Revised edition of a classic text long out of print--a moral analysis of making, keeping, and breaking personal commitments. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Farley explores how commitments, rooted in the story of God's love, are acts of free choice and love that yield a claim. Farley's reflections are also rooted in the concrete experiences of people who strive to be faithful to what they have claimed to love: "My concern is to name something that I think is, after all, common to all of our lives an experience, a reality, perhaps a problem, a challenge, something that is sometimes a source of joy, sometimes a cause of tragedy." In eight short chapters Farley explores the nature and meaning of commitment as it is played out in our lives, addressing love, fidelity, a sense of obligation, and covenant. She also reflects on whether each commitment must be kept, and what we should do if, despite our best efforts, our commitments break down. "A brilliant study, in the literal sense that it brings needed light and clarity to a great deal of our everyday experience of sorting out, changing, reaffirming, attempting to prioritize, and wrestling with the constantly varying demands of our many freely chosen commitments." Anne E. Patrick (of the original edition) Of the original edition, Paul Wadell wrote, "Personal Commitments is a superb book that cannot be recommended too highly. Though richly research and tightly argued, its style and method make it accessible to anyone wishing to explore the commitments we make and the wholeness we seek when we make them." Another reviewer wrote "Personal Commitments is far more than a book on the ethics of commitment and obligation; rather, it is a searching account of love in both the personal and social relationships that form human life.

You'll never see leadership the same way again after reading this book. These fifteen commitments are a distillation of decades of work with CEOs and other leaders. They are radical or provocative for many. They have been game changers for us and for our clients. We trust that they will be for you too. Our experience is that unconscious leadership is not sustainable. It won't work for you, your team or your organization in the long term. Unconscious leadership can deliver short term results, but the costs of living and leading unconsciously are great. Fear drives most leaders to make choices that are at odds with healthy relationships, vitality and balance. This fear leaves a toxic residue that won't be as easily tolerated in an increasingly complex business environment. Conscious leadership offers the antidote to fear. These pages contain a comprehensive road map to guide you to shift from fear-based to trust-based leadership. Once you learn and start practicing conscious leadership you'll get results in the form of more energy, clarity, focus and healthier relationships. You'll do more and more of what you are passionate about, and less of what you do out of obligation. You'll have more fun, be happier, experience less drama and be more on purpose. Your team will get results as well. They'll be more collaborative, creative, energized and engaged. They'll solve issues faster, and once resolved the issues won't resurface. Drama and gossip will all but disappear, and the energy and resources that fueled them will be redirected towards innovation and creativity. Any one of these commitments will change your life. All of them together are revolutionary. Leaders who practice the 15 commitments: - End blame and criticism - Speak candidly, openly and honestly, in a way that invites others to do the same - Find their unique genius - Let go of taking everything-especially themselves and their problems-so seriously - Create win for all solutions - Experience a new relationship to time and money where there is always enough What do you need to bring to the table? Be curious. Sounds so simple, and yet in our experience it's a skill few have mastered. Most of us are far more interested in being right and proving it, than we are in learning, growing and shifting out of our old patterns. By default we gravitate towards the familiar. We're asking you to take a chance and explore the unfamiliar. You'll get scared and reactive. We all do. So what? Just stay curious and let us introduce you to a whole new world of leadership.

Margaret Gilbert presents the first full-length treatment of a central class of rights: demand-rights. To have such a right is to have the standing or authority to demand a particular action of another person. Gilbert argues that joint commitment is a ground of demand-rights, and gives joint commitment accounts of both agreements and promises.

Available as an e-book for the first time, New York Times bestselling author Barbara Delinsky's classic novel, Commitments, about the ties that bind and the love that remains. Sabrina Stone is struggling to be a good mother and to do what's best for her young, handicapped son. When she meets investigative reporter Derek McGill, who's doing a feature story about special-needs children, Sabrina is immediately struck by his tenderness toward Nicky...and an attraction between her and Derek that cannot be denied. Three months after their fateful first visit, Sabrina learns that Derek has been convicted of murder. He swears he's innocent, but Derek ends up in prison all the same. Meanwhile, Sabrina's marriage is on the rocks. Her husband, Nicholas, is in denial about their child's diagnosis—and is unable to comfort Sabrina in any meaningful way. Against her better judgment, Sabrina reaches out to the one person who seems to understand her: Derek. But how far will Sabrina go to maintain a connection with a man behind bars? As their relationship escalates—and she experiences a passion she has never known—Sabrina finds herself willing to do whatever it takes to save Derek...and herself. But is their commitment worth the risk?

