{"id":948,"date":"2009-07-01T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2009-07-01T17:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/01\/how-to-achieve-a-goal-if-you-don%e2%80%99t-know-where-to-start\/"},"modified":"2019-03-08T09:57:17","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T17:57:17","slug":"how-to-achieve-a-goal-if-you-dont-know-where-to-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/01\/how-to-achieve-a-goal-if-you-dont-know-where-to-start\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Achieve a Goal (If You Don\u2019t Know Where to Start)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reaching some goals is simply the straightforward application of effort. If you want to get in shape, eat less and exercise more. It doesn\u2019t require a brilliant strategy.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019d say most accomplishments don\u2019t fall into this category. I\u2019ve set many goals that I don\u2019t even know where to start. I recently set a new income goal for this website, to earn $3000 per month, on average. The problem is, that if I knew exactly how to earn $3000 per month, I\u2019d already be doing it.<\/p>\n

The problem with uncertain goals twofold. First, you need to apply effort in order to reach your goal. Even if I had all the answers for business success, I would need to work hard to grow this website. Second, you also lack knowledge. This compounds the first problem because how can you apply effort when you don\u2019t know where to start?<\/p>\n

Two Ways to Fail<\/h2>\n

In the past, I\u2019ve tried two approaches to handling these uncertain goals:<\/p>\n

The first is to try everything. A few years ago, when my goal was to build a new social circle in a new city, I took this approach. I went to bars, I joined groups, I tried many different things to meet interesting people.<\/p>\n

The problem with this approach is that you end up flailing around. Instead of pursuing any one option well, you waste a lot of time and energy trying everything. You can burn yourself out trying to do too many things at once. Worse, with all this energy expended, it can be even more frustrating when you fail to make any progress.<\/p>\n

The second approach is to do only one thing. I had used this strategy before with this website. I knew that many people had created a full-time income from AdSense advertisements, so my goal was to simply build enough traffic for this website to earn a full-time income.<\/p>\n

The problem with this approach is frequently the one approach you use won\u2019t work. I\u2019ve never had a month where I\u2019ve earned more than $300 with AdSense in over three years of running this blog. Many people got it to work, but if I was expecting Google to be my savior, I\u2019d be waiting decades, perhaps forever, for it to create a sustainable business.<\/p>\n

Doing everything is a bad strategy. So is taking one approach, to the exclusion of everything else. What\u2019s left?<\/p>\n

Project Experiments and Hypothesis Testing<\/h2>\n

Now, I\u2019ve found a better strategy for handling uncertain goals. In essence it combines the best of the two strategies above. You end up pursuing multiple courses of action, so you don\u2019t hit any dead ends. But at the same time, you remain carefully focused on each course of action so you don\u2019t burn yourself out, flailing around wildly.<\/p>\n

The approach is simple:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. For any goal, devise a project you believe can move you closer to that goal.<\/li>\n
  2. The project should test one hypothesis about success towards that goal.<\/li>\n
  3. Never do more than 2-3 projects at a time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    With this approach, every project is a mini-experiment. The purpose of each project isn\u2019t just to move you forward to your goal. It\u2019s also to give you answers to at least one hypothesis you have about what it takes to succeed in your field. Taking this approach allows you to maintain a laser-focus while still juggling the multitude of possibilities for success.<\/p>\n

    For example, two years ago, I wanted to see what would happen if I tried to sell a product. I was testing the hypothesis that selling products would be a more effective business strategy than advertisements. I wrote How to Change a Habit<\/a>, and my hypothesis was proven correct.<\/p>\n

    Later, I wanted to increase my income once more. I came up with the idea to write an expanded guide on holistic learning<\/a>. For this project, I had a few hypotheses:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Could AdWords be used to create sales?<\/li>\n
    2. Would creating a larger guide at a higher price be more effective?<\/li>\n
    3. Was it worth developing an affiliate program?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The first hypothesis was incorrect, but the other two worked out great. With each project I was mapping out the knowledge required to reach my goal. I may not have known where to start, but each step was a calculated effort to find the answers I needed.<\/p>\n

      Many of my projects were failures. I wrote an e-book for another publishing group that flopped. I also compiled a \u201cBest Of\u201d book that didn\u2019t gather much attention. But they weren\u2019t failures for me because my purpose in starting each project was to test a hypothesis. After they were completed I had something valuable: I learned what wouldn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

      Only 2-3 Projects at a Time<\/h2>\n

      By only testing one or two projects at a time, you can focus on doing them well. Too many projects results in the flopping around problem I mentioned previously. I\u2019ve tried taking on many projects and the result is always that either some of them fail or all of them fail. Focus on one or two and really test those hypotheses.<\/p>\n

      Mapping Out Your Knowledge<\/h2>\n

      With any complex goals, I think being able to map out your knowledge is at least as important as the application of effort. If I knew exactly how to become a six-figure blogger, I would be earning that much money already. But since I don\u2019t, I need to map out the knowledge I have and target projects to shine a light on gaps in my understanding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Reaching some goals is simply the straightforward application of effort. If you want to get in shape, eat less and exercise more. It doesn\u2019t require a brilliant strategy. However, I\u2019d say most accomplishments don\u2019t fall into this category. I\u2019ve set many goals that I don\u2019t even know where to start. I recently set a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,680],"tags":[137,26,396,38,141],"class_list":{"0":"post-948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-goal-setting","7":"category-nc-productivity","8":"tag-experiment","9":"tag-goals","10":"tag-hypothesis-testing","11":"tag-productivity","12":"tag-projects","13":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Achieve a Goal (If You Don\u2019t Know Where to Start) - Scott H Young<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How do you achieve a goal when you don\u2019t know where to start? 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