The Transformative Power of Goals

Co-hosts George Wright III and John Harding revisit why goal setting is one of the Franklin Planner podcast’s most popular topics, emphasizing that the greatest power of goals is not what they accomplish but what they awaken and change in the person pursuing them. They discuss why writing goals down and reviewing them matters amid digital overload, citing research on handwriting, sustained attention, interruptions, and the value of uninterrupted “deep work.” Using examples from NASA checklists, the brain’s filtering of attention (including noticing opportunities once a goal is set), Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile, and Churchill’s purpose-driven leadership, they connect goals to belief, executive functions, and self-coaching. They invite listeners to write down what matters most, choose 2–3 goals, and review them for three weeks, and they preview an upcoming member event with Stephen M. R. Covey on building and restoring trust.

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Episode Timeline

00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
01:41 Why Goals Matter
02:45 Goals Change You
05:22 Why Write It Down
08:30 Reflection vs Technology
11:18 Paper Protects Focus
14:25 Brain Filters Attention
17:37 Belief and Possibility
21:07 Leadership and Purpose
26:07 Daily Review Practice
28:10 Self Coaching Research
30:59 Two Part Goal Exercise
33:20 Events and Closing

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Episode Transcript

George Wright III: Okay, welcome back to The Franklin Planner Podcast. We’re so glad to be here with you this evening. My name’s George Wright III. I’m your co-host, here with my co-host John Harding. How are you doing, John?

John Harding: George, I am doing great, and I’m excited to go again at the transformative power of goals, so good to be with you.

George: It’s one of our most popular topics, and I think it’s because people understand goals but that doesn’t mean they do ’em. And you just said it. There was a real key word you said. You said, “The transformative power of goal setting.” We’re gonna talk a little bit about a blend of personal experience, practical, leadership, some neuroscience, but this is a topic that we can never really have too much of, because I think people struggle with it despite how important it is, don’t you think?

John: I do. If you look back on our—now we’re approaching thirty podcasts—as we started doing this, the early podcasts that we did on goals is, by double the amount of listeners, you know, our highest listened-to podcast. So we appreciate that, and we wanna revisit it, and we’ve got some stories to tell a little bit about it and just keep the conversation going. So I also just welcome, to everyone listening, and please share the podcast if it’s meaningful to you.

George: The whole reason we’re doing this with all the experience we’ll kinda talk about and all the influence we have with our amazing members, clients, individuals that we’re working with, we want to be able to help you to create your best life. We want you to stay focused on what matters most and bring you these ideas and thoughts to keep you on that. So John, you’ve spent decades helping people set meaningful goals. So let’s really start with just a very simple question. Why do goals matter so much?

Why Goals Matter

John: Well, what a great question. I’d like to add a couple, if I can, questions to it. So let’s start with that one: Why does a goal matter so much? So closely associated with that is, why does writing it down matter? And why does reviewing it matter? And I was doing some work today with people, you know, kind of in a world filled with an overload of information, also powerful new ways to search information, calendars, productivity… So many people are discovering the simple discipline of sitting down, kind of away from the technology.

It’s not about what you accomplish

Anyway, I hope we can offer some ideas. Let me give you a couple of ideas. People tend to think of goals often like accomplishing something. For example: lose twenty pounds—a common one. Write a book, grow a business, save for retirement… You could feel more personal about it: improve a relationship with a son, a daughter, an associate. But I think the greatest power that we’d like to propose today of a meaningful goal isn’t actually what it accomplishes.

George: Really?

John: And so then you would say, “Well, what the heck is it?” [Laughter] And it is—

George: Right. Right. What is the point?

Goals change you

John: The point is, it’s what it awakens inside the person pursuing the goal, and how having goals changes you and really prepares you and increases you. And so I think we’d like to talk a little bit about that today.

George: Yeah, that is a very interesting perspective as well, and maybe sometimes, if you’re listening to this, you’re trying to find a new perspective to reenergize your focus on goals. Well, John, after forty years at Franklin Planner, I’m sure you’ve learned a lot from watching people set and achieve goals. So tell us a little bit about that.

