An Adventurer's Guide to Goals

Hey Adventurer, 

Welcome back to The Wild Goose Chase — and happy 2024. 

For the past few weeks, my partner Gabi and I rode motorbikes through Northern Thailand… 

As someone who finds it hard to switch off, let me tell you… it was a really amazing few weeks. 

I love being on the bike, I love exploring little villages in Southeast Asia, I love sharing new experiences with Gabi…

Truly one of the things that makes me happiest. 

Plus I managed to actually disconnect (again, very hard for me)... 

And now I’m back and ready for a phenomenal 2024!

Whether you spent your holidays with a jam-packed party schedule, or enjoyed some quiet time (thanks to the boundaries you set after the last newsletter…)

I hope you had a great holiday.

And I hope you’re ready for a brand new year stacked with opportunity. 

A few weeks back I wrote a newsletter about “starting” my new year in December vs January. 

5 years ago, in December 2018, I decided to quit alcohol, change careers, and start improving myself. 

Since then, December has been a time for reinvention.

A time to reflect on the past year… 

Release any burdens that are holding me back…

And reset for a new year by crafting and testing new goals. 

(You can read more about my Reflect/Release/Reset cycle here.)

If, like me, you decided to start your new year in December…

You hopefully have a clear vision now of what your goals are this year. 

You already know how you want to grow this year…. 

You already know who you want to become this year… 

Which is awesome. 

But I’m sure you’re thinking…“Great Goose, now what do I do?”

Well, dear reader, I’m glad you asked.

Now that you have: 

• an idea of what your goals are…

• clearer insights into what you truly want, and…

• data on what works and what doesn’t…

You can start to use this information and begin designing the life you’ve always wanted to live. 

Ready?

Lifestyle Design 101

Lifestyle Design is a philosophy that I live by, based on one critical concept: 

It’s entirely possible for you to consciously design, build, and enjoy a life based on your:

• Passions

• Interests

• Values and

• Goals

Instead of living your life according to the Status Quo.

You can carve out your own path. 

You can live life on your own terms.

You can create your dream life — and turn everything you’ve always wanted into reality...

Sounds pretty good, right?

It is… but it’s also hard. 

The good news?

You’ve already started the work.

By reflecting on the past year… 

Releasing what no longer serves you…

Resetting, figuring out, and testing new goals and dreams…

You’ve already started designing your dream life. 

Now, you just have to keep it up…

Here’s three practical steps to help you do just that:

Step 1: Write Out Your Goals

Despite what you think about visualising the goals you set for yourself… 

The best way to manifest them is to write. them. down.  

Go old-school with a pen and paper and physically write them out. 

But here’s the thing: you’re not just writing a grocery list of your goals. 

Things like: 

• I want to be a happy billionaire one day

• I’d like to live on the beach in Thailand

• I want to live a life full of adventure 

These aren’t goals… they’re wishes. 

Instead of writing down goals that reflect doubt and hesitation… 

You’re going to write them down confidently.

You’re going to write them as if you’ve already accomplished them. 

You’re going to tell the universe or God or whatever power you believe in exactly what you want (because these ways don't read between the lines.)

For example: 

I want to be a happy billionaire one day.

I am the world’s happiest billionaire. 

I’d like to live on the beach in Thailand. 

I am living (and working) on the beach in Thailand.

I want to live a life full of adventure.

I am living a life full of adventure. 

See the difference? 

Now, before you think, “It feels weird to write down things that I’m not.” 

Let me tell you two things. 

First…

Being uncomfortable is part of the deal.

If it feels weird, that means it’s working. 

(Plus I never said it would be easy, remember?)

Second…

There’s actual science behind writing your goals out like this. 

By reminding yourself every day of what you’re working towards, you train your reticular activating system (RAS) on what’s important to you.

How does it work? 

Well, the RAS connects your subconscious and conscious brain, filtering in or out information in your environment based on what it thinks is important for you to see.

The classic example here is if you decide you want a yellow car… suddenly you start seeing yellow cars everywhere, right? 

This is how the RAS works. 

You declare that you want something. 

You start to see more opportunities for it to happen. 

With more opportunities, you increase your likelihood that it will happen. 

So when you change your goal-setting language from “I want” to “I am”...

Your RAS starts to filter in more opportunities related to your goal, then your conscious mind can lead you from there. 

So, now that you have your goals on paper…

Written as if you’ve already accomplished them… 

We amplify the RAS by reminding yourself of your goals on a daily basis. 

Take that piece of paper and stick it somewhere you will see it everyday. 

On your nightstand, your bathroom mirror… whatever works for you. 

Just make sure it’s “in your face.” 

This is a manifestation tactic that keeps your goals and dream lifestyle at the forefront of your conscious mind. 

It’s the best way to make sure you never lose sight of what you’re working towards.

And it reminds you that your goals are important… because they are.

To supercharge this even further…

(For all my analytic readers, you’ll probably want to fight me on this, but hear me out…)

As you’re reading through your goals everyday… 

Take a moment to feel what it would be like to have achieved your goal. 

Read over it, close your eyes, and feel as though it has already happened. 

There’s a WHOLE ‘nother newsletter behind why this works… 

But it works for me. 

