You’ve set goals before.
And watched them die a slow death.
You’re not alone. 92% of people fail to achieve their New Year’s resolutions. Most abandon them within weeks.
I used to be that person. Constantly setting ambitious targets, rarely hitting them, always wondering why.
Then I discovered something that changed everything.
Goal-setting isn’t about the goals. It’s about the systems.
We’ve been taught to focus on the destination when we should be designing the path.
I spent years chasing targets that looked good on paper but lacked the infrastructure to make them reality.
Most of them remained dreams.
They were wishes disguised as goals—floating in the ether of “someday” rather than anchored in the concrete of “today.”
The breakthrough came when I stopped obsessing over outcomes and started building systems that made those outcomes inevitable.
Your relationship with goals determines your relationship with your future self.
Forget the outdated goal-setting frameworks you’ve been fed.
SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) have their place. But they’re the beginning, not the end.
In 2025, the most effective approach combines three elements most “success gurus” never talk about:
This isn’t about creating a perfect list of targets.
It’s about designing a framework that pulls you toward your vision rather than pushing you with willpower.
Let me show you how.
After years of experimentation and countless failures, I’ve developed a system that has allowed me to:
Here’s how it works.
You can’t hit a target you can’t see.
Most people set goals based on societal expectations rather than personal truth. They chase what they think they should want rather than what truly matters to them.
Start with a vision excavation.
Ask yourself these questions:
Write your answers without filtering. Be brutally honest.
When I first did this, I realized I was chasing success in areas that didn’t align with my authentic self. I was building someone else’s dream.
Once you have clarity, distill your vision into a single paragraph that captures:
This simple exercise creates the north star necessary for meaningful goal-setting.
Now that you know where you’re headed, it’s time to design the framework that will get you there.
Most goal systems fail because they focus exclusively on outcomes while ignoring the infrastructure needed to achieve them.
Your goal architecture should be built around three personal factors:
Here’s how to build your personalized goal architecture:
Step 1: Define your domains.
These are the key areas of life that matter most to your vision.
For me, they are:
Everything else is secondary.
Step 2: Assess your current reality.
For each domain, rate your current position on a scale of 1-10.
Be honest. This isn’t about judgment—it’s about establishing a baseline.
When I first did this, my Physical Sovereignty score was a 4. I was inconsistent with training, mediocre with nutrition, and neglecting recovery.
Acknowledging this was uncomfortable but necessary.
Step 3: Set your 12-month targets.
For each domain, define what success looks like 12 months from now.
Make these targets specific and measurable, but don’t obsess over precision.
My Physical Sovereignty target was: “Train 5x weekly with perfect consistency, maintain 12% body fat, sleep 7+ hours nightly, and perform a 2x bodyweight deadlift.”
Step 4: Implement the 12-Week Year system.
Annual goals are too distant to create urgency. Monthly goals are too short to create meaningful change.
The 12-Week Year framework creates the perfect balance of urgency and impact.
Break your annual targets into 12-week sprints. For each sprint, set 1-3 specific objectives per domain that move you toward your annual targets.
My first 12-week sprint for Physical Sovereignty included:
This focused approach creates momentum through concentrated effort rather than scattered attention.
Goal achievement isn’t about perfect planning.
It’s about developing the systems and habits that make progress inevitable.
Here are the four practices that transformed my relationship with goals:
Practice 1: The Weekly Review & Reset.
Every Sunday, spend 30 minutes reviewing your progress and planning your week.
Ask yourself:
This creates a feedback loop that continuously refines your approach.
I’ve never missed a weekly review in three years. It’s the cornerstone of my goal achievement system.
Practice 2: Daily Minimum Viable Actions.
For each goal, define the smallest action that counts as progress.
These Minimum Viable Actions (MVAs) are your non-negotiables—the things you do regardless of motivation, time constraints, or circumstances.
My MVAs for Physical Sovereignty:
On my worst days, I still complete my MVAs. This maintains momentum and prevents the “all or nothing” mindset that derails most goal systems.
Practice 3: Environment Design.
Your environment will either facilitate your goals or sabotage them.
Design your physical and digital spaces to make the right actions easier and the wrong actions harder.
For Physical Sovereignty, I:
These simple environmental tweaks reduced the friction between intention and action.
