The proof is in the pudding.Ever wonder where that phrase comes from? Well I have, so I looked it up on Google (where else?!) and learned it dates back all the way into 1615 in Miguel Cervantes' novel, Don Quixote where the phrase is actually stated, The proof of the pudding is the eating.
Which to me means, until we taste/test/try it, we don't know the value of an idea. I can tell people my great ideas, yet unless I implement them, there is no value beyond the intellectual stimulation of them. It's why so many of us focus on results. Until we see how something is applied, we know little about it's success.
Last month I mentioned here in a post that I have the intention to write an average of 3 times per week. That's right - I actually stated my goal. I put it out there to my HUGE (ha!) reading audience. Regardless of how many of you read the goal, I am now accountable to following through. Whether for my own pride in doing what I say, for my original intention of actually having the material from which to generate a book, or because I care what people think about me, I am now more compelled to follow through on this task.
Who knows whether or not you remember my promise. I remember. And so today I checked through my blog postings, counting them out for the month of January. I knew I was highly motivated right after I made the claim. I posted incredibly often. And it felt great! I thought to myself, wow - I may do this every day! Luckily, I didn't make that promise.
As the month ended and February began, I began to recall many days going by without posting. So I was a bit worried about my results. If I had written 3 times per week for the 4 weeks of January, I would have 12 postings. That's a number easy to assess, especially since there is an archive at my blogsite, stating by date when and how often I posted on any day of the month.
12. Exactly. I'm more surprised and pleased than I expected to be! Now, going into February on the 8th day, I already have more posts than by the 8th day of January. Yet since February has fewer days in the month, I may need to reassess my strategy and step it up a bit. More on that later. For now, I am recommitting to the 3 or more times a week.
Additionally, I am this month experiencing my first accountability group. This is a group of professionals, who like myself, wants to make improvements in our professional skills and follow through by reporting challenges and problem solving to each other. Nathanial Hill started this MASTER MIND concept and shared it with the business world when he wrote Think and Grow Rich.
All it takes is a group of like-minded people to gather regularly for the purpose of tracking results and encouraging one another.
Once again, the proof is in the pudding. Whatever your goals are for this year, this quarter, this month, or this week, How's it workin for ya?
We at Breaking Down Barriers have created accountability groups for business owners as well as for career owners. If you'd like more information on these accountability groups, let me know.