And pretty soon, you’ll see that it works for you too.

Step 2: Prototyping

Cool, so that was probably pretty ‘woo’ for some of you...

Let’s get practical for a minute and talk about the scientific method.

It’s a careful, calculated way that scientists test their questions and assumptions. 

There are 5 steps to the scientific method:

1. Decide on a question or assumption to test

2. Make predictions about the outcome

3. Gather data and evidence 

4. Analyse the information

5. Draw your conclusions 

This systematic method of testing assumptions is incredibly helpful for Lifestyle Design. 

You pick one of your goals…

You predict you’ll enjoy it, so you give it a try…

You evaluate how you feel at the end of the experiment…

And then you decide whether it’s worth keeping, or whether you should let it go. 

This “scientific method” of Lifestyle Design is called prototyping.

Prototyping is how you figure out if a goal is worth pursuing or not…

In essence, it’s simply “give it a go!”

Here’s what that looks like in practice: 

First, pick one of your goals. 

Pick one that’s reversible, inexpensive, and easy to start — especially if this is the first experiment.

Let’s use running a marathon as an example. 

“I have completed my first marathon”

Second, think about what you need to do to achieve that goal. 

You’ll likely have to commit to regular exercise if you want to finish a marathon, right?

So, that’s the first experiment. 

Start going to the gym once a week and see how you like it. 

If it passes the experiment, try increasing that to two days a week, then three, then four. 

And evaluate again. 

Is it sustainable?

Is it enjoyable? 

Is running a marathon a realistic goal for you?

It’s worth mentioning here that, particularly with fitness goals, you probably won’t ‘feel good’ while you’re doing it… 

In fact, depending on when you last exercised, you’ll probably feel pretty terrible…

The point here is not to figure out if it feels good, but if — underneath it all — you feel that committing to this behaviour on a regular basis is ‘worth it’. 

If doing these things consistently, with discipline, is worth the effort to achieve your goal. 

That’s it. 

By conducting this experiment, you’ll have realised 1 of 3 things:

1. You love running and want to keep working towards the marathon.

2. You just like the exercise of running, ditch the marathon, and adjust your goal accordingly.

3. Turns out you hate all of it, and running is not something you actually want to do.

And all of these are GREAT realisations. 

They’re all helpful data points in your Lifestyle Design journey. 

And super helpful to know NOW - instead of wasting your time chasing something that, turns out, you don’t even want.

That’s the point of doing this experimentation.

The reason you prototype is ultimately to be able to answer:

“If this was the journey I had to go on to achieve my outcome, is it worth it?”

If your experiment reveals that the effort involved in working towards your goal is worth it… 

Then it’s in line with your dream lifestyle and your values (and you should keep working at it.) 

If your experiment reveals that it’s not worth it…

Then it’s not in line with your dream lifestyle or your values, and you should let it go. 

When you know what works for you, the road ahead becomes clear.

Step 3: Accountability 

No matter how committed you are to your goals…

It’s easy to fall off the bandwagon. 

The days get busier…

Your weeks get crazier…

You start to fall off track…

Then you blink. 

It’s December 2024. 

A whole year has passed, and you’ve got nothing to show for the goals you set last year. 

I get it.

We’ve all been there. 

That's why accountability is so important.

Accountability isn’t as simple as writing down your goals…

Because there’s no “right” way to hold yourself accountable. 

You decide how to hold yourself accountable based on your values. 

For me, my favourite accountability method is community. 

When you surround yourself with people who are also working on self-development…

You can’t help but hold each other accountable.

Sure, your goals are your goals. 

But that doesn’t mean you have to chase them on your own. 

Whether your community is a group of business owners…

An entrepreneurial friend…

Or a partner in life (and business...)

Invite them into your Lifestyle Design process.

Share your goals with them. 

Schedule check-ins to stay on track. 

Work through the tough shit and celebrate the wins together. 

But, more than anything…

Create a place to share, learn, and grow.

Together.

Integration 

So as you begin to integrate these steps into your life, remember:

Lifestyle Design is an ongoing commitment. 

It’s something you work toward every single day. 

It’s not something you do once or twice and ta-da! You’ve achieved your dream life. 

You have to keep doing the work. 

Keep taking strides toward your goals.

Keep choosing the life you’ve always dreamed of.

Because every day you work on achieving your dream life, means that you’re one day closer to actually achieving it. 

And it starts here.

To recap:

1. Write your goals

   • Use I am or I have language

   • Put it somewhere that you’ll see it everyday

   • Read them and create the feeling of already achieving it

2. Prototype the behaviour needed to achieve your goals 

   • Choose a goal that’s easily reversible

   • Test out the regular actions needed to fulfil the goal

   • Review, measure and learn whether or not it works for you

3. Create accountability 

   • Choose someone who is dedicated to their Lifestyle Design 

   • Create an accountability “schedule” (eg. meet once a week)

   • Show up

So, cheers to a new year full of opportunity and self development.

I tip my hat off to you for putting the work in now.

Trust me, it’s worth it. 

You got this. 

Stay awesome, stay powerful. 

P.S: If you know other people who might enjoy content like this, please share this with them.

Your help in building this community will be forever appreciated.