In a race, you have no control over what the next person is doing. The only thing you can do is run. You can run faster. You can run harder. You can know in your mind that you are willing to give it your all. It’s your personal ethics that decide how much you will give to whatever you are involved in. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a relationships, a job or parenthood. It’s not based on the person that you are giving to. It’s about you. You have to decide how much you are willing to give and for how long.

When a couple takes a vow of marriage, they each take a separate vow because it’s actually independent of the other person. They don’t say, “I promise to love, honor and cherish as long as you take out the trash or praise me as the king of your world.” It’s not bargaining and negotiation. It’s a vow. It’s a decision to do your best and give your all no matter what. You have to make a decision about how much you are willing to give. It’s not about the other person.

In the quote above, Will Smith says that he knows that no one is going to be better than him because he’s willing to die for what he is trying to do. He has conviction and faith in himself. No one is saying that you have to die on a treadmill, but what would it be like if you gave to something with 100% of yourself and no fear. Imagine that.