Why You Keep Missing Goals (And How to Fix It)

Do you feel like you set big goals but never quite hit them? You are not alone. Statistically, most people and most sales reps miss the goals they set for themselves. It is not because they did not dream big or set SMART goals. It is because they lack a system that connects vision to action. In this post, based on my new video “Why You Keep Missing Goals (And How to Fix It),” I will share the framework that took me from broke and financially stuck to running ultramarathons and leading global sales teams. This is exactly how to stop missing goals and start achieving them.

Rethinking Goals: Why You Keep Missing Them

Everything you see in life, from companies to products to inventions, started as a thought in someone’s mind. That is why setting goals is so important. They help you take the immaterial and make it material.

SMART goals can help, but if all your goals are small and safe, you will never feel inspired. If all your goals are massive and unrealistic, you will have a hard time achieving them.

The truth is that the best goals live in the tension between the two. You need audacious, exciting dreams that wake you up in the morning, and smaller, short-term goals that keep you moving forward. That balance keeps you motivated while also keeping you grounded.

Vision, Identity, and Why

Big goals should feel almost impossible at first, whether that is paying off debt, buying a home, or running a 100-mile race.

But writing them down is not enough. You need to envision them. Imagine the car, the house, the freedom, the feeling of being debt-free. The clearer the picture, the more real it becomes.

Do not just focus on what you want to have. Focus on who you want to become. For me, that meant writing identity goals like: “I am great with money. I am present with my wife and kids. I am a leader who pours into his team.”

This is where your goals connect back to your Why. If your goals do not connect with your Why, you create friction. But when your vision, your identity, your Why, and your actions line up, that is when goals start to turn into reality.

Daily Habits and Reverse Engineering

Setting massive goals, envisioning them, and having alignment are paramount. But without daily habits, you will never see them come true. For me, that meant non-negotiables: working out, reading scripture, meditating, and reviewing my goals every single day. Those actions seem small but made me 10x more productive before I even started work. They reminded me what mattered most and what to prioritize.

In sales, the same principle applies. If you want to hit quota, you have to reverse engineer it into daily habits. Start with your quota and break it down:

  • What is your ACV, your average contract value?
  • How many deals does that mean you need to close?
  • What is your POC close rate, how many POCs turn into deals?
  • How many demos do you need to get to those POCs?
  • And finally, how many calls and emails does it take to book those demos?

When you break it down like that, the quota stops being this big, scary number. It turns into a daily activity plan.

That same system is how I trained for the Leadville 100. When I decided to sign up, the furthest I had ever run was 13 miles, and I only had 13 months to train. So I built a year-long training plan that ended with a 100-mile race and worked backward with short runs, long runs, hill work, and rest days. A year later, I crossed the 100-mile finish line under the 30-hour cutoff.

Anti-Goals and Boundaries

Not every goal is worth chasing.

Justin Welsh talks about anti-goals. These are the non-negotiables that protect your values. For me, one of them is mornings with my family. If a goal forces me to sacrifice that over the long term, I will not pursue it.

The point is that goals should push you, but they should not force you to sacrifice what matters most. Boundaries make sure you are chasing the right goals, not just shiny ones.

Long Game Perspective

Bill Gates said, “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten.”

That is true in sales and in life. A year feels slow. But even just three years later, the compounding effect is massive, much less an entire decade.

That is why consistency matters more than intensity. Goals are not just about what you achieve. They are about who you become along the way.

Putting It All Together: How to Fix It

Here is the framework to fix why you keep missing goals:

  • Connect your goals to your Why.
  • Dream big, but also set short-term goals.
  • Envision the outcome.
  • Reverse engineer the path with real numbers and steps.
  • Build daily habits.
  • Protect your non-negotiables.
  • Read your goals weekly or better yet, daily. I prefer to pop on my headphones, put on some epic lyricless music, stand up, and passionately say my goals out loud. I have found that this practice really prepares me for the day.

If you do this consistently, the audacious becomes achievable.

And if your big goals are in sales, the next step is practical. You need a proven system for generating pipeline. That is why in my next video, I am sharing my LinkedIn content and prospecting strategies. Click here to watch those now.

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