Your Career Needs a Vision, Not More Goals

Why you can hit every target and still feel lost. A simple 3-part framework for an intentional life.

I turned 43 last week.

There’s something about the number that feels solid. Substantial. It’s not a round number like 40, which feels like a grand event. I’m back to the prime numbers.

It’s the age where you have enough experience to know what you’re good at, but enough time to wonder if you’re good at the right things.

As I was thinking about my work, especially why I write this newsletter and make videos, I started to question my own motivations. Why spend so many uncomfortable hours putting myself out there? Why let others judge me?

For decades, my life was driven by goals. Get the promotion. Find a mate. Buy a house. We are all taught to chase these markers of success. I certainly did, but I rarely stopped to scrutinize why.

Chasing goals can feel like running on a hamster wheel, even a very fancy one. We get so focused on the next achievement that we never check the trajectory of the path we're on.

My take is that this happens because we make a simple but profound category error. We confuse our goals with our vision.

The most common error is treating a goal as if it were a vision. Think of someone whose entire focus is "to get a job." They treat landing that offer as the ultimate picture of success. But getting a job is a goal. It is a single event. The actual vision is the career they want to build, perhaps one of constant learning and solving meaningful problems. When you mistake the goal for the vision, you risk taking the first offer you get, only to realize a year later that you've started down a path you never actually wanted.

The opposite error is just as dangerous. It involves treating a vision as if it were a goal. This is the trap of the phrase, "I just want to be happy." Happiness is a vision, a state you cultivate through your actions. It is not a goal you can achieve. People who treat it like a goal expect to arrive at a permanent destination called 'Happy.' They chase a fleeting feeling, get a temporary high from a purchase or an achievement, and then feel like a failure when it fades. They are trying to complete something that is meant to be a lifelong practice.

These category errors are what make strategic thinking feel useless, when in reality, it is among the most important work of your life. An exceptional career is architected, or dare I say, engineered.

The plan can and will change, but you must be intentional. Otherwise, you risk chasing goals with such fervor that you lose the plot of your own life.

Here are the key elements of that architecture, and how you can define them for yourself.

1. Start With Your Vision

A vision answers one simple question "What does the future look like?" It is not a goal. A goal is a single event you can complete. A vision is a rich, detailed description of a future reality you want to inhabit. It’s a scene from your life five or ten years from now.

You must start here because you cannot set meaningful goals without knowing what future you are trying to build. Without a vision, your goals are just a random walk. This exercise is about defining the destination. It is important that you ignore the "how." Thinking about the logistics or the money will anchor your vision to your present reality. The point is to let yourself daydream, not to create a plan.

Actionable Advice: Block 30 minutes on your calendar to daydream. Write a detailed paragraph describing your ideal day five years from now. Let your mind wander and capture the specifics. What do you see when you look out the window? What are you spending your time on? Who are the people around you? What is the feeling you have in your gut? Write in the present tense. Don't worry about how you got there. The 'how' comes later. Just focus on the 'what'. This exercise is really fun if you’ve never done it before.

The vision I had for myself about five years ago when I started my YouTube channel is an extension of my vision when I was in college. Back then, all I wanted was an artist’s loft in a rough part of town, Pioneer Square in Seattle, and to create art all day. I just wanted a big empty space to do creative work in. That vision never materialized because after school I started working a corporate job at Amazon. Last year, when I quit my job one of my motivations was that I could finally get that creative space. I’m sitting in that space right now as I write this (though it’s in a slightly different part of town).

My perfect day when I turn 48 will be to wake up, do a workout, have a nice cup of coffee, drop my kids off at school, come in to the studio, create something I’m proud of, go get my kids and have a nice dinner.

You don’t need a single multi-decade vision, you can have different visions of different sizes. The critical bit is to see the future. One of these visions right after I graduated from college was to be a high-level employee at a big tech company. My day-to-day would be writing code, building systems, and leading others on projects that would affect millions of people.

2. Find Your North Star

Once you have a destination, you need a compass. This is your North Star. For centuries, sailors have navigated using Polaris, the actual North Star in the sky. Their goal was never to sail to the star itself. That’s impossible. The star was a fixed point that allowed them to know their direction and stay on course. Without it, they may start off with good intentions but end up somewhere very far from their target, or worse yet, navigate in circles.

Your personal North Star works the same way. It’s a simple, guiding principle that you never "achieve," but it tells you if you’re heading in the right direction. It's the filter you use to make decisions, separating good ideas from the ideas that are right for you.

Actionable Advice Your task is to create a simple "litmus test." This is a short phrase that, if it were true about the work you are doing, would let you know you are on the right track. It describes the quality or impact you want your work to have. It will help you make decisions when you have multiple options.

For instance, imagine a senior software engineer whose vision is to 'work in a calm, focused environment where systems are simple, durable, and easy for new team members to understand.' From that vision, they could adopt the litmus test: "Does this work reduce complexity in the long run or add to it?" They can use this for everything. When choosing between two technical solutions, they ask "Does this reduce complexity?" When writing an email to their team, "Does this reduce complexity?" The North Star must lead you to your vision if you actually apply it, if you actually use it to guide your choices.

I needed a North Star for my content if I was to achieve my vision. The reason this is so important is because if I lose my way, I won’t be able to make a living off of my creative work. If that happens, my vision goes with it.

The litmus test I came up with is the phrase "Would this content be valuable to a younger version of Steve.” I know this content will resonate because so many people are in their early and mid-career.

Now I use that as a test for everything. When I make a video, I ask, "would a younger Steve like this?" When I write a newsletter, "Would he be grateful he found this?" If the answer is no, I rework it, or sometimes, I’ll just scrap it. If it's a confident yes, I know I'm honoring my North Star and that my vision will come along with it.

3. Set Your Goals

Goals are the concrete, near-term objectives you will accomplish. This step comes last for a reason. Goals set without a vision are random. Goals set without a North Star can lead you down a path that violates your principles. But goals that are aligned with both are incredibly powerful. They are the engine that moves you deliberately toward the future you want to build.

These are the projects you complete, the skills you learn, and the boxes you check. They are the tangible proof of your progress.

Actionable Advice Brainstorm a list of 5-10 things you could do in the next 90 days to move toward your vision. Don't filter yet. Now, hold each item up against the North Star you just defined and ask "Is this a clear and direct expression of my guiding principle?"

For instance, when I brainstormed my goals for this year, my list included: finish my book, start a podcast, make more of the same YouTube content, launch a new business, and go deep on AI. The list is actually super long, and I’m grateful I didn’t just start with a plan, but rather worked my way backward from what I want my life to look like.

A Life Engineered

So that’s the process. It’s how I’m trying to navigate my life at 43, based on how I navigated my life up to 43.

My vision of an artist's loft that started in college is completely different from the vision I had as a young engineer at Amazon, and both are different from the vision I have now as a creator and a father. But all three started with day dreaming about what would be a pretty good life.

I’m not asking you to predict the future, but just to live in it for a moment. The point is to have a framework for making intentional choices in the present.

It’s the difference between building a career by accident and trying to engineer a life on purpose. Having a vision gives you a destination. A North Star keeps you on course. And your goals are simply the next few steps on that long, interesting journey.

It's the best gift I could give myself for my birthday. I hope it’s a useful one for you, too.

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