Page 14 - Hard Goals

Introduction 5

using very similar systems, and tapping (and extending) the full
potential of their brains.
First, their goals are Heartfelt. Steve Jobs and the toddler
both have deep emotional attachments to their goals. What they
want will scratch an existential itch. Steve has said the iPad is
the most important work he’s ever done, which is exactly how
that three-year-old feels about nabbing the cookie. Both the
iPad and the cookie represent a level of purpose and meaning
that is impossible to shake off or walk away from.
Second, their goals are Animated. There are lively and
robust images dancing through both their minds. Steve Jobs
didn’t write a number on a little worksheet and say, “657,000
iPads sold, that’s my goal.” He saw a movie in his head that
showed people perusing newspapers, reading books, watching
movies, and more, all with his marvelous tablet. He saw what
the device looked like and how people would use it, right down
to the emotional reaction people would have when they fi rst
took it out of the box—just as that three-year-old sees a far-
away glimpse of a marvelous round disc that sparkles in the
light the way only the crystalline structure known as sugar can.
He can’t describe exactly how it’s going to taste (his vocabu-
lary hasn’t yet caught up to his palette), but he can imagine
how great he’s going to feel with that circle of sweetness in
his mouth. Until his goal is attained and that cookie is his, the
three-year-old’s whole universe revolves around this picture in
his mind.
Third, their goals are Required. They simply must achieve
these goals, or their respective worlds will end—their survival
depends on achieving these goals. It’s rumored that Steve Jobs
was working on the iPad while recovering from a liver trans-