Friday Field Notes: 5/9/2025

May 09, 2025

Happy Friday, folks.

No Field Notes last week because we wrapped the All-In Agency Summit. What a rush.

We had 25 advisors and experts presenting throughout the day and the feedback has been MASSIVELY positive. It makes all the effort worth it.

For the intro this week, though, I want to talk about goals.

Often, we only set goals around our work. We need a certain revenue or profit number. We need to hit a certain number of clients. Or reduce our hours of work.

Yet rarely do we realize we have a whole life to live.

To combat this, I set 25 goals for 2025. A few of these things are business goals, but a lot are random things that would have me look back on 2025 and, if accomplished, I could say this was an awesome year.

This year, I have things like (1) do a front flip on our trampoline, (2) make sourdough bread, and (3) read 25 fiction books.

I completed the last one today, as I’ve reread one of my favorite books of all-time: The Alchemist.

Because of that, I want to highlight all of this week’s lessons learned around the book

Lessons Learned This Week:

1. Fear is a bigger obstacle than the obstacle itself.

Most people never chase their dream, not because they don’t want it, but because the risk of failure feels too big. Or worse, the idea of actually getting what they want feels overwhelming.

What will people think if I try and fall short?
What if I succeed and can’t handle it?

Fear dresses itself up as practicality, but it’s often just resistance in disguise. Santiago had to leave everything behind to follow a vague promise of treasure, and the scariest part wasn’t the desert or the danger. It was the unknown.

Your next level is always hiding behind what you’re scared to do.

2. What you seek is seeking you.

The treasure you’re chasing is already pulling you toward it3. Are you hiring A players?

This one sounds mystical—but it’s dead practical. When you get clear on what you really want, you start noticing people, resources, and opportunities you were blind to before. It’s not magic. It’s focus.

Santiago didn’t just find omens and allies by luck, he found them because he was looking. The moment he committed, the path revealed itself piece by piece.

The right door often doesn’t open until you walk up and knock.

3. The journey teaches you more than the destination.

Every detour has a purpose. Pay attention.

Chasing a big goal will stretch you in ways you never expected…and that’s the real prize.
Santiago didn’t just gain gold. He gained patience, resilience, intuition, love, and perspective.

Every setback on the path—the thief, the crystal shop, the desert—wasn’t a distraction. It was the training.

If you shortcut the journey, you shortchange the growth.