📋 Episode SummaryMarc and Emily take on their favorite recurring theme: goal setting. But this time, they dive deeper into their wildly different upbringings, internal narratives, and current practices around goals—from poker chips and chore lists to Scrum boards and morning routines.

They explore why goals can feel like punishment for some and purpose for others, and how they've each shifted their relationship to goals in ways that feel more personal, flexible, and free. This episode offers an honest, layered conversation that blends coaching insight with lived experience—and a few laughs about spilled coffee and Sam Adams.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Not everyone relates to goals the same way—and that's okay.
• The language around goals (e.g. pressure vs. permission) deeply shapes how we engage with them.
• Habit tracking, data reflection, and redefining "done" can shift goals from punishment to process.
• Personal history plays a huge role in how we perceive achievement, success, and failure.
• Coaching is often about reframing—what looks like failure may actually be success in disguise.

🗣 Quote Highlights

"I am a recovering goal skeptic." – Emily "Goal setting is the air I breathe." – Marc "All I could see was that a goal was going to tell me when I wasn't doing it." – Emily "So often, they actually did the thing… they just didn't see it." – Marc "Now I hate goals… with curiosity." – Emily

🧰 Tools & Mentions

• Centering Prayer by M. Basil Pennington
• Can I Walk With You? podcast
• Franklin Planner and Covey Weekly Planner
• Scrum language: "What does done look like?"
• Magnetize 2026 (Marc's goal-setting workbook)
• Data tools: Apple Watch, habit trackers, food logs
• Chore rewards, sticker charts, and Thomas the Tank Engine sets
• Diane Leonard – Scrum Master training
• The Concord Leadership Group's mission: helping leaders know they're not alone and be equipped

👥 Who Should Listen

• Leaders wrestling with "shoulds" around goals
• Coaches exploring how to help clients reframe success
• Anyone triggered by the word "goal" but still seeking growth
• Parents trying to teach motivation without shame
• People who love systems—and people who resist them

🎺 That Music! Special thanks to Lexi Moreno, Caleb Pitman, and Zoe Czarnecki for the original music. Lexi Moreno: composing / mixing / mastering / guitar Caleb Pitman: composing / mixing / trumpet Zoe Czarnecki: bass