“Put Some Skin in the Game!”
In the
4 Hour Body
by Time Ferris introduces a great idea to help you stick with
a goal. Put some skin in the game! Putting skin in the game simply means you
have something at stake, something to lose in the event of failure. Very few
people would pick a business partner who wouldn’t put money into starting the
business. The potential partner’s commitment to the venture would be highly
suspect if they did not want to commit a financial investment. It is the same
concept behind paying upper level management bonuses with stock as opposed
to cash. Upper level management’s performance directly affects the value of the
stock. By paying their bonuses in stock upper level management is put in a
position where they have more skin in the game, so to speak. The higher the
stakes the more motivated people are.
For example, say that you are trying to get in shape. Undoubtedly you have
friends who also share this desire with you. Get a couple on board, pool together
an amount that none of you want to lose (the more money the more motivation
of course), and set up a competition. The winner(s), however defined, would get
the money in part or total depending on the payout scale. This is a great way to
use competition and loss aversion (the feeling that losing something outweighs
the benefits of gaining something) in your favor. If you stick with it and don’t
win you still come out with a priceless foundation for a new life habit.
If your goal is something that you are doing alone than you can still utilize your
friends. Find the ‘
gambling man’
in your social circle and propose a wager. If
you don’t accomplish your goal/milestone in a given period of time they win. If
you do, you win. There are popular websites that act as an escrow (3
rd
party that
holds a fund for different groups until an agreement is solidified) and will hold
the money for both all parties involved. A popular one is stick
(www.stickK.com); it is a website that facilitates these types of commitment
contracts.
If you really want to test your limits write a check out to a friend. They owe you
nothing if you fail but in the event that you do fail, they get to cash the check. If
you succeed you get the check back. This really uses loss aversion as a
motivator!
Of course money is the greatest and most obvious ‘skin’ to put in the game but it
isn’t the only one. Get creative and find something that works for you. I have a
good friend (I met at an entrepreneurial meetup.com mastermind group*) and we
have a running wager that has been going on for years now. We share our
monthly goals and we each get to select one measurable goal/milestone from the
other person’s list that they must achieve for that month. If one person wins then
the other has to take them to dinner at a restaurant of their choosing. If both
succeed then we go Dutch and get to have a night out on the town. We send
each other taunting messages (in good fun of course) and words of
encouragement when needed. It has proved to be a great way for me to stay
focused.
Setting stakes is easily one of the best ways to keep you committed. The single
act of setting a real stake shows a level of commitment most people don’t make.
*Note: One of the many benefits of having real face-to-face friends that creates
the environment to succeed and help you reach goals.
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