My 16-year-old son has a YouTube channel. He does sciency-engineering-stuff. He began the year with a couple hundred subscribers, and he wanted to reach 1,000 subscribers by the end of the year.
Reaching 1,000 subscribers is a terrible goal.
Fact: he could produce 100 amazing videos, and for whatever reason be ignored by the algorithm and end up with very few new subscribers.
Fact: he could produce one awful video, and by whatever fluke of the internet ecosystem, get a million views and end up with a ton of new subscribers.
How many subscribers he gets is totally outside of his control.
He can’t control these outcomes. They’re just wishes…hopes.
Are you setting outcome-based goals?
We’re in the same boat whenever we set goals. The problem with outcome-based goals is that we aren’t in control of outcomes.
On the flipside, outcomes can also be contrived.
Our intention should always be to establish healthy, sustainable routines that are likely to lead to great long-term outcomes.
Read that again. Healthy, sustainable routines –> great long-term outcomes.
“I want to lose ten pounds” is a terrible goal. I can eat healthy and exercise, and I’ll likely lose ten pounds, but I can’t really control how my body responds.
I can control whether I establish healthier routines in my life, but I can’t control what happens as a result.
By the same token, I can also contrive that outcome. I have enough self-discipline that I could abuse my body with some extreme diet for 30 days and lose ten pounds. I can check the box…goal accomplished. But I assure you that my willpower is only good for about 30 days. I won’t really have changed anything about my life.
All I’ve done is momentarily contrive the number on the scale.
Where is my weight likely to be 30 days after my willpower collapses?
This is one of the reasons that I developed the The Company’s Novel Challenge. I saw 30-day challenges like NaNoWriMo, and it seemed like people had fun doing it (in a “look at how miserable this is” kind of way), but it rarely led to good outcomes.
While NaNoWriMo allowed someone to check the box, “I wrote a novel,” it didn’t put them in a better position as a writer.
It’s a contrived outcome. 50,000 words of hogwash in a document and being totally burnt out at the end of it is a terrible result. All most people win is the checkmark.
How to write a novel become a more successful writer
The premise of the The Company’s Novel Challenge is to build up a sustainable routine of writing for one hour per day. Once the time is there, we build up to writing 1,000 words per hour.
It turns out that if you can do that and you apply that time to a good plan, you’ll have no trouble finishing writing a novel.
It turns out that writing for one hour per day is a big investment, but it can be healthy and sustainable, and it won’t burn you out…ever.
Most people who do The Company’s Novel Challenge do finish writing a novel. (Which is awesome!) But that’s not the best thing that they gain. The best thing that they gain is a sustainable, healthy routine that’s likely to produce great long-term outcomes.
It’s not just about 90 days. It’s about building a lifetime of achievement.
As you set goals this year, I encourage you not to focus on outcomes. Outcomes belong to God.
I don’t set goals
I’ve done a lot of pretty neat things in my life, and I’ve never set goals. In fact, when people ask me, I refuse.
Goals aren’t helpful. Goals are usually a recipe for failure.
What I’m going to do is keep showing up, day after day. I’m going to keep doing my work and try to prayerfully do the next good task, one thing at a time.
Small regularly-done good investments over long periods of time net huge rewards.
I have a phrase that I use a lot, “I’m getting the results that I deserve.” Sounds funny, given all this talk about not being able to control outcomes, right?
But think about it. By the time I’m seeing a result, I’ve been working the inputs for a long time. I’m not trying to control a specific result, but if the kind of results I’m getting aren’t great, there’s a problem with my inputs.
My results are directly related to my investments. If I’m not getting the results I want, the problem is with how I chose to invest. Should I be mad about the outcome? Or am I going to reevaluate my investments and do the hard work to change?
If I’m not happy with my results, I can’t blame the system, or God, or anybody else…the problem is with what I’m putting in. How can I change my inputs—what healthy, sustainable routine would have led to better results?
Bad Goals
“I want to find a literary agent this year.” You can’t control that. You can contrive it (some unscrupulous person will be your “agent”), but you won’t be happy with the results.
How about this instead: I’m going to set aside one hour every Monday evening and I’m going to query two agents. On the first Monday of each month, I’ll spend an extra hour assessing my results and revising my approach.
That’s an input that you can control. It’s very likely to lead to the outcome you want. But that outcome is in God’s hands.
“I want to have 1,000 mailing list subscribers by the end of the year.” You can’t control that. You can contrive it by playing gimmicky games or buying subscribers, but those won’t be worth much.
How about this instead: I’m going to set aside my Saturday mornings to write one article per week for my newsletter and website. I’m going to do my best with two hours and then publish it even if I think it stinks. I’m going to spend my lunch hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays working on new lead magnets, and I’m going to publish one per quarter. I’m going to spend $500 on advertising.
You can control that input. You can check those boxes. You will probably find good results, and you may achieve the subscribers you wanted.
And this is what I coached my son Theo.
How did it turn out for Theo?
He can’t control whether people subscribe. He can only control his inputs.
So he set a different “goal.” 25 videos in 2025. That’s publishing a video every other week. He’s conscientious about observing his own work, taking feedback, upgrading his equipment, and improving his technique.
He’s doing all the things that make him likely to achieve his hope of 1,000 subscribers to his channel.
And so it’s no surprise that he’s blown past his original hope for 1,000 subscribers, and is ending the year with about 1,600. (Visit his channel and subscribe here.)
I’ve never set goals, because goals are based on outcomes. Outcomes are God’s business.
I’m in the business of showing up.
I don’t set goals. I set intentions.
When you’re setting “goals” for the coming year, forget about outcomes. Leave those in God’s hands.
Instead, how do you intend to invest in yourself?
For me, I’m pretty inspired by son. This past year, I’ve been experimenting with some stuff on YouTube and having fun doing it.
My intention is to publish 20 videos to YouTube in the coming year. (Give your old pal a “subscribe”.) I don’t know if I’ll be as successful as Theo has been this year, but the outcome is in God’s hands. I’ll trust Him to make the connections.
I’ll be conscientious about observing my work, taking feedback, and looking for ways to improve my technique. Hopefully it’s helpful to some people.
And I bet Theo will help me.
What about you? How do you intend to invest in yourself in the coming year? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
P.S. If you’d like to grow as a writer this year, please check out what The Company has to offer. I guarantee it’s a good investment in yourself. Here’s some stuff to explore:
Excellent essay Brad. Thank you for the reminder that God controls the outcome…. always, and that as a human child of God, it’s my responsibility to put in the effort 🙏
You’re welcome, Barbi. Thanks for reading, I’m glad to hear it was helpful!
For a minute there, I was worried we would not find out what happened to Theo. Glad to hear he is seeing success for his efforts. Your article is a great reminder about effective goal-setting.