The Complete Guide to Conquering Your Goals in 2023

Happy New Year fam!

With 2023 starting yesterday, I figure now is a good time to talk about making the most of it.

And by that, I mean grabbing your goals by the horns and obliterating them.

If you want to create a successful online business in 2023 (or achieve any other important goal), read on.

Most New Years Resolutions Don't Happen

We all know this: most people set goals at the beginning of the year but never finish them.

They get excited, work hard for a few weeks, then give up.

It sucks. Good intentions become unfulfilled dreams.

And worse, they don't understand why they failed.

They think to themselves:

• "It's too hard."
• "I'm not capable."
• "I don't have the time."

But none of these are true.

Unfortunately, people don't understand the real reasons behind their failure.

But I have good news: you will.

And these insights will help you conquer the goals that matter to you most.

Why People Struggle to Achieve Their Goals

Goal achievement requires three things:

• Focus
• Consistency
• Effectiveness

Most people lack in at least one of these areas, so they fail.

Let's say you want to build an online business.

One day you're building a dropshipping store. Two weeks later you're pitching a coaching program. A month later you start writing on Medium.

You'll lose because you lack focus. Spend a year on one business model and your odds of winning skyrocket.

Or you DM 10 people every day for two weeks, get discouraged by the lack of progress, and stop. You'll fail.

You'll get beat by the guy who does this every day for a year — because he's consistent.

Or maybe you're focused and consistent, but your DMs suck. If you don't fix them, you'll lose because your methods don't work.

But, if you learn how to assess and improve your actions on a continued basis, you can make it. Because you become effective.

When you optimize for focus, consistency, and effectiveness, you win.

Below, we'll tackle each of these three components.

It doesn't matter if you want to lose weight, become a better dad, or create a thriving online business. You need to understand this ASAP.

Hyper Focus on One Goal

Very few people have been able to change my life with a single tweet.

Tej Dosa is one of them. He's one of my favorite thought leaders online.

He's primarily known for copywriting and spirituality. But I love the way he simplifies big ideas into easy-to-use actions.

This thread changed my life.

how i achieve my yearly priority goal 99% of the time while working just 4 hours a day:

— Tej Dosa (@ComedicBizman) May 16, 2022

I read and implemented it. Then, a few months later, my business was thriving.

I'm not exaggerating.

The biggest concept from this thread is very simple:

Choose ONE goal for the next year and ignore everything else.

Ask yourself: what is the one goal that — if achieved — will get me closest to the life I want?

You don't have to give up on your other goals. Just save them for later.

This is critical. You want to wake up every day knowing exactly what to work toward.

Don't move between different goals. And never ignore your biggest priority.

This is the first step and creates the focus you need.

Next, I want to diverge from Tej's process and add my own step:

Determine the things that MUST HAPPEN to succeed.

Ask yourself: what needs to happen for me to achieve my goal?

For example, if you want a successful online biz, it might be:

• $8,000 in monthly income
• A program that works (and creates successful clients)

That's it. If you make those happen, you achieve your goal.

Notice that it doesn't include follower count, viral threads, a blog, or anything else. These can still happen and might be things you choose to do, but they aren't 100% necessary.

For example, you can make sales in the DMs with few followers.

But it's not possible to have a successful business if it doesn't make enough money.

Make sense?

This solidifies your much-needed focus.

Next, we go back to Tej for another powerful insight:

Choose THREE habits or actions to work on every day.

Ask yourself: what three things — if done daily — will give me the best chance of achieving my goal?

We will use our "things that must happen to succeed" to help determine these.

But, don't do this yet. We're about to go through my Trio of Effectiveness so you choose the right actions.

Just know that you need to focus.

Etch this into your brain — it's that important.

And now you know how. But we're not done.

The Trio of Effectiveness

For years, I made little progress because I spent most of my time learning — reading books and taking courses — but didn't take action.

Then I got smarter. I started planning, writing, and creating. But even with action, I still made little progress.

Finally, I realized I needed feedback.

I tracked progress, worked with my target market, and got mentors. I assessed what worked and what didn't.

And guess what? I got results!

Once you apply the advice above, you have one goal and you know what must happen to achieve it.

Now it's time to choose three daily habits that will get you closer to completing your goal.

These three habits need to optimize for:

• Learning
• Action
• Feedback

Action brings opportunity. You have no chance at success without it.

But your actions only work if you do the right things.

That's where learning and feedback come in.

Learning helps you find new and better ways of doing things. Feedback helps you figure out what's working and what isn't.

They help you improve your actions, which gets you closer to success.

So, how do you choose the three best daily habits?

Let's circle back to your goal and the things that must happen for you to succeed.

In our example above, we want a successful online business. We need $8,000 in monthly income and a program that works.

