Confession time. I love infomercials.

Like seriously love them.

Sometimes, my dad and I will sit around for hours watching all the cool “As Seen on TV” products. I may have even purchased a few in my day.

Yep, I had the Perfect Pancake maker (although I believe that’s called “restaurant”), the Shiwala (not that I ever clean my car) and my absolute favorite, the Ronco Rotisserie “Set it and Forget it” oven.

Oh, how I loved that oven… although I seem to have lost it in the divorce. You’d skewer your chicken or roast on the spikes, set the timer, and except for the horrible squealing noise that occurred with every revolution, you’d just Set it and Forget it!

Today, while writing a piece about goal setting for one of my clients, I realized that some people have the rotisserie mentality when it comes to their goals.

Are you one of those people? Have you ever set a goal and then sat back and forgotten it?

I see this a lot with wannabe authors. They are all gung ho about writing a book. They’ve got a great concept, a message that could really help people, they set the goal of writing their first book, and then they forget it.

I get it. Life gets in the way. Paying the bills is important. A book won’t bring in immediate cash, so writing time gets moved to after you tend to your clients’ needs. Your friends are in town and you almost never get to see them, so writing time gets pushed back once again. Then, your child’s PTA needs someone to bake a bazillion cupcakes for an upcoming fundraiser. You’ll just have to get to your book another day.

Here’s the thing about life… it just keeps coming at you (if it doesn’t, writing a book is not your biggest issue). There will always be something standing in the way of your goals. There will always be someone else’s needs to put before your own.

Until that is, you make your goal a priority.

When you decide that neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will keep you from writing your book, you’ll get it done.

If you’re like me, you’ve reached expert status when it comes to relegating your needs to the 2nd, 3rd, or 12th position of importance. I don’t advocate this, but if you absolutely can’t get over your desire to do for others before yourself, use it to your advantage. Think of this as a workaround: Do you know how many people you could help with the knowledge and experience you’ll impart through this book? Do you know how many new clients you could score, increasing your income and creating a better life for your family or for random furry creatures that you choose to support with your wealth? If you can’t seem to write a book for you, write it for someone else.

You have a message to share with the world. You have a goal to reach. Don’t take the rotisserie approach to goal setting. Don’t just set it and forget it. Instead, set your goals, schedule what’s important to you, and smash through any roadblock that gets in your way.

If your goal is to write a book, I can help. Contact me and let’s set up a time to talk.