Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have positive and exciting things happen to them while others don’t? There are many things that influence outcomes for people, but I believe there is one common attribute for people who achieve their goals. They let others know what they are.

As you would know from my previous posts, in May I attended a conference in New York. It was the 50^th anniversary of the International Women’s Forum and every year they have a Hall of Fame. This year one of the inductees was Anna Wintour.

For those that don’t know Anna, she is the global Editorial Director of Vogue and the inspiration for the movie, The Devil Wears Prada.

Meeting Anna Wintour

One of my colleagues Sally Curtain was very excited about this. Sally is one of the most fashionable people I know. She could walk out in a hessian bag and still look amazing.

We arrived a few days before the conference and Sally told me and a few others that her goal for the conference was to meet Anna Wintour and get a photo with her. The slight problem was that we didn’t know if she was going to be at the conference to accept her award.

Sally kept mentioning it over the next few days so other people became aware of her goal. I told Sally that if it happened, I would take photos for her.

So, the night of the gala dinner arrived. We were all taking our seats when one of our colleagues said,

“OMG Anna Wintour is here.”

I immediately ran to Sally and said,

“The eagle has landed!”

Sally looked over to see Anna just about to take her seat. She jumped into action, threw me her phone and said,

“Right, we’re on.”

Out of pure adrenalin/excitement Sally made a beeline to Anna which meant she was the first person to approach her. I made a beeline to the opposite side of the table and started taking photos.

Sally and Anna spoke for about a minute. Photos were taken. Life goals achieved. Mission accomplished!

Talk About Your Goals

Sally, who was beside herself, shared with everyone afterwards that she and her new BFF had hit it off. And that upon introduction/interruption, Anna lived up to her reputation and rather than saying ‘Hello’, paid Sally the ultimate compliment of looking her up and down….as only Anna Wintour can! (This could be a scene from the movie people!). Under pressure, and without having thought about what she’d say to Anna if she got to meet her, Sally made the rookie mistake of asking Anna if she liked her dress. Rather than waiting for Anna’s response she gathered herself and went on to promote the TAFE she leads. She talked about their amazing sustainable fashion hub and program in Cremorne Victoria. She finished by inviting Anna over for a visit!

If Sally had not made her goals known, if she had not put it out there and told people about wanting to meet Anna, then it may not have happened. In the now-or-never moment, those around Sally helped her pluck up the courage to actually do it.

What this reinforced for me is that if you want something and want it badly, you have to tell people about it. If you are keeping your goals to yourself, just in case they don’t come true… guess what? They probably won’t.