The Dangerously Effective 7C Goal System: turn big goals into small daily actions that stick.

1,700+ episodes sounds like superhuman discipline, but it’s really a system. I'm sharing the “Dangerously Effective 7C System,” a goal achievement framework built for real life, where motivation dips, schedules get chaotic, and progress can feel painfully slow. If you’ve outgrown SMART goals and you want a clearer way to turn vision into execution, this is for you. We walk through the behavior science behind goal setting and habit formation, including why writing goals down boosts succ...

• 0:09Speaker 00

  Hello and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast 1701. Yay for consistency. A friend of mine asked me, Angela, you probably are or were really committed to make it this far, you know, more podcast episodes than Team Ferris and pretty much everyone I know of.

• 0:38Speaker 00

  And I thought to myself, actually, I never committed to anything. I did one thing. Back then, 10 years ago, I asked myself, in 10 years, 10, 20 years moving forward, what kind of person do I want to be? What kind of person do I want to grow into? And I want to be one of the world's best communicators on the topics that I'm passionate about, like unlocking more human potential and doing our best every day. And I thought to myself, what could be that thing that will help me to get into consistent

• 1:22Speaker 00

  practice of communicating my ideas? And communication is at the basis of any education, of any transformation that you want to create in other people and in the world. And doing this podcast, learning how to communicate my ideas in a clear, structured way that gets the point across and gets people to take action.

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  So doing this podcast was my answer to getting better at that and to becoming one of the world's best communicators on the topics that I'm passionate about, human potential. And here we are, 10 years later, 1,701 episodes.

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  That is an intro. By the way, my name is Angela Sharina. I'm your host. I'm your partner in personal and collective transformation, your master health, executive sleep, stress management, recovery, self-actualization coach. And again, just someone who is really passionate and obsessed with human potential. And today we are talking about goal setting, goal achieving, things far beyond SMART

• 2:51Speaker 00

  and an updated system on how not just set your goals that are a part of your vision, but also, most importantly, how to get very consistent with actions that you need to take, very often challenging actions, actions that you need to do consistently to make your goals and visions real. I call it a 7C system because it has seven steps and they all start with the letter C, with the help of AI and Claude specifically. I had the system, but then I asked Claude, can you figure out some really cool way of naming each step?

• 3:33Speaker 00

  So it rolls on my tongue, but like 7C system, a dangerously effective system that can help you get anything from a longstanding podcast to six-pack apps, to showing up in the gym every day, or building the business and the impact of your dreams.

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  Client of mine, what prompted this conversation, this blog and this podcast episode? A client of mine asked me, quite a high achieving client, I must say. He asked me, Angela, what's like new in the world of goal setting? I have my system, but I'm not sure if it's the most effective, like what's new out there? And I told him, well, you know, the science of human motivation, of habit formation, of execution or behavior change has stepped quite a lot forward since the invention of SMART goal. And that prompted me to finalize and systematize my system that I've been using myself

• 4:41Speaker 00

  and with my clients for quite some time now and put it into a worksheet that you can download in the show notes, using the link in the show notes that leads to my Google Drive. This is where you can click and download your own worksheet that has more steps. In a sense, it has questions. It will guide you a lot better than this podcast. So get it, use it, share it. So in the last quarter of 2026, or you know, moving forward, you can achieve a lot more of what you want.

• 5:20Speaker 00

  But also, there is this fact, the less goals you set, and that is statistical truth, the less goals you set, the more of them you achieve, simply because you have more time, more energy, more resources on the, on any goal when you have fewer of them. But besides that, so dangerously effective system for goal setting, specifically goal achieving, that can get you anything from six-pack apps to 1,700 podcast episodes, if you're up for it, to building the business of your dream and maybe getting a girl or a boy of your dreams.

• 6:02Speaker 00

  Let's get started. So some statistics that might be interesting to you. Writing your goals down makes you around 40% more likely to achieve them. So just writing your goals down. Adding accountability, a weekly check-in with someone and your success rate climbs to 76% total. In general, setting clear, specific goals improves performance by about 20-25%. In a nutshell, specificity and accountability take you measurably further on every goal that matters to you. Well, that and having fewer goals, AKA focus.

• 6:48Speaker 00

  I've spent 18 years in coaching, studying behavior change, behavior science, behavior design and helping people get what they want. And out of all of it, I've built the system that makes progress inevitable and achieving your goal just a matter of time. I called it, again, with the help of our dear AI agents, the dangerously effective 7C system for achieving your goals. And SMART is only step one.

