I love the idea that there’s unseen help available when you set out to accomplish a challenging goal. But here’s the truth: if you don’t take the right steps, you may never see the EVIDENCE of that help.

You’ve probably heard this before, but one of the most important things you can do is write your goal down.

I thought I already understood this. After all, I had been teaching seminars on this concept for a decade. But then, I learned a very expensive lesson.

In many ways, I had become lazy. But, honestly, I was just exhausted. I had stopped relying on unseen help to bridge the gap between what I could do and what needed to be done. I was running faster than my strength could handle, and I missed one crucial step.

So, even if you think you know what I’m about to say, I hope this helps save you from making the same mistake.

It happened years ago when we created an online training program that was supposed to launch long before it actually did.

The reason for the delay ended up teaching me a powerful lesson about goal achievement.

After I created the curriculum and loaded the content, my husband (who, before our business, had worked in IT for Universal Studios) headed up the site structure and development.

For the first six months, the developers often asked me for specifics on how certain elements should be handled. Not only did I give vague, general answers, but I also frequently changed my mind.

The worst part? I sometimes just said, “Oh, whatever you think is best.”

Months later—having spent tens of thousands more than we planned—we looked back and realized that the project still wasn’t ready for release because the developers were chasing a moving target.

We had set a goal date, but the target itself had never been clearly defined.

The site was beautifully developed over those months, but every time we thought it was almost done, we found it wasn’t quite right, requiring more rework.

My problem? I didn’t clearly know what I wanted from the start. I didn’t know exactly what the finished product should look like. All I had was a general idea, and I assumed the developers would figure it out. After all, they were the experts, right?

(I guess I thought they could read my mind and see my vision without me fully articulating it.)

Eventually, after going around in circles too many times, the developers insisted we give them a fully developed ‘spec’.

A ‘spec’ is a document that outlines every detail of what the site needs to do and how it should behave under every possible circumstance. It’s the blueprint.

To be honest, after already spending more than a year developing the curriculum, I was frustrated at the idea of creating a ‘spec.’ I wanted to say, “I already did my part; can’t you just figure it out?”

But with only vague direction and conflicting ideas between the developers, problems kept popping up. Beta testers lost data, new users found themselves stuck in frustrating loops, and worst of all, we realized the whole system had been built in the wrong environment. We needed to start over to fix it.

Here’s the point of my confession: I’ve been teaching people for years the importance of writing down goals—in detail.

And, to be honest, I’ve achieved many goals without writing them down. I thought I could muscle my way through. But this experience taught me how much faster, smoother, and cheaper goals are achieved when you take the time to write a detailed ‘spec.’

Yes, you can muscle your way through a goal, but it’s far more efficient and effective to create a clear plan so that your "developers" (whether that’s other people, unseen help, or even yourself) are working with the right direction.

So, what about your goals?

Are you being vague, or are you crystal clear on what you’re pursuing? Do you change your mind frequently? Do you sometimes sit back and say, “Oh, whatever is best”? The truth is, what’s best is that you choose. Excellence doesn’t just happen to you—you’ve got to step forward and make it happen.

Life brings hardships and challenges so you can wake up and do the uncomfortable things that help you become your best self. That’s why these struggles are a gift. The painful delays and setbacks we encountered became a gift because they taught us this important lesson.

So, if you care about the outcome of your goal and want it to be realized quickly and effectively, take responsibility and write a spec. Write your goals in present-tense, as if they’ve already been achieved—detailing exactly what the finished project (your life) will look like.

Imagine that you’ve got an unseen ‘developer’ or team working tirelessly for you, orchestrating the right people and opportunities for every one of your objectives.

But every time you change your mind, your “developer” has to stop everything and start over. If you’re unclear, even if you don’t change your mind, what shows up will probably be different than what you envisioned.

(By the way, I never met the developers we hired. They were, in many ways, like the unseen help you get when you set a goal.)

So, create that ‘spec’—or, if you’re not a tech person, imagine you’ve got an angelic “foreman” standing by, waiting for your blueprint.

Sure, you can still achieve almost any goal without a blueprint. But the time, energy, and money you’ll lose by meandering and course-correcting can drain your momentum before your dream comes true.

That’s the risk you run when you don’t write down your wants and needs with clear, detailed intention.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking God or the Universe will figure it all out for you. In that case, you’ll end up meandering far more than necessary. You’ve been given free agency to choose good causes that will engage you fully. Help is available as soon as you’re ready to accept it—but it won’t impose on you.

So, decide what you want to achieve, and then ask clearly and with faith for the assistance you need.

Don’t get paralyzed by indecision. Don’t wait for everything to fall into place. If you make a firm decision and move forward without hesitation, if it’s the wrong path, you’ll learn quickly—and still have enough momentum to course-correct.

There is unseen help. When your goal is detailed and clear, the help stays on track and works with maximum efficiency.

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