Become a Weapon of Mass Achievement
We all have goals.
The most successful people have bigger goals and they deploy resources toward refining their goals down into plans to reach milestones en route to ultimate victory.
The people with the biggest lives have big, hairy, audacious goals. Maybe you want to write a novel, launch a business, run a marathon, or become a master chef. But often, those grand visions remain just that – visions. They loom large, feeling overwhelming and distant. The secret to turning dreams into reality isn't just about brute force; it's about becoming a ritual-loving Weapon of Mass Achievement.
What does that even mean? Do I have to be so intense?
Regarding the intensity → YES! What does Ritual-loving Weapon mean, exactly?
It means wielding the power of consistent action, strategically layered and intelligently deployed one deliberate step at a time. It's about building a system that makes success almost inevitable. Forget sporadic bursts of inspiration – we're building an arsenal of reliable, repeatable rituals.
And what about the weapon part? That’s about becoming strong, reliable and lethally effective when it comes to accomplishing your goals.
Goals are the point of life. The missions we take up in our lives end up defining us. Even the goals we fail to accomplish contribute to who we become. Ideally, of course, we hit the targets we aim for. That’s easier said than done. So how do we achieve our goals?
Deconstructing the Colossus: Breaking Down Goals
The first step in becoming a Weapon of Mass Achievement is to dismantle the intimidating monolith of your goal. A massive goal isn't achieved in one giant leap; it's conquered through a thousand tiny victories. So many folks get overwhelmed by the prospect of the entire journey that they fail to take a single step.
Think of it like this, in a structured and programmatic way:
Goal: Write a Novel.
Constituent Parts:
Develop a compelling plot and characters.
Outline the story structure (chapters, scenes).
Write a first draft.
Edit and revise (multiple rounds).
Seek feedback.
Finalize and polish.
Query agents/publishers, or self-publish.
Each of those parts can be broken down further:
Develop a compelling plot and characters:
Brainstorm ideas (free writing, mind mapping).
Research similar works.
Create character profiles.
Develop a basic plot outline (beginning, middle, end).
See the pattern? We're taking a huge, abstract concept and turning it into manageable, bite-sized chunks.
The Intelligent Layering of Work
Now, we introduce a key concept: leveraged sorting.
This isn't just about doing things in order; it's about doing things in the smartest order, where each action builds upon the previous one, creating momentum and maximizing your impact. The power of your work builds as you take each step if you structure your workflow in the right order.
Think of building a house. You wouldn't start with the roof, right? You'd lay the foundation, build the frame, then add the roof. Each step provides leverage for the next.
Apply this to your goal:
Instead of just "brainstorming" dedicate 30 minutes each morning to focused free writing about your novel's potential themes and characters.
After you've brainstormed, organize your ideas into a mind map. This leverages the free writing, turning chaos into structure.
Once you have a basic plot outline, create character profiles. The outline provides the context for your character development, making it more effective.
The key is to ask yourself: "What action will make the next action easier or more effective?"
Habits: The Glue That Holds It All Together
Some tasks are one-offs. Others require consistent, repeated effort. This is where habits become your secret weapon. You need to layer habits on top of your task list.
Task: Write a first draft.
Habit: Write 500 words every morning before work.
Task: Research agents for your completed novel.
Habit: Dedicate 30 minutes every Saturday morning to researching and compiling a list of potential agents.
The habit provides the consistent engine that drives the task forward. Don't rely on willpower; build a system that runs on autopilot. Here are some tips for building effective habits — some of these are old-school and some I came up with myself.
Start Small: Don't try to write 5,000 words a day from the get-go. Start with 100, 200, whatever feels manageable. Consistency is more important than initial volume. Use the exponential rice analogy in your favor → “i’ll write 50 words today, then 100 tomorrow, then I’ll double for the next week!” - that’s 10,000 words from a very easy start.
Stack Habits: Attach a new habit to an existing one. For example, "After I brush my teeth, I will write for 30 minutes."
Make it Obvious: Put your writing tools (laptop, notebook) in a visible, easily accessible place.
Make it Attractive: Reward yourself after completing your habit (a cup of coffee, a short break).
Make it Satisfying: Track your progress. Seeing your word count grow, or your list of agents expand, is incredibly motivating.
Make it Easy: Prepare. Have your coffee ready, or you outline out. Remove any possible friction points.
Stacking habits and tasks is a great trick. Becoming a weapon of mass achievement requires more than consistency and a handful of tricks. You need to plan ahead of time AND reflect after your days / weeks / projects. Reflection is one of the keys to updating your strategies and tactics to the most successful versions of themselves.
Regularly push yourself outside of your comfort zone in small, manageable ways. This builds resilience, adaptability, and confidence. Actively solicit constructive criticism, even if it's uncomfortable to hear. After several rounds of feedback you start to enjoy the feeling of learning about opportunities for growth.
Start with small, low-stakes challenges, such as striking up a conversation with a stranger or trying a new food. You WILL fail, so get the thought of a perfect run through life out of your mind. Reframe setbacks and failures as opportunities to learn and grow.
While I am a big believer in efficiency boosting and productivity maximizing tactics sometimes you need to embrace space and slow your pace. Strategic inefficiency means deliberately allocating time for activities that seem unproductive on the surface but have high potential for long-term breakthroughs. This might include:
Deep Dives: Spending an entire afternoon researching a seemingly tangential topic related to your field. This provides a new base of intelligence to scaffold from and fuse into your other work and thinking.
Thinking Walks: Long, unstructured walks with no specific agenda, just allowing your mind to wander and make connections. Forrest bathing, as the Japanese call it, allows your mind to unpack.
Playful Experimentation: Dedicating time to experimenting with new tools, techniques, or ideas, even if they seem unlikely to yield immediate results. The key is to be intentional about this inefficiency. It's not about wasting time; it's about investing time in activities that have a high potential for serendipity and unexpected insights.
Instead of trying to create a perfectly optimized, rigid schedule (which is easily disrupted), build a schedule that benefits from chaos and unexpected events. This concept, borrowed from Nassim Taleb's book "Antifragile" is all about structuring your day in a way that allows you to adapt and even thrive on interruptions.
Buffer Time: Build large blocks of unscheduled time into your day. These act as shock absorbers for unexpected tasks or opportunities.
Focus Sprints with Flexible Breaks: Work in intense, focused bursts (e.g., 90 minutes) followed by flexible breaks. If an interruption occurs, you can adjust your break time rather than disrupting your entire workflow.
Prioritize "Deep Work" Early: Schedule your most important, cognitively demanding tasks for the early part of the day, when your energy is highest and you're less likely to be interrupted. This way, even if the rest of your day goes sideways, you've already accomplished your most crucial work.
These tactical tips are incredible starting points for becoming a more powerful goal achievement engine. Now, let’s look at more strategies and tactics that you can layer into your wealth system, and your life more broadly.