Nicolas ColeCo-Founder Ship 30 for 30, Premium Ghostwriting Academy

@AlexHormozi Taught Me How To Set Goals Effectively

2 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, Nicolas Cole explains how Alex Hormozi’s frequent reference to the Theory of Constraints reshapes traditional goal‑setting. Rather than writing goals and then trying to achieve them directly, Cole argues you should view the goal as a future state and identify the ‘dam’—the specific constraint or problem—that blocks progress. By systematically removing each constraint, the flow of effort (the water) naturally reaches the goal without forced effort. This reframes business growth from a proactive chase to a reactive removal of obstacles, emphasizing a subtle but powerful shift in mindset.

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The idea the Hormozis talk about all the time, and it's something that I've really internalized, is the theory of constraints. A lot of times people think about growing their business the same way they think about setting goals, which is I sit down and I write down the goal and I go achieve that goal. In reality, that's not what happens. The theory of constraints actually has you thinking about it in the opposite direction. You have a future state, you have a goal, and the only reason you aren't there already is because you are constrained somewhere. So think of it like a dam, right? You have your goal, you have a dam, and you have water. There's no reason why the water can't flow to the goal. You just have to remove the dam. The dam is some sort of problem in your business. And then if you were to remove each dam, then the water flows to your goal and you accomplish it. It's such a subtle difference, but instead of thinking about it like, I go out and achieve this thing, it's instead, how do I remove things that are keeping me from naturally achieving the thing in the first place?