• 7:21Speaker 00

  You know, Oprah and use Carol say, if you don't know where you're going, any road will lead you there. So step one, clarify. And this is where your SMART system comes in. Get really, really specific on what you want, guys. Use a mix of objective and subjective measures. Make it SMART, then go further. SMART is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed. I think it's relevant. Well, in the worksheet that is available for you to download in the show notes.

• 8:03Speaker 00

  So in that workshop, SMART is also broken down in all the steps and what each step means and how to make it happen. So get SMART, the most important part, clarify, make it very, very specific. Envision the change. How will you feel when you're there? How will your life change? How will you measure it? Get so specific, you can almost taste it. Number two, connect. Nietzsche said, "He who has a strong enough why will bear anyhow." There will be challenges on your way. So why will you keep going? Why does this goal matter in your life? What's the goal of the goal? Why do you want it in the first place? Why that specific number matters?

• 8:47Speaker 00

  If you have that specific number, you need to have some specificity, some numbers. What will it change? Why? Right? So clarify and then connect it to the why, the reason. Your brain always asks this question, what's in it for me? Why should I care? Why should I spend this energy and resources? So you need to have that answer, otherwise you'll start self-sabotage. So two, connect. Number three, chunk. Motivation scientists discovered something about people and animals, something interesting. The closer we get to the finish line, the more energy we get.

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  Blood pressure rises, our go-getting biology switches on. It's why you find a second wind at the end of the race. The problem, most goals that you care about, really care about, take more than a week, more than a month, often more than a year, sometimes more than a decade. So how do you get that surge of motivation and energy consistently when you don't see the finish line, like ever, it's out there? You bring the finish line closer. How do you do that? You create many finish lines. The closer and more frequent, the better. High achievers set weekly and daily targets and check in on them every day.

• 10:09Speaker 00

  Olympic runners chunk the marathon into the next person, the next mile, the next loop and give...

• 10:17Speaker 00

  Every single milestone, their best. So chunk down to improve your motivation, to improve your energy, to improve your consistency. So you are not relaxed and coasting, which makes a lot of goals either impossible or very hard to get ever. Number four, convert. Here's what I mean by that, and this is the step where people really start having troubles and without a coach usually don't do this step and the next one. And then the whole system collapses and you never reach any goals, no matter how smart they were. So step number four, convert. Here's what I mean by that.

• 11:00Speaker 00

  A friend of mine asked me not so long ago, like again about those episodes of podcasts. Angela, you must be a very committed person to release 1,700 podcast episodes. And I told him, I thought to myself, I'm like, actually, no. I simply asked myself where I want to be in 10 years and which behaviors I need to repeat to keep moving towards it. Anything you don't have yet is on the other side of the consistent actions that you haven't taken yet. Remember this phrase, guys, quotable and really good one. Anything you don't have yet is on the other side of the consistent actions you haven't taken yet.

• 11:45Speaker 00

  So once the milestone is set, turn it into specific actions. Cold outreach, daily exercise, meals that keep you on your daily calorie budget. Whatever it is for you, the milestone is an outcome you can't control. Behaviors is what are what in your control and are what get you there.

• 12:07Speaker 00

  But that is not the end of it. Number five, construct. Your behavior is just a seed of change potentials. Like if I do this daily, I am more likely to get where I want to go. The system you design around it, around that behavior, around the execution is the soil that makes your seed grow or makes it die.

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  I always say, I have this beautiful saying that I absolutely love. The best intentions die of lack of preparation.

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  Your system that you design, it's the scaffolding that a seedling, young seedling, the weak one, that barely can withstand any wind. Your system is that scaffolding that helps a young seedling become a tree strong enough to withstand any storm or hectic travel schedule, or the cup or the plate overflowing with responsibilities. Behavioral scientists have done the research on what makes any behavior more likely to happen. Decades of research in human psychology and cognitive biases, millions of people in the data sets. Here's what they figured out, a shortcut. Again, decades of research and experience of millions of people.

• 13:28Speaker 00

  A, make it simple so you can do it on a bad day. Have a version for the bad day because that will ensure consistency and consistency will ensure that you make progress, keep and keep making progress. Prep everything. The best intentions die of lack of preparation