Author Ben Hardy wrote in his recent book, Be Your Future Self Now, "7 Steps in Being Your Future Self" with step #2 focused on the topic of eliminating lesser goals. Hardy quotes a modern-day philosopher, Robert Brault, "we are kept from our goal not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal."

This struck home for me because I am prodigious user of Getting Things Done framework by David Allen and self-proclaimed productivity hack using all sorts of tools like Remember the Milk and Evernote to execute on my goals. It is only last year that I started to implement the 12 Week Year by Brian Moran that it dawned on me that I had failed to optimize my goal setting and use of to do lists. In my day-to-day cycle of "crossing things of my list" and succeeding in my minor accomplishments, I became blind to my bigger goals obscured with the satisfaction of completing daily tasks. I know I am not alone. Let me share a recent story.

A recent phone call from Jim, a long-time client and barber school owner, brought this home with painful clarity. His voice, usually vibrant with the pride of a dedicated educator, was laced with exhaustion and distress. Fifteen years he'd poured his heart into his school, providing students with a trade and a future.

A year earlier, the promise of a new, larger facility had seemed like a dream come true. More space, a better location—it was a chance to expand and serve more students. But construction delays, permitting nightmares, and unexpected costs stretched the timeline, forcing Jim to furlough his instructors when the lease on the old building expired. The investment in the new facility was too significant to abandon, yet the opening date remained a distant mirage.

Jim's call wasn't just an update; it was a surrender. He was selling the new facility, unable to rehire his instructors or find replacements. Years of dedication of shaping young lives and building a community, were about to vanish. His failure, he confessed, stemmed from a misguided focus on the minutiae, blinding him to the larger strategic goals that had once fueled his passion.

Jim's story is a cautionary tale, a mirror reflecting my own struggles with productivity. It's a reminder of the profound opportunity cost of chasing lesser goals. As I reflect on my childhood, I saw firsthand how my father's career as an auto mechanic and my mother's work managing the books at our family's Texaco station provided them, as immigrants, a path to give back to the community that supported them, by teaching automotive repair on the weekends/weeknights. My parents and the trade school owners I work with, relentless focus on education, creates a lasting impact in their student’s lives and the families and communities they are a part of.

Hardy's quote, and the structure of the 12-Week Year, now serve as a constant reminder: true success lies not in the relentless pursuit of minor victories, but in the unwavering commitment to the goals that truly matter. Jim's story is a heartbreaking testament to this truth, a lesson etched in the loss of a dream, but also a powerful call to action for us all.


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