Setting Goals With A Purpose [LNIMV017]

Most people who care about goals are working on setting them this time of year. But are those goals pointed in the right direction? Mark Mason argues that setting goals with a purpose means building toward the life you actually want, not just chasing numbers.

Video: Setting Goals With a Purpose

This video can also be viewed directly on YouTube.

Goals Need Direction, Not Just Ambition

Mark recorded this video stuck in Monday morning traffic in Dallas after Thanksgiving. He had been working on his 2016 goals and thinking about the difference between having goals and having goals that actually improve your life.

The insight comes from Michael Hyatt's Lifescore assessment tool, a free spreadsheet that asks you to rate your satisfaction across major life areas: spiritual life, marriage, relationships, business, physical health, and more. The idea is simple but powerful: before you set goals, assess where you actually are and where you need to go. You can move as fast as you want, but if you are headed in the wrong direction, speed does not help.

The Revenue Trap

Mark gives a practical example. You might set a goal to increase your revenue, but if achieving that revenue goal requires sacrifices that make you miserable, the goal was poorly chosen. Maybe what you actually need are goals around relationships, happiness, or aligning your business with work that energizes you. The revenue might follow naturally from goals that are better aligned with what you actually want from life.

John Lee Dumas, who appeared on LNIM092, identified SMART goal setting as the common trait among successful entrepreneurs he has interviewed. Mark builds on that by adding the direction component: SMART goals that point toward the life you want to build.

What Has Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this in December 2015.

Life design frameworks have gone mainstream. The concept Mark describes, aligning business goals with life satisfaction, was relatively niche in 2015. By 2026, frameworks like lifestyle business design, the “ikigai” concept, and holistic goal-setting methodologies are widely discussed in entrepreneurial circles. The idea that business success should serve life goals rather than the other way around is now conventional wisdom, though it was less common when Mark recorded this.

Michael Hyatt's Lifescore concept evolved into a larger business. Hyatt built an entire product line around life assessment and goal achievement, including the Full Focus Planner, which became a significant physical product business. The free assessment Mark recommends was an early version of what became a substantial brand.

Key Takeaways

• Assess where you are across all life areas before setting goals for your business
• Goals without direction can lead you to places you do not want to be
• Revenue goals that make you miserable are poorly chosen goals
• Align your business goals with the life you are trying to design

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