Josh Spector's System For Clarity-Driven Goals

A few of the top questions I get when it comes to automation and AI:

• What do I automate?

• What should I systemize first?

• Which tool should I use? (Zapier or Make, etc.)

These aren’t bad questions.

But, before answering, the first question I always ask is:

"What's your goal?"

And the answers I get usually lack clarity and specificity. And without a clear and specific goal, problems arise:

• Knowing when or what to automate or which systems to optimize becomes difficult.

• This ambiguity can lead to confusion, reducing the chances of achieving said goals.

• Worse, they end up working on tasks that don't align with their objectives and wasting precious time.

Creating Clarity Around Your Goal (And Increase The Chances of Accomplishing it)

I'm a big fan of Josh Spector's, One-Sentence Clarity Goal Formula because it provides clarity around your goal (the key missing ingredient).

And that’s what we’re covering in today’s post:

1. A quick breakdown of Josh’s One-Sentence Formula

2. How the ChatGPT prompt guides you in creating a clarity-driven goal

One-Sentence Formula Structure:

Let’s start with a breakdown of Josh’s formula…

Josh Spector’s One-Sentence Formula Elements

Element 1: What Do YOU Want?

Your goal, your rules:

• What drives your ambition?

• Example: A creative coach's ultimate aim might be to have a fulfilling career by "assisting other creators," but if we dig deeper, it's about ensuring a stable income for themselves while doing so.

The Importance of Being Selfish

Why it matters:

• Directs your energy with intention

• Differentiates between passion and outcome

• Customize your approach to resonate deeply with your mission

Element 2: Your Value Proposition

To rise above, you've got to resonate.

• Who is your audience? And what value do you provide?

• Example: Instead of a broad, "help creators," it’s about "guiding solopreneurs to monetize their writing."

Zeroing In On Your Audience

The nitty-gritty:

• Delivers content that speaks directly to them

• Cements your position as a go-to expert

• Helps authentic and lasting connections

Element 3: Setting Boundaries

Success isn't about saying 'Yes' to everything. It's about knowing when to say 'No'.

• What are the things you won't compromise on?

• Personal Example: Even if consultations are lucrative, for me it’s, "I won't exchange hours for dollars."

Note: This is an example of the lifestyle I’m optimizing for – if you’re doing client work then that’s totally fine!

Now that we’ve covered Josh’s One-Sentence Formula, it’s time to run through how the prompt works.

Leveraging the ChatGPT Prompt: ‘Clarity Goal GPT’

The prompt I’ve created named, ‘Clarity Goal GPT’, is:

• Simple to use (2 minutes to complete, tops)

• You'll be asked to provide three specific elements

• Based on your input, it will offer suggestions, guiding you toward a clarity-driven goal (in seconds)

Clarity GPT – Create Clarity Around Your Goal

1. Paste the prompt (which is included at the end of the post)

2. Give it a vague goal. Example: "make money”

3. Select an option or provide your own. I chose #1 just as an example

4. It’s going to share ideas of a target audience – choose an option or input your own. I suggest including your own and be specific

5. Again, select an option or your own

6. Include one thing you won’t do. Example: “without trading time for money”

Result: “I want to generate $10,000 in monthly passive income by helping busy solopreneurs and digital content creators outsource and automate their business processes, without trading time for money.”

Is it perfect? No.

So, I refined it a bit:

“I want to generate $160,000 / year from my newsletter and digital products in 24 months by helping solopreneurs remove busy work so they can build the lifestyle biz they desire, without trading time for money.”

Clarity Goal Benefits

Now that I have a clarity-driven goal, I can work backward. In order to achieve this goal I know the categories of systems (and potential automation/AI) I may need:

• Financial (track financial health and progress)

• Content (create quality content, analyze data)

• Marketing (track conversion rates, email metrics, etc.)

• Operations, etc.

And then prioritize accordingly.

Clarity Goal GPT Prompt

ROLE: You are Clarity Goal GPT, an expert consultant for solopreneurs. 

GOAL: I want you to help me get clarity around a goal and give me 3 ideas for each element using the broad goal I provide as a point of reference. 

CONTEXT:

I start every Creator Clarity call with the same question:

“What’s your goal?”

Most people struggle to answer it beyond a vague reference to what they want.

That’s a problem because without clarity around your goal, you’re unlikely to accomplish it.

I’ve come up with a goal sentence formula to help. 

Fill in the blanks:

“I want to get _______ by helping _______ get _______ without doing _______.”

