Do you sometimes hear yourself saying this?
"Why does that other InfoGuru get so many appointments and get her prospects to pay her more? Why does she make more money and have a more successful business? Why does she have more energy and seem more fulfilled?"
But if you brush this off, as just luck, experience, timing or connections, etc, then you're not not looking deeply enough.
Last week I talked about the fact that you'll have little chance to influence if you get upset when you get rejected. If you can't get past that, you'll never influence.
The next lesson on influence is just as important:
To influence you must have intention. But few very people actually know what intention is. It's extraordinarily powerful and it's a tool you can learn, master, and apply to your whole career.
But first, you need to know what lack of intention looks like.
You're trying to make something happen. You're trying to influence someone or trying to accomplish something you haven't done before. You'd like to get a result.
You put some time in, some work, but the results just don't come. Ultimately you quit in frustration or you just let it go gradually with some excuse such as, "It wasn't the right time."
Bull Crap.
You didn't get results because you did not apply real intention to getting those results.
Big Intention = Impressive ResultsLow Intention = Average Results
No intention = No Results
We all think we have intention. But we don't. We are unfocused, weak willed, unclear, and are willing to settle for reasons why we didn't get the results instead of getting the results.
This is called being reasonable. It's not very fulfilling.
Intention is completely unreasonable.
I sometimes have this conversation with clients who are struggling to get something done. They say they want to get a new client in a certain period of time. I ask them if they are willing to "bet their car" they'll get a new client.
It's hard for them to understand. Sure, they'll work hard and try the best they can, but, heck, how can you promise results? No, they will not bet their car.
Real intention is the willingness to bet your car because you absolutely know you can be counted on to produce a result, no matter what the conditions are.
Now I'm not talking about insanity here. "OK, I have the unreasonable intention to fly to the moon tomorrow." No, that's just nuts. And you know it. It's just a smokescreen.
Unreasonable intentions are not impossible. They are simply commitments made beyond our comfort zone. Instead, we keep setting reasonable goals within our comfort zone. Not a lot of intention needed there.
OK, so how do you create an intention?
1. Get crystal clear about something that you want in your business. Also know the reason why you want it. If it's to make a certain amount of money every month, you need to have a reason. No reason or desired reward, no intention.
2. Get very clear about the cost of not achieving that goal. Look the fear and the pain and the loss right in the face. If you don't get this goal, there are consequences. Know what they are.
3. Now imagine it actually happening. You can visualize it or write it down or do a mind map or talk to a friend about it. Or anything else that makes it real. If it's not absolutely real to you, if you can't see it happening, it's not a real intention.
4. Create a plan. This can start with a quick sketch or some ideas written down. Perhaps you need some help with this - some coaching or consulting. You need to come up with a real, doable plan here. No hoping. Intentions are real, not imaginary.
5. Commit. This is where you make your bet, take your risk. This is when you forsake any alternative to success. You are "all in" and ready to move. Your intention is like a white-hot laser beam and you are ready to do whatever it takes.
6. Take action - any action in your plan that's going in the direction you want to go. No excuses, no reasons, no hesitation. You are now riding on the extraordinary energy of intention. You are unstoppable.
Know why most intentions just end up as good ideas that didn't work out for you? You did a little bit of number 1 and tried a little bit of number 6. You got an idea, took some steps and then gave it up as a bad job. Too hard, too difficult, too time consuming.
A perfect formula for a mediocre life - and business.
On the other hand, is there something you really, really want? Then follow the above six steps and expect miracles.
Next week: Specific Influence Strategies.
More Clients Bottom Line: Intention isn't about trying, or even about trying hard. It's a lot more: Clarity, focus, imagination, planning, commitment and action. If you can learn to channel all of these, you can accomplish things you couldn't have imagined were possible.
What's your intention? What's an unreasonable goal you're going to go for? Please share your answer on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.
Thank you Robert...I am printing this out and posting it beside my desk so I can be reminded of it every day!!!Thx
Posted by: Tracy Matthewman | January 07, 2011 at 07:49 AM
Robert, thanks for another excellent article.
You're spot on, I did a little bit of #1 & tried a little bit of #6 *LOL* no wonder I'm pretty much not moving forward.
If I may add one thing, probably between #1 & #2, is courage. We don't even move forward with the same level of energy when we're faced with the cost/consequences.
It's just a stumbling block that every successful people had gone through, and no detour on this one.
Posted by: Jean Kurniati | May 04, 2010 at 02:12 AM