Goals or no goals? Which do you prefer?

Goals!

Also to-do lists,

Planners (with actual plans),

Trackers,

Project/time management,

And getting things done.

Things that make money.

He who fails to plan, plans to fail (Benjamin Franklin said that)

"Shall we say sumthin'?"

"Dunno, Sweetie. Your ask."

&soesy ...

Gotta figure evry Noo Yeah less noower than the las' wan showed.

Bcs that is like histry.

(Remembah how you THOUGHT an' FEEYILED an' kinda EXISTED on Jan 1 2024? **** that Forevahgone Noplace Cunnyhole of Oblivyawn!)

Hey, but let's not git MURROSE ' bout whatevah.

I believe Noo Yeah kissed evrywan sweet durrect to their fayisse kinda yesterday.

She meant it; she was fresh an' all.

Jus' gotta kiss her back deesint an' likely evrythin' gonna be OK.

Gotta ask whethah 2025 is dun & dustid -- or o'er pense eazin'.

"Shall we say sumthin'?"

"Dunno, Sweetie. Your ask."

Works till'n the gals show up, I guess.

I think goals are important.

But, I think what is more important is the systems you have in place.

Yes, fortune 500 companies have goals...but they know those goals are dependent on their systems. In other words, they already have proven systems in place to reach those goals.

I read a book a few years ago 'Atomic Habits'.

As was mentioned in the book:

Winners and losers can have the same goals. A goal doesn't define you.

The difference between those who succeed and those who don't isn't the goal itself, but the systems they have in place to achieve it. For example, two teams can both have the goal of winning a championship, but the team with better practice routines, coaching, and player development is more likely to win.

Goals are only temporary changes.

Achieving a goal is just a momentary change. If you achieve your goal but don't change the underlying systems that led to your previous behavior, you'll likely revert to your old habits once the goal is reached.

You can accomplish a goal of losing 50 pounds.

But, you can also gain it all back if your systems aren't conducive to keeping it off.

A concept in the book was: If you completely ignored your goals and focused only on your system, would you still succeed? For example, if you were a basketball coach and you ignored your goal to win a championship and focused only on what your team does at practice each day, would you still get results?

The goal in any sport is to finish with the best score, but it would be ridiculous to spend the whole game staring at the scoreboard. The only way to actually win is to get better each day. In the words of three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Walsh, "The score takes care of itself." The same is true for other areas of life. If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.

Are goals completely useless? Of course not. Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress. A handful of problems arise when you spend too much time thinking about your goals and not enough time designing your systems.

Every Olympian wants to win a gold medal. Every candidate wants to get the job. And if successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers. It wasn't the goal of winning the Tour de France that propelled the British Cyclists to the top of the sport. Presumably, they had wanted to win the race every year before--just like every other professional team. The goal had always been there. It was only when they implemented a system of continuous small improvements that they achieved a different outcome.

Imagine you have a messy room and you set a goal to clean it. If you summon the energy to tidy up, then you will have a clean room--for now. But if you maintain the same sloppy, pack-rat habits that led to a messy room in the first place, soon you'll be looking at a new pile of clutter and hoping for another burst of motivation. You're left chasing the same outcome because you never changed the system behind it. You treated a symptom without addressing the cause.

Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment. That's the counterintuitive thing about improvement. We think we need to change our results, but the results are not the problem. What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results. When you solve problems at the results level, you only solve them temporarily. In order to improve for good, you need to solve problems at the systems level. Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.

The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It's not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.

So anyway, it's early and I'm rambling on.

What I'm trying to say is if you set a goal to make $50,000.00 this year, but your systems aren't there to do it, you really don't have a clear goal.

Set goals that your systems can achieve...or work on changing your systems so you can set clear goals.

@ Gordon

I think 'systems' is a complicated answer.

When I get more time I'll sit down and try and give my take on them.

I do think 'newbies' in general probably have some bad habits and are in the situation where they want to make money fast.

Not all of them...but I would guess most.

And, usually, the habits they have, and the systems they have to make money didn't work out so well.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to make money...or wanting to make it quickly...

but, it's like I mentioned before about going on a diet. You may lose the weight but unless you change your habits you'll gain it all back.

Anyway, hope your new year is off to a good start.

probaly just mini goals to work towards each and every day, and for long term goals i have more of a stradegy and sometimes employ freelancers and assitants to help achieve more complex goals

i dont like to set large goals, just mini goals for the month, and usually i find them more acheivable and then move onto the next mini goal that really helps me succedd and i find i get there in the end

Gotta have a plan and budget before setting goals. "Plan your work, work your plan.

Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

I prefer to set goals regarding importance and urgency and generate results (profits). Administrative tasks can always wait.

The difference between a goal and a wish = you make a plan to achieve a goal.

Wish - "I want to make money online."

Goal - "Set up a sales funnel and analytics."

The difference between a plan and a daydream = a plan gets implemented.

Goals are great. Plans that get implemented have a much better chance of success.

Wild Man

Got an email today about goals so I thought I would share it:

These 20 reframes are a hard reset. They're not motivational posters or platitudes to whisper in the mirror. They're more like a truth serum mixed with a slap in the face.

See, the human brain is a stubborn little machine. It clings to outdated software -- beliefs, habits, excuses -- and refuses to install updates, even when they're obvious. That's why most people stay stuck. They're running Windows 95 in a ChatGPT world.

These ideas will force you to rethink what you want, how you're going to get it, and what's been holding you back. Some of them will sting, but they'll stick...

1. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. And oldie, but goodie.

2. You don't have "dreams," you have "goals." Dreams are for sleep.

3. Narrow goals win. If you say you are looking for everything, you will probably find nothing.

4. Don't just write down what you want. Write down what you are willing to give up to get what you want.

5. Similarly, try skipping goal-setting and set sacrifices instead. That is often the missing piece. Every one of your goals has a price.

6. "Many problems can't be solved forward" -Charlie Munger. Solving problems should often start by thinking backward -- with what you want to avoid rather than what you want to achieve.

7. What we call stress is often just a lack of prioritization and action.

8. If an ask doesn't hit one of your goals (or especially if it hits an anti-goal), it's a no. Like Steve Jobs said, "Innovation is saying 'no' to 1000 things."

9. Success is contagious. Failure is contagious. So is trying. Choose your surroundings carefully.

10. No one is coming to save you. You want a better life, go build it.

11. Mental masturbation: possibly the single biggest reason we see people stay stuck. You talk about your goals, you think about your goals, you visualize your goals... Instead, just do the work.

12. You can't be upset at the results you're not getting from the actions you're not taking.

13. People-pleasing and high levels of success often mix like water and oil.

14. To hit big goals, average must be in your rearview.

15. Most highly successful people we know are not balanced. Maybe it doesn't have to be so, but it usually is.

16. Want to find a "high value" partner? Become a high-value partner.

17. Most financially successful people we've met aren't that smart. They move fast, they take smart risks, and they work really hard. That's it.

18. Your friends will determine your weight, bank account, happiness, and success more than you want to know.

19. Stop obsessing on those just ahead of you. Start studying those 10 years ahead, and shorten the distance.

20. The most surefire way to hit goals: You say you will do a thing, and then you actually do the thing. Our guess is that 90% do not do this. Will you be the 10% this year?

Goals and LIVE BY THE LIST.


No, not just my email list but I swear by that too.


I mean my to do list.



I put a star next to every task that must be done today.


I don't sleep until the starred list is done.