Introduction: A New Approach to Goal Setting
Most goal-setting approaches fail—not because people lack motivation or willpower, but because they fight against human nature instead of working with it. Chase Hughes, a retired U.S. Navy Chief and expert in behavioral analysis, has developed a revolutionary approach that changes everything.
Credit: This methodology is based on the work of Chase Hughes, founder of NCI University and expert in human behavior and influence.
Why Traditional Goal Setting Fails
The Fundamental Problem
Our lives are shaped by habits, and habits are secondary to paradigms (how we see ourselves). Traditional goal-setting relies on willpower, which consistently fails because it tries to override the mammalian brain's prioritization of survival and comfort.
Key Insight: The mammalian brain dominates decision-making, prioritizing immediate comfort over long-term goals. Success comes from aligning this part of the brain with your objectives, not fighting it.
The NCI Goal Setting System: 4 Core Steps
Step 1: Define Your Ideal Outcome
Action: Vividly describe your perfect future with measurable milestones.
Why It Works: Your brain needs a specific, clear target. Vague goals create vague results.
Exercise: Write out exactly what success looks like:
- What does your ideal Partner.Co business look like in 1 year? 3 years?
- How much income are you earning?
- How many customers and team members do you have?
- How does your daily life look different?
- What has changed about your health, relationships, and freedom?
Make it so vivid you can visualize it clearly.
Step 2: Define Your Nightmare Outcome
Action: Honestly outline the worst-case scenario if no changes are made.
Why It Works: The contrast between ideal and nightmare outcomes ignites your mind's drive for transformation. It makes the ideal future more compelling and urgent.
Exercise: Answer honestly:
- If I continue my current path, where will I be in 1 year? 3 years?
- What opportunities will I have missed?
- How will my health, finances, and relationships be affected?
- What will I regret not doing?
This isn't about negativity—it's about creating motivation through contrast.
Step 3: Make Success a Natural Byproduct
Action: Create habits and beliefs that make success automatic.
Ask yourself two critical questions:
- "What habits align with my goals?"
- Identify daily behaviors that naturally lead to your ideal outcome
- Focus on consistency over intensity
- Example: "I follow up with 3 contacts daily" instead of "I work hard on my business"
- "What beliefs do I need to adopt?"
- Replace "I'm trying to be successful" with "I am someone who..."
- Shift from aspiration to identity
- Example: "I am someone who serves others and builds genuine relationships"
Step 4: Inventory Harmful Patterns
Action: List current habits, beliefs, and behaviors contributing to undesirable outcomes.
Be brutally honest about:
- Habits: Excessive social media scrolling, procrastination, avoiding follow-ups
- Beliefs: "I'm not good at sales," "Success is for other people," "I don't have what it takes"
- Behaviors: Avoiding difficult conversations, seeking comfort over growth, making excuses
Recognition is the first step to transformation.
Reprogramming Your Brain: The F.A.T.E. Model
The F.A.T.E. methodology reprograms your mammalian brain to make new habits effortless.
F – Focus
Strategy: Make your goals unavoidable in daily life.
Actionable Steps:
- Imagery: Create vision boards, phone wallpapers, computer screensavers
- Repetition: Review goals every morning and evening
- Novelty: Change your environment to signal transformation
- Environmental Changes: Reorganize your workspace to reflect your aspirations
Example: Place images of your income goals, dream lifestyle, and ideal business results where you'll see them constantly.
A – Authority
Strategy: Leverage social proof and trusted authority figures.
Actionable Steps:
- Identify mentors who have achieved what you want
- Study successful people in Partner.Co
- Seek guidance from upline leaders
- Build your own authority through these five components:
- Confidence: Believe in your abilities
- Discipline: Follow through consistently
- Leadership: Take initiative and guide others
- Gratitude: Appreciate progress and people
- Enjoyment: Find joy in the journey
Key Truth: Authority is more influential than skill. When you embody these traits, you naturally influence others.
T – Tribe
Strategy: Surround yourself with people who inspire, challenge, and provide accountability.
Actionable Steps:
- Audit your social circle: Are they ambitious? Supportive? Growing?
