With Intention Weekly #112: One and done doesn't work

#112: One and done doesn't work

Read time ~ 3 minutes

Welcome to the With Intention weekly newsletter where I share ideas & learnings to help you live & lead with intention.

At a Glance:

  • Essay: One and done doesn't work
  • Quote: You need a longer runway
  • Visual: Reps

I wrapped up our third With Intention cohort this week. Five people, five different industries, all strangers back in the spring.

This isn't really about them though. It's about you.

Here's what I keep noticing. Nothing much changed for anybody in week one. Or week two. The sessions were good, people took notes, everybody left with energy. If it had ended right there, all five would have walked out feeling great and been back to normal by Monday.

You know that feeling. The offsite that fired you up. The book you underlined the whole first half of. The conference where you filled a notebook and never opened again.

I don't think that's a discipline problem. One and done was never going to work. It isn't built to.

What moved people was slower than that. Somebody saying out loud what they were going to try. Somebody else asking about it a week later. Then doing it again the week after, and the week after that.

Reps, in front of people who are paying attention. That's most of it.

And it wasn't clean. Life happened. People missed weeks. Some stretches nobody was all the way in. That's part of it too, and it's worth saying, because I think a lot of people quit the second they break the streak. The ones who got the most out of this weren't the most consistent. They were the ones who came back.

So if there's something you've restarted three times this year, I don't think you need a better plan. You've probably got a good one sitting in your notes app right now. What you need is a longer runway and a couple of people who know you're working on it.

Here's my ask for this week. Name the one thing you keep restarting. Tell one person you're working on it and ask them to check in with you in a week.

That's the rep.

Have an amazing weekend!

Jon

P.S. Cohort 4 starts in September. Twelve weeks, ninety minutes a week, a small room on purpose. You take an assessment, we find your superpowers and the gaps you've been working around, and then you do the reps with people who will hold you to it. I've watched people put down things they walked in with and lead differently on the other side. If that's you, reply and I'll send you the details.

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Lead With Intention

I help leaders slow the noise, sharpen their thinking, and lead with intention. Each week I share practical frameworks, honest lessons, and tools for sustainable performance and meaningful growth.