WHY is your commitment. You cannot have an emotional WHY and not be committed.

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.”
~ William Hutchison Murray

If you decide you want to lose weight, improve your relationship, or build wealth, commit to that decision. Think about WHY you want to do it. Is it because you want to prove all the naysayers wrong? Maybe you want to improve your health so you can be active with your family? Do you want the peace of mind that comes from being financially independent? Whatever your reason, make it big, and commit to it.

“The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.”
~ Anthony Robbins

Commit

Commit, commit, commit. It is only through your commitment to your decision to change that you will overcome the conflicts in your brain. Your thoughts from the past are why you are what you are today. The only way to make a change in yourself is to replace all of your old thoughts. Your old thoughts are limiting. Understand that we live in an unlimited universe and begin to think in unlimited terms.

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes… but no plans.”
~ Peter F. Drucker

Your commitment will allow you to overcome all the obstacles put in front of you by the universe and your own brain. It is only through commitment that success is possible. Commit and succeed.

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”
~ Art Turock

Thoughts?

I hope you enjoyed reading these Inspirational Quotes on Commitment. Are you committing to your decision to change? If so, leave a comment below and let me know. I always enjoy reading your comments. As always, I appreciate all the likes and follows. Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list. Just click on the red button above and leave your email address.

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