Practice 4: The Gap vs. The Gain.
Most people live in “the gap”—constantly measuring themselves against an ideal future state.
This creates perpetual dissatisfaction with their progress.
Instead, practice “gain thinking”—measuring backward from where you are now to where you started.
At the end of each week, don’t focus on how far you still have to go.
Focus on the progress you’ve made.
This mindset shift transforms goal pursuit from a source of stress to a source of satisfaction.
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) have transformed how the world’s most innovative companies approach goals.
Here’s how to adapt this powerful framework for personal use:
Objectives are qualitative, ambitious statements of what you want to achieve.
Key Results are quantitative measures that tell you whether you’ve achieved your objective.
For example:
Objective: Achieve physical sovereignty through consistent training and nutrition.
Key Results:
The power of OKRs lies in their clarity and measurability. There’s no ambiguity about whether you’ve succeeded.
I review my OKRs weekly and score them on a scale of 0-1.0 at the end of each quarter.
A score of 0.7-0.8 is ideal—it means your objectives were ambitious enough to stretch you.
While SMART goals have their place, they can sometimes limit your thinking and ambition.
Consider complementing them with what I call “Anti-SMART” goals:
My Anti-SMART goal for Creative Output is: “Develop a distinctive voice that resonates deeply with those seeking sovereignty and self-mastery.”
This isn’t easily measured, but it guides my creative decisions daily.
True goal mastery requires more than techniques and frameworks.
It demands a fundamental shift in how you view achievement itself.
Most people see goals as destinations to reach.
The sovereign individual sees goals as vehicles for becoming.
Goals aren’t something you achieve—they’re something you grow into.
When you make this shift, goal-setting becomes less about checking boxes and more about evolution.
Less about external validation and more about internal alignment.
Less about having and more about being.
Five years ago, I was setting goals the way most people do—focusing on outcomes without building systems.
I’d write down ambitious targets, get excited for a week or two, then watch my motivation fade as life got in the way.
My breakthrough came during a period of reflection after a particularly painful failure.
I realized I’d been approaching goals backward—starting with what I wanted to achieve rather than who I needed to become.
I rebuilt my entire goal system around identity and systems rather than outcomes.
Within 90 days, I had made more progress than in the previous year.
Within 12 months, I had achieved goals that previously seemed years away.
The paradox of goal-setting is that focusing less on the goal and more on the system produces exponentially better results.
One of the most powerful frameworks I’ve discovered is what I call BSQ:
This creates a nested hierarchy that connects your daily actions to your long-term vision.
Each morning, I review my BSQ framework to ensure alignment across all time horizons.
My current Big goal is building a seven-figure business that operates with minimal personal involvement.
My current Small goal is launching a new course that serves 1,000 students.
My Quick goals for today include writing this article, recording two videos, and reviewing our marketing analytics.
This framework ensures I never lose sight of the big picture while remaining focused on immediate action.
Ready to transform your relationship with goals?
Here’s your 7-day challenge:
Day 1: Conduct your vision excavation Answer the five questions honestly and draft your vision paragraph.
Day 2: Define your domains Identify the 3-5 areas of life most critical to your vision.
Day 3: Assess your current reality Rate yourself honestly in each domain and identify gaps.
Day 4: Set your 12-month targets Create specific, measurable targets for each domain.
Day 5: Plan your first 12-week sprint Break down your annual targets into 12-week objectives.
Day 6: Define your MVAs Identify the minimum viable actions for each objective.
Day 7: Conduct your first weekly review Establish the habit that will sustain your goal system.
After seven days, you’ll experience a fundamental shift in how you relate to goals.
You’ll move from chasing outcomes to building systems that make those outcomes inevitable.
Goal-setting isn’t about creating a perfect list of targets.
It’s about designing a framework that aligns your daily actions with your highest vision.
When you master goals, you master your future.
The system I’ve shared isn’t just about achieving more.
It’s about becoming the person capable of achieving what matters most to you.
A person who builds systems rather than chasing outcomes.
The choice is yours.
Will you continue to set goals that fade into the background of your busy life?
Or will you build a system that transforms who you are and what you’re capable of achieving?
Your future self is waiting for your decision.
Choose wisely.