As you may know, our online School of Life Mastery was originally expected to open last summer…

…And it STILL isn’t open.  Here’s why:

I created the curriculum and have been managing additions to it, while my husband (who, in his previous life worked in the IT department for Universal Studios) has been heading up the site structure and development.

Many times, over the past six months, the developers asked how certain pieces should be handled; and not only did I answer with vague generalities; but (to everyone’s dismay), I also quite often changed my mind.

Even worse, sometimes my answer was, “Oh, whatever you think is best.”

Well, six months later – having spent tens of thousands of dollars more than expected – we are looking back on this project, and see that we’re still not ready to open because our developers have been required to work on a moving target.

Putting the original June 2009 date to the goal was ineffective, because the target had not been clearly and perfectly identified.

During those months since June, the site became intricately developed; but every time we thought it was nearly done, we’d see that it wasn’t quite right and needed to be reworked.

My problem was that I didn’t know well enough – right from the beginning – what I wanted.  I didn’t know how it SHOULD be.  All I had was a general idea; and I guess I just took it for granted that the developers would just figure it all out for me.

(I probably assumed they could just read my mind and see the vision I had without my spelling it out in detail.)

Ultimately, after going in circles one too many times, the developers finally INSISTED we give them a fully-developed ’spec’.

A “spec” is a document that specifies in absolute detail, every single aspect of what the site needs to be able to do, and precisely how it’s supposed to look and behave under every possible user action.  It’s the blueprint for the website.

After spending more than a year creating the curriculum, I was frustrated that I’d have to help create a ’spec’.  I wanted to say, “I already created the materials; can’t you all just figure it out?”

But with only vague directions, and different perceptions and approaches between the developers, problems kept cropping up.  Beta testers were losing data, new registrants were finding themselves trapped in frustrating loops, and just this week we finally realized that the whole system had been built in the wrong environment, causing many of the problems.

So here’s the point of my confession.  We’ve been teaching people for years the importance of putting goals in writing, with detail.

And to be honest, I have successfully achieved many goals without going to the trouble.  It’s tedious work to put it in writing, and I don’t enjoy taking the time.  But this experience taught me how much more quickly, and more smoothly (and less expensively) goals can be achieved if you do take the time to create a ’spec’.

There’s no question we’ll get the school opened eventually.  We’ll muscle it through, one way or another; but we’ll be more efficient, and our developers will be better utilized if we don’t leave so many variables up to chance.

So what about you and your goals?

• Are you vague, or are you perfectly clear about what you’re pursuing right now?
• Do you change your mind often?
• Do you sit back undecided and say, “Oh, whatever is best“?

The truth is, that what’s best is that you choose excellence.  Excellence doesn’t happen TO YOU.  You’ve got to step forward and initiate the change you keep wishing for.  Life provides hardships and challenges so that you’ll wake up and start doing the uncomfortable things that help you become your best self.  That’s why the hardships are a gift.  The painful site delays and setbacks have been a gift, to teach us this important lesson.

So, if you care about the outcome of your goal, and if you care about how quickly and inexpensively it is realized, then take  responsibility for your life and write a ’spec’.  Write your goals in detail, as though you were describing exactly how the finished project (your life) will look when it’s done.

Imagine you have a ‘developer’ somewhere who is busily working for you, arranging the right people and opportunities for every one of your objectives.  But every time you change your mind, he has to drop everything and start all over.  If you’re unclear, then even if you don’t change your mind, it’s almost guaranteed that what shows up will be different than what you really meant.

I can say that from personal experience!

(By the way, I’ve never physically met the developers we’ve been working with recently; so in many ways, they are like the ‘unseen help’ that comes to your aid when you set a goal.)

So, create that well-documented ’spec’.  Or if you’re not a techie, maybe it’s easier to imagine that you have some kind of an angelic ‘foreman’ waiting for your blueprint.

Sure, I believe you could still achieve almost any kind of goal without a blueprint or a ’spec’; but the time, energy, and money lost from meandering and course-correcting can easily set you back so far that you may run out of steam entirely before the dream is realized. 

That’s the risk you take when you do not put in writing the things you need and want with detail.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that God and the Universe will ‘figure it all out’ for you.  In that case, you may end up meandering and course-correcting a lot more than necessary, because you’ve been given free agency to choose the good causes in which you choose to be anxiously engaged.  Heavenly ‘help’ is available to you as soon as you’re ready to enlist it.  But it won’t impose upon you.

Decide what you want, and then ask clearly and in faith for the assistance you need.

Don’t be paralyzed by waiting to know exactly what your goals ’should’ be.  If you think about what you want, and make a decision firmly and resolutely to go for it without hesitation, then if for some reason it’s wrong, you’ll find out soon enough and have sufficient momentum to make the proper course correction in time.

Now, join me in the 12-week FTMF home study program, where I’ll help you create a powerful goal statement and show you step-by-step how to make sure the ‘unseen help’ is activated on your behalf.  Our inventory is dwindling, and when this edition runs out, the new edition will NOT include my personal assistance at the mid-term.  So if you want my personal attention on YOUR goal, be sure to get one of the versions we have in stock before they’re all gone!

For more information, visit www.prosperyourfamily.com

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