America’s oft-forgotten working class tends to understand something our larger goal-obsessed part of the culture has abandoned: the difference between empty promises and binding commitments.
While coastal elites chase quarterly metrics and virtue-signal their way through another productivity forum, ordinary Americans who built this nation know that commitments—not goals—forge character and deliver results.
Modern America worships at the altar of goal setting like medieval peasants genuflecting before relics. Corporate consultants peddle their seminars, promising transformation through SMART objectives and vision boards.
Don’t get me wrong, this stuff can and does “work” in some situations, but goals are gossamer—beautiful, weightless, and easily torn apart by the first strong wind of adversity.
Instead, it is helpful to think of goals as the “imagined future,” using them to build vision. After vision, comes commitment. Once one truly commits to something, only then does vision start to bear fruit.
Commitments cost something, however. They demand sacrifice, discipline, and the kind of backbone that previous generations took for granted. When your grandfather committed to providing for his family, he probably didn’t need a color-coded spreadsheet or a guru for every aspect of his existence. He simply did what needed doing, grinding away day after day, because his word meant something.
Obsessions become possessions. (To be clear, this contrasts with obsessing over your possessions.) This ancient wisdom, almost completely lost in our instant gratification society, reveals the alchemy of true achievement.
For instance:
The blacksmith who obsesses over his craft possesses mastery.
The farmer who obsesses over his land possesses abundance.
The patriot who obsesses over his country possesses liberty.
Every great endeavor requires three elements that our ancestors understood intuitively: clarity of the mission, solidarity within the “team,” and honest scorekeeping. These aren’t buzzwords from a Harvard Business Review article, but they are bedrock principles that won two world wars and built the greatest civilization in human history.
Start with your “Why.” Not the Silicon Valley version you’ll see peddled by TED Talks and the like, but the deep, existential question that separates adults from children: What are you willing to suffer for? What cause deserves your blood, sweat, and tears?
This is not about personal fulfillment. It is about duty, honor, and serving something greater than yourself.
Commitment breeds connection. When you bind yourself to a cause, you discover others who share that burden. This is how real communities are formed. Even though they may start digitally—on Facebook or in Zoom calls, for instance—communities of all kinds flourish through shared sacrifice and mutual accountability.
Urgency robs from importance. This is perhaps the most vital lesson our hyperconnected age refuses to learn. Every ping, notification, and breaking news alert conspires to drag us away from the important work of building something lasting. The urgent screams while the important whispers, and we’ve become a nation of people who can’t tell the difference.
Turn-off, or at least reduce, the notifications that pop up on your mobile phone or computer. Your time is worth more than wasting it. It is astonishing how much time you will get back by simply incorporating this task.
Our ancestors built cathedrals they would never see completed. They planted trees whose shade they would never enjoy. They understood that importance operates on geological time, while urgency operates on digital time.
Choose wisely.
The path forward isn’t complicated: Define your mission, choose your team, keep honest score, and let commitment—not goals—guide your steps.
America’s renewal depends on forgotten Americans remembering these forgotten truths.
Ready to choose commitment over comfort? Start your transformation at
As always,
Brian
