I’ve done a variation on this goal-setting session every year since 2018 and am amazed at the results it consistently produces—both in my own life and in the lives of the writers and Substack writers I work with.

I want you to walk away from the replay of this session knowing at least one thing:

The wins you’ve already achieved—no matter how supposedly small—hold the keys to your future success on Substack.

Through neuroscience, practical strategies, and real-world examples from writers in our community, the replay above and Goal Setting Toolkit and Magical Monthly Planner below will take you step-by-step to discover how small wins create sustainable growth.

Highlights:

* Why celebrating every win actually decreases motivation

* The “middle problem” and how to overcome it

* A 30-second technique for handling goal-related anxiety

* The surprising power of visualizing failure (and when to use it)

* How to make goals both ambitious and meaningful

Most importantly, we walked through a step-by-step process for setting achievable goals that still stretch your capabilities. The writers who attended left with clear 2025 goals and practical plans for reaching them.

For paid subscribers:

* Full goal-setting session replay (50 minutes of focused strategy)

* Your Goal Setting Toolkit (structured workbook PDF with proven exercises)

* The Magical Monthly Planner (the simple system that helped me reach 29,000+ subscribers)

* Quarterly check-ins to keep you accountable and supported throughout 2025 (March, June, September, December)

* Our first community goal-setting thread below (!)

Want to set your 2025 Substack goals in a way that makes them achievable? Upgrade to paid:

Here’s to your ambitious, meaningful growth in 2025!