Top mental models on sculpting success and research-based goal achieving
Rather than one specific model, the Sculpting Success model is more of a supermodel. It is designed to help you answer the following question about career success and life impact: Given that we all have the same amount of hours in a day, what makes the most successful people in the world create so much more wealth and impact (sometimes a million times more) than others?
We live in a culture that celebrates abundance. The idea of “more is better” is everywhere around us—in food, clothes, apps, information, possessions, money, and more. Therefore we tend to think of addition as a key to our definition of success. But there’s a paradox at work that we almost never hear about. Sometimes, we get more value, success, and results when we subtract rather than add.
Recent research from the field of AI makes the case that, to accomplish something big, you do NOT set ambitious goals and then work backwards. Rather, follow the stepping stones right in front of you that give you the most novel paths forward, even if you aren’t sure exactly how that stepping stone will pay off in the future. From that new stepping stone, you look for the most novel path forward again.
We’ve all heard about goal setting and some of the most common techniques (for instance, SMART goals and BHAGs). In this Mastery Manual, we’re going several layers deeper and we’re also looking at the new research within the field of goal theory, and some of that research overturns previously held conventional wisdom. Read this manual to learn all about it.