We’ve done it again.

My wife, daughters, and I are on another adventure. We flew to Scotland over the course of 2 days on 2 red eye flights (something I don’t recommend).

[I made this video with my girls about the flight. This is our 4th video/episode we made for a new YouTube channel we are working on together.]

Last week I wrote about WHY we travel every year with our kids. It must have struck a nerve, because I got a ton of responses and feedback from it.

An old friend reached out to me on Facebook with questions about HOW we manage to do it every year. He had questions about how we do home exchanges with people all over the world, and how I manage work from afar.

I’m always happy to talk about it because I understand the feeling of wanting to do something but also feeling stuck in a place where you see your life passing you by.

To follow our dream of traveling we had to be creative, determined, and above all, we had to fully commit to the goal.

I read a great quote this morning,
“If you’re 90% committed, then you’re 100% uncommitted.”

The more I think about it, the more I agree with it.

Being only 90% committed means you have a built-in excuse or back up option if it doesn’t work out.

It doesn’t matter what your goal is. Either your fully committed or you’re not.

It’s natural to have a back-up plan and to not fully commit to an idea or a goal, because what if something happens outside your control that changes everything?

Seems logical to not fully commit 100%. Life is full of surprises.

Right?

This is the kind of thinking that I now believe holds so many of us back from doing and accomplishing the things we most desire. Life is full of surprises, that is true, but we can rarely predict when life’s curveballs are going to come our way.

So why not just go all in and adjust and pivot along the way, rather than living in fear of what might happen?

Being 100% committed doesn’t mean you can’t redefine your goal along the way. But I think there is a difference between fully committed and mostly committed.

The phrase “Burn the Boats” best describes what I’m talking about.

It means removing all back up plans. You can only go forward. You can’t retreat.

Once I FULLY committed to traveling every year with my family, it strangely became an easy goal to accomplish.

Before I was 100% committed, it was a much harder goal to reach. I had boats to retreat to when times were difficult or uncertain.

For many years, it hasn’t been a question of IF we’re going on a trip next year, it has only been a question of WHEN and WHERE we are traveling.

Which is precisely what I tried to explain to my friend about how we are able to travel each year. It’s really not about the nuts and bolts of how we do it, it’s about being fully committed to the idea.

When you fully commit, more doors begin to open. You find more ways forward. Because that is your only option if you burn the boats.

My question to you is:
“What goal are you willing to burn the boats for?”

Is it a work goal, a life goal, a health goal, a relationship goal?

Think about the things you strive for and ask yourself honestly if you are just 90% committed to them or 100% committed to them.

I can say firsthand that moving from a 90% position to a 100% position makes a world of difference in getting where you want to go.

Cheers,

Mike Turner

Co-Founder: Impact Club Boise
Host: Idaho Speakeasy
Collaborator: Value Drive Approach
Founder: Front Street Brokers
Author: Agent Entrepreneurs
Voice: 208-340-8399

P.S. Quick favor to ask. Please follow this link and subscribe to my family’s YouTube channel. I’m making these fun mini-movies with my family and my girls keep checking our subscriber count. We are hoping to reach 100 subscribers soon. THANKS.

P.P.S Did you see Episode 3? Boise’s Best Staycation