By Javier del Carpio Ochoa – Peru

Time yourself as you answer these three questions:

• How many times a day do you pray?

• How many pieces of bread do you eat each day?

• What is your daily goal to achieve your life goal?

If you answered the third question as quickly as the first two, you can move on—read something else that offers you a new challenge.
But if it took you more than a single second to respond—literally more than a second—then what comes next might just change the pace of your life forever.

It seems obvious that defining a life goal is important, yet curiously, we often fail to give it real importance. The proof is in the speed of your response.
If you truly had your life goal clear in your mind, you would also know exactly what your daily micro-goal is. You’d have it as clear as knowing how many days there are in a week. And I say “goal” in singular, just to make a point.

Defining and planning a goal are difficult first steps—but the real challenge lies in the final one: execution. Let me share with you a few thoughts about it.

Clarity

Clarity is the cornerstone of success in any endeavor—no matter how trivial or monumental. But clarity goes beyond having a “big goal.” You must reach what I call surgical-level clarity—a form of micro-clarity. Translate it into daily goals.

If your daily life feels too complex to manage, “double-click” on it—break it down—and define three micro-objectives that move you closer to your goal.

If you can’t run, walk.
If you can’t walk, crawl.
If you can’t crawl, climb.

Because once you have clarity, you gain two extraordinary advantages:
First, you will never stop moving forward.
Second, you’ll know exactly which actions pull you in the wrong direction.

Self-Discipline

I once found the best definition of discipline in the words of Kenji Yokoi:

“Discipline is doing what you have to do, when you have to do it, even if you don’t feel like it.”

To internalize discipline is to build—and sometimes replace—habits. It’s not easy, but it’s essential.

Self-Demand

Self-demand means stepping out of your comfort zone. That zone feels like the water a fish swims in—it doesn’t even realize it’s there.

To recognize it, consider these three truths:

1. The comfort zone isn’t always comfortable; sometimes it’s simply routine, fear, or resignation to the familiar.

2. Inside your comfort zone, there’s only more of the same. No challenge, no growth—just repetition.

3. When every problem feels easy to solve, you’re likely feeding your ego and becoming trapped in a cycle of stagnation.

Leaving your comfort zone is a process that demands attention and effort.
The first signs that you’re breaking free are discomfort, uncertainty, and insecurity. These are not enemies; they are proof that you’re growing.

Only by learning new skills can you solve new problems—and the more kinds of problems you can solve, the more valuable, adaptable, and sought-after you’ll become.

Know Yourself

Knowing yourself requires raw honesty and unshakable courage.
A personal SWOT analysis can reveal what you truly have—and what you lack—to pursue your goals. It’s a rich exercise that deserves deep reflection, but for now, let this serve as your starting track.

Chronological Alignment

Time is the only non-renewable and non-manageable resource. You can manage what you do while time passes, but not time itself.
Your task, then, is to align your actions with your time—toward your life goal.

If perfect alignment seems impossible, at least ensure that your activities generate the resources—material and temporal—to keep you moving forward step by step.

A Final Reflection

Throughout my career, I’ve seen colleagues and collaborators of great talent and strong family achievements who still felt an inner void—as if something essential were missing.

Rediscovering direction later in life can be difficult—some succeed, but many remain trapped in their comfort zones.

To all of them, these words are for you.
May they awaken clarity, honesty, and the courage to fight for your dreams.
And above all, may they help you guide your own children.

Because the best way to correct the future is to educate early.
Maybe the father–son conversation you never had in your youth can happen today—with your own child—and perhaps, that single conversation could change their destiny.

Show it through your example, because age is nothing but a cowardly excuse—and also a powerful example.

Quo Vadis?
Where are you going?

– English Magazine