Vision is Easy. Execution is Art.

Since it’s a new year, you’re probably hearing people talk about rituals like setting intentions, creating vision boards, or writing aspirations for the upcoming year. In the last week, I’ve seen half a dozen posts or more advertising various New Year workshops and events, and you may have even attended a “Vision Board Workshop” with your friends.

These practices are wonderful and, without getting too much into behavioral psychology behind why, provide real benefit to our lives. Visions are a powerful force to shape our futures, which makes sense because everything starts with a vision.

Think of literally anyone famous. For anything. Or just someone who has accomplished a great feat, like running a marathon or landing a dream job (even if it wasn’t accompanied by a Netflix special). With rare exceptions, they will likely say that their success started with a vision and it was the constant reminder of that vision that brought its materialization.

There’s a very famous story about the actor Jim Carrey who carried around a check for $10 million in his pocket everywhere he went. He carried this piece of paper for nearly 10 years as a constant physical reminder of the reality he was moving toward.

For some, simply creating the vision is challenge enough. Many are not accustomed to asking themselves questions like “What do I want out of my life?” and having the courage to actually form an answer, and so they remain stuck in the loop they fell into.

My struggle, at least right now, is not with the vision. It wasn’t always that way; I was fortunate enough to go through a period of asking myself some heavy questions about what I wanted my life to look like.

My struggle is not having the first clue about how to actually make it happen.

I get caught in the execution of a vision for myself, or in identifying the sequential steps to bridge the gap between “here” and “there.”

Some goals have a higher clarity than others, like a goal of “I want to read 12 books this year.” Pretty simple: pick 12 books and read them. And, the good news is that there are a lot of different ways to do this. You can go in your local book store or library, sign up for some kind of monthly book club, even get a random “blind date” book and a bottle of wine delivered right to your door.

But what about visions for yourself that don’t have such clear geometry?

What if my aspiration is to run a successful business? Or speak on a TEDx stage? Even a goal like, “I want to lose 20 pounds” is a bit trickier than you might initially think.

As the old saying goes, “There’s a thousand ways to skin a cat.”

So how do you pick one? How do you discern what steps will collapse the distance between you and your goals, whatever they might be? How do you know you are even setting the right goals?

It’s obvious to say that at some point you have to pick a lane, but choosing one amongst an infinite selection is often paralyzing, which is why many never do.

These used to be debilitating questions for me. I would spend hours upon hours researching, reading, listening, and learning that by the time it came around for forming an execution plan, I’d already drifted towards another goal, dream, or vision to chase.

I was on a walk with my roommate earlier this week and we got to talking about what we would like to learn this year. We are both former teachers and aspire to be lifelong learners. So for us, setting a curriculum for ourselves is actually fun, and we like the idea of dedicating effort on a regular basis to learning something new.

Sidebar: this is a great practice I encourage you to incorporate. Learning keeps the brain alive for as long as you live, and when you get to choose what you want to learn, the School of Life becomes infinitely more engaging.

I decided I want to learn how to improve my communication skills, particularly in being able to more clearly and concisely articulate my thoughts and ideas.

This is a constant pursuit of mine. I’ve always been long-winded, and even as a kid people remarked, “You’ve got enough hot air to be a preacher or a used car salesman.”

I openly admit that I love a lengthy detour. I love wandering off on thought tangents, taking leisurely thinks around a pond of nonsense, and delaying the point for as long as possible. And, as my roommate loves to remind me, it’s not always worth the trip! (Now, we have a rule where before I embark on a story, I give the “short version” in a few sentences and she decides if she wants the long version).

Why save time say few word when many words do trick? (That’s a play on a quote from “The Office”)

Anyways, back to the point.

I set the intention to become a better articulator.

Why?

Because improving your communication is a key factor in everything you do. The most effective communicators say exactly what needs to be said exactly as it is supposed to be said. They distill complex ideas into bite-sized chunks that anyone could understand. Those who master communication are barred by no doors in almost every domain of their lives.

After I made that intention, naturally I start wondering how do I make that happen? What can I do to actually improve my communication skills? How do I want to learn it?

Do I want to take an online class? Watch Youtube videos? Read some books or articles?

How am I going to actually practice and know that I’ve learned something or that I am making progress?

It is standard goal-setting advice to have some kind of tangible “goal post.” While some goals are driven by intrinsic motivation, having a benchmark—a way to measure the frequency shift—is a powerful orienting tool, provided it is not viewed as the final destination.

My goal is really more of an identity shift than a tangible, external goal (gain 5 lbs), so it takes a little creativity to define the indicator of success. Nevertheless, I still want to answer the question, “How will I know that I am making improvement?”

As I was grappling with this question while eating my dinner, as one does, I realized that I’d hit a bit of a wall.

I don’t know how to measure “better communication.” I know what I want to do (improve the effectiveness of my communication skills), but that’s where it leaves off. The methodology is a bit opaque, and I think a lot of us relate to this. We know what we want to do, but the steps to get there are elusive.

I thought about sitting down with AI, writing things out, and working through the system with it.

And honestly, it would probably do a really effective job. I use AI every day in my business and it has become a powerful tool allowing me to do things I couldn’t have dreamed of, like building an app. (Okay sure, I could have built it without AI, but having an AI to guide me through using the Bubble platform continues to be immensely impactful in my learning journey.)

