How to Set Ambitious Goals You’ll Actually Achieve
Readtime: 4 minutes
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Now, on with today’s edition!
Ambition can drive us forward, but it can also stop us in our tracks if we don’t approach it the right way.
There’s plenty of advice about setting goals and staying focused.
But if you’ve ever set an ambitious goal only to feel stuck halfway, you know that standard advice often isn’t enough.
Today, I’ll show you a different approach to setting and reaching ambitious goals.
This approach is designed to help you make steady progress and stay excited as you move forward, even when things get challenging.
Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Define Your North Star
Before setting ambitious goals, you need clarity on what truly matters.
Your North Star is a guiding purpose – not a single achievement, but a direction.
To find it, consider what would make you feel fulfilled, both personally and professionally.
Then, write it down.
If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll lose energy when challenges arise.
But with your North Star in mind, each step forward will feel meaningful.
Every task becomes part of something much bigger.
For example, my North Star is building a personal and professional development business that helps thousands of people, and gives me “life design” flexibility – meaning I can decide where, when, and how much I work.
Step 2: Aim Beyond Your Immediate Goal
As you follow your North Star, you’ll have lots of goals along the way.
Ambitious goals work best when they’re seen as stepping stones.
So, instead of making one particular goal the end point, look at it as the start of something larger within your North Star.
Think about what you’d want to achieve next if you reached your current goal tomorrow.
What would come after that?
This mindset – which I call “Beyond Goal Thinking” – helps you stay driven.
Reaching your goal isn’t a finish line, just one step along the way.
And remember, if you shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.
For example, one of my immediate goals is to run a successful virtual course for privately paying individuals (like you!) in January and February next year. But my aim beyond that is to make courses the largest income stream for my business. Both of these goals align with my North Star.
Step 3: Be Flexible, Not Rigid
Most ambitious goals come with plenty of unknowns.
Which means that rigid plans often fail or leave us feeling defeated.
So, you want to build flexibility into your path.
Allow room for learning and adapting as you go.
This means accepting that setbacks are normal, not a sign of failure.
If something isn’t working, reassess and make changes based on what you’ve learned.
This doesn’t mean giving up on the goal – just shifting your approach.
That way, you’re always moving forward, even if it looks different than you expected.
For example, when I started my business, my plan was to focus solely on one-to-one senior executive coaching. I then pivoted to running corporate Masterclasses alongside coaching.
And now I’m building out a courses business too. (Click HERE to join the waitlist).
Step 4: Build in “Failure Time”
Setbacks are inevitable when you aim high, but we rarely plan for them.
Instead of avoiding failure, expect it – and make room for it.
This could be as simple as scheduling a “debrief” at the end of each week.
In that time, reflect on what didn’t work, what you learned, and what to change next.
Or keep a “failure log”, noting each challenge and one lesson from it.
Planning for setbacks shifts your mindset.
It normalises failure as part of success, rather than something to avoid.
For example, most days I briefly journal towards the end of the day. One of the things I note is something I’ve learned or an insight I’ve had. Very often, these come from things that didn’t go as I’d planned.
In Summary
Congratulations – you’re now ready to achieve your ambitious goals in a new way.
Ambitious goals require more than focus and effort.
They need a mindset that’s flexible, resilient, and open to growth.
By defining your North Star, aiming beyond your immediate goal, staying flexible, and embracing setbacks, you’ll be equipped to achieve what once seemed impossible.
And remember, your ambitious journey is as much about who you become as what you achieve.
You’ve got this.
“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
I would like to ask for your help, please.
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This will really help me tailor the final versions.
(This comes with no obligation, and you will receive a big discount offer for being on the waitlist.)