“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao-tsu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

A few weeks ago, I was having a heart to heart with a CEO needs to get out his office more often. He wants to become an ambassador for his company. More accurately, he knows he needs to.

Like many bosses, he would rather stab himself repeatedly in the thigh with a sharp pencil than give a speech or interview to a reporter. This is an accomplished executive who has led the transformation of the company, bringing an innovative new product to market, growing the customer base, cutting costs and improving profitability. His credibility with employees and the board is rock solid. It’s just that the company is kind of a best kept secret. The story needs to be told. This is a great time to do it.

The real issue isn’t time, because as CEO, he determines how he spends his time. The issue is mindset. He’s used to organizing his calendar one way; this change requires a significant modification in behavior and priorities. He knows he needs to do it and wants a coach to make it happen. ”I need someone to hold me accountable for getting there,” he says.

Changing your mindset isn’t like changing your shirt. It requires a goal, commitment and a plan. It isn’t enough to have the intention; you have to put these activities on your calendar every day. If your schedule is filled with executive team and employee meetings, it isn’t going to happen. Once you set the intention, you must schedule the intention and then honor the intention. It won’t be comfortable at first. It isn’t a familiar routine. As my client observed, “This will be a significant change in the way I spend my time.”

Changing a mindset is a little like standing at the foot of a mountain looking up and wondering, “How the hell am I supposed to get all the way up there?” It seems insurmountable. You can either turn back and head home or you can commit. That means you draw up a plan, buy some gear and hire a crew to go with you. You break down this overwhelming goal into doable tasks. These are the steps that keep you from becoming paralyzed, staring at the mountain and saying, “It looks awful cold up there.”

If you’re having trouble breaking down a big goal into smaller tasks, one approach is to imagine you’re already there. Some of you who read my blog regularly know I suggested this ”looking back” exercise right after the New Year. The idea is to imagine it’s 2012, just about two years from now. You’re already up at the top of the mountain. How did you get all the way up there?

When I posed the question to the CEO, he said, ”Well, I guess I started by deciding that I was going to go.”

“Good start,” I said.

“I cleared my calendar several months out and starting scheduling time with the coach and the marketing team,” he said.

“What else?” I asked.

“They booked me to speak at several events this year, so I had deadlines on my calendar,” he continued.

And so on.

By imagining that you have already achieved a goal it becomes so much clearer what you really need to do to succeed. Instead of seeing obstacles, you see results, and the obstacles melt away. Once you “know” what “worked” you feel motivated.

Our CEO has started working on what I like to call a ”Speech in a Drawer” (see Speak Like a CEO, Secrets to Commanding Attention and Getting Results). We set a date by which the first draft will be finished for rehearsal. Coaching dates are already on the calendar to write and develop stories that highlight his company’s accomplishments and lessons learned along the way. He’s already started to relax; it will get easier as we go. He’s already thinking, “Okay, I can do this.” If you have a copy of Speak Like a CEO, refer to Chapter 16, pages 183-189 for five sample coaching plans you can implement on your own.

As you check off tasks you start to feel differently. Not only are you achieving important goals; you are transforming your self image. By starting with the end game belief (not just a far off goal) and scheduling activities you already know “worked,” you are able to identify important milestones, and that in turn energizes you and helps you commit to the process.

Recently I listened to In Search of Excellence guru Tom Peters describing his drive from a home in Tinmouth VT to his other home, in Boston.

Obviously he is well-versed when it comes to imagining goals and milestones. Peters gets out of bed and leaves between 3:15 and 3:30 a.m. because he really hates traffic. (Having spent 9 years in television getting up at the same hour I can tell you that is a brutal hour to drag yourself out of bed but it is heaven to drive in Boston at that hour.)

What gets him through the trip is marking the milestones. Peters knows precisely what to look for at each stage of the trip. A house 17 miles from his Vermont house is 10% of the way; a restaurant where he can get a cup of coffee is a quarter of the way to Boston. By anticipating and marking the milestones with visuals, he is able to stay awake and engaged.

Think about what you’re trying to accomplish right now. What are the milestones? How will you see them? What will mark your arrival? The best way to do it is to put them on your calendar. It’s a visual checklist. Seeing things; knowing they’re just around the corner - well, that’s highly motivating.