Set Ambitious Goals—and Do the Work to Reach Them

Originally published 2021-11-02Robin’s commentary

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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above

English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2021-11-02. Translated 2026-10-30 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文

Reading guide

Robin argues that setting ambitious goals does not mean daydreaming. Aim for Mars, and you still have a chance of reaching the moon; aim only for the rooftop, and you may well remain where you started. Break a major goal into measurable key metrics for each year, half-year, and quarter. A startup should go further, breaking them down by month and week and demanding extraordinary growth. He adds that finding the right entry point into a large industry is also important.

Key points

Aim for Mars and you may reach the moon; aim for the rooftop and you may not move at all.
Break ambitious goals into measurable annual, half-yearly, and quarterly metrics.
Startups should break them down by month and week, with extraordinary growth at each interval.
Find the right entry point into a large industry.

One clear path continues into the distance among several branching routes, suggesting choice and focus. — Entrepreneurship & strategyThematic illustration · AI generated

Full text — English translation

#SetAmbitiousGoals #DoTheWorkToRealizeYourDreams Robin: “If your goal is to reach Mars, you still have a chance of reaching the moon. If your goal is to reach the rooftop, you may well still be marking time in the same place.” Robin: “Setting ambitious goals does not mean asking you to daydream. You need to break a major goal down into smaller parts: measurable key metrics to achieve each year, each half-year, and each quarter. If you are a startup, you even need to break them down by month and week, with extraordinary growth required at every interval.” For startups, finding the right entry point into a large industry is also important.

These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.

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