Have you ever been hesitant to make a commitment in your life or your business? Do you struggle with sticking to the commitments you’ve made?

A life commitment could be a personal goal, a relationship, or even a project you want to complete. A business commitment can be finishing something you start to following through on delivering what you’ve promised. It can also be stating publicly that you plan to do something or launch something, and following through on that statement.

Some commitments are easy, and some are difficult. The reason we avoid making difficult commitments is because we are afraid.

We fear that making a commitment means we will be stuck and no longer have options. This is simply not true. We always have options.

We also fear commitments because we don’t believe in ourselves enough to see them through. We are afraid of failing. Or perhaps we don’t trust ourselves enough to succeed. Ask yourself, what is the worst that can happen if I fail at this commitment?

The good news is, if you fail to meet a commitment, it will not mean the end of the world. You will feel bad for letting yourself and others down, but you can start over and try again. In many cases, the failure is short-lived. It’s temporary pain.

We can also avoid making or sticking to commitments because we lack true passion about what we are committing to. I simply can’t stress enough how important it is that passion is tied into your commitments, especially in the work that you do.

Sometimes there will be a good reason as to why you can’t honor a commitment. Maybe you’re changing the course of your business, for example. Maybe you’re enduring a terrible work or home environment. Breaking some commitments cannot be avoided, especially if you will be better off personally or professionally in doing so.

It feels great to honor a worthwhile commitment that you’ve made and to follow through on that commitment. Making and sticking to a commitment builds confidence. It makes you feel better about yourself and it builds trust with your customers and your audience!

I’ve struggled with making commitments from time to time both in business and in life. We all do. It’s human nature.

I also know that it’s possible to get better at making and keeping the commitments we make to ourselves and others.

Below are some rules I’ve set for myself to help create new commitments and stick to those that I’ve already made. I hope they can help you as well. Don’t let the fear of commitment creep in and hold you back.

7 Tips on How to Stick to Your Commitments

1)Believe in your ability to make and honor commitments

2)Start with small goals (don’t overcommit yourself or bite off more than you can chew!)

3)Accept and embrace that your fear of commitment is related to your lack of confidence and passion (work on these!)

4)Write down your commitments (this will ink them into your brain’s muscle memory)

5)Focus on the positives of making a tough commitment (what will you gain? how will you benefit?)

6)Find a commitment accountability partner (spouses are great for this)

7)Understand your limits, but push yourself (making no commitments produces complacency…challenge yourself)

Do you have challenges with making commitments? I’d love to your thoughts on this topic!

#4)Experiment with Your Offering and Pricing

There are a lot of folks out there who believe in the concept of “free”…that you should give everything away to your audience. The theory is that as you grow that audience and learn more about what they want, you can then unleash your product or service offering and a certain percentage of them will buy.

The big problem with “free” strategy is that most of us don’t have the luxury of the time it takes to build a substantial enough audience before we need to produce an income. I’ve spoken to a number of digital entrepreneurs who have built very successful online businesses and ignored the concept of “free” from the very beginning. (I’m one of those as well)

The other problem with “free” is you attract what I call the plate-lickers. Those are the people who want to get access to your best advice and then go out and do it on their own. There is no reason why you can’t give some of your best advice out for free and have your products/services offer value above and beyond that!

What you do have to do is provide enough information and value for free in order to generate interest AND you also need to work on growing your network within your niche. But you don’t need a huge audience or thousands of blog posts before you can experience business success within that niche. The more clear you are about who you’re targeting and how you plan to help those individuals, the better your chances for success.

Somewhere out there the right clients for you exist, you just have to find them. These are the people who will value your time and happily pay what you ask for your products and services. With the powerful opportunity to build your digital platform and grow your network, you can substantially accelerate the process of finding and attracting the right clients into your business! 

(Keep in mind that each of us places a different value on everything. I may value a particular service a lot more than you do, for example, and be willing to pay more for it. Price is a function of value.)

The ideal customer/client is someone who doesn’t balk at your pricing and is appreciative of the value being delivered. 

