How I Set Goals I *Actually* Achieve In The Year of Our Lord 2026

An 11-year failing champion's checklist for building goals that survive imposter syndrome and of course the economy. (Buckle up, it's a masterclass and it is LONG)

I’ve been a business owner for 11 years and counting, so I have had my fair share of planning and failing, and also setting goals and failing. Basically I’ve failed more times than I’ve won. So much so, I don’t flinch anymore. Failure is just another Tuesday. So, through my all my failures, (I'd rather call it experience), I have learned to create goals that integrate with my life. They’re less like targets and more like prayers. Actually, they’re like extensions of my personality.

Let’s just say, this is an example guys, let's not start counting our blessings here, but let's say I want to do $50 K each weekend. But to reach it, something is required of me. So I have to sit down and ask one brutal question:

Can I give that specific part of me to this goal?

Can I actually become the person this goal demands?

In order for me to hit that goal, I need to level up my content and post everyday consistently, but I also need to have systems in place. I need to automate my ads so that they can run without me posting 10X a day. Depending on organic content takes a lot of time that I might not have. I also need to have a funnel because not all ads will be sales ads, some will be educational. And $50K every weekend is a lot of people in my business so without that, my goal will collapse and my business will soon follow.

I cannot set a $50K weekend goal with a $10K a month mindset and systems, it just won’t work.

No prayer can save me,. Not even if I pray in tongues.

Now that I know what is required from me, who I need to become and what I need to do. I attach a cost to every goal I have. Because that's just how life is. When you do this for so long, you know the price you have to pay for each goal.

If I am going to do maintain six figure months, I know that my social life will suffer. I already do not have a social life per se, so if I do decide to push myself harder, I know that I will have to take away some time from family. I will have to be busy again.

But my busy means getting smarter. I live in the data I have collected. Every week, I’m knee-deep in insights, questionnaires, comments—you name it. All of a sudden I am Sherlock Holmes and this is a crime I have to solve. Honestly, a lot of people have called me extra for it, but doing this allows me to collect my wisdom and be ten steps ahead of my own strategies.

I know seasoned pros usually don’t have busy months like that, but for me, I read my data as I go. I go through my insights weekly. I have questionnaires people fill in for me. I run that through my database to see what are they actually struggling with.

Because people will tell you their problem: “I don’t have consistent revenue.” Cool. That’s like going to the doctor and saying, “My stomach hurts.”

You don’t want a doctor who just hands you a random pill. You want the one who runs the tests, finds the real issue, and gives you the right medicine.

My job is to be that doctor for your business.

The problem someone brings me is almost never the actual problem. It’s a symptom. A result of a bad pattern, a shaky mindset, or systems that just… aren’t there.

So, when I’ve got hundreds of people feeding me info, I have to lock in. I sit there, sometimes for hours, and just think. What are they really saying? Where is this actually coming from?

It’s a seasonal busy. And I embrace it even if it is a slot of work, because the more I listen, the clearer I see. My content stops being a shot in the dark because I know for sure what kind of content they need to see from me, so it’s not waking up and I am like, "oh like let me write an e-book or let me send an email or let me create content for Instagram," I need to sit down and analyse all this data and arrange it in a way that works for your goals. And I have to do it before folks change their mind LOL.

But that’s the secret sauce for setting goals: you have to find the sweet spot between what your audience really needs and what you can actually give. It's a non-negotiable love.

Let’s say you sell fabric or you have a clothing line and you want to hit six figures a month.

But… what’s your data telling you?

We all have assumptions. “People will pay more for organic cotton.” “This design is a sure hit.”

But then there’s cashmere. Silk. Embroidered lace. Your actual product range is huge, but you’re maybe only asking surface-level questions. How do you know what are people willing to pay for in the future?

But we are not asking our audiences enough questions. Every single time I tell a brand owner to have personality quizzes on your website. I tell brand owners to put a personality quiz on their website.

They look at me like I’m insane. “A quiz? Isn’t that cheesy? A waste of time?”

No. It’s free data..

Your customer is literally raising their hand, telling you what they like, what they want, how they think, just to get a result from you. The quiz doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to start the conversation. You need just enough data to understand the person on your website.

I could go on a tangent here, but the point is this:

You can only hit a big goal if you understand the game you’re actually playing.

And that takes time. Real time. It could feel like centuries if you hate reading hehehe...

I’m talking 3 to 4 months just to collect data, read it, live with it, understand the humans who will become your customers. They could be someone on your website who hasn't purchased anything but it could also be someone who’s already bought from you, they’re already letting you into their life.

Your job is to listen. Sit down. Get the info. Then build your goals from what’s proven true, not from what you hope is true.