Transforming perspectives

John: We have watched, as examples, executives set goals and transform organizations. We’ve also watched parents, you know, transform families by setting goals. We’ve watched young people transform their lives. You see it in athletes, you know, in the Olympics. You see it in your local band. You see it as people learn things. And in almost every case, the transformation began when someone made a simple decision, and that simple decision was to set a goal. And someone decided there was a better something, a better future worth pursuing when they formed that goal. And I think a key is that decision changed the way that they looked at each day. It changed what they noticed. It changed what they valued. And if you go just a little further on that—think about if you’ve set a goal—it changes kind of the questions you ask.

George: Yeah.

John: And eventually it changed them. And that’s why we’ve always loved that phrase—you mentioned it—“the transformative power of goal setting.” We say goal setting. Goals don’t simply change our future; they really change the person creating the future.

George: Oh man, that’s such a great observation. It’s interesting ’cause it’s very much like the quote I love from Wayne Dyer, where he says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” And it’s so important, the perspective that happens simply by doing it, so I thought that’s a really good point. I also noticed something else: Why do you think we’re seeing a renewed interest in people writing things down, writing their goals down, versus just using digital tools, which is what most people are trying to do with productivity right now?

Technology’s Role in Goal Setting

John: I think there’s some different things happening that, if you looked at the research—and of course we’ve been podcasting on this, George—think of overwhelm, think of decisions, data, information, technology kind of calling urgency to you. “Look at this. Respond here.” And for over twenty years, we’ve all run to that. You know, wow. And maybe under the heading of what’s cool, what’s new, what’s digital technology. In the news now, there’s people of all ages, whatever season of life you’re in, there seems to be a recognition. You know, we’ve been talking about this for some time, but we’re seeing— let me give you some examples. Schools are questioning—and I mean leadership, school boards, and so on—are questioning excessive screen time. We probably don’t need to say why, but there’s a lot of destructive, or at least distractive, and in some cases destructive—

George: Yeah, and negative. Yep. Yep.

John: Yeah—going on there. And of course, as they measure what kids are learning and how they’re performing, they’re seeing a drop. Parents are asking whether children should spend more time reading printed books. Universities continue studying the difference between handwriting and typing, and there’s some phenomenal research about the power of what’s in us when we use our hand, when we use write, and tangible things. It completes a different, very important job of thinking and memory and kind of activating what’s in us.

Take time to think

But even businesses are encouraging employees to find uninterrupted time for thinking. There’s a cool book called Deep Work by Cal Newport where he just studies—hey! [Laughter] You know, the ability to sit down and think through and really do something important without interruption. It’s a great book. So, we know there’s science behind this, but maybe many people, maybe there is a bit of a wave, rather than people like us—

George: Yeah.

John: —that have been studying it for years. That people are discovering something new about how people actually learn and excel and succeed.

Reflection and intentionality

George: Yeah, it is more than just digital overwhelm, for sure, because I think that people are realizing that they need that intentionality, and it leads me to kind of, to a—really, the next question I wanted to ask you, which is, you know: Franklin Planner has emphasized reflection and intentionality long before neuroscience kind of validated the importance of that, because there’s now science that says, you know, reflection and intentionality, from neuroplasticity and neuroscience, is a real thing. Why is that so important, the reflection and intentionality?

John: I think it connects with the last question. The power that is within us. And these are fundamental premises we have: that there is just immense greatness in us. There’s a leader in us. There’s an ability beyond, you know, what most of us accomplish to tap into. But let me just piggyback on the last question a little bit and ask you to contrast something. When you think of, you know, taking time to think and draw upon the human intelligence— Let me just contrast that for a second with artificial intelligence, and you could have a broader category where you say technology. There’s so much current information and really, you know, so much going on with artificial intelligence, but think of that as a great form of technology that’s also very powerful and good.

Leading your life can’t be outsourced

But here’s what technology can absolutely not do: It cannot decide, you know, what should be in your life, like what deserves your time. It cannot tell you what kind of father you want to become. It cannot build trust. It cannot rebuild trust with a son or an associate. It cannot decide whether you should forgive others. It cannot determine what really motivates you. It cannot lead. And those things tap the human power. And so, this ability to reflect, to think, to have a safe place, and to do the things that draw out the human potential that should lead. And technology should support, you know, at our desired command level and serve us.