That formula ensures your goal includes three key elements:

1. A result you want. 

2. A specific value you’ll provide to a specific group of people. 

3. A thing you won’t do. 

Here’s a closer look at each element…

What Result Do You Want?
Be selfish — it’s YOUR goal.

The time and effort you put into something should lead to a reward you want.

That reward can be financial, personal, external, or internal, but it’s important to identify why you’re doing something.

But don’t confuse your result with your mission or purpose.

For example, one client initially told me his goal was to “help creative people make a living.”

That’s admirable, but it doesn’t explain why he wants to do that or what’s in it for him. 

The truth is what he really wants is to earn a solid income for himself by helping creative people make a living.

Even the most selfless goals have a selfish component to them — identify what YOU want and incorporate it into your goal statement.

For me, the result is “I want to build a successful solopreneur business.”

What Value Will You Provide And To Who?
It’s one thing to identify a result you want, but to achieve it you need to provide value to others.

That’s why the second element of my goal formula is to name (as specifically as possible) who you want to help and how. 

Don’t just say “people,” or “companies,” or something generic like that.

What kind of people? What kind of companies?

As far as how you’ll help those people, think in terms of a transformation you’ll help them make.

How will you help them get from Point A to Point B and what is it they want to get?

For me, the value I want to provide is “to help creators grow their audience and business.”

What’s A Thing You Won’t Do?
This is the most overlooked element of goal setting.

Once you know the result you want, people you want to help, and value you want to provide, it’s important to recognize there are infinite ways to do that.

But some of them you don’t want to do.

For example, let’s say your goal is to help poor people.

There are a million ways to do that:

Do you want to donate money? 

Work in a soup kitchen? 

Organize a community initiative? 

Create job opportunities? 

Help one person at a time? 

Help people in your city? 

Help people in third world countries?

Consider all the things you don’t want to (or can’t) do and explicitly exclude them as part of your goal statement.

This helps clarify your goal and approach.

For me, while I always want consulting to be a part of what I do, “I don’t want my solopreneur business to be solely based on consulting revenue.”

Goal Statement Examples
A quick note about my goal statement formula: 

You don’t have to format your goal sentence exactly as it’s listed in the formula above, but do use the formula to identify the elements you ultimately incorporate into your goal statement.

To give you a sense of how this all comes together, here’s my goal statement based on the snippets I shared above:

 “I want to build a successful solopreneur business helping creators grow their audience and business without it being solely dependent on consulting revenue.”

See how that goal statement can guide everything I do? It’s been a huge help as I decide where to invest my time and effort.

A couple other examples of goal statements from clients I’ve worked with on Creator Clarity calls:

A freelance speech writer’s goal:

“I want clients who do work I believe in to hire me to help them do their communications and view me as an expert in persuasive writing.”

A blogger’s goal:

“I want to create something I find fulfilling that gives me a sense of purpose, incorporates my skills, is rooted in my personal experiences, and helps makes people’s lives easier and more meaningful.”

// end of examples //

OUTPUT FORMAT: 

- Use a mad-lib style approach by filling in the blanks of each variable. 


CONSTRAINTS:
- The output should follow the following element structure.

Examples:

Element 1: What Result Do You Want?
I want to reach 10,000 newsletter subscribers.
I want to earn $5,000 a month from my newsletter.
I want to secure 3 partnerships with automation software companies.

Element 2: What Value Will You Provide And To Whom?
By helping solopreneurs save 10 hours a week through automation tips.
By helping digital marketers automate their lead generation process.
By helping content creators automate their social media posts and engagement.

Element 3: What's A Thing You Won't Do?
Without cold calling for subscribers.
Without spending more than 10 hours a week on the newsletter.
Without accepting investment or external funding.

Use Markdown formatting with numbers.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Ask one question at a time. Do not proceed unless I say so.

1. Ask me for my goal
2. Ask me for the result you want (provide 3 examples relevant to the goal I provide).
3. A specific value you’ll provide to a specific group of people (provide 3 examples relevant to the result I provide).
4. A thing you won’t do (provide 3 examples relevant to the value I provide).
5. Use this formula to generate the 3 ideas: 

I want to get {A result you want} by helping {A specific value you’ll provide to a specific group of people} without doing {A thing you won’t do}.

And that’s it!

I hope this helps you crush your goals.

How I Choose What Tasks to Eliminate, Automate, or Delegate (FREE template included):

Simple Prioritization Framework for Solopreneurs (FREE template included):

30 Workflow ChatGPT Mega-Prompts Bundle: These prompts are designed to streamline your biz ops. From tackling bottlenecks and crafting email templates to mastering automation tools and client communication.

Talk soon,

Mike