What Steve Jobs Taught Me About Setting Goals

I’ve learned that when I wasn't achieving the goals I set, it was often a sign they weren't inspiring me enough.

Similarly, during the last eleven years in my work with high-achieving leaders, I've noticed that people set goals that sound impressive on paper, but sometimes lack the emotional power to drive consistent action.

They say things like "I want higher compensation," or "I want more executive presence," or "I want more impact." But when I dig deeper, there isn't a compelling picture of what that specifically looks and feels like.

Keep reading because I'm going to share with you what I learned about goal setting from Steve Jobs.

But first - here's what research tells us: vague goals don't inspire consistent action because they lack clarity. Goal Setting Theory, developed by psychologists Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, demonstrates that specific, challenging goals lead to higher performance than vague or easy goals. (1) Without clarity and specificity, your brain has nothing concrete to move toward.

Warning Signs That Your Goals Don't Inspire You

How do you know if your goals are truly inspiring? Here are the telltale signs:

You don't feel genuinely excited about them. When you think about your goals, do you feel a spark of energy and anticipation? Or do they feel like items on a to-do list that you "should" accomplish? If it's the latter, your goals aren't pulling you forward.

You're easily sidetracked by urgent but lower-value tasks. When your goals don't inspire you, it's easy to let the day-to-day demands take over. You find yourself responding to emails, attending meetings, and handling crises, while your most important goals sit on the back burner. This happens because uninspiring goals don't create the magnetic pull needed to prioritize them over the noise.

How to Shift: Paint a Detailed Picture of Your Future

The solution isn't to set different goals. It's to connect with your goals in a completely different way.  The way to do this is to paint a vivid, detailed picture of your future that makes your goals come alive.

Here's how to get started:  Imagine how you lead, influence, and are perceived in the future. Imagine how you live. Then write it all down. According to Psychology Today, this exercise of imagining your best possible future self "has been shown to boost people's positive emotions, happiness levels, optimism, hope, improve coping skills, and elevate positive expectations about the future." (2)

But let me be clear:  this isn't about writing a few sentences and calling it done. To make this truly effective, you need to go deeper.

The Process: Making Your Goals Come Alive

First, get crystal clear on your bold, meaningful goals. Choose one professional and one personal goal that you want to achieve in twelve months. Be careful not to make these "safe goals"  goals that you already know how to achieve or goals that sound good to others. Choose goals that genuinely matter to you - goals that, if achieved, would transform your career and life in significant ways.

Next, write about your future self - the version of you living those goals. This is where the magic happens. Describe your future self in vivid detail. What does a typical day look like? How do you carry yourself in meetings? What decisions are you making? How are people responding to you? What's your compensation? What does your home environment feel like? Who are you spending time with? What energy do you bring to your work and relationships?

I'll be honest: expect some discomfort. You're not used to thinking this way. Your rational mind will throw up objections. You'll hear that inner voice saying, "This is unrealistic" or "Who am I to want this?" Put aside the doubts. Lean into your imagination. Describe the life you really, really want.

And here's the crucial part: make it emotionally charged. Connect it to the respect, validation, impact, and momentum you really want. Connect it to the energy and joy of the life you want - even if it feels out of reach right now. Because that emotional charge is what creates the pull. That's what will get you out of bed earlier, keep you focused during challenging moments, and help you say no to distractions.

A Powerful Example: Steve Jobs

Consider what happened with Steve Jobs. When Apple's board forced him out in 1985, he faced a choice. He could have let bitterness define his next chapter, dwelling on what he'd lost. But Jobs didn't operate that way. He held onto a powerful vision of what the intersection of technology and human creativity could achieve. That vision drove his work at Pixar and NeXT during his years away from Apple.

By the time Apple brought him back in 1997, Jobs wasn't trying to recreate past glory. He was chasing a future he'd been imagining for over a decade. His compelling vision of what Apple could become didn't just revive the company - it revolutionized entire industries and made Apple a defining force in innovation.

As Steve Jobs said: "When you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you." (3)

This perfectly captures the difference between goals that inspire and goals that don't. Inspiring goals create a gravitational pull. You don't need to manufacture willpower or search for motivation every morning. The clarity and emotional power of your vision draws you forward because you can vividly see, feel, and almost inhabit the future you're creating.

When you're inspired by your goals, your vision will pull you!

🚀 Ready to be inspired by your goals and accelerate your career? Download the FREE Future Self Playbook now.

ENDNOTES

(1) Moore, Catherine. Positive Psychology:  What is Locke's Goal Setting Theory of Motivation? April 19, 2019. Accessed on October 20, 2025 https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-theory/

(2) Niemiec, Ryan M, Psy.D.. Psychology Today:  What is Your Best Possible Self? March 29, 2013. Accessed on October 20, 2025 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-matters-most/201303/what-is-your-best-possible-self#:~:text=The%20exercise%20has%20been%20shown,make%20that%20vision%20a%20reality

(3) Biography.com editors and Tyler Piccotti. Steve Jobs. Updated May 22, 2023. Access on October 20, 2025 https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/steve-jobs#founding-and-leaving-apple-computer-inc