George: Yeah.

John: So there’s— if you kind of put your last— those last two questions together: the ability to set goals, determine your purpose, and then use the right mindset, the strategies and skills and tools to go about that enables you to, as you select the right things and do the right things, to tap into your greatness and the greatness in others to lead ahead, and then use technology to support that.

Using Paper Tools to Support Goals

George: Yeah, John, I really like how you use those words “tap human potential,” because you’re right. You think about it: most of us think of “goals” and “productivity” and “time management” and “reaching targets,” but we don’t realize that, like you’ve said already so eloquently, it’s like making the decision and that intention is important—writing it down, reflecting, and even tapping in to your human potential by doing that. So it’s another interesting story, and you mentioned this before, so I wanted to bring it up.

When NASA sent astronauts to the moon, the astronauts carried detailed printed procedures and handwritten checklists. Now think about that. The mission represented probably the greatest technological achievement in history, yet under enormous pressure, they still relied on disciplined writing and written thinking. How does that apply to today? How can we learn from that, and what does research kind of say about that?

The tangible nature of paper

John: I love that story. The checklist helped them think and did that in a way that was, you know, super reliable and safe. Technology is extraordinary at increasing capability and speed. Reflection, writing, you know, paper can’t be hacked. It’s extraordinary at improving reliability and judgment and actually, you know, helping us set direction. Now, you take a pencil or paper, you take the planner, and those are physical objects that are tangible. There’s something to the tangible nature, but there’s also great brain science around thinking, writing, and how our bodies and brains are connected.

So that’s another podcast, but here’s something else: leadership always requires judgment and also tapping into things that are tools or strategies for us. Here’s a research insight I’d like to share with you, kind of along this line: scientists studying attention have consistently found that our ability to concentrate is affected by interruptions. No surprise.

George: Yeah.

John: When our attention is continually fragmented, we spend more time simply returning to the task we were trying to perform. A planner and a journal and that kind of tangible nature when we’re talking about writing down and reflection—even a single piece of paper creates a very different environment. It quietly says you could say these kind of things. So think of opening up your Franklin Planner, this paper with some inspired design to it, and the mindset of creating and leading your own life. And you open it up, and it can kind of give you a place to say, “Hey, stay here. Think. Reflect. Finish the thought.” You know… “Test out the inspiration.” And that’s one reason I think paper remains remarkably relevant, not because the actual tangible paper is that magical, but because it protects sustained attention, and sustained attention is one of the conditions where leadership grows.

Goals change your awareness

George: Wow, that’s huge. Yeah, it’s so interesting how, when you really dive into it, it’s more than just the fact that it’s distracting you from digital overwhelm. Hey, you know what? What’s interesting to me, because I love this “think and reflect and focus your attention” and these things—it always fascinates me to talk about how the brain works, because I think it— like, as an example, you know, when you start looking for a new car, all of a sudden you notice those new cars everywhere. Or, you know, you’re aware of something in particular, now all of a sudden it’s on your mind all the time. Back to kind of the focus and attention you said: Why is that? Like, how do… What is it about our brains that our listeners can really gain something from when we understand how it works and why that happens?

John: That is—  I mean, I’m thinking of, that works at almost anything you’re looking at doing, you know, whether it’s buying something, or a project, or even, you know, searching out if you’re searching for something. Like, I have a great friend that hunts for arrowheads, so anything related to that comes. Well, here’s what’s interesting on your car example. The cars weren’t invisible before, so what changed? What changed? Nothing changed except attention and focus. Our brains are constantly filtering information. So as you think about that and say, if this brain that’s so powerful is constantly filtering information, every second there is far more information available than we could possibly process consciously.

George: Yeah.

Write goals down magnifies them in your daily life

John: So the brain asks a simple question: What matters? A meaningful goal answers that question. So this is very cool. This is a kind of a deeper 2.0 on goals and just the power of them. The brain asks this meaningful question. So imagine someone writes this goal for— and I’ll just use one that’s maybe a family-oriented one, just for the heck of it. Here’s a goal: “I want to strengthen my marriage.” Now, in a couple months, we have a great marriage and relationship expert that’s part of our partner network that will be part of a live event that we invite our members to and would love you to look for that and sign up. Matt Townsend. So this is sort of along his line of work.

