Ever wonder why sometimes it´s so difficult to reach some of your goals? You try and try but still you just can´t reach the finish line?

That´s why we came up with a solution that helps motivate people to achieve their goals.

stickK helps you achieve your personal goals through "Commitment Contracts."

After signing up with stickK, you will be able to create a contract obliging you to achieve a specific goal within a particular time-frame. By creating a contract to meet one of your goals, you´re actually testing yourself and saying, "Hey, I can do this". Not only are you challenging yourself, you´re also putting your reputation at stake.

Read on, there´s more . . .

At stickK we love a challenge, so we decided to make things a little more interesting.

We thought . . .

"Wouldn´t it be great to put money on the line to make sure the contract was met?"

Well that´s exactly what you can do with stickK. Now, you can make a financial contract to give yourself an added incentive to reach your goals.

If you succeed, you don´t pay anything (and you´re much happier than before, aren´t you?)

Just in case you didn´t make it, you have the option of forfeiting your money to a person of your choice, a charity, an anti-charity or even that neighbor who keeps stealing your newspaper (I guess you really should have met your goal).

And guess what, stickK is absolutely FREE!

stickK was founded by Dean Karlan, an Economics professor at Yale University, Ian Ayres, a Law professor at Yale University and Jordan Goldberg, a student from Yale School of Management.

Click here to learn more about each of them.

This is where it gets a little serious . . .

Think about it, for years you´ve made "deals" with yourself and others to complete chores or fulfill your goals. You made your dad pay you a few bucks to clean the yard and you just had to buy that great dress after losing four pounds.

Dean Karlan and Ian Ayres have carried out rigorous research in this area and have also conducted various scientific evaluations showing the effectiveness of Commitment Contracts.

The answer to this is, "social psychology."

Let´s say you want to clean out your attic and to make sure you do it, you promise to pay a friend twenty bucks if you don´t.

If you fail, you might renege on your promise on paying your friend. And since friends are supposed to be understanding, they might let you off the hook, but this doesn´t get you anywhere does it?

Now, here at stickK, we would love to be your friend, but we would love even more to see you achieve your goals. So if you make a contract with us we won´t let you renege and we´ll definitely hold you to it.

The sense of urgency created due to the time sensitive nature of a stickK Commitment Contract and the potential stakes associated with them, will make sure that you achieve your goals.

stickK also offers a support network feature to help you work towards your goals, which is of course better than slugging it out alone. Why not let your friends encourage you during your contract? To learn more about how your friends can support you in your goals,click here to view how the Support Network and Communities work.

No way! stickK does not charge users any fees. (Wouldnt we have loved to though?)

Ads. We make money through ad sales.

Of course! We have many users outside of the United States.

Simple, just like the word "stickk";.

It's about time you asked. The letter "K" is the shorthand symbol for "contract" used in legal writing. Since we offer Commitment Contracts we felt it appropriate to add that extra "K" in our name.

Not at all. It´s as easy as one, two and three. To see how simple it is, just take the stickK Tour.

Simply click on the Register button on the Home Page and follow the instructions.

Sorry, but no. The contract you create is binding and you cannot amend it. You know yourself best. Make a commitment you know you´ll have the ability to fulfill.

Let´s say, for example, you commit to finishing your Master´s thesis by March 1st. From the time of contract creation till March 1st, you can work on the thesis at any pace you like. At the time of your deadline, you file a report. If you completed the thesis on time, you report that you succeeded. If you did not, you report that you failed.

Let´s say for example, you commit to writing five pages of your Master´s thesis every week, for a period of 20 weeks. At the end of each week, you file a report. If you wrote the five pages, you report success. If you didn´t, you report failure. For an ongoing commitment, you select the time frame of your choice, to a maximum contract duration of 52 weeks.

Often, the nature of your goal automatically dictates the commitment category, because the goal can be accomplished only one way. Other goals can be pursued either way, so choose whichever method you think will work best for you. (If you´re a procrastinator, opt for ongoing!)

Please note that you cannot choose the one-shot category if your goal is weight loss. (So forget crash-dieting right before the deadline!) This goal is an ongoing commitment only, because the slow and gradual approach is the safest way to lose weight.

A Referee is an individual or an organization that you select to monitor the progress of your Commitment Contract. The Referee can be anyone you select, a friend, your spouse or even your boss. Every time you file a report, your Referee receives an email notification asking for confirmation of the report´s accuracy. Your Referee may choose to take your word for it, or ask you for proof that you did indeed keep your commitment.

Simple, you just tell us and we´ll take your word for it.

If you have a Referee then they need to submit a verification report on stickK. If they forget or aren´t able to, we´ll take your word for it.

Each report must be submitted on the due date. In the event that you miss this deadline, you will have a 48 hour grace period to report. For example, if a report is due on January 22, you must submit a report by midnight on January 24.

It means you trust yourself to stay on task and be honest in your reporting. You know yourself best. Don't choose this option if you think you might be tempted to fudge the truth!

Then we record a failure.

Keep in mind, that by designating this person as a Referee, you authorized him or her to have the final word on whether or not you accomplished your goal.

We have partnered with NicCheck to offer a free NicCheck test strip to users who create a Quit Smoking contract with a Referee. NicCheck provides a measurement of a person´s nicotine consumption.

If you would like to participate in this free give-away, please send an email to NicCheck@stickK.com with your full name, address, and the contract number of your Quit Smoking commitment.

This is the monetary amount that you are willing to put at stake for your future success or failure in a Commitment Contract. In other words, the value you give to your reputation plus the contents of your wallet.