As an entrepreneur, I have found that pricing is an evolving experiment. Once you start to gain customers and clients, you can gather insights and get feedback on what essentials your program should be providing and where it needs to be priced.

#5)Ask for the opportunity

If you don’t ask for opportunities, how will you ever get to yes? One of my all time favorite quotes is from Wayne Gretzky:

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take

There is nothing more true than this. If you never ask for opportunities in life and in business, you don’t even give yourself a chance to score. You cannot compete.

90% of the time I ask for the opportunity, I get turned down. Most of the time I get zero response! You can’t take this personally. Every “no” means you are getting closer to that “yes”. Simply by asking for the opportunity, you can propel yourself to new levels of visibility and influence.

Before you can ask for an opportunity, you need to be proactively looking for the right ones! Be strategic. Who can help you get to the next level? In this age of blogs and social media, it is easier than ever to reach out and make the “ask”. There are very few barriers to contacting someone who has any kind of an online presence today. It’s pretty amazing who you can reach and whose radar you can show up on.

Here are some examples of the kinds of opportunities you can ask for:

• a guest post submission for one of your articles or even a regular contributor position on a popular blog
• a Retweet, share, or like
• an opportunity to speak at an event
• advice from a thought leader, influencer, or potential mentor
• a strategic partnership or business opportunity
• a chance to start the relationship with a potential client on one piece of the pie (you don’t have to get ALL the business today)
• a suggestion or recommendation
• an interview

#6)Embrace change

My business ideas and models have been constantly evolving from the day I officially took charge of my career and became an entrepreneur almost 4 years ago. However, when I look back at this journey, the evolution has actually continued to align with my personal and professional goals. These goals change over time.

I get bored, sidetracked, and new ideas are constantly popping into my head (you entrepreneurs know what I mean)! If only there was enough time to explore them all. Basically, you have to pick a direction for your business and focus. If it doesn’t end up being what you thought it would be, then pivot (change).

The wonderful thing about being an entrepreneur is that you are your own boss. You can set the rules, you can change the rules, and you can always change your mind. The more you can tap into what drives you and makes you feel enthusiastic, the closer you will get to your ideal personal and professional life. You can define success on your terms.

For me, I really love the feeling I get from helping others identify their value, grow, and succeed in the way that they define success. That’s what motivates me. I love to teach and I love to learn. That will not change. The model in which I deliver my programs and services will. It’s inevitable. It has to. My clients also provide very important insight into what they want and need.

Another part of embracing change is understanding and leveraging new technologies in your business. Adopting the right tools into your business can help you to become smarter, faster, and more competitive. Technology is changing the way we communicate so quickly that it’s mind boggling. Big brands can’t keep up and they can’t adapt fast enough. That opens doors for the independent entrepreneurs to disrupt!

Your ability to create and keep a competitive advantage in business hinges upon your willingness to embrace change. New and better tools are being developed everyday because the cost of doing so has declined so rapidly and significantly. The challenge is sorting through all the tools and finding the right tools that fit within your process. Hint: define your process first, then choose your tools.

Ultimately you have to be willing to embrace and capitalize on change to stay ahead of the curve.

#7)Leave Fear Behind

Fear is a dark room where negatives are developed

Fear is funny. It just creeps in. Mastering your fears is perhaps the most important tip to finding and pursuing your unique business path. The key to mastering fear is to figure out what you’re truly afraid of. Go deep on this and write down your fears to see them and get them out of your head. Then tear up that piece of paper and throw it in the trash!

When you identify the true fears that you have, ask yourself “what’s the worst case scenario if this fear came to fruition?”. Almost every time, you can find a way to imagine that worst case scenario and think through how you would deal with it.

The opposite of fear is confidence. Confidence conquers fear. Believe in yourself. Be confident in who you are and what you can offer others. Don’t compare yourself to others either. That can be extremely dangerous.

If you strive to make decisions from a place of strength rather than a place of fear, you will be well on your way to creating success on your own terms and finding that unique business path that you were meant to travel!

Have you begun to build your unique business path? If not, what are you waiting for? What’s holding you back? If you are building it, how are things going so far? I’d love to hear your story in the comments.