Revenue goals that are easily attainable don’t come from “I wanna make six figures.”

They come from: “I have 5 quiz results saying my audience craves silk blends, and maybe I should start with silk scarves and move to silk maxi skirts...” You are not guessing anymore and that saves you so much money, because you are not creating things that won't sell as fast as you'd like.

And if you’re new to this, and drowning in data?

As much as I hate to say it… use AI.

Use the prompt below. It helps you see patterns you’d miss on your own.

"You're my Chief Strategy Officer. I need you to spot the patterns I am missing in my business.Give me product ideas I need to create to create consistent cash flow, I am a [paste here what you do, how you help people and who you serve] and I currently make [paste here your annual revenue], I get the most sales from [paste your source of traffic], I make the most during [paste season, quarter and months here], the lowest earning month for me was [paste here] and the reason is [paste here]. I could make more but I am struggling with [paste your struggles here]

WHAT ACTUALLY SELLS:
- My best-selling product/service: [Name] at $[Price]
- Why people say they buy it: [Copy from testimonials/reviews]
- The #1 reason I get refunds/churn: [If none, write "Not sure"]

WHAT GETS REAL ENGAGEMENT:
- My 3 most saved/shared pieces of content: [Topics/format]
- The question I get asked most in DMs/comments/emails: [Write it verbatim]
- Content I made that surprised me by how well it did: [Describe it]

WHAT I CAN ACTUALLY SUSTAIN:
- The work I love doing most: [E.g., coaching calls, writing, designing]
- The work that drains my soul: [E.g., admin, editing, sales calls]
- My unfair advantage/skill: [What I'm truly best at]

MY NON-NEGOTIABLE GOAL:
I want to make $[Amount] per month without burning out or chasing trends.

BE MY STRATEGY PARTNER. ANALYZE THIS LIKE MY BUSINESS DEPENDS ON IT:

1.  Between the lines—what is my audience *truly* hungry for that I'm not seeing?
2.  Based on what's already resonating, what's the *next logical offer* I could launch?
3.  What's the straightest, most sustainable path from where I am to my revenue goal?
4.  What's one thing I'm doing right now that's a complete waste of my energy?

Talk to me straight.Give me direct, actionable steps and ideas that works for my business right now.

ADDITIONAL PROMPTS JUST IN CASE:
1.  What is the *unspoken* need or desire my audience is signaling that I am not translating into products??
2.  What could I create or sell *tomorrow* that I'm already hinting at?
3.  What's the most energy-efficient path from here to my revenue goal?
4.  What is one thing I should **STOP** doing this week to free up space?

So yeah, you gotta know the cost. You have to know what you’re willing to give up; time, comfort, a distraction, maybe even an old identity.

And then, you have to build an environment where the thing you’re giving up can’t survive.

If you know you need to dive deep into your data, your number one enemy is social media.

As soon as you start scrolling, that’s an hour gone. Maybe two. And your mind is so overstimulated after that, you won’t be able to do the deep work anyway. So, you have to sit down and say, “Okay, from 12 to 3 PM, I’m locking in to understand my customer more.”

Before I had fancy questionnaires, I got my data from Instagram. I’d track it all down. Write it in one place. Stare at it. And then analyze like crazy. I'm talking about likes, shares, saves, my website traffic and the hours as well, where did they spend the most time on my site? What product kept getting abandoned? What product sold more in such a short time? What content did I post when that happened?

That’s how I’d know: maybe I can sell 2,000 copies of this. Or I should market more of that. Maybe this product didn’t do well, but people kept looking at it; so maybe it’s a price issue, or the description sucked, or it’s just “interesting” but not useful enough. And I go back to the drawing board.

But the cost of all this is time. I need time to do it. Quiet, uninterrupted, focused time. And I have to protect that time like it’s the most important meeting on my calendar, because it is.

It’s the meeting where my goals get built, not just dreamed about. Without that, I won't know how to achieve my goals.

I know you were expecting some ChatGPT thing and like sell you this motivational chat about waking up in the morning and breathing the air of gratitude. No fam, collect your data and sit down with God. The bible said, "my people perish for lack of knowledge" Hosea 4:6 and that applies to business too. I don't set goals I do not understand, because even if I achieved the, I wouldn't know how to sustain them. And I am not about to end another year as a One Hit Wonder. No way Jose!

And if you’re as bold and audacious as me, if you believe goals should be built on data and prayer, not guesswork and striving hustle, then you’ll love my ebook, Psalms for Entrepreneurs.

It’s the picturesque bridge between strategy and scripture. Because faith without execution is just empty philosophy that stresses you out and makes you zero dollars.

> Grab your copy here.

Psalms For Entrepreneurs

$47.00

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