What Self-Help Gurus Don’t Teach You About Achieving Goals

THE BASICS

Most self-help books and YouTube channels often talk about deliberate practice, awareness, growth mindset, and distraction-free focus. After reading over 50 best-sellers on goal achievement and effectiveness, I always feel more motivated and see productivity improvements, but some goals remained unattained.

The famous phrase “Anything is possible if you want it” is traditional in Growth Mindset, yet goals often elude us. We know it’s possible to achieve, we know we must put in effort, but how do we find the right path?

Gurus suggest visualizations, but what if nothing happens after trying? They advise breaking goals into smaller pieces, but what if we get stuck on a small step? They recommend deliberate practice to overcome obstacles, but what if we lack the strength to break through?

All these techniques worked wonders for me, leading to success in various projects, playing at top clubs in Brazil, I had support from worldwide renowned DJs, music released by major labels, managing Dithavic and my own record label, Aureum. Yet, what truly helped me reach my goals was developing my own processes. A Guru might say taking cold showers and making the bed in the morning is crucial to achieving your goals, but when you sit down to write your book, you might end up procrastinating or still disliking what you write.

DEVELOPING YOUR OWN SUCCESS PROCESS

1. Mentor-Storm: Life comes down to decision-making, and you can only achieve goals by making the right decisions. To do that, brainstorm alone to identify obstacles blocking progress, then brainstorm possible solutions to these roadblocks. After mapping these solutions on your own, sharing or seeking new perspectives from someone else can unlock new insights — this is where a Guru comes in. Start studing and exploring these topics through books, podcasts, YouTube, consuming content daily for 2 hours (during exercise, driving, breaks or before sleep, not during work time). Follow all these Guru advices, but if it doesn’t work, change Guru and tactics. Test various mentors’ strategies quickly until you find what works. Dedicate 2 hours outside work to absorbing new information until you feel you are on the right track.
2. The 2-Balance Method: After forming the habit of consuming 2 hours of problem-solving content daily, efficiently execute what you learned. This is where I struggled for years. I consumed much content, found valuable mentors, but when I was going to execute, I procrastinated or couldn’t maintain productivity. So I developed a method for consistent evolution to create self-discipline. In my guide Productivity Rebellion, I explain how to build efficiency and effectiveness in pursuing goals, even for those struggling with willpower. The aim is to create a system that keeps you on track and clear on the path to your goals. Without executing daily tasks effectively, no mentor’s advice will help.
3. Fine-Tuning Your Process With Creativity: Once you find the best paths and execute ideas, evaluate results. Are you getting closer to your goal? Did the mentors’ advice and daily process not yield results? Use creativity to identify flaws and reasons for failure. Your creative ability will help craft better solutions. In my guide Creativity Excellence, I delve deep into generating ideas, improve brainstorming, describe some exclusive design thinking techniques, and ways to amplify thoughts. Adjust the cycle, repeat the process of identifying flaws, generating new improvement ideas, seeking new mentors, executing, and reassessing until you achieve your goal.

WORKING WITH THE TRUTH GURUS DON’T SHARE

Here, we realize that despite the wealth of information from books and the internet, each author might not have the perfect solution for you. They claim to hold the secret to success, but true success lies within our individual identity. That’s why I try to offer initial tools for you to discover your own path.