This is where you decide how much, and who will get the money if you are unable to keep your commitment.

The recipient of stake is the person or organization that will get the money if you are unable to keep your commitment

It´s completely up to you.

For charities and anti-charities, we pool all of the forfeited money and donate the total amount, minus all transaction fees incurred, to our supported charities at the end of each financial quarter.

If you want to select an Anti-Charity, just go through the list we have provided you and select anyone from it.

Never says "never." Let´s imagine you can´t stop eating candy bars. If you commit to eating less than three candy bars a week and decide to penalize yourself $100 every time you go over. Essentially, that fourth candy bar costs you an extra $100. Would you still buy it? If so, you may need to increase your stakes!

This is why we let you make financial contracts - to give you an extra incentive to think about. Everyone has a price. What´s yours?

Any of the following results in an unsuccessful contract:

If this happens then your Commitment Contract is marked as unsuccessful on your commitment contract details page

Your supporters and recipient of stakes (only friends or foes, but no charities) receive an email notifying them of your result.

Wouldn't it just kill you to hand over your hard-earned money to someone you can´t stand? That's some pretty strong incentive to achieve your goal now isn´t it?

How much you got? (Just kidding)

But seriously, go ahead and choose whatever amount you want, it´s completely up to you.

We´re not entirely sure. Rumor has it that the chicken was walking because it had a Commitment Contract to get more exercise. However, stickK advises its users not to exercise near busy intersections.

No. To minimize our bookkeeping and legal costs, and to prevent you from benefiting financially from your unsuccessful contract, we do not provide tax receipts.

Look at the flip side, stickK does not claim the charitable deduction either.

In order to reduce the number of transaction fees incurred, stickK accumulates the forfeited stakes and makes the charitable donations at the end of each quarter.

We pool all of the forfeited money and donate a portion of the total amount to our supported charities on a regular basis.

We´ve compiled a list of charities from which we randomly select one or more recipients:

• American Red Cross
• CARE
• Doctors without Borders
• Feed the Children
• Freedom from Hunger
• Multiple Sclerosis Society
• UNICEF
• United Way

stickK has not formed a partnership or any other relationship with any of these charities. We have merely identified them as potential recipients of unsolicited donations. As a result, the listing of a charity should not be interpreted as an endorsement of stickK by that charity.

The remaining amount will be dedicated towards a stickK user sponsored event. Since this money belongs to you, we thought why not let you decide what to do with it by holding an online vote. This user sponsored event will be hosted by the charity of your choice. The event can be anything, from building homes for disaster victims to buying rain forest land in South America. You get to choose.

An Anti-charity is any organization that you strongly oppose or which promotes values that are most contrary to your own.

Remember we said we love to make things interesting?

The purpose of an Anti-charity is to give you an added incentive to achieve your goal. By designating an organization that you oppose as your recipient of stakes, you might be more inclined to meet your goals. After all, if you´re a Yale University graduate, wouldn´t you just hate it if the money you lose for not successfully completing your contract goes to Harvard University?

We currently offer the following organizations as Anti-charities:

• Americans United for Life
• NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation
• Nature Conservancy
• The National Center for Public Policy Research
• Freedom to Marry
• Institute for Marriage and Public Policy
• Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence
• NRA Foundation
• George W. Bush Presidential Library
• William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library

stickK has not formed a partnership or any other relationship with any of these charities. We have merely identified them as potential recipients of unsolicited donations. As a result, the listing of a charity should not be interpreted as an endorsement of stickK by that charity.

Once you create a Commitment Contract, you can designate other users and friends as "Supporters." Supporters are able to track your progress and post comments in your Commitment Journal. They also receive notification emails from us regularly on the progress you´ve been making.

By the way, you can create several Commitment Contracts, each with its own Supporters and Commitment Journal. This is a great way to get your friends to help you through your Commitment Contract.

There are many ways to get together with your friends on stickK. Why not join a stickK community to meet friends and make new ones. You can meet people with similar goals, exchange pointers and find out how other users are meeting their goals.

Some of stickK communities are lose weight, quit smoking and exercise regularly

Well, voting records are publicly accessible to avoid voter fraud and to allow groups to organize effectively on behalf of issues or candidates.

For all you information buffs out there, its origins are in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution - protecting the Freedom of Assembly. By requiring governments to provide this information to the public, the government cannot stop groups from organizing.

This happens on rare occasions, and if it does, we will provide an affidavit for you to tell us that you did in fact vote.

The voter records are accurate, but not fool-proof. If you believe that the records are incorrect, we will provide an affidavit for you to tell us that you did in fact vote.

No! The candidate you vote for is confidential. State and local governments only release data on whether someone votes, not how they voted.

Interested in saving your company money through increased worker productivity? We offer organizations their own customized portal, allowing employees to create work-related commitment contracts. For example, meet sales goals for the month.

Save on health costs or reduce absenteeism by encouraging your employees to make a health related or work related Commitment Contract. We can work with your organization directly to create added incentives for your employees to fulfill the terms of their contracts.

Please contact us for more information on corporate accounts

Yes. A contract requires consideration from both parties to a contract; consideration can be a promise to do or give something of value. Here, you promise a number of things in a Commitment Contract (e.g. to stickK to your goal and to make progress reports) and stickK makes promises to you (e.g. to provide tools to assist you in achieving your goal and to send your money to charity if you fail).

Send us an email and we´ll be sure to consider it!

Immediately after creating your Profile and Commitment Contracts, you will have the ability to set privacy settings for the visibility of your profile and commitment to others. For details, check out our privacy policy.

Helena. Answer courtesy of Matthew Rabin.