002 Preface: Goal Setting Might Ruin Your Life [Book Excerpt]

Welcome back to Success & Significance, a weekly newsletter by NY Times bestselling author and serial entrepreneur Kevin Kruse. Not yet a subscriber?

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I’m excited to share the preface to my new book for premium subscribers, but first, for all subscribers, some thoughts this week on cool condos, the wealth gap, and do I have early Alzheimers?

I spent this weekend in Philadelphia, visiting condo open houses. Left the city pre-pandemic for beautiful Bucks County but now as an empty nester, I’m ready to go back. Found it interesting that the hottest new building in Philly, the Arthaus—where units sell for $2.5 to $10 million—stands literally next door to a 114-year-old church and the Broad Street Ministry which is the biggest provider of social services to people who are homeless. I think the wealth gap is the single biggest short-term threat to America and think it’s a good thing that the city's wealthiest people will have to share the sidewalk with hundreds of others waiting for a free meal.

On a different note, I’ve noticed I’ve been extra forgetful over the last year or so. If you or someone you love has been worrying about their memory problems, check out these two articles I found helpful.

Apparently, I’m not alone: It’s not just you—we are all more forgetful during the pandemic experts say.

And this is a great article that gives specific examples of normal forgetting versus a more serious cognitive problem: 3 Types of Normal Forgetting—and 1 that isn’t.

I’ll share more of what I’m finding on maximizing cognitive performance in future issues, but for now, let me tell you that I just ordered some B6 and B12 supplements after a blood test showed very low levels of these vitamins. Yes, I eat mostly plant-based, and B12 is difficult to get adequately on this type of diet.

Scroll below to read the preface to my new goal-setting book. And remember,

Impact > Income!

Kevin 🙏

PS - In the next issue I’ll explain how two simple words brought down the future “Queen” of America - and how you probably use these same words hundreds of times a day yourself. Yikes!

The Power & Perils of Goal Setting: Preface

A dozen years ago on my patio. Chilly night, the fire pit warms me. I sit with an Old Fashioned in my left hand and this book manuscript in my right. I sip the Bulleit bourbon cocktail, pause, and toss the stack of papers into the fire. A year’s worth of writing crackles and turns into smoke.

I originally wrote this book over a decade ago and promptly dragged it into the recycle bin on my computer and burned the paper copy. Not because I thought it was a bad book, but because I had a change of heart during the year it took to write it; I feared what it might do to readers' lives. I feared for your life.

It sounds dramatic, but I really believe goal-setting is like magic on earth. But just like powerful magic in movies and books, it can be used for good or for harm. Think Gollum’s ring in The Hobbit, think Peter Parker’s powers in Spider-Man or all the magical spells that go awry in Harry Potter.

From my own experiences, I credit goal-setting with busting me out of a lower-class background and becoming a self-made millionaire at age 30. I credit goals with enabling me to start and sell several multi-million dollar companies since then. I set a clear goal to become a New York Times bestselling author and within two years, poof! It happened.

But I also think my goals contributed to bad marriage that ultimately ended in divorce. For many years I wasn’t a very present or fun father. My goals continue to have the unintended consequence of taking a toll on my health.