Getting Intentional with Juliet Mendoza

How you show up changes everything.

There’s a very different energy between hoping something good happens and expecting it to.

Recently, DJ and producer Juliet Mendoza told us a story about walking into a nightclub with one clear intention: she was going to have an unforgettable night.

Not in a woo-woo manifestation way. In a full-body certainty way.

Before she even arrived, she decided she was going to dance, have fun, and meet some of her favorite people. So when she got there, she wasn’t standing against the wall wondering if she belonged in the room. She was completely in it.

In fact, she was so totally herself on the dance floor that Dave Chappelle spotted her from the stage. He was so drawn to her energy that he invited her up in front of the crowd. Then he looked at her and joked, “How would you dance if Mos Def was here?”

Then Mos Def walked out.

It’s easy to hear a story like this and roll your eyes at the idea of manifestation. But maybe it’s less magical than we make it sound. It could be that intention simply changes your relationship to possibility.

Because when you believe something good is available to you, you move differently. Your body language changes. You take more risks. You notice opportunities you may have otherwise missed. And other people feel it, too.

Psychologists call this the expectancy effect: our beliefs subtly shape our behavior in ways that influence outcomes. It’s why visualization works for athletes and why confidence changes the way people respond to us socially and professionally.

What we expect affects how we participate.

That’s why there’s such a massive difference between “I hope this goes well” and “I’m excited to see what happens.” One feels hesitant. The other feels alive.

Of course, intention alone doesn’t change your life. You still have to show up. But the point is that clear intention changes the version of you that arrives in the room. And rooms respond differently to people who already believe they belong there.

So this week, try it. Walk into the date expecting connection. Go into the meeting believing you have something valuable to say. Enter the party assuming you’re allowed to take up space there. Audition for the role. Send the email. Introduce yourself first.

Not because you can control the outcome, but because the real power of intention is that it allows you to participate more fully in your life. And doesn’t that sound like a lot more fun than standing outside of it hoping something good might finally happen to you?

It sure does to us.