To Manifest Your Goals, You Must First Set Them

The following is adapted from 8: Reflections on Building Business + Balance by Brian Paes-Braga.

When you think about the life you want to live, what comes to mind?

Perhaps it’s a luxury lifestyle or leadership position within an influential company. It’s easy to daydream about wealth and career success, but here’s the difficult truth: without focus and personal accountability, those goals won’t ever be realized. You might even flounder under their weight.

A lot of people talk about finding your passion or following your bliss. That’s a lot of pressure. As much as I agree with the idea, applying a practical process to getting there is the key. To make your ambitions a reality, it’s important to set achievable goals and put them in writing. Make a genuine effort — and a commitment — to pursuing them.

That’s how I went from dreaming about working with industry leaders and building multiple companies by thirty to living it. The process worked for me, and no matter what your dreams are, you can put yourself on the path to achieving them, too.

Define Your Goals

It’s never too early or too late to set goals for yourself. Personally, I set one of my first serious goals when I was seventeen years old. I was driving through Vancouver one night when I passed by a private fireworks show at somebody’s home. Security was everywhere. Red carpet. Valet. I wanted to know who was running this show.

When I got home, I got a little True Detective. I looked up the address and learned that the house belonged to Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining financier, entertainment mogul, and philanthropist. I deepened my research. I wanted to know everything about what had made Frank such a monumental success that he could throw an epic event.

I created GoogleAlerts for “Frank Giustra,” “Radcliffe Foundation” (Frank’s nonprofit), and “Endeavor Financial,” which was the natural-resource-focused merchant bank that he was running at the time. By reading the GoogleAlerts, I started to learn what Frank was up to, what kind of transactions he was working on, and how he was making his impact on the world.

Was I stalking him? Not quite! But the more I took an active interest in his success, the more I knew for certain I wanted to emulate his path. His story helped shape my goals. Little did I know that ten years later, he’d become my mentor and business partner. This was one in a series of examples in my life in which the power of manifesting your goals proved to be true.

To make your dreams a reality, you must define and set your goals, and then pursue them with genuine commitment.

Make Your Goals a Constant in Your Life

I learned another important lesson on goals by working for a realtor named Eric Christiansen, who focused on single family luxury real estate in West Vancouver. Eric kept his goals front and center in his life, and by doing so, he was able to stay intensely focused on them.

For example, he used his annual sales goal as his computer password. I asked him one day why he’d chosen that password. He explained that whenever he logged into his computer, he was reminded what he was working toward. It was a way of keeping his goals top of mind for him.

Using Eric’s focus as inspiration, I started to build out a spreadsheet of goals for myself. On it was a list of net worth goals as well as material things and assets I wanted to accumulate on progressive milestones, i.e., ages twenty, thirty, and forty.

I believe setting these goals planted a seed in my subconscious mind that grew with each investment or business I was involved in going forward. These goals were so much at the forefront of my mind that, even when faced with massive obstacles or fear, I persevered.

It’s easy to get distracted, and if you hide your goals or put them to the side, they’ll be out of sight, out of mind. Instead, put them at the forefront and stay focused, even when following your ambitions feels difficult.

Pursue Your Goals Fearlessly

Putting your goals in writing and keeping them at the forefront of your mind is half the battle — you must also choose to pursue them without fear. It’s the only way you’ll make your dreams a reality.

It’s human to feel fear, and I’ve felt it even as I typed these ambitious goals down as a teenager. But letting fear of failure paralyze you can keep you from achieving your dreams. Pursuing what you want unapologetically and showing up with the least amount of ego possible will give you the strength you need to overcome the hurdle of fear.

For me, people like Frank Giustra and Eric Christiansen inspired my ambitions and helped me define what I wanted out of life. I encourage you to find your own inspirations. If you can define what you want and commit to chasing it, you’ll be practically unstoppable.

For more advice on finding balance and success in your life, you can find 8: Reflections on Building Business + Balance on Amazon.

Brian Paes-Braga is a passionate entrepreneur who learned the value of hard work and humility from his parents. Brian realized that despite his financial success, he was personally bankrupt. This started him on a journey to balance his well-being with financial achievement, and today, Brian is an advocate for a more conscious kind of capitalism. A proven business leader who’s built multiple mission-driven companies, Brian is passionate about sharing his wisdom with younger generations to help them navigate the ups and downs on their journey toward authenticity and a meaningful life.