Social Media Marketing World

From an impressive roster of speakers to fun-filled networking events, I’d say it’s the conference not to miss, especially if you love social media. By the way, I wrote (and sang) the new pop song “We Love Social Media” in the spirit of the event which accompanied the closing keynote session slideshow!

We Love Social Media – Single by @stephsammons…$$$ goes to help the homeless. #smmw13 itun.es/us/1NWWL

— Agents of Change (@AgentConference) April 9, 2013

Events are important, because face-to-face interactions solidify relationships. The wonderful thing about social networking is that it’s a very effective way to build rapport and cultivate relationships. Getting face-to-face enables you to go that much deeper, both with those who influence you and the people that you influence as well.

The best way to get smarter in growing your personal brand is to go to events like Social Media Marketing World and soak it all in like a sponge! Attending conferences to gather knowledge and meet influential people can make a tremendous difference in accelerating your “digital” learning curve and more importantly, building your network.

Below I highlight some of the insights from the conference, but overall I have to say from a “building online influence” perspective, what really resonated with me the most was the constant emphasis on GIVING. I heard it so many times from so many people at this conference, and I experienced it first hand. Give more than you receive. Give away your best ideas. Give compliments, thank you’s, and kudos. Give, help, teach. You get the idea.

A few “high influence” tips from Social Media Marketing World

“Social Media is a commitment, not a campaign.” – @nealschaffer at #smmw13

— Alexandra Briggs (@ac_briggs) April 9, 2013

RT @marismith: Podcasting is the HOTTEST thing in 2013. Period. @mike_stelzner @smexaminer #smmw13 – YES!

— Pat Flynn (@PatFlynn) April 8, 2013

Need to focus not only on likes, RTs & shares you are getting, but also how many you are GIVING @markwschaefer says. #smmw13

— Jay Palter (@jaypalter) April 9, 2013

To be successful with podcasting, “narrow-cast” love it – via @gspn #smmw13

— Stephanie Sammons (@StephSammons) April 9, 2013

What stands out gets remembered. What blends in gets ignored. – @derekhalpern #SMMW13

— Rebekah Radice (@RebekahRadice) April 8, 2013

3 word social media strategy from @guykawasaki: Post interesting stuff. #smmw13

— Dave Kerpen (@DaveKerpen) April 8, 2013

“Blogs = Trust & Influence” @leeodden #SMMW13

— Sam Scholfield (@StuffedWeb) April 9, 2013

It takes about 9 months to build a platform. Don’t start when you’re launching. Start before. #smmw13

— carrie kerpen (@carriekerpen) April 8, 2013

“The single greatest objective of any business is the building of a vibrant community” @ducttape #SMMW13

— Stephanie Sammons (@StephSammons) April 8, 2013

The more you give, the more you receive. @larrybenet #SMMW13

— Kim Garstツ (@kimgarst) April 8, 2013

RT @samanthahpr: If you build influence, you won’t have to sell @stephsammons #smmw13

— Doyle Wheeler (@KinetekMedia) April 8, 2013

Help someone solve a problem, help someone get smarter, and help someone achieve more. Have an influence mindset. @stephsammons #smmw13

— Jenn Lisak (@jlisak) April 8, 2013

If you want employees to adopt social you have to find out what motivates them and help them reach their goals @stephsammons #smmw13

— Yamarie Negron (@YamarieNegron) April 8, 2013

Blogging is the #1 social media tool marketers want to learn more about via @mike_stelzner. It’s all about owned content. #smmw13

— Joe Pulizzi (@juntajoe) April 8, 2013

“Worry less about selling better.Worry more about teaching better” @jaybaer #smmw13

— Donna Moritz (@SociallySorted) April 8, 2013

If you’re not providing information to respective buyers, they’ll get it from somewhere else@jaybaer #SMMW13

— Eric T. Tung (@EricTTung) April 8, 2013

Best Ideas “Round-up” from Social Media Marketing World

Hands down, these “sketch notes” from Anne Mccoll were fantastic in illustrating some of the best ideas that came out of the conference. Believe it or not, she did this amazing work on the iPad using brushes over apps!

More posts to check out about Social Media Marketing World