Become a leader worth following by using the proven, evidence-based methods of the widely respected, global leadership firm Linkage, Inc. and leadership development expert Mark HannumThe world’s greatest leaders focus on three critical things: they are committed to accomplishing something that matters; they articulate a vision that others embrace; and they demonstrate a series of five commitments that make up the message of this book.In Become, Mark Hannum, a leading Executive Coach, Consultant, Practitioner and Researcher in the leadership field, reveals the evidence-based secrets that surfaced from vast data Linkage has collected on leadership effectiveness. He details the five commitments that the best leaders make to themselves and their organizations: •INSPIRE others to join the pursuit of a common vision•ENGAGE every team member to contribute their best abilities•INNOVATE key products or processes that lead to the goal•ACHIEVE results by organizing people and aligning resources •BECOME more self-aware and courageous as a leader

“The only stability possible is stability in motion.”—John William Gardner In his classic treatise Self-Renewal, John W. Gardner examines why great societies thrive and die. He argues that it is dynamism, not decay, that is dramatically altering the landscape of American society. The twentieth century has brought about change more rapidly than any previous era, and with that came advancements, challenges, and often destruction. Gardner cautions that “a society must court the kinds of change that will enrich and strengthen it, rather than the kind of change that will fragment and destroy it.” A society’s ability to renew itself hinges upon its individuals. Gardner reasons that it is the waning of the heart and spirit—not a lack of material might—that threatens American society. Young countries, businesses, and humans have several key commonalities: they are flexible, eager, open, curious, unafraid, and willing to take risks. These conditions lead to success. However, as time passes, so too comes complacency, apathy, and rigidity, causing motivation to plummet. It is at this junction that great civilizations fall, businesses go bankrupt, and life stagnates. Gardner asserts that the individual’s role in social renewal requires each person to face and look beyond imminent threats. Ultimately, we need a vision that there is something worth saving. Through this vision, Gardner argues, society will begin to renew itself, not permanently, but past its average lifespan, and it will at once become enriched and rejuvenated.

A fundamental assumption underlying the formation of our most important relationships is that they will persist indefinitely into the future. As an acquaintanceship turns into a friend ship, for example, both members of this newly formed interpersonal bond are likely to expect that their interactions will become increasingly frequent, diverse, and intimate over time. This expectation is perhaps most apparent in romantically involved couples who, through a variety of verbal and symbolic means, make explicit pledges to a long-lasting relationship. In either case, it is clear that these relationships represent something valuable to the individuals in volved and are pursued with great enthusiasm. Virtually all close relationships are formed within the context of mutually rewarding in teractions and/or strong physical attraction between partners. Friends and romantically in volved couples alike are drawn to one another because of similarity of attitudes, interests, and personality and, quite simply, because they enjoy one another's company. This enjoyment, cou pled with the novelty that characterizes new relationships, almost makes the continuation of the relationship a foregone conclusion. As relationships progress, however, their novelty fades, conflicts may arise between partners, negative life events may occur, and the satisfaction that previously characterized the relationships may diminish.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Everybody tells you to live for a cause larger than yourself, but how exactly do you do it? The author of The Road to Character explores what it takes to lead a meaningful life in a self-centered world. “Deeply moving, frequently eloquent and extraordinarily incisive.”—The Washington Post Every so often, you meet people who radiate joy—who seem to know why they were put on this earth, who glow with a kind of inner light. Life, for these people, has often followed what we might think of as a two-mountain shape. They get out of school, they start a career, and they begin climbing the mountain they thought they were meant to climb. Their goals on this first mountain are the ones our culture endorses: to be a success, to make your mark, to experience personal happiness. But when they get to the top of that mountain, something happens. They look around and find the view . . . unsatisfying. They realize: This wasn’t my mountain after all. There’s another, bigger mountain out there that is actually my mountain. And so they embark on a new journey. On the second mountain, life moves from self-centered to other-centered. They want the things that are truly worth wanting, not the things other people tell them to want. They embrace a life of interdependence, not independence. They surrender to a life of commitment. In The Second Mountain, David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments. Brooks looks at a range of people who have lived joyous, committed lives, and who have embraced the necessity and beauty of dependence. He gathers their wisdom on how to choose a partner, how to pick a vocation, how to live out a philosophy, and how we can begin to integrate our commitments into one overriding purpose. In short, this book is meant to help us all lead more meaningful lives. But it’s also a provocative social commentary. We live in a society, Brooks argues, that celebrates freedom, that tells us to be true to ourselves, at the expense of surrendering to a cause, rooting ourselves in a neighborhood, binding ourselves to others by social solidarity and love. We have taken individualism to the extreme—and in the process we have torn the social fabric in a thousand different ways. The path to repair is through making deeper commitments. In The Second Mountain, Brooks shows what can happen when we put commitment-making at the center of our lives.