Picture this: You’re sleeping in an Extended Stay hotel—Again. You ate dinner at 7-Eleven—Again. You check your bank account and see $1,000—the total you and your business partner have managed to save after nineteen months of grinding; Nineteen months of flying from city to city, personally launching gym after gym, doing embarrassing marketing stunts like filming yourselves doing cartwheels on iPhones and dressing up like dinosaurs just to get attention.
This was Alex and Leila Hormozi’s reality before they built a business empire that would eventually generate over $100 million in revenue—before Alex became one of the most-followed business strategists online, teaching entrepreneurs how to scale companies—before Leila became CEO of a portfolio worth hundreds of millions—before they sold Gym Launch and went on to build Acquisition.com, investing in and scaling businesses across multiple industries.
But, think about this: Back in those Extended Stay days, eating gas station food with barely four figures to their name, they could have set a very “reasonable” goal. Something like: “Let’s just make enough to upgrade to a Marriott.” Or “Let’s hit $5,000 a month so we can afford real groceries.”
But they didn’t set those kinds of limited goals. And that decision—to not cap their potential with a “realistic” target—ended up changing everything for them.
And, it could change everything for you too.
The Goal-Setting Trap We Fall Into Every January
It’s that time of year again. The holiday decorations are coming down, the leftover cookies are finally gone, and your LinkedIn feed is flooding with posts about “how to crush it in 2026.” Everyone’s setting goals. SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound goals.
But, if you’re being honest, you’re probably not feeling it. Right? You’re a little… foggy, maybe even a little resistant. You know you’re supposed to set goals, but after the holiday slowdown, the thought of committing to another year of striving for targets feels heavy—exhausting, even.
But, what if I told you that feeling might actually be telling you something important? What if the problem isn’t that you need better goals this year—it’s that you need to stop setting them altogether?
Here’s the thing nobody tells you about goal-setting: The moment you set a “realistic” goal, you’ve also set a ceiling. You’ve told yourself, “This is as far as I’m willing to go.” And your brain—brilliant, efficient machine that it is—will likely find a way to hit that target and then coast.
Why “Achievable” Goals Actually Limit You
Alex Hormozi has a fascinating take on this: he says that he doesn’t focus on outcomes at all. Instead, he focuses on building habits and solving problems. Think about that. One of the most successful entrepreneurs of our generation essentially ignores the very thing we’re all told is essential for success.
He says, “Goals are often out of our reach and can lead to disappointment. Habits, on the other hand, allow us to take control.” Instead of asking “What do I want to have?” he asks “What problem am I solving? If I do X, will Y improve?”
This is radically different from traditional goal-setting. Traditional goals say: “I want to make $100,000 this year” or “I want to lose 30 pounds this year.” But, Alex’s approach says: “What’s the biggest problem blocking my growth? Let me focus everything on solving that problem.” See the difference? One approach has a finish line. The other has a direction.
When Failure Becomes Your Teacher
Or consider the story of Dr. Myron Golden—a man who went from working as a trash collector to becoming a multi-millionaire business strategist who’s shared stages with Tony Robbins, Grant Cardone, and Russell Brunson. He’s trained entrepreneurs to literally have million-dollar days and his programs have transformed thousands of businesses.
But when he first started in sales, he went eighteen months—eighteen months—without making a single sale.
Imagine if he had set a New Year’s resolution in that situation, like: “My goal is to make one sale this quarter.” Reasonable, right? Achievable? Absolutely. But here’s what Myron said about that period: “I ran out of all the ways that wouldn’t work to make a sale. All I had left were ways that would.”
See, if he’d set a goal of “just make one sale” and hit it, would he have kept pushing to discover the methods that eventually made him the top salesperson in his office month after month? Or would he have stopped at “good enough”?
Instead, that experience led Myron to practice and teach what he calls the Be-Do-Have formula: You have to become the right person before you can do the right things and have the right results. He says that most people focus on the “have”—the goal, the outcome, the achievement, but that’s backwards. Success is a continuum, not a destination.
What the Bible Actually Says About Goals
I think both Myron and Alex are on to something. And, here’s where this gets really interesting from a biblical perspective. When Jesus told the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, did the master praise the servants for hitting specific targets? No. He praised them for being faithful with what they’d been given. The servant with five talents turned it into ten. The servant with two turned it into four.
Notice: Neither one set a goal. Both simply stewarded what they had with excellence and multiplication followed naturally. They didn’t say, “My goal is to make 3% returns this quarter.” They said, “How can I maximize what I’ve been entrusted with?” That’s a completely different paradigm. It’s not about hitting a number. It’s about becoming the kind of person who can be trusted with more.
The Alternative to Goal Setting
So, if you’re not setting goals this January, what are you supposed to be doing instead? Just wandering aimlessly? Absolutely not. Here’s the framework that actually works:
First, set a direction, not a destination. Instead of “I want to make $100,000,” ask “What kind of person makes $100,000?” Then focus on becoming that person. What do they know? How do they think? What habits do they have? What problems can they solve?
