Breaking Out of Average to Have an Abundant 2025: My Approach to Goal Setting

Sometimes, we find ourselves walking the same familiar paths, day after day.

Work. Life. Repeat.

And that’s okay! Life always has a mix of the mundane and the extraordinary. But the end of the year, particularly the holiday season, often encourages reflection—and perhaps rumination—about goals, goal setting, and breaking free from the same routine, year after year. 

This goes for companies, too, with most using the year-end as just another planning cycle, or “washing the dishes,” as I like to call it—checking off strategic objectives and setting incremental goals or targets. I get it. As a leader, I’ve been there too—deeply entrenched in the day-to-day grind. It’s easy to get stuck. It happens to me all the time.

But here’s a reality check: staying solely focused on the path in front of you can be just as risky as venturing into the unknown. 

True visionaries approach this time differently. They dare to imagine something bigger and bolder. They look beyond the trees and see the forest for what it could be.

So, let me ask you, what if you approached goal setting with a blank check of possibility?

I love the saying: “10x is easier than 1x.” It’s not a mathematical riddle—it’s about expanding how you think and daring to aim big. The paths to a 10x future are easier to identify because that mindset instantly eliminates the thousands of other mundane paths. It doesn’t mean it will be less work – that’s where perseverance and determination come in, a topic for a different article. But too often, fear of failure keeps us aiming for lesser goals that feel safe but leave us unfulfilled and frustrated by the lack of transformation.

Audacious goals—the ones that feel impossible—become easier to pursue because they open your mind to possibilities you hadn’t considered. They push you to grow, offering experiences along the way that shape you into a better version of yourself. These are the goals where real transformation happens. When you take that big, bold idea and start reverse-engineering it instead of dismissing it, you expand not just your actions but your mindset—you’re breaking out of average. 

Suddenly, what once seemed impossible becomes just a little more achievable.

This takes courage. Don’t beat yourself up if it feels intimidating, that's normal and social media doesn’t help either. We are constantly bombarded with curated highlight reels of other people’s successes. But what they don’t show you are the countless hours of struggle, the failures, and the moments of doubt that preceded their polished announcement. I have lived it, and I’m still living it. Transformative success isn’t easy.

In science and engineering, failure isn’t a setback—it’s data.  And the same goes for life.

Failure simply means a particular approach doesn’t work. I will concede that in business, failure carries a heavier emotional and financial weight that can feel crushing. Still, the most inspiring stories often come from people who failed or lost everything and mustered up the courage and resilience to start again.

So, how do you build that resilience? By challenging your “failure muscles.” Start with incremental risks—small steps outside your comfort zone. Think about how we encourage toddlers learning to walk or talk—we celebrate their effort and persistence, not just their victories. 

Confidence is built through trying, not perfect execution. 

And if that fails, then there’s my favorite mantra: Fake it till you make it. It’s not just an overused motivational cliché—it’s a psychological strategy. When you project confidence long enough, your subconscious begins to shift. I experienced this firsthand as an ultra-marathoner (many years ago). Running through the desert wasn’t just a physical challenge—it was mostly a mental one. I found that when my mind aligned with my goal, I could push through—no matter my physical state.

All this to say, most of us dramatically underestimate how far we’ve come and instead continue to focus on how much further we have to go. Rather than falling into this trap, take stock of your progress. Think about all of the obstacles you’ve already overcome, celebrate the victories along the way, shifting to this perspective is half the battle when it comes to transforming your goals into reality. 

When it comes to leadership, balance is key. It’s a flow between imagination and execution, and no one person can do it all. I call myself a visionary, I’m the dreamer who has no problem thinking up audacious goals and ideas, but I recognize the need for practical executors on my team to make those dreams a reality. Leadership is like a professional sports team—supportive but performance-driven. We bring our own approach and talents, but we’re a united front committed to collective success.

There are many parallels between running a marathon and leading a business. Both are rife with mental challenges, emotional highs and lows, moments of doubt, and the need for teammates who have your back. When it comes to creating goals and acting on them, remember it’s 99% mental. So, dream big, build your “failure muscles”, and trust yourself enough to make the impossible possible. 

Because, at the end of the day, the biggest wins come from the boldest ideas.

What are you dreaming up for 2025?