Macro goals
How to approach big things in life
When I was younger, I used to have big goals and try to approach them directly.
E.g. Make x amount of money.
What I didn’t know then is that the direct approach doesn’t work. The direct approach works for linear, input goals - E.g This year I want to make x trips. But doesn’t work for big, non-linear goals.
Let’s take some time and classify goals here.
I want to make my bed everyday —> linear, input goal
I want to travel twice a year —> linear, input goal
I want to become a founder —> linear, output goal
I want to become a CXO —> semi-linear1, outcome goal
I want to create a large valuable company —> non-linear, outcome goal
I want to create a lot of wealth —> non-linear, outcome goal
I want to become a famous YouTuber —> non-linear, outcome goal
You may start with a non-linear outcome (macro) goal, but that won’t help you act until you have broken down into small, input (micro) goals. And that breaking down is often not direct. E.g. You may break down a 100K YouTube subscriber goal into 1000, but that is still an outcome goal. You will have to link it to your input i.e. videos. The only worthy input goal here is to make good videos consistently.
It’s almost like staring at the sun. You can’t do it directly, the rays will just blind you, but you can do it from the periphery.
What does periphery mean for goals?
Non-linear macro goals are generally a side-effect of something else. E.g. Creating wealth is a side effect of becoming valuable, through differentiated skill, knowledge etc. Creating a valuable company is a function of solving customer problems well and getting paid for it. Becoming a famous YouTuber is ultimately a side effect of creating great videos that people want.
Instead of macro goals, orient yourself towards these micro goals. These often don’t give you immediate feedback on whether you are in the right direction or not, so there’s some faith involved there. But just this positioning helps you create well.
Another side effect of this framing is that you detach yourself from the outcome. The outcome is usually a very complex function of multiple moving variables. This framing helps you steer the controllable components while protecting you from the anxiety of uncontrollable ones.
This ties back to the core teaching of Bhagwat Gita -
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ||You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.
The micro goal equivalent here is the duty, the macro equivalent is the fruit of actions.
To be honest, the focus on core micro goals is a necessary but not a sufficient condition. There are overlaying factors like luck, timing, evolution of your domain etc. But these are not in your control, at best you can try and understand them and orient yourself towards them.
So the only formula for macro goals is this -
You put your boat in the right direction, start rowing and open the sails. Then, it’s a wait for the wind to lift you off and help you orbit the sun. Enjoy the ride!
CXO is not as linear that you can predictably become one just through longevity (especially in modern companies), but also not as non-linear that you don’t know the steps of the path.