But if I had that goal and I wrote down that goal, or someone wrote down that goal, tomorrow they would begin noticing opportunities that they might not have noticed yesterday. Maybe a conversation, a chance to apologize, a kind word, an evening they could spend together instead of watching TV or Netflix or whatever. The opportunities were always there, just like the car, but the goal changed the awareness. And that’s why I often tell people that goals aren’t merely destinations; they actually are an opportunity to change so much about what you want to become and what you want your life to be like.

Believe it’s possible

George: Yeah, it does focus your attention. I love— You know, we always, we’ll have to do another podcast on the brain science and this whole idea behind the reticular activating system and, you know, how your brain can filter and sort. But you know, then there’s this other side of the equation, like we learn from this lesson—I think you and I have maybe even used it before—when you take the example of Roger Bannister, who broke the four-minute mile, and I think there’s a lot to be learned there on the power of goals and what they do for your belief and possibility. Do you wanna kinda share some of your thoughts on that?

John: Yeah, absolutely. I love this one because—for, you know, maybe younger adults, they might not know who this guy is—but many people, you know, over forty know Roger Bannister. And for years people believed running a mile in under four minutes was absolutely impossible, unachievable.

George: Mm-hmm.

John: Doctors questioned whether the human body could even survive it, which is amazing.

George: Yeah.

John: Then what happened? Bannister did it, and suddenly others began doing it, too. The human body had not changed overnight. Belief had changed. A new possibility entered people’s awareness. And so that’s another part where the brain is filtering. Constantly a filter. But also, when our belief changes, our opportunities expand. And setting goals—and also learning from what others do and have done, like Roger Bannister—they expand the possibility. They don’t just organize activity, they reshape belief. And that’s one reason the Franklin Planner has always encouraged people to think carefully about their purpose, their mission, and then goals. Your mission determines which goals deserve your life, and your goals continually remind the brain where to look.

George: Yeah, that is so true. This is something that goals can help you take down the road and path getting and expanding your beliefs.

Paper goes hand in hand with intention

John: So let me just add to that, just goals continually remind your brain where to look, and that’s this idea of transformation. And if you learn how that works and help your brain that way—not because our writing necessarily changes it, but because we become more intentional. I wanna share this research insight that I think is powerful. Goal-setting research over several decades has consistently demonstrated that specific, meaningful, and appropriately challenging goals tend to improve performance by focusing attention, increasing effort, encouraging persistence, and stimulating better strategies.

So that isn’t just productivity. You could say it’s literal human development. When we clarify what matters, we begin becoming the kind of people capable of achieving that dream or that aspiration that we had. And as we review it and we write it down, we sort of activate the brain, the memory, and our creativity to really get that done. So we’re, again, we’re transforming ourselves in this process of setting goals. And often, I know related to revenue and profit and even people, there’s pressure people feel when somebody says, “We’re gonna set a goal, and are we gonna reach it or not?” But there’s so much more inside this—

George: Yeah.

John: —to changing who you are as you develop kind of a respect, almost a reverence, for the power of setting goals and learning that process.

How Goals Transform Leadership

George: Yeah, and you touched on it a bit with revenue, but I think it would be great for us, you know, as we’re getting, you know, shorter on time, to now speak to leadership, because I think, you know, you’ve talked about leadership capabilities of the brain, you know, and what they are, and how slowing down to think can make us better leaders. So speak to me a little bit about how this process of slowing down and thinking and goal setting will help us become better leaders.

John: Oh, that’s awesome. I’d like to, if I can, relay this quick leadership story. You know, think of a leader either in history or that you’ve heard of or maybe someone in your life, but let me just share this. I think this is just as we sort of get into a little bit of the neuroscience, or a little bit about the brain and leadership.