I’ve used AI many times to come up with personal curriculums, fitness and nutrition programs, and all sorts of action plans, schedule optimizers, and more. You name it, I’ve prompted it.

I love planning, that’s for sure. More than that, I love feeling like I’ve got the “perfect plan” that will make everything happen without a shadow of a doubt. We all would love a “bullet-proof” plan that is guaranteed to succeed without any conscious thought. A “press go and next thing you know” setup. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

And, they may be “perfect” plans on paper. If you really wanted it to, AI could tell you down to the minute what to do in order to accomplish some task or goal. It’ll even export these architectural masterpieces as PDFs, images, or spreadsheets.

But that’s where it ends.

It is just another piece of paper, another spreadsheet, another bible that sits unused and eventually forgotten.

Maybe its ADHD or some other executive dysfunction, or perhaps just part of the human condition, but I have often thought that there has to be another way. There has to be some tool out there that not only helps you create these plans, but pick the right ones, set the right actions, and actually help you follow through. A growth companion that guides you along the way, helping you remember not just why you’re doing it, but more importantly, how far you’ve come.

And that’s when a light sort of went off in my head because I thought That’s exactly how I built Arete.

The neuroscience of setting goals is very clear: the farther the outcome (goal post) the less tangible it feels to the brain and the more difficult it becomes to move towards that vision consistently over time. Instead, we need small, regular wins. This seems to be the only “sure fire” method for accomplishing a goal. After all, everything imaginable is accomplished one moment at a time.

In my experience, I’ve only ever found tools that act as a retroactive catalogue. Checking a square, placing an X on the calendar, things like that. The shortfall I found is that nothing that takes more than one facet of your life into consideration. I believe that your life is more complex than just ticking a box on a spreadsheet.

This week, I focused on building out the Goal feature of the app. I am filling spots for my Founding Circle (if you’re interested in joining, you can learn more here), and I’m still in the process of getting my ducks in a row to submit the app to the Apple and Google Play Stores for distribution. So, in the meantime, I am continuing to build and refine the app so that the best first version possible is available when it is approved to launch.

As I was creating this feature, I was determined to structure it so that it actually aids in accomplishment, not just static tracking. I could have gone the “cheap and easy” route and built a basic feature that acts like another virtual pat on the back. There are lots of apps out there, like a habit-tracking app I’ve been using called Habit (creative, I know), that are just … stale. They’re nice, they’re visually pleasing, have some nice features, but the app itself just feels hollow to me.

I could have honestly gone the easy and simple route from the beginning and built a “one problem, one app” solution. However, the market is already flooded with these one-feature wonders and as great as some of them are, most of them are missing something. Arete is not trying to be everything, but it offers at least three distinct solutions in one place.

As I’m creating what I call the Growth Engine, the internal system that mostly guides the user experience (UX) with the app, I’m navigating the forces of behavioral psychology and UX design. After all, using tools ineffectively renders them…ineffective.

What good is a workout tracking app if you don’t go to the gym? What good is that same app that doesn’t know you have had a brutal day at work or are recovering from being sick? All you see is that you missed a workout and it then becomes a source of shame, not support.

What’s the point in having a habit tracking app that lets you check some boxes but fails to help you maintain motivation and consistency? Why sit down to meditate every day to alleviate your anxiety if you don’t know why you’re anxious?

Psychology tells us that setting the wrong goals, or at least not structuring our goals for success, is the functional equivalent of not setting goals at all, and that’s where a lot of people end up.

“I’ve tried setting goals before but I never stick to them, so why bother?”

I think people would stick to goals more if they knew both a) what goals they actually wanted to set (based on their values and vision), and b) had tools that helped them form and execute steps that make it happen.

Arete is that tool.

The goal feature is one of the central components of the app and forms the foundation for the user experience. This app isn’t another mindless download that you forget about.

This app is designed to be a companion that walks the journey with you.

When you set goals in Arete, you’re not just answering “What big box do I want to check off?” You are learning about why these goals matter. The system walks you through how to accomplish them, provides space for community and accountability, and helps you learn a little bit more about yourself in the process.

Is that kind of a lot? Sure.

But here’s the hard truth:

Growth takes work.

Growth takes facing resistance and answering with resilience. Growth requires action, and effort, and conscious thought.

For a long time, I felt bad about creating an app that made people think. Any app developer will tell you the more you can bypass the conscious mind and hack things like the dopamine loops, the more you can squeeze out of the user. This is why we’re all addicted to our phones: because very smart people have figured out how to make these devices so irresistible that you can’t help but be addicted.

And here I am building a tool that isn’t rooted in tech addiction. Crazy.

I get that not everyone is cut out for this road. Some people are just fine happily plunking along, and others have other systems that work for them. I’m happy for both and wish them well.

Deciding who you want to be and how you want to experience your time on earth is not for the faint of heart, which is why our “default” setting has become average. And, there is no shame in complacency.

However, if there is something you want to work towards, like learning a new language to take your love on a vacation of a lifetime, or becoming the healthiest version of yourself so that you can show up better for those in your life whom you hold dear, I’m building a tool to help you get there. I’m building a space for you to learn, grow, and become whatever version of yourself you want to become.

You can learn more about joining the Founding Circle by visiting theareteapp.io!

We’ll see you inside the Circle.

Until next time, live uninterrupted.

~Coleman