- Upgrade relationships: Seek people who are where you want to be
- Create accountability partnerships: Regular check-ins with like-minded partners
- Join communities: Powered by Partnership team calls, training sessions, masterminds
- Distance yourself from negativity: Limit time with people who drain energy or discourage goals
Principle: You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Choose wisely.
E – Emotion
Strategy: Forge a strong emotional connection with your future self.
Actionable Steps:
- Use aging apps to visualize your future self
- Place images of your future self in your environment
- Write letters from your future self to your present self
- Regularly visualize the emotions you'll feel when you achieve your goals
Why It Works: Emotion drives action. When you feel connected to your future self, you make decisions that serve that person.
Solidifying Habits: The F.E.A.R. Formula
Once you've implemented F.A.T.E., use F.E.A.R. to embed positive habits permanently.
F – Focus
Keep goals central and unavoidable in daily life.
E – Emotion
Deepen emotional connection to goals and future self.
A – Agitation
Strategy: Disrupt the status quo and embrace discomfort.
Action:
- Change your routine deliberately
- Take on new challenges outside your comfort zone
- Break old patterns by doing things differently
Truth: Growth is inherently uncomfortable. Transformation occurs within discomfort, not despite it.
R – Repetition
Strategy: Relentlessly reinforce positive habits until they become identity.
Action:
- Practice new behaviors daily without exception
- Track your consistency
- Celebrate small wins
- Continue until the habit becomes automatic (66+ days)
The Dopamine Map: Redirecting Motivation
Purpose: Evaluate current sources of dopamine and shift motivation toward productive activities.
Exercise:
- List all activities that give you dopamine hits (social media, food, entertainment, work achievements)
- Categorize them as helpful or harmful to your goals
- Consciously redirect dopamine-seeking behavior toward productive activities
- Ask: "Am I aligned with my highest potential?"
Communication Excellence for Business Partners
Eliminate Filler Words
- Record yourself speaking
- Identify filler words ("um," "like," "you know")
- Practice speaking with conviction
- Filler words signal lack of confidence
Posture and Composure
- Move slower than others—it signals authority
- Fast movements signal fear or desire to escape
- Slower, deliberate movements characterize leaders
- Regulate your breathing
Practical Implementation: 4-Week Plan
Week 1: Foundation
- Complete Steps 1-2: Define ideal and nightmare outcomes
- Write them out in detail
- Review daily
Week 2: Self-Assessment
- Complete Steps 3-4: Identify aligned habits/beliefs and harmful patterns
- Be brutally honest
- Share with an accountability partner from Powered by Partnership
Week 3: Environment Design
- Implement F.A.T.E. Focus strategies
- Change your physical environment
- Create visual reminders
- Set up daily review systems
Week 4: Social Optimization
- Implement F.A.T.E. Authority and Tribe strategies
- Identify mentors and accountability partners
- Join team masterminds
- Audit and upgrade your social circle
Ongoing: Habit Formation
- Apply F.E.A.R. formula daily
- Track consistency
- Embrace discomfort
- Repeat until habits become identity
Key Takeaways for Partner.Co Success
- Success is not about willpower – It's about reprogramming your brain to make success automatic
- Identity precedes behavior – Change who you are, and your actions will follow
- Environment shapes destiny – Design your surroundings to support your goals
- Tribe determines trajectory – Surround yourself with people who elevate you
- Emotion drives action – Connect emotionally to your future self
- Discomfort signals growth – Embrace it rather than avoid it
- Authority attracts success – Build confidence, discipline, leadership, gratitude, and enjoyment
Conclusion: The Journey IS the Transformation
Chase Hughes' methodology represents a paradigm shift from traditional goal setting. Instead of fighting against your nature, you work with your brain's natural tendencies.
By implementing the NCI Goal Setting System, F.A.T.E. Model, and F.E.A.R. Formula, you create an environment where success becomes inevitable rather than aspirational.
Focus not just on reaching your goals, but on becoming the person who naturally achieves them. The journey is the transformation.
Start today. Not tomorrow. Today.
Credit: This methodology is based on the work of Chase Hughes, human behavior expert and founder of NCI University.
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