Instead of saying, “I want to lose 30 pounds,” ask, “What kind of person is 30 pounds lighter?” How do they eat? What daily commitments and disciplines do they make? How do they think about food, stress, and sleep? Because weight comes off, not when you chase a number on the scale, but when you become the person whose lifestyle produces that result.
Second, identify your biggest constraint. Alex Hormozi calls this the A+ Task—the one problem that’s blocking everything else. In business, it might be that you don’t know how to sell. Or you can’t delegate. Or you’re afraid to have difficult conversations. Whatever it is, pour everything into solving that problem.
Third, build systems and habits, not willpower. Goals require constant willpower to maintain. Systems run automatically. Instead of “I’m going to cold call 50 people this week,” build a system where you block 9-10am every morning for outreach. The system becomes who you are, not what you do.
Fourth, measure progress, not outcomes. Did you show up? Did you do the work? Did you solve problems? Did you become more competent? Those are the metrics that matter. The outcomes will follow, but they’re not actually within your control. Your daily habits are.
Why This Actually Feels Different
The reason most people resist this approach is because it’s scarier. Goals give you certainty. “I’m going to make $100,000 this year” feels concrete. Safe. Achievable.
But “I’m going to become the kind of person who solves high-value problems and lets the results take care of themselves”? That’s uncertain. Uncomfortable. There’s no finish line where you get to stop and celebrate. And honestly? That’s exactly why it works better.
Think about the Hormozis in that Extended Stay. If they’d set a goal, they would have hit it and stopped. But because they focused on becoming people who could solve gym owners’ problems at scale, they ended up building something worth tens of millions of dollars—way beyond what any “realistic” goal would have allowed them to imagine.
What This Means for Your Foggy January Brain
So here you are. It’s early January. The holiday fog is real. Everyone’s posting their vision boards and goal sheets, and you’re feeling… resistant. Maybe a little guilty that you’re not more motivated.
But, what if that resistance is actually wisdom? What if your brain is telling you that setting another round of “stretch goals” isn’t actually going to change anything? Because it hasn’t worked the last three years, and it’s probably not going to work this year either?
Listen: Maybe what you need isn’t a better goal. Maybe what you need is a better question.
Not “What do I want to achieve?” but “Who do I need to become?”
Not “How much money do I want to make?” but “What problem can I solve that’s so valuable people will pay me to solve it?”
Not “What’s my target for 2026?” but “What’s the one constraint that’s keeping me stuck, and how do I eliminate it?”
Faithful Stewardship vs. Hitting Targets
And, remember, from a biblical standpoint, this whole conversation mirrors something deeper. God doesn’t call us to hit targets. He calls us to faithful stewardship. He doesn’t say, “Grow my kingdom by exactly 12% this fiscal year.” He says, “Be faithful with what I’ve given you. Work as unto the Lord. Do everything with excellence, not for human approval but because you’re serving me.”
That’s Colossians 3:23-24 playing out in real time: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.”
Do you notice what’s missing in that verse? Quarterly targets. Revenue goals. Performance metrics tied to your worth. But, what’s present? Direction. Character. Faithful multiplication of what you’ve been given.
You say, “But, what about the outcomes?” God handles those. Your job is simply to become the kind of person He can trust with more.
Your Move
So here’s what I want you to consider: What if you skipped the New Year’s resolutions this year? What if instead of setting goals, you asked yourself three critical questions:
- Who do I need to become to solve bigger, more valuable problems?
- What’s the one constraint blocking my growth right now?
- What daily habits would make me unstoppable if I did them consistently for the next 365 days?
Those questions don’t have finish lines. They have directions. And direction is infinitely more powerful than destination. Because here’s the truth those Extended Stay nights taught Alex and Leila: When you focus on becoming the right person and solving the right problems, the results that show up are usually way bigger than any goal you would have dared to set.
Ready to Go Deeper?
If this resonates with you—if you’re tired of setting goals that feel more like ceilings than catalysts—I want to invite you to something practical.
I’ve created a 30-day devotional guide called “Work as Worship” that I want to send you for free, to help you transform how you see your daily work. Instead of chasing outcomes, it will help you build the identity and habits that make extraordinary results inevitable. Each day includes Scripture, practical reflection, and specific challenges to help you live this out.
This isn’t about working harder. It’s about becoming the kind of person who works with purpose, solves real problems, and lets God handle the multiplication. It’s about faithful stewardship instead of anxious striving.
You can grab your free copy using the link below. I believe it will be the best 30 days you can invest in transforming not just your income, but your entire approach to work and service.
No strings attached. Just practical wisdom for making your work matter.
Because maybe—just maybe—the best thing you can do this January isn’t to set bigger goals. Maybe it’s to stop setting goals altogether and start asking better questions.
[Get Your Free 30-Day Work as Worship Devotional Guide Here]