Winston Churchill prioritized purpose

In the summer of 1940, Britain stood virtually alone against Nazi Germany—and historians, you will remember this. But much of Europe had already fallen, and every day brought new reports of destruction, uncertainty, and fear. And the easy response clearly would’ve been panic, and I’m sure many did. Instead, Winston Churchill continually brought a nation back to one thing, and it was purpose. He brought purpose. And so this is a way to kind of connect what we’ve been talking about to the leadership capability inside us. And a lot of times we’ve said, “Hey, inside our soul,” you know, “inside who we are,” but this is specific. The brain has some really amazing capabilities.

But back to Churchill, he acknowledged the reality without surrendering hope. He didn’t pretend the situation wasn’t difficult, which many parts of our life is difficult, but he kept reminding people why they were fighting and what future they were trying to preserve. And I’ve often wondered if that’s one of the greatest responsibilities for each of us and every leader, and that is not simply solving problems, but continually focusing on our purpose or helping others do the same. So let me just go then further out of that story and say leadership has always, I believe, been about much more than making decisions. Leadership helps people think beyond the immediate moment.

The power of vision

And one of the most remarkable things about the human brain is that it gives us the capacity to imagine a future before it exists. This is something that animals cannot do. Humans are uniquely empowered this way, and this is something that Stephen R. Covey just really continued to bring forward. And he would say “create things twice.” First, like a blueprint, imagine it spiritually. And even took— I know Stephen M. R. told in the magazine we have coming out in the article of how Stephen R., his dad, took those guys to an empty lot that had had the foundation dug—

George: Yeah.

John: —or was about two or half, and then, you know, told them, “Hey, this has been planned ahead.” Anyway, we can envision a healthier marriage as an example before it becomes reality. We can picture a business that doesn’t yet exist and plan it out. We can imagine a child becoming confident, a community becoming stronger, or a dream becoming real, actually years before anyone else sees it. And that ability is one of humanity’s greatest gifts.

George: Yeah.

Asking the right questions

John: So let me just add this. Scientists often refer to this—kind of where you started in this question—

George: Yeah.

John: —the brain system responsible—so our actual brain system responsible for the planning, judgment, emotional regulation, prioritization, and long-term thinking—as executive functions. You might have heard that. Much of this activity is associated with the prefrontal cortex. And I sometimes smile when I hear that phrase because executive functions—

George: Yeah.

John: —those are exactly the abilities that we have if we lead our own life and that many leaders have today. They ask those questions. “Where are we going?” “What matters most?” You know, “Who should do this first?” and “What sacrifice is worth making?” These are deeply human, powerful capabilities.

George: Yeah, and it’s core to being a leader and to creating your life. So, I know we have just a few minutes left, but I wanted to ask a couple of real practical, tangible questions. One is, when someone’s sitting down to review their mission, roles, and goals each morning, what’s really happening beyond just organizing your schedule? You’re sitting down, you’ve got your planner,or you’re getting ready for a day, you’re reviewing your mission, roles, and goals. What’s happening there besides just organizing your schedule?

Taking Time to Plan

John: Well, George, they have the opportunity, they’re exercising leadership. They’re exercising intention and the ability to think about the questions quietly. You know, “Who matters?” Sometimes I hear people say, “Oh, the Franklin Planner is more than a calendar,” and I like to stop—and you’ve heard me say this before—and I say, “Wait a minute. The calendar is no small thing.” This is a representation of days and nights and weeks and months. It is a phenomenal way to organize your life before it happens, so I don’t wanna minimize that.

And also, some people also say, “Hey, the Franklin Planner system is so much more than a planner.” Well, a planner is remarkable, too, but think about this: we’re talking about creating your best life. We’re talking about tapping in to the ability to do what you want to do, not what someone else wants you to do, but what you can decide you wanna do. What promises do you wanna make? What’s the next right thing to do? So they’re exercising this unbelievable power to create your best life and to lead your life, and really to kinda set yourself free from things that you can’t control, and you’re not trying to control other people, but tapping into leadership.

George: Yeah, I think that was really important to bring up because I think people need to understand the power, not just of goals, but in their ability and their empowerment to really create their best life, as you said. And you know, you’ve even often referenced Ed Batista’s idea that most coaching is self-coaching. And the reason I bring that up is because I’d love for you to just make, you know— my last kind of question for you was, how does goal setting really help you develop that ability to self-coach?

