A few days ago, I was listening to Jocko Willink speak about the quiet discipline behind Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I’m not a jiu-jitsu person, but one idea landed for me. It’s a truth I already knew but had never heard spoken so simply:
Always improve your position.
In jiu-jitsu, nothing happens all at once. A submission arrives like lightning, but only to the untrained eye. What looks like a sudden victory is really the final expression of dozens of subtle movements that came before it. A hip shifts. A grip tightens. An elbow gains an inch of space. Most of these moves go unnoticed. Each small adjustment creates a little more room, a little more leverage, a little more advantage.
I’ve always believed real progress works this way. It’s rarely dramatic. It’s quiet and patient. The accumulated effect of showing up, learning something new, adding a bit more care, and preparing a little more than required.
Breakthroughs rarely come from a single moment of inspiration. They come from the quiet work no one sees. The thoughtful practice that sharpens your skills, the trust built over months of ordinary conversations, the time spent learning before making a decision. When opportunity arrives, it looks sudden to others. To you, it feels like the next logical step.
This truth showed up clearly for me after a derecho tore through our property on Father’s Day weekend a few years ago. Ninety-mile-per-hour winds knocked down at least thirty trees across multiple acres. When I walked our land the next morning, everything felt broken and overwhelming. The cleanup looked like a project that would take months. I didn’t have months to devote to it.
But I did have mornings. So, I decided to work for an hour and a half every day before work. I cleared a small section each morning. It was incredibly slow. I dragged branches, cut trunks, chipped debris, split firewood, and made countless trips to our local dump. Small steps, small progress, one morning at a time.
Over the course of a year (maybe more), I worked my way across our entire property. Along the way, I cut in new hiking trails and removed a number of unhealthy trees. What started as a mess became a healthier stand of trees and a network of paths that look like they’ve been here forever.
Out of destruction came a daily habit that changed my life. I still work outside every morning. Clearing brush, trimming trees, expanding trails, building chicken coops, restoring a rustic barn. All in small ninety-minute bites. It’s like a time-lapse video created through countless quiet mornings of small improvements.
The pattern I saw on my land is exactly what Jocko described on the mat. I didn’t need a grand plan or a burst of superhuman effort. I needed to improve my position every day, just by a little.
Improve your position today, even by an inch, and tomorrow becomes easier. Improve it again tomorrow, and the day after that reveals options that didn’t exist before. You don’t need surges of motivation or dramatic reinvention. You only need the willingness to keep moving, always improving.
Careers grow this way. Trust grows this way. Faith deepens this way. Families strengthen this way.
Progress won’t always be linear. Some days distractions will pull us off course, or setbacks will undo work we thought was finished. All of this is part of the journey. Even then, the way forward still comes through small steps. Imperfect, uneven, but the work of always improving our position remains the same.
We improve our position slowly, almost without noticing. That’s enough. Tomorrow, we’ll improve again. Then one day, we’ll find ourselves able to take a step that would have felt impossible a year ago.
Focus on the next inch. The miles will take care of themselves.
Photo by Walter Martin on Unsplash – a great rendition of my early morning work environment for at least a year.
Every December, I return to a familiar practice. I reread a few of my older posts, looking for threads that might help clarify my thinking about the year ahead. Last year, on the final day of 2024, I wrote a short post on my goals for 2025:
-Serve the quests of others over my own -Offer insights and advice, not direction -Push beyond my comfort zone and inspire others to do the same -Bring the loaves and fishes, and trust God with the rest
I see that I longed for simplicity without mentioning it directly. I wanted more presence, more clarity, more intention, and a little less noise in a world that seems to generate more every year.
This week, as I listened to Tim Ferriss speak with Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Martha Beck about simplifying life, I realized this desire has been with me for a long time. More than a decade ago, I wrote a short post called Becoming a Chief Simplicity Officer, describing how organizations thrive when they remove friction and create clean intuitive paths so people can focus on what truly matters. The idea was straightforward. When systems run smoothly, people flourish.
It turns out this Chief Simplicity Officer role fits in life just as well as leadership. Someone needs to step into the work of reducing complexity, eliminating friction, and clearing space for the things that deserve attention. Someone needs to guard the essentials by shedding the excess.
That someone is me, and it’s you in your life.
From Tim Ferriss’s Podcast
Derek Sivers: Simple Isn’t Easy, but It Is Freedom
Derek Sivers says simplicity requires intention. It doesn’t appear just because we cut a few tasks or say no occasionally. It takes shape when we clear away commitments that no longer belong and choose what contributes to the life we want to live. He often talks about building life from first principles instead of living on top of default settings.
Every recurring obligation fills space that could hold something meaningful. Every dependency adds weight. Every unfinished task pulls at the edges of our attention.
What possibilities would rise if complexity stopped crowding the edges of your life?
Seth Godin: Boundaries Create Clarity
Seth Godin approaches simplicity through the lens of clarity. When you know exactly who your work is for, you stop bending your days around expectations that were never meant to guide your decisions. Clear boundaries turn vague intentions into choices you can actually live out.
Simplicity often follows sharper edges. Define your edges, and the path through each day becomes easier to walk.
Martha Beck: Choose Joy, Not Habit
Martha Beck speaks of simplicity in the language of joy. She tells a story from her twenties when she made a single choice that reshaped her life. She turned toward joy and stepped away from misery, even when the joyful path cost more in the moment. Joy has a way of clearing the fog. It cuts through distraction and highlights what brings life.
Her words invite us to examine the decisions we’ve kept out of habit or comfort. Some habits strengthen our soul. Others only multiply clutter. Joy reveals the difference.
Ten Simplicity Moves for the Start of 2026
These actions are small, but each one lightens the load. They remove stones from a shoe you may have been walking with for years without realizing.
Cancel one subscription that no longer serves you. Even a small change can create a surprising sense of clarity.
Choose one non-negotiable time boundary and honor it. Maybe evening email and scrolling limits or a weekly focus block on your calendar. Small open spaces accumulate over time.
Simplify one recurring decision. Automate it, template it, or eliminate it entirely.
Pause one habit you maintain out of inertia. Give yourself a week to assess its value.
Identify one activity that consistently brings joy and schedule time for it this week.
Unsubscribe from three email lists that add noise instead of value.
Clear one surface you see every day. A calm space refreshes the mind.
Revisit your goals from last year and carry forward only what still matters. Release the rest.
Decide who you are working for. Clarity about your audience sharpens the work you choose to do.
Ask yourself one grounding question: What do I truly need to live the life I want? Let your answer shape what stays and what goes.
Looking Back at 2025 and Forward Into 2026
My goals for 2025 were aimed at deeper alignment with the things I care about. They served me well and opened my heart to possibilities I never would have imagined. I’ll carry these goals into 2026 (and beyond).
For 2026, I’m adding one specific goal to my list. I started working on this goal a few months ago, and it’s pushing me way outside of my comfort zone. While it’s a personal quest (and not one that serves the quests of others over my own), I believe it will serve others on their journey. I’ll be bringing the loaves and fishes and trusting God to do the rest. I’ll share more details later.
A Closing Invitation
Simplicity grows as unnecessary weight falls away and clarity rises in its place. You don’t need a title or a plan to begin.
You only need to choose.
Choose clarity.
Choose boundaries.
Choose joy.
Choose to be the Chief Simplicity Officer in your own life.
Let this be the year you simplify your days and rediscover the freedom and clarity that come from intentional living.
I received an email from Noah Kagan this week. Not because we’re personal friends, but because I subscribe to his newsletter. Noah, the CEO of AppSumo, often shares practical insights and thought-provoking questions from his journey in the tech world.
This particular message stood out. He talked about being fearful for his 10-month-old daughter’s future. With all the chaos in the world, the deepening divides, the rise of AI and robotics, the general noise of modern life, he wonders what kind of world she’ll inherit.
But instead of spiraling into worry, Noah laid out how he’s choosing to respond: by creating clarity, limiting distractions, and doubling down on the things that matter most. He’s building a foundation, not just for his own peace of mind, but for his daughter to inherit.
His email reminded me of a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: “The future is in the hands of a generation that isn’t ready for it.”
We didn’t have AI, social media, or the internet back in Mr. Twain’s day. But even then, concerns about “the next generation” were nothing new. Parents, teachers, and elders across every era in history have wondered if the next generation is truly ready.
Noah’s concern isn’t just that the next generation might be unprepared. It’s that the world itself might be too broken to navigate well. But history offers some perspective.
Every generation has faced challenges. Wars, famines, political collapse, pandemics, technological upheaval, moral drift. And yet, the world moves forward. Somehow, each generation rises to meet its moment…even if their preparation feels lacking.
We don’t get to control the future, but we do influence it by how we live, what we model, and what we choose to pass on. We can’t predict what our children and grandchildren will face, or how they’ll respond. But we can teach them how to think, how to hold on to timeless values, and how to walk through hardship with strength and grace.
It’s natural to worry.
Let’s not forget that hardship doesn’t cancel out beauty.
Struggles don’t erase joy.
There will be triumphs ahead, too. If we’ve taught them well, they’ll learn to spot their small victories, celebrate them, and then pass along what matters to those who come after.
The future always arrives in the hands of the young—and the young are never quite ready. But then again, neither were we.
To assume that delays are normal. That long lead times are just “the way things are.” That bureaucracy is an immovable force we’re all meant to quietly and endlessly orbit.
But here’s the question we should be asking: Does something really take months to get done…or is that just the rut talking?
Ruts are sneaky. They dress up as policies, forms, regulatory frameworks, meetings, approvals.
They start small. Maybe with one postponed decision or an overcautious email. Before long, they’re a deep trench. One that feels safer to live in than escape.
Some processes do require time. Some decisions need careful research and thoughtful consideration.
But not everything takes as long as we pretend. And if we’re being honest, we often lean on red tape as a crutch. To justify inaction, to mask fear, to cover for indecision, to avoid risk. Maybe to avoid the work altogether.
We say things like:
-“That’s how our system works.”
-“These things take time.”
-“We’ll have to check with Legal.”
-“I’m waiting on approvals before I can move forward.”
But what if we stopped waiting?
The 10 Million Dollar Question:
If you or your organization were promised $10 million the moment this project is completed—this thing you’re currently delaying—how long would it actually take to finish?
-How focused would you suddenly become? -How many hurdles would get knocked out of your way? -How quickly would meetings be scheduled, decisions made, and steps taken?
If your answer is “much faster,” then the rut is running the show. You’re not stuck. You and your organization are settling for the slow lane.
What if we challenge the assumptions about how long things should take?
What if we stop admiring and massaging the problem and started solving it?
What if we stop delegating or offloading the issue to another department, and just fixed it ourselves…today?
Organizations that resist the rut move faster. They ask better questions. They take the time to consider how to eliminate hurdles. They focus on outcomes, not just process. They know when structure helps, and when it hinders. They trim what’s unnecessary and protect what’s essential.
This isn’t about being reckless. It’s about refusing to be lulled into complacency. It’s about bringing urgency back to the table.
It’s about remembering that progress often begins with someone brave enough to say: “Why not now?”
If you’re feeling stuck, ask yourself: -Are you really bound by rules and timelines? Or just by a habit of delay?
Resist the rut.
Challenge the default.
Challenge the impossible and make it possible.
Push for better.
It might take less time than you think.
h/t – my colleague, Jacob Smith. An extremely productive and prolific software development manager who regularly challenges the default and always pushes for better.
The blinking cursor on a blank document. The empty stretch of land where you’ll soon be building a shop. The new web application your company wants to develop that will revolutionize your industry. These are just a few examples of standing on the edge of something new, something important, yet feeling completely unsure of where to begin.
You might have a vision of the final result—the finished document, the completed shop, the fully functioning app. But that doesn’t mean you know how to get there.
It’s easy to get lost in the variables and the endless possibilities. What if I make the wrong decision? Are there more resources out there? What do other people think? Should I read more articles? Watch more videos? Seek more advice? What if I mess it all up?
In every case, the hardest part is starting.
It’s taking that first step. Writing the first sentence. Sketching out the first screen of an app. Nailing the first stakes into the ground—the ones you’ll attach a string to, so you can visualize where your new shop will go.
It’s a commitment to action over hesitation. A moment of bravery that marks the beginning of making something real.
An amazing thing happens when you start. Your mind shifts from a place of endless “what-ifs” to a place of positive motion. You begin to focus on the next steps and real solutions. All the challenges you imagined before starting—that, in many cases, won’t even come to pass—are forgotten. The path ahead becomes clearer, and each small step forward makes your next decision easier.
Does this mean everything goes perfectly after you start? Of course not. You’ll make mistakes, adjust, learn, and pivot along the way.
But here’s where starting becomes crucial: it provides a tangible foundation. It gives you something to measure against, something to refine, something to edit. You might completely change your initial idea, but you wouldn’t have discovered the need to change if you hadn’t started.
Starting is hard, but it’s also the most important part.
Take the first step, even if it feels uncomfortable. You’ll learn more from those first few steps than you will from standing still…wondering what might happen.
Once you start, momentum kicks in. And from there, the possibilities are endless.
“Garbage In, Garbage Out” doesn’t just apply to computers—it applies to your life. The people you spend time with, the content you consume, and the habits you build shape your future. Want better results? Choose better inputs.
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn
“You are what you repeatedly do.” – Aristotle
“Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.” – John Kuebler
“Your life is controlled by what you focus on.” – Tony Robbins
The old phrase, “garbage in, garbage out” doesn’t only apply to computers and databases. It applies to how we live our lives.
Our inputs—the people we surround ourselves with, the information we consume, and the habits we cultivate—shape our outcomes.
If you spend time with amazing, imaginative, productive, and adventurous people, chances are you’ll start adopting some of those same qualities. At a minimum, you’ll develop personal goals that push you to emulate those qualities in your own way.
On the other hand, if you surround yourself with negative, self-destructive, bitter, or complacent people, their mindset and behaviors will slowly seep into your own life. Even if you think you’re immune, habits and attitudes are contagious.
Small Choices Compound Over Time
Consider this simple example.
If you exercise at least three days per week, you’ll see progress. Do it five days per week, and your results will be even better.
But if you instead have the habit of drinking a large chocolate shake for lunch every day, the impact won’t be immediate, but with time you’ll notice a negative shift in your health and energy levels.
Neither of these changes happen overnight. But over months and years, they define who you become.
Our small choices create big results.
The Status Quo Trap—It’s Hard to Change
It’s obvious that if you run toward a cliff, ignoring all the warning signs, you’re in for a big fall. But in real life, it’s rarely that clear.
Like the boiling frog who doesn’t realize the water is heating up until it’s too late, many people stay in toxic environments, bad habits, or unproductive routines because the declining results are slow and gradual. It doesn’t feel urgent—until suddenly, it is.
Our Inputs Dictate Our Outputs—So Choose Wisely
Our mind works like an algorithm. What we feed it shapes what it returns to us.
If we constantly consume negative news, gossip, or toxic social media, our mindset will reflect it.
If we surround ourselves with people who challenge us to grow, read books that inspire us, and engage in meaningful conversations, our perspective will shift toward productivity and fulfillment.
The good news? We choose. And by making intentional choices, we set the trajectory for our future.
Challenge: Take an Inventory of Your Inputs
For the next week, pay attention to what’s influencing you. Your environment, the content you consume, and the habits you engage in.
Who are the five people you spend the most time with? Are they making you better?
What are you reading, watching, and listening to? Is it fueling growth or draining your potential?
What small habit could you start today that would improve your future?
The inputs you choose today will shape who you become tomorrow, next year, and a decade from now.
Almost everyone claims to be busy. Many will even describe their endless to-do list—what they’ve done, what they’re doing, and what’s next—justifying their busyness.
Lots of articles explore different types of busyness. One that stands out for me, Busyness 101: Why Are We SO BUSY in Modern Life?, lists the following types:
-Busyness as a badge of honor and trendy status symbol
-Busyness as job security
-Busyness as Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
-Busyness as a byproduct of the digital age
-Busyness as a time filler
-Busyness as a necessity
-Busyness as escapism
The last one stands out to me: busyness as escapism.
When we’re constantly busy, we get to avoid the hard things in life. No time to reflect on priorities. No time to find smarter ways to work. No time to focus on meaningful goals…ours or our organization’s.
Busyness lets us sacrifice our other responsibilities. We convince ourselves that our sacrifices are necessary, without questioning what they truly cost us or those around us. And we tell ourselves that once we’re “less busy,” we’ll focus on the important things we’ve been neglecting. The problem? We rarely become “less busy” (at least, from our perspective).
But the busiest effective people operate differently. These individuals aren’t just busy for the sake of it. They work with intention, with purpose. They prioritize. They seek smarter ways to work. They focus on meaningful goals rather than just checking off task lists.
These are the people who not only get things done but get the right things done. And they do it faster than everyone else. Why? Because they’re too busy to be distracted by nonsense and trivialities. They tackle the big things first, and often, the smaller things take care of themselves.
When I managed large organizations, I valued these employees the most. They weren’t just productive, but they were leaders. They inspired everyone around them to be more effective. Whenever a new project or opportunity arose, I sought them out. I knew they’d prioritize the new project well and deliver great results.
The difference between being busy and being effectively busy comes down to mindset. The most productive people don’t just fill their days. They own them.
Next time you catch yourself saying, “I’m so busy,” pause and think. Are your tasks productive and effective, or just occupying your time?
You may find that you’re not as busy as you thought.
Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash…my eye is on the girl in pink who’s walking away from the rope (I bet you didn’t notice her at first)
“…climbing 10% of the mountain ten times is not as useful as climbing to the top once.” – Adam Mastroianni
This quote reminds me of the old adage about project resourcing: sometimes projects can’t be completed faster merely by adding more people to it. After all, the story goes, nine women can’t make a baby in a month.
Does this climbing quote ignore our preparation? Route scouting, equipment testing, and countless workouts that make the summit climb possible. Not to mention the like-minded team we built to support the climb.
Maybe it’s not about preparation. Maybe it’s about the false-starts, the simulated progress, the big talk and no action that we engage in to make it seem like we’re climbing when we’re not. We think we’re fooling everyone, but we’re only fooling ourselves as we take the comfortable way out and choose not to climb at all.
It’s easy to climb 10% of the mountain or achieve 10% of the goal. It’s easy to get 50%. 60%. Even 75%. But as the challenges compound near the top, we let doubts creep in. The grinding effort becomes exhausting. We lose sight of the summit or forget why we’re climbing in the first place.
We make excuses. We can come back another day and try again. The summit will always be there, and maybe next time…
That’s just it. We’re rarely “ready” for the climbs that matter, whether in business, fitness, or life’s hardships. Waiting for the perfect time often means waiting forever.
You have the power to choose the summit run every time. Committing 100% effort, even when you feel 60% ready. Trusting that you’ll figure out the rest along the way.
Life’s summits rarely wait for us to feel ready. The question is: will you take the first step…and then push beyond 10%, all the way to the top?
A little over a decade ago (time flies!), I wrote a post that introduced the concept of Goalprints. That post described a series of steps and questions that we should use to understand our unique Goalprint and determine if our lives are supporting (or not supporting) our goals.
I recently heard about the concept of an Ambition Audit… taking a step back to assess whether your ambitions are still relevant, achievable, and fulfilling. I realized that this concept complements the Goalprint exercise extremely well.
Here’s an updated post that integrates the Ambition Audit concept…plus I’ve added a handy cheat sheet that you can use for this exercise.
There’s a classic quote in business: “People who buy shovels don’t want shovels. They want to make holes or fill in holes as quickly and easily as possible.”
Chances are pretty good that you’re selling shovels to someone. Or maybe you dig the holes?
Either way, the planning, the shovel, the digging, and the hole itself are all merely steps along the way to achieving someone’s goals.
Are they achieving your goals? Maybe.
That all depends on whether you know what your goals are.
The funny thing about goals is that no one has the same goals. They may share some or agree on goals to pursue together. But no two people have the exact same goals.
Each of us has a Goalprint as unique as our fingerprint. It captures our passions, our dreams, and the specific goals we’ve laid out for our lives. Partially developed Goalprints live in our subconscious mind until we take the time to bring them into our conscious mind and fully define them.
Consciously defining our unique Goalprint isn’t easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is. But once defined, how do we ensure our goals remain relevant and truly reflective of who we are?
That’s where the Ambition Audit comes in—a powerful tool to regularly reassess and realign our goals with our evolving values and life circumstances. Combining the process of creating your Goalprint with an ambition audit ensures that your aspirations remain meaningful and motivating.
Here are the seven steps for creating and living your personal Goalprint, enhanced with the principles of an ambition audit:
Step 1: Define Your Passions
List the five things you are most passionate about and describe how you plan to center your life around these passions over the next five years. Are you willing to focus your life on this list? If not, maybe these aren’t really your passions.
Ambition Audit Tip: Regularly reassess these passions. Life changes, and so can the things that drive you. Ensure your passions remain true to your current self.
Step 2: Plan Your Experiences
Define at least seven things you plan to experience over the next ten years. This isn’t just a wish list—commit to these experiences. How many involve your top passions?
Ambition Audit Tip: Review this list annually. Are these experiences still aligned with your passions and values? Adjust as needed to keep your goals relevant.
Step 3: Financial Goals
Money isn’t everything, but it does make the world go around. Write down how much money or assets you plan to set aside for major expenditures in one year, five years, ten years, and twenty years. What income do you need to hit these targets? Start saving now.
Ambition Audit Tip: Revisit your financial goals periodically. Ensure they support your passions and experiences. Adjust savings and investments to stay on track.
Step 4: Define Your Future Self
Describe what you plan to be in one year, five years, ten years, and twenty years. This can be personal, professional, or anything else. Remember, being something is different than just where you choose to work. Make sure your future self supports what you’ve listed in the first three steps.
Ambition Audit Tip: Reflect on your future self regularly. Is this vision still inspiring? Does it align with your evolving values and circumstances?
Step 5: Align with Your Spouse
If you have a spouse or partner, compare, and discuss your Goalprints. What do you have in common? How will you accommodate and support each other’s Goalprints?
Ambition Audit Tip: Periodically revisit this conversation. Life changes, and so do relationships. Ensure your Goalprints remain compatible and mutually supportive.
Step 6: Hold Yourself Accountable
Commit to fulfilling what you’ve laid out in your Goalprint as you make decisions in your life. Define success on your own terms and stay true to your goals.
Ambition Audit Tip: Set regular check-ins to review your progress. Adjust your goals and actions to stay aligned with your ambitions.
Step 7: Annual Reassessment
Repeat this exercise once a year. Your Goalprint will change and grow over time—if you have the courage to let it.
Ambition Audit Tip: This annual review is your built-in ambition audit. Reflect on the past year, reassess your goals, and realign them with your current values and circumstances.
Your unique Goalprint, coupled with regular ambition audits, will guide you toward a life of purpose and fulfillment.
How about that cheat sheet? This is something I didn’t include in my original post, but I’ve had a few people ask me if a template or form exists. So, here’s an initial template that you can use. Just copy and paste this form into your favorite word processor and use it to capture your answers. Remember, there are no wrong answers in this exercise.
Step 1: Define Your Passions List the five things you are most passionate about and how you plan to center your life around these passions over the next five years.
Passion: _______________________________ • Plan: _______________________________ Ambition Audit Check: Are these passions still true to your current self? (Review annually) • Yes / No • Adjustments: _______________________________
Step 2: Plan Your Experiences Define at least seven things you plan to experience over the next ten years. Remember, these aren’t visionary fantasy goals. These are things you actually plan to do in the relative near term of the next decade (remember, decades go by quicker than we realize).
Experience: _______________________________ • Plan: _______________________________ Ambition Audit Check: Are these experiences still aligned with your passions and values? (Review annually) • Yes / No • Adjustments: _______________________________
Step 3: Financial Goals Write down your financial goals for major expenditures at different stages. One Year • Amount: _______________________________ • Income Plan: _______________________________ Five Years • Amount: _______________________________ • Income Plan: _______________________________ Ten Years • Amount: _______________________________ • Income Plan: _______________________________ Twenty Years • Amount: _______________________________ • Income Plan: _______________________________ Ambition Audit Check: Do these financial goals support your passions and experiences? (Review annually) • Yes / No • Adjustments: _______________________________
Step 4: Define Your Future Self Describe what you plan to be in one year, five years, ten years, and twenty years. One Year • Personal: _______________________________ • Professional: _______________________________ Five Years • Personal: _______________________________ • Professional: _______________________________ Ten Years • Personal: _______________________________ • Professional: _______________________________ Twenty Years • Personal: _______________________________ • Professional: _______________________________ Ambition Audit Check: Is this vision still inspiring and aligned with your values? (Review annually) • Yes / No • Adjustments: _______________________________
Step 5: Align with Your Spouse If applicable, compare and discuss your Goalprints with your spouse or partner. Common Goals: • ____________________________ • ____________________________ • ____________________________ Supporting Each Other’s Goalprints: • ____________________________ • ____________________________ • ____________________________ Ambition Audit Check: Are your Goalprints still compatible and mutually supportive? (Review annually) • Yes / No • Adjustments: _______________________________
Step 6: Hold Yourself Accountable Commit to your Goalprint by reflecting on the following: Decisions Made in Alignment: • ____________________________ • ____________________________ • ____________________________ Challenges Faced: • ____________________________ • ____________________________ • ____________________________ Successes Achieved: • ____________________________ • ____________________________ • ____________________________ Ambition Audit Check: Set regular check-ins to review progress. Adjust goals and actions to stay aligned. • Date of Next Review: _________________________ • Adjustments: _______________________________
Step 7: Annual Reassessment Repeat the entire exercise once a year. Reflect on the past year and realign your goals with your current values and circumstances. Reflection: • What has changed over the past year?_______________________________ • How have your goals evolved? ____________________________________ • What new passions or experiences have emerged?_____________________ Ambition Audit Check: Ensure your Goalprint is dynamic and reflective of your true self. • Date of Review: _______________________ • Adjustments: _______________________________
By using this template, you can create, evaluate, and adjust your personal Goalprint, ensuring that your ambitions stay relevant, achievable, and fulfilling. Embrace your journey of introspection and realignment to lead a life of purpose and fulfillment.
The real question isn’t about fear of heights or fear of ladders. It’s about your definition of the higher ground…
…but I am afraid of ladders.
When I heard someone at the gym saying this to his workout buddy, he was referring to the reason he doesn’t put up Christmas lights. He hates climbing on ladders.
For the record, I’m not too keen on climbing ladders either.
My immediate thought was how easy it is to dream of and visualize reaching the heights of our chosen field. The hard part is the ladder.
Choosing the right ladder, or series of ladders.
Our ladder needs to be sturdy enough to take our weight and the weight of everyone else making the same climb.
It’s easy to pick the nearest ladder or the one where we can see the top. But that’s not always the right one.
And, once we choose, how long should we climb before jumping to another ladder?
The real question isn’t about fear of heights or fear of ladders. It’s about your definition of the higher ground. Your definition of success. The “why” for your climb.
Are these easy questions to answer? Definitely, not.
Here’s the tricky part: your answers to these fundamental questions of why will morph over time. Something you thought was important in high school isn’t important when you’re 25, or 30. Similarly, something that’s important when you’re 30 isn’t so important when you’re 50, or 65.
Our answers also adapt to our surroundings, to the people we see the most. It’s human nature. We adapt to survive. We compromise to fit with those around us. Our perceptions are shaped by what’s closest.
The good news is that with the internet, blog sites, news sites, books, videos, and podcasts, the definition of “closest” has changed. While it’s true that we still work closely with the ten people that are near us, we have access to a universe of ideas and perspectives far beyond our “local” reach. All we have to do is choose to look.
What about heights and climbing ladders? They matter. But not as much as why you’re climbing in the first place.
“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” –Stephen Covey
Grandpa Bob Encouraging Leadership 
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