Pick up and read any personal growth book and you’ll find that one of the key factors to any successful leaders’ success is consistency. Have you ever heard of the saying, “What’s easy to do is just as easy not to do?” Pick up and read any personal growth book and you’ll find that one of the key factors to any successful leaders’ success is consistency.
We must focus on completing what we say we will do and we must stay on track.
But if what is easy to do is just as easy not to do, how do we hold ourselves accountable to what we say we will do? How do we remain focused? Many of us procrastinate and never fully complete the tasks that will get us to our goals. It is especially challenging for network marketers to be consistent when, as individuals, we rarely hold ourselves accountable for what we want to accomplish. NULL
Procrastination is the Achilles’ heel of an entrepreneur.
I once read in “The Now Habit” by Neil Fiore that most of us will procrastinate for several reasons, including fear. We fear things will not turn out the way we hope they will or we feel that we get things done better under pressure. Although finding out what motivates us to act upon our intentions is beyond the scope of this article, no matter what reasons we find ourselves procrastinating, we can cure procrastination, inconsistency, and inefficiency by getting an accountability partner (or buddy). An accountability partner is someone who plain and simply holds you accountable to what you say you will do during any given day. He or she will listen to your goals and your “to dos” and help you prioritize and strategize ways to plan your day effectively.
Ideally, accountability partners speak every work morning and discuss their plans for the day. That evening, or following morning, the accountability buddies check in and report what they completed or did not complete.
Having someone to hold you accountable:
- Motivates you when you feel you are going through a challenging time
- Encourages you to continue your tasks when you feel like throwing in the towel
- Inspires you to be more focused, especially when they do something really neat (you want to do the same)
- Gives you that accountability you rarely keep to yourself
- Is like your business insurance; if you don’t get something done and forget about it, you have someone to remind you of what’s most important.
The first time I experienced the joy of working with an accountability buddy was with a program called “Call to Action” at the Human Communications Institute, founded by transformational and motivational speaker, Michael Bernhoff. I had the pleasure of working with one of Michael’s assistants – Gilena – who was my accountability buddy for a full week. I was incredibly productive – so productive that in one week, I completed what I would have done in three months. I now have an accountably buddy I have the privilege to call a good friend. I have recently noticed the changes my accountability partner has made in her productivity. Much like myself, my buddy can get sidetracked and begin multiple projects without completing them. Once we began our partnership, I helped her decide on her most pressing project; we began to brainstorm ways to help her get going and what to complete before moving on to the next project. Once she became focused things took off and she got the ball rolling on something she had been meaning to do but didn’t quite get around to doing it. I’ve also noticed a change in my activity. Now I don’t focus on filling my days up with any type of work or activity, but that I am prioritizing more than I was before our partnership.
I now focus on money-producing activities instead of time-fillers. I also find myself completing tasks a lot faster.
Tips on Choosing an Accountability Partner
- Think of people who are motivated and success-driven because – remember the quote above – you’ll want someone who is reliable and who will keep you accountable.
- Think of someone who might compliment your skills set. i.e. A savvy internet marketer who has some experience in marketing that you don’t yet have. It is nice when you can exchange marketing tips and mutually benefit from each others’ experiences.
- Your accountability buddy doesn’t have to be in your particular network marketing company. I met my partner on an online forum. We shared the same philosophies and had several things in common. We also connected on a personal level before we decided to be buddies.
- Make sure you are both participating equally. Effort must be shown on both sides to make the partnership work.
- Meet more often than once a week. Ideally every work day will assist you to be more consistent and productive in your business.
- Have your goals be personal too. You will both want to make sure you create balance in your personal lives in order to be successful with your business because what affects you personally will affect you in your business.
- Your partner should be someone you can trust. In the event you have things going on personally, you should feel comfortable speaking to your buddy about it – not necessarily at length, but on a level where they know you are not at 100% that day.
- Have fun – having an accountability buddy also makes your journey to success a lot more fun. You will begin to see how two people can co-create awesome experiences by brainstorming and keeping each other on task.
Having someone to connect with on a daily basis who shares your concerns and experience really gives you the added fuel to remain productive and consistent in your business.
It’s like having your very own accelerated program for network marketing success.
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