The power of writing things down

John: That’s a great question. So Ed Batista is a professor at Stanford, and he’s kinda tapped into this incredible ability. You know, we hear a lot about coaching, and we usually think, “Hey, do I have a coach?” It’s usually someone else. There’s digital coaches as well. But his research even highlighted that as you reflect and journal and take quiet time to write down your thoughts, even if you write down a goal just once and you never even revisit it, having written it down, that there’s something over 135-percent increase in your ability to have accomplished that.

Take time to ask yourself questions

So when people take time to think about themselves, take time to consider the purpose that they have—sometimes we say it’s mission or vision—but even if you said, “What do you care about and who do you care about and what would you like to become?” Ed Batista says if you’ll begin with that kind of a thing—and his research shows—and then you’ll take time and reflect on that daily as you consider the things that are important to you, you will have the process. And he said also that— I think he gave the statistic, and we’ll need to check this, but the vast majority of coaching that’s done through life with executives or any of us is actually self-coaching. You know, us considering using the power within us. And anyway, the sacrifice to think about taking a little time to do that, you have great inspiration within you to do that.

George: Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I love that. Well, I think this has been really a great conversation, and I hope— if you’re listening to this, I hope this has really opened up your eyes and the thought that goal setting is not just that. One of the reasons we talked about the transformative power is, you know, this intention of deciding and writing and reflecting and being intentional with your, you know, focus and attention and growing your leadership, and there’s so many aspects of goal setting that are so important. So before we take off, John, is there any last thought or any, you know, idea you’d like to share with our listeners around this topic that we can leave them with?

Write down what matters most

John: I think I’d like to invite everyone to kind of have a two-part exercise. First, it’s this simple question: Have you thought carefully about and written down what matters most to you? The roles you have in your purpose and what you value. Have you written it down? And so part A of this challenge is to do that and to write it down. The second part is after you’ve done that—and you can start anywhere and go anywhere; you could start at part two with goals—but the second part, ideally in a little bit of an order, is to think about between two and three goals that would help you achieve that purpose and to exercise just creativity.

Write them down. You can revise them. You can change them. You know, what matters most, what relationships deserve my attention, what promises do I wanna make and who do I wanna make them to? And then, George, once you’ve thought about and written down your mission or purpose or the vision you have of even a small part of who you wanna be, and then a few specific goals—no more than three—then to review that every day or every couple of days, and do that for about three weeks, and see what happens in what we’ve—kind of the subjects we’ve talked about today.

George: Yeah.

John: Where your attention goes.

George: ’Kay.

John: What kind of creative ideas come forward on that. And then my promise, and kind of our invitation is, it will be powerful to help you achieve what matters most and be who you wanna be.

Register for Member Events

George: Yeah. No, that’s great, I love that. And if you’re listening to this, whenever you’re listening to this or watching it on YouTube or on one of our channels, that this has just kind of inspired you and reopened your mind not only to the power of goals, but all of the many benefits that you can get in all different areas to your personal and leadership and everywhere else. We really appreciate you being here. I guess before we take off we should also mention we have a great member event that’s coming up. We’re gonna be doing an event with Stephen M. R. Covey. And do you wanna just tell them real quick what we’re gonna be covering on that? ’Cause that’s coming up next week for individuals that can register for that. What are we gonna cover?

John: One of the world’s foremost authorities on leadership and with deep, deep research and experience on how to build trust and how to restore trust, Stephen M. R. Covey will join us, and he’ll speak about how to trust and inspire and also how to build trust. He is a great friend of ours, and also he has made such a difference, George. And we invite you to join. We invite you to become members. We’re really focused on helping you with what you wanna become and succeed at.

George: Yeah, this is great. So, anyway, we appreciate you being here. We’re so grateful for your support, and we hope that we can continue to bring value to you, our amazing Franklin Planner community. And so, once again, share this episode. Hit us up on our social channels. Let us know what you’re working on, what you’re dealing with, what you’re winning at. We wanna celebrate those wins, and we will look forward to talking with you again. Once again, this is George Wright III and John Harding, and we’ll talk with you soon. Have a great day.

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The Franklin Planner Team