The path to any difficult goal is, by definition — difficult. That’s where two virtues come in handy: Persistence and commitment. The definiton of persistence is obvious; it refers to sticking to your goal regardless of how you feel on any given day. Yet something has to fuel persistence. What fuels it? Commitment. Commitment is thought of as a selfless act, something done for others (e.g. in marriage, business social causes) rather than primarily for the promotion of one’s own life. How tragic that such a valid and necessary concept got wrapped up in something so phony and wrong. To be committed to a goal is to be personally attracted to — and determined to achieve — its implementation at some later date. It’s commitment that makes the persistence rational, tenable and possible.