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What you’ll learn in this episode:
Do you find yourself reaching for your goals but falling short?
What I’ve noticed is that there’s a simple difference between those who reach their goals and those who fall short. That difference is commitment.
Today, I’m going to be giving you three characteristics that I’ve seen in my clients who have committed to their success and reached their goals, and how you can implement them into your routine to reach and exceed your own goals.
Here’s a glance at this episode:
- There must be a moment when you decide to commit to your goal.
- Taking action is the difference between thinking about your goal and reaching it.
- Show up as though you’ve already reached your goal.
- Decide that now is your time to go all-in.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Content Development Incubator
The Five Second Rule, by Mel Robbins
Work/Connect with me:
Business and Rejuvenation Retreat
[00:58] Jessica: Well, hello, everyone, and welcome back to this week’s episode of the practical mindset podcast. I’m so excited to have you here to talk about this week’s topic of committing.
[01:08] Over the last several weeks, I’ve been doing a year-in review, going back over all the client wins of the past year, and studying what was going on for them that may have contributed to their success. What I was particularly interested in was understanding why the clients who got the biggest wins, hit or exceeded their goals, found more time in their day, made the most money, found or signed the most clients, had the results they had, compared to those that did not, and what I found, overwhelmingly, was that the thing that separated the clients with the biggest wins or the greatest results from the people who hit less of their goals or experienced fewer wins was their commitment to make it happen.
[01:49] In every case, there was a distinct moment where these clients committed to the result they wanted and to doing what it took or committed to figuring it out, rather than just having it be something they wrote down on a piece of paper, or a goal exercise, or their vision board, and I have seen the same phenomenon in my own life. When I committed to making something happen, I was able to hit my goals far more often than when I did not. So, if you are someone who wants to hit your goals or create the results in your business that you want, you need to commit to making it happen, and not only commit to just making it happen, but commit to making it happen with whatever vehicle you’re choosing to get there, and even when the times are tough. So, if that’s your business, then it’s committing to that business to generate the result or hit the goals that you want, regardless of what’s happening.
[02:43] When I started to dig a little deeper, I noticed that there were three behaviors or characteristics that I witnessed from my clients who committed to success. Today, I want to talk to you about those three things in the hope that you can start your year off setting yourself up for success, not only to hit your goals but to stick to them all the way through, because even if you don’t hit all your goals, and we don’t always hit all our goals, you will get much further and closer to the results you want if you make these behaviors part of your routine.
[03:15] The three characteristics are, number one, having a defining moment where you make the decision to commit, number two, creating a plan and taking action in line with what you want, and number three, the behavior of acting as if.
[03:32] Characteristic number one – A defining moment or the decision to commit. Every one of my clients who were successful, and I have experienced this in my own life and business, too, had a moment where they decided they were going to go for it, that they were going to commit to the outcome, and they were going to go all-in and go after what they wanted, come hell or high water. For me, this is true in my business, or if I want to run 10 miles, or if I want to get my kids in bed earlier from now on. Whenever I look back on how I achieved something I really wanted, I had a moment where I committed to making it happen. It was the decision and the subsequent steps that I took forward in faith that put me on the path to success. With my clients, I see this, too. One of my clients, in particular, who sticks out in my mind the most is one of my clients, Beth.
[04:21] I’ve been working with Beth for several years and she owns a company called That’s A Spade copywriting services. I’ll never forget my first call with Beth. She was sitting in her living room on zoom, and after speaking with her for a few minutes, I got the sense that Beth meant business. Have you ever met someone like that, where you know that they’re going places and they’re serious about what they’re looking for? That was Beth. As many of you know, I tend to be a direct person, so Beth and I hit it off immediately, and Beth is also a New York native, so there was that instant connection as well, and I do have a soft spot in my heart for all you New York women out there listening. When I first started working with Beth, she was writing copy for a variety of different businesses and she loved her work, and her clients, and she was really good at it, but she knew she wanted to do more. She wasn’t quite sure exactly what her niche would be, but she knew she was passionate about helping entrepreneurs use their unique voice and perspective to write engaging content so they could be heard and be bold. I will never forget the day she had the realization that this is what she wanted, and in that next moment when she committed to figuring out how she was going to shape her business around this passion for writing edgier content and working with bold entrepreneurs who are ready to stand out. For several months, she shaped her offers, honed her pitch for her business, trying new phrases at networking events that she attended, and she narrowed the type of writing she produced, she hired me as a coach, and got herself an accountability partner, drew her quest for finding what truly lit her up, her writing got stronger and bolder, and so did she. When something didn’t work, she tried something different. When someone showed up that wasn’t in her wheelhouse, she politely declined and moved toward the work that she enjoyed doing more. She kept going after what she wanted and was committed to seeing it through and figuring it out, even through the ups and downs.
[06:21] Today, Beth offers done-for-you services that include website copy, blog series retainer packages, and collaborative one-on-one writing sessions, and she has also launched an incredible program called the content development incubator for entrepreneurs who want to write more of their content in their own voice in less time, and, by the way, this is not just any copywriting group. This is an incredible and unique program that she only launches several times per year that intertwines the creative writing process with writing business copy to show entrepreneurs that the power of story, creative writing, and business copy are not mutually exclusive, and I would highly recommend checking it out because the next one is open, and the doors are closing soon. Through her commitment to finding her path, her own unique style, and her people, Beth has succeeded not only in growing her business and generating consistent income, but she has now helped write two books, joined forces with numerous designers to help their clients with copy, and is working with her ideal clients on the daily. She has also been able to schedule her day in a way that she enjoys and even writes from coffee shops, which is one of her favorite things to do, and one I know she’s missed in COVID.
[07:37] Making the decision to go all in and to commit to your goals, and I mean really commit, is an essential piece to actually hitting them. It’s in that moment when we get serious and we decide that we’re willing to risk failing or looking stupid, or being wrong, that the rubber really hits the road. It’s also the moment that all of our creative juices start flowing and we start to open up to the possibility that we can do this. I also, personally, connect it with a feeling. Whenever I commit, I get a sense of empowerment and determination that comes over me. It’s almost as if something literally clicks into place and from there, all kinds of magic and momentum shows up. So, I want you to pause, and I want you to think about a time when you committed and that set you off on a path that ultimately led you to success, or if you can’t think of a time, how about thinking about something you want to achieve or a goal you set for yourself to hit this year and commit to making it happen right now. What happened or is happening right now in that moment? How does it feel in your body? What is the next thing your brain goes to? This is what commitment looks and feels like for you, and every single one of us has experienced this feeling. Sometimes, we don’t even notice it but it’s there, and the cool part about it is that you can use this ritual, routine, feeling state to engineer your next win, because, often, there is a pattern to your committing, and when you’re onto it, you could spring into action from there, deliberately, which brings me to characteristic number two – creating a plan and taking action.
[09:21] For each and every one of my successful clients, the thing that followed the commitment to going after their success was developing a plan and taking action to make it a reality. Almost immediately, upon committing to their goals, each client did something to anchor their commitment. Some of them started mapping out a plan, some of them told someone else for accountability, some sprung into action immediately and started doing something physical in that moment, like walking to pick up the phone, sending the email, putting on their running shoes, buying the software they needed, changing their website. From my perspective, it wasn’t so much what they did, big or small, but it was the significance of the action. It was as if the action solidified the commitment and it got them on their way immediately. It was as if there was no turning back from that point, the train had pulled out of the station, and it was going. If you’ve read Mel Robbins’ book, the five second rule, she talks about this phenomenon of putting yourself into action immediately when you have an idea, that’s something you want to do before your brain has a chance to hijack you into thinking it’s a bad idea.
[10:30] Side note: if you haven’t read the book, you absolutely should, or you could watch her Ted Talk. Both excellent.
[10:37] It also immediately allows us to start making progress, and with progress comes results, and with results comes momentum and motivation, and things begin to build on themselves from there. Have you ever experienced something like this? That action that you’ve taken that has really put the stake in the ground for you around something that you want, it cements that defining moment, and it’s not only a physical sign or a signal that things are moving, but it’s also, and I think more importantly, a mental one, because when we take action and we physically put things into motion toward what we want, I believe it sends our primitive brain, that part of our brain that thinks doing anything new and bold is scary and a terrible idea, it puts that part of our brain on notice that something new is happening and there is a new sheriff in town, and things are going to be different around here, and something shifts, which brings me to the last and final point, which is behavior number three – acting as if.
[11:41] One of the fastest ways I’ve experienced growing and succeeding at just about anything in my life is through acting as if. What this means, in essence, is showing up in your life as if you had already had or accomplished the thing that you wanted, you already have the success, you’ve already achieved the thing, and you’re showing up today before you have the result and the evidence, as if you already have it, and this is not just about showing up and doing all the things that you would do if you, say, made $1,000,000 or signed ten clients, or made your first $2000. It’s about showing up as how you would be if you had hit those goals, living your life as if you were that person now, with your identity of being the person who had the result, and not the identity striving to have it. How would your day look different if you decided right now to embody that identity, to show up in your life as the person you wanted to be, with the things you wanted to achieve right now?
[12:48] A few years ago I heard about new event or a conference that someone was putting on. I think it may have been Jack Canfield. I can’t remember exactly whose event it was, but the essence of it was, they had a party the opening night of the conference where you had to show up as yourself five years from now. You had to dress like that person, talk like that person, act like that person, basically live your life as if you were that person for the entire night, all five hours. This might sound a little hokey to some of you that haven’t tried it before, but I can’t express to you how incredibly powerful it is to show up as if. The reason for this is that your identity, and what you believe about yourself, is the cornerstone of every result you create in your life. It allows you to show up in your life and take action in a completely different way. It’s not that you don’t work or show up taking action currently, but when you consciously step into the person you want to be and you embody it, your thoughts, how you feel and, ultimately, how you behave, have a whole different energy and vibe about them, and thus, they create completely different results. So, how would you act if you started believing you were the person you want to be today? What would you be thinking about? What would you spend your time preoccupied with? What types of thoughts and activities would you no longer be available for? What would you let go of?
[14:19] I know we’ve all heard the saying before, “belief before results”, but this is always true, in my experience. You won’t take a step forward into anything new in your business or anything beyond your comfort zone if you don’t step into a moment of belief, of embodying the idea of what’s possible for yourself. In that moment, even if you’re not totally sold, even if, in two seconds flat, your brain is like “what, you are crazy”, you will be able to take the step forward in faith from that momentary belief that it’s possible. That possibility is coming from the brief embodiment of your future self, you standing in and believing in the “what if”, and after that, the rest is one big wonderful, and sometimes terrifying, adventure into acting as if, my friends.
[15:09] So, I want you to take what you heard, and I want you to think about one thing on your heart for 2022, one goal, one milestone, one dream that you want to hit, and I want you to do the following. Number one, I want you to decide if now is your time to go all-in on this goal or this dream, and if the answer is yes, and I am cheering you on for the answer to be yes, I want you to commit to it right now and I want you to marry that with a ritual of some sort, write it on a sticky note and put it on your vision board, share it with your significant other, hire a coach, join the business group or program you’ve been looking at, get an accountability partner, stand in front of the mirror and say it out loud, whatever it is, I want you to make it a moment, because moments are powerful and they are what you remember. Number two, I want you to immediately start mapping it out, even if it’s just what you’re going to do in the next 24 hours related to this goal or dream that you’ve just committed to, and bonus points if you add it to your calendar or planner to really solidify it. This is not hard, my friends, but we skip this.
[16:26] What action would you take with something that was non-negotiable in your life? Like, the plane was taking off at 5:00 AM tomorrow morning and you needed to be there, how would you ensure that it’s going to happen, come hell or high water? Apply those same behaviors and actions to this goal, to this commitment. Number three, I want you to spend a minute thinking about visualizing what it would be like if you had already achieved this goal or dream. How would you feel? What would you be doing? Most importantly, what would you be thinking? Here’s the $1,000,000 question I want you to ask yourself – what would you think about yourself and your business, or your life, if you had achieved the goal or result that you’re wanting? If you were standing in that place in the future with that result, what would you think about yourself and your business? Whatever you answer that question with is the number one thought you want to be thinking right now when you show up in your life today as if. If the thought is “I made it” or “I could do this” or “I never have to worry again”, that is the thought that is the key to you actually hitting the goal or getting what you want, but the key is you have to think it today, right now. You need to show up today believing it, you need to recommit to acting as if every day until you no longer can tell the difference between you and the person who is acting as if, and after you do these things, I want you to let us know. We are always over here cheering you on and thinking of ways to support you, and there is nothing that makes our day more than hearing about your wins, and you never know, you might hear your story shared with a shout out to you in one of these podcasts in the future.
[18:16] If you’re ready to take your business to the next level and to finally nail your irresistible offer, find and convert clients, and set your business up to make money consistently, head over to the 10K accelerator page at the link in the show notes and book a call to chat with us now. Doors are open and seats are filling fast. You don’t want to miss out on ending your year in celebration and setting yourself up to make 2022 your best year yet.
See you all next week.
