183: The Truth About Why You Need To Set Goals That Scare You

Nick Bare opens his solo episode with a story about a conversation with his friend Lewis Howes, who told him: "A man without a meaningful mission is a dangerous, dangerous man." That line sets the frame for five facts about goal setting that Bare has learned over fourteen years of building his company BPN from a $20,000 loan into a business valued at over $100 million, while also transforming himself from a four-hour marathoner into a 2:39 runner and a 100-mile ultra finisher. The episode is not a theoretical lecture—it is a personal account of what happens when you stop moving through life without a target.

Goals prevent aimless wandering

The first fact is that goals give you something to aim at. Without them, you drift. Bare connects this to a sermon he heard at Celebration Church in Georgetown, Texas, where Pastor Joe Champion warned against "setting up camp in the valley." The valley is not just hardship—it can be the lull between two wins, like the period after a Super Bowl victory before the next season starts. Bare says most people get to the valley and stay there because climbing out is intimidating. His countermove comes from military doctrine: aim, shoot, and move. If you stop moving, you become a target. He admits he does not thrive in the absence of goals. After a big win, he has caught himself thinking he will finally chill—only to realize five minutes later