There’s little proof you or your system works, so why should the client trust you? No, it doesn’t matter that a guy you know “is doing this right now for excessive profit.”

So, getting started is an exercise in getting that proof. Make testimonial-acquisition your focus. Track everything you do–and the results they produce. Set an expectation that your client can have the better part of the deal, if you get the benefit of a case study.

Your schedule now might look like this:

1. Get results for other humans, pronto
2. Document the victories (and the defeats, if you’re man enough)
3. Capture it all in clients’ words
4. Decorate future conversations with these.
5. Profit.

The pudding is in the proof and once you’ve done whatever it takes to get it, people will be do whatever it takes to become your client. Probably.

First, a caveat: this is targeted at those of us working alone for extended periods of time on something hard.

Chugging on a long, difficult project without anyone else to lean on requires sturdy mental armor and quick emotional footwork. My daily goal setting process is designed to be a key player in keeping my emotional energy and motivation high, even if times are tough.

Ok, let’s break this bitch down…

The Difference Between Daily Goals and Performance Goals (and Why “Daily Goals” do not Equal “Steps”)

Daily Goals

…are small, bite-sized pieces of work you need to (and most likely can) finish today. “Finish and submit client proposal” is a daily goal; so is “Email 5 new leads for a follow-up phone call.”

They’re small and measureable on purpose. At the end of the day, I can (without thinking) determine if each goal was achieved.

Additionally, decide on each one deliberately. Part of their purpose is to ensure I’m not only working hard, but working hard on tasks that matter. As I’ll touch on later, part of my motivation is derived from this.

Why not just call them “steps”? Because I want to level up.

It’s all in the psychology, and how to best trick myself.

Completing a “step,” as Alfredo rightfully said, is not something you generally celebrate. A goal is something you celebrate.

I don’t disagree: I don’t cheer after climbing 1 stair of the Batu Caves, but I feel pretty damn good when I get to the top.

If I thought of these tasks as steps, completing them clearly wouldn’t be very motivating.

But I’m not looking for ways to not motivate myself. I’m looking for ways to keep my energy and motivation high as a kite as I work by myself to get this business off the ground.

So I call them “goals,” because it feels good to hit a goal, especially when that goal matters.

As someone who derives energy from seeing goals completed, this provides positive reinforcement to keep at It.

(Plus, when I complete these important chunks of work, it’s concrete proof I’m doing all I can to take this business to the next mythological level. This helps me review how effectively I’m spending my time–but that’s a different discussion.)

But daily goals aren’t the only, nor necessarily the most important source of motivation. Enter:

Performance Goals

These big cats relate to the results of your daily goals.

“Write this client a sales letter that converts at 7%” and “Hit $500,000 in revenue this month” are performance goals. They are also, hopefully, extremely audacious as well as directly translatable to your overall success metrics.

In the system I’ve constructed, completing my daily goals won’t make my business succeed. But hitting my performance goals means my business is exceeding.

And this brings up a crux you better understand if it’s going to be at all worthwhile: how to measure both kinds of goals, as well as what exactly it is they’re measuring…

Analyzing Accomplishment vs Analyzing Performance: Keeping Thy Head out of Thy Ass

When measuring the ultimate success of my effort, I look to my performance goals. My business is not growing if I’m not hitting these goals. If I don’t hit them, I’m not performing very well.

When measuring my output and how effectively I’m spending my time, I review the daily goals. If I’m not hitting my daily goals, I’m not sure where exactly my time is going (or I will be displeased with where my time is going). If I don’t hit these, I’m not accomplishing anything.

So they’re 2 different measurements for 2 different things. Hit the daily goal and you ran the mile; hit the performance goal and you ran it sufficiently fast. One leads in to the other.

How I Came to Use Daily Goals… a.k.a. Can Motivation Be Taught and Ingrained?

This whole system boils down to a key desire of mine: I don’t want to operate at 99% if I can operate at 100%. 

I want to take the thought out of as many process-based decisions as possible. I want to be as effective as possible. I also don’t want to get stuck in motivational ruts while facing inevitable adversity.

So, for now, we have two key ingredients that I want maxed the hell out: motivation and focus.

Maxing out is all about The Moment.

The completion of a sales letter is followed by 2 of the most crucial seconds of the day, where I ask, “What now?” It’s 2pm, I’m every so slightly thirsty (enough to justify standing up to refill), and I don’t have a task. What now?

I don’t want to have to think about that answer. If I think, I lose.

If I’m forced to think and happen to be in a moment of weakness, nomadlife is loading before I can stop my fingers from control+T’ing their way to a new tab.

So I decided to take the thought process out of the game and never again risk a moment of weakness.

Enter the daily goals. Hand crafted on a bright yellow post-it.

What now? Look to the post-it. That’s my guide, my savior, my treasure map. Cross out that item I just completed (with a silent “fuck yeah” adorned) and slide my gaze 2 centimeters lower to Next Item.

Instantly, I know the answer to “What now?” Crisis averted, focus maintained.

Secondly, as I said earlier, concentrated self-reflection revealed that I am personally motivated by the act of completion. I decided this is worth leveraging, so designed this system to play off that personality trait. One can never have too much motivation, especially when on a solo entrepreneurial journey.

Milk It for Good

This system may or may not work for you.

It was created based on my own self analyzation and what gets my engine revving full speed. It was also meant to help battle those 2-second Moments where I decide whether to stay focused or load a new tab and lose my mental momentum.

Your mileage may vary, but so far mine has been pretty hybrid good.

It might not seem that important if you didn’t set a goal for today. And that just made it easier to not set one or three tomorrow.

Sooner or later, though, you’re going to hit a rut.

That hot project might get delayed, or that “yes” might suddenly swing to a “no.” And that’s when the habit of small, concrete daily goal setting is important.

No matter what game it is you’re playing, it’s always a game of inches. And sometimes inches are all you have to rally around.

I went through today without even 1 goal, and now I don’t know if that unfinished sales letter is a problem, or if the fact that it’s almost done is actually a success. Tomorrow that won’t happen.

When you’re pushing it alone, give yourself MORE reasons to rally, not less. It’ll make it easier to fight another day.

And you probably can’t run a software company if you (at the very least) haven’t been around a lot of hackers.

And it’s unlikely you can instantly whip up a travel writing career if you’ve been tossing salads all your life.

You’ll notice I never said “impossible,” but each of those 3 transitions probably gets pretty close. And here’s my point, if you want to be successful at Something, you need to immerse yourself in the industry, skillset, and network that that Something is in.

I’ll be switching career gears very soon, and this consideration played a part in my decision.

If I wish to pursue the self-employment Dream, I must surround myself with others taking a similar plunge, going through similar tribulations, and making mutually beneficial realizations. If I want to do freelance marketing, potential clients are only a the surface of the network I’ll need for a healthy, sane experience.

Only other freelancers can provide the experiential mentorship, support skills, and general wisdom to make this transition as quick, painless, and profitable as possible.

And I can’t get that here, employed, abroad.

So I think it is time to dive in. Full fucking throttle into a community I know very little about, but respect greatly.

To become insanely successful inside a community, I think you need to eat, sleep, and drink that community and its nuances until you know it upside down, right side up, and all the way across.

Once that happens, you’ll start realizing exponentially beneficial connections, relationships, and opportunities. And that makes things happen more quickly, easily, and pleasurably… which is nice.