If You Want It, Declare It!

Stever Robbins, www.steverrobbins.com

“When scheduling a meeting with myself to work on a report that was due a week ago, of course I find reasons to schedule something else on top of it,” confesses Stever Robbins. Robbins is an executive coach and host of the iTunes Top 10 business podcast The Get-it-Done Guy. “After all, more important stuff comes up! Like that cute cat picture on social media. Commitments to ourselves are easy to break.” He adds,

But that’s so not true about commitments to others.

Declaring your intention to another person is powerful. It becomes more real. You feel peer pressure to get started. And by getting your intent out there, people will spot opportunities and send them your way.

When I set my intentions, I declare it publicly: I tell friends so they can offer help. I tell loved ones so they can encourage me when I get discouraged. I tell enemies, so they can gloat if I miss the mark.

Don’t just say it in a phone call. Put it in writing, so you can’t weasel out of it later. It’s easier to make six prospecting calls than have the dreaded Accountability Conversation:

“Did I say six phone calls a day? Nonsense. I’m sure I only said three.”

“Really? Let me find your e-mail. You clearly said six.”

If you want to amp it up even further, schedule regular check-in calls with people in your support network. Even if you procrastinate a bit, that upcoming check-in will spur you into action. Our most powerful psychological forces kick into action when we know we’ll be accountable to someone else to produce results. Use this to your advantage. Declare your intention and watch how powerfully intention will turn into results.