Now, choose three habits to ensure you're learning, taking action, and getting feedback.

1. Your learning habit

Ask yourself: what can I learn to find new and better ways of doing things?

Maybe you read $100M Offers by Hormozi to improve your offer.

Maybe you take a copywriting course to create compelling content that attracts your target market.

Maybe you read a book on persuasion to help with sales.

Maybe you want to take a certified coaching program to get better at delivering results.

Choose something that will get you closer to overcoming your most pressing obstacles. And make sure they relate to your goals.

If you don't like it, you can always move on to something else.

2. Your action habit

Ask yourself: what daily action will yield the most results?

Let's assume you need to make more sales.

Do you think two threads per week will get you the most sales calls?

If so, create a daily writing habit.

If you think DMing 10 people every day is a better solution, choose this as your habit.

3. Your feedback habit

Ask yourself: how can I determine if what I'm doing is working?

Can you ask your audience what they want to learn?

Can you ask non-buyers why they weren't interested in your program?

Can you analyze which threads performed best and which ones didn't?

Can you ask an expert for advice?

Feedback requires qualitative and quantitative data.

These can be statistics (like the number of RTs, clicks, or calls booked). Or they can be subjective responses from your audience or mentors (their thoughts).

You must seek feedback that will improve your decisions.

Other tips for choosing and changing habits

Your habits are not locked in forever. They can change.

Another thing Tej talked about in his thread is the weekly review.

This is powerful because it helps you assess what's working and what's not.

Ask yourself: if I keep doing these habits for the rest of the year, will I achieve my goal?

If not, you probably need to make a change.

Or maybe you're not sure. Can you ask someone with more experience?

"Hey, I've been sending this DM to connect with my target market and create discovery calls. Do you think I'm on the right track? I'm wondering if I need to improve my DM or take a different path."

Read this if you want to get better at networking with mentors (or clients and friends).

If something isn't working — you don't like the book you're reading, your actions aren't getting results, or you aren't getting the feedback you need — seek change.

Usually, it's best to start by tweaking your habit. Can you change your DM strategy to get better results?

Don't overhaul your entire habit if you haven't tested it thoroughly. And make sure you have a compelling reason to think something different will work better.

Things take time. You need enough data to know what works and what doesn't.

It also depends on your goal. If you're trying to build an audience, it can take years. Don't expect your YouTube channel to take off after one month.

What if a habit no longer serves me?

Maybe you fix your DMs and land regular sales calls.

It would make sense to keep your DMing habit, but it might be time to change your learning and feedback habits.

Instead of learning about networking, you can focus on sales skills.

Instead of seeking feedback on your DM strategy, you can seek feedback on your ability to close sales.

Again — your habits are not locked in.

That's what the weekly review is for — to assess your daily habits and make changes (or keep going).

Okay. Now you're focused and you know how to become effective.

You only need one more thing: consistency.

Create Consistency with Your Daily Habits

I am one of the many people who loved the book Atomic Habits.

James Clear couldn't have done a better job.

Unfortunately, most people don't put his advice to use.

Why?

They don't know what habits they want!

They have too many goals. They have too many potential actions to take.

Moving back and forth between too many ideas prevents them from creating good habits.

But this isn't you (anymore). Because you know exactly which three habits you want to develop.

Use these four steps from Atomic Habits to make your habits stick:

1. Make it fun

"If it's not fun, it's not sustainable." — Unknown

It's easier to stick with a habit you like. So make it fun!

Here are a few easy ways to do this:

a) Track Progress

Find a way to track your progress.

Want to lose weight?

• Weigh yourself every day
• Track your calorie intake
• Check off completed workouts

When you have a daily habit (like DMing three people), put an X on your calendar once it's complete. Soon, you'll have a chain of successes.

You won't want to ruin the streak.

You look forward to keeping it going.

You enjoy crossing it off.

It becomes a game you want to keep playing.

b) Fix your mindset

Often, we are unhappy because our expectations exceed reality. You need to fix your mindset.

This doesn't mean lowering your standards. And yes, you want to create the outcome you want.

But you want to focus on the process.

Results take time. When you optimize for learning, taking action, and receiving feedback, success will come.

Don't let a failed sales call or unanswered DM ruin your fun. Not only are these okay, they're expected.

Enjoy the fact that you sent the DM, regardless of the outcome.

When you enjoy achieving your daily habit goals, success is next to inevitable.

c) Enjoy success

Since you're using the Trio of Effectiveness, you will get results.

Success feels good. Getting results is fun.

Because of this, you'll want more of it, which helps you stick to your habit.

2. Make it easy

You've heard it a million times.

Don't overcommit, like setting a goal to DM 20 people every day. You might do it for a week but eventually, you'll burn out and quit.

Make your daily commitment minimal.

DM 3 new people every day. Or heck, even just one.

Consistency is more effective than short sprints due to the law of compounding. The benefits grow exponentially the longer you do something.

You could DM 140 people in a week (20/day), then quit with few rewards.

Or you could DM 1000 people in a year (3/day) and have a life-changing business.

Why?

• You DMed more people
• The first relationships are now a year old
• Your DM quality increases after a year of feedback and experience

Small efforts add up more than you think.

If you write 250 words per day, you'll write 91,250 words in one year — enough for a full-length book.

And if you repurpose that content, you could also have a year's worth of:

• YouTube videos (one per week)
• Threads (one per week)
• Tweets (3 per day)

And more.

All because you wrote a measly 250 words per day.

And the best part? You often do more than the minimum requirement. Sometimes you'll sit down to write 250 words and finish with 1,000.

But don't feel bad if you don't. Just set out to hit your daily goal.

3. Make it obvious

When you decide to create a new habit, you get excited. You imagine the benefits with rose-tinted glasses.

Then reality strikes.

Your mind wanders to another place and that motivation disappears.

This happens often.

We forget about our new goal. We get distracted. Old habits get in the way.

You know what they say — out of sight, out of mind.

You combat this by putting your habit in the front of your mind.

Here are two good methods:

a) Plan your environment

Want to journal every morning? Put your journal on your nightstand.

Want to work out when you wake up? Set your workout clothes next to your bed.

Want to stop eating junk food? Remove all junk food from your house.

Your environment plays a giant role in your behavior. You truly are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with.

Plan accordingly and assess.

How can you make your habit obvious?

And what distracts you? If you're on your phone when you should write, start putting it in another room.

Create an environment that makes success easy.

b) Use reminders

New habits are easy to forget.

But we can use technology to remind us.

Want to do a weekly review every Friday morning? Put it in your calendar, on your to-do list, or set a reminder.

Sahil Bloom has three daily alarms that remind him to act a certain way (it's a cool thread):

How to become the main character in your life.

The Character Alarm Method: pic.twitter.com/SWPD1sfILe

— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) December 27, 2022

Physical reminders work well also:

• Whiteboards
• Post-it notes
• Posters

Do whatever you can to remember your habit.

c) Put time blocks on your calendar

Often, we know what we want to do but run out of time to do it.

We have good intentions but life gets in the way.

Combat this by creating a specific time for these habits — and put them on your calendar.

Don't let people schedule calls during this time. Don't leave it open to do anything else but your habits.

For people who live by their calendar, this is an easy way to make a new habit obvious.

4. Make it attractive

Imagine getting excited to do your habit.

Think you're more likely to do it? Duh!

That's what happens when it's attractive.

The best way to do this is to combine it with a reward, which can come before, during, or after.

Let's say coffee is your reward. You can say one of the following:

• "Once I get my coffee, I will go to the computer and do XYZ habit"
• "I can drink my coffee while I'm doing XYZ habit."
• "Once I finish XYZ habit, I can go make a cup of coffee."

You will associate the pursuit of your habit with the pleasure of your reward.

You will look forward to doing your habit because you know it includes something you enjoy.

Over time, you won't even think about it. You'll do the habit on autopilot.

The Goal Conquering Steps Summarized

That was a lot.

Instead of making you go through everything above to pick out the steps, I'll put them here.

Follow these so you can conquer your biggest goal for 2023:

1. Choose only ONE goal
2. Determine the things that MUST HAPPEN to succeed
3. Choose three daily habits that optimize for learning, action, and feedback
4. Find ways to make your habits fun, easy, obvious, and attractive

It takes some work upfront but it sets you up for success.

Your habits become routine. They become automatic.

You'll be focused, effective, and consistent.

And you'll get results.

A Fast Way to Implement This

I used this process to build a coaching business that let me leave my 9-5.

I also used this process to help others grow their online coaching businesses.

By helping my clients become focused, effective, and consistent, they get results.

They don't have to figure out what to learn, what actions to take, or how to get feedback. Everything is already there.

They don't have to guess which habits are best or how to make them stick. They just follow the steps.

Some use this success to leave their 9-5s (like Riley who quit his job two months into my program).

Others, like Raj, use it to travel the world and make money from wherever they want.

And some, like Joep, are making extra cash on the side.

Do you help people with their health, wealth, relationships, or happiness?

If so, coaching is a great way to build a 6-figure business right now. And it can lead to a scalable 7-figure lifestyle business later.

Do you want an online coaching business that provides financial and schedule freedom?

You might be a good fit for my coaching program.

It's roughly 6 months long and gets you to $10K/month, guaranteed.

Interested?

Click here to learn more about my 6-Figure Coaching Business Mentorship Program.

Let's have an epic year and put our mark on 2023.

Happy New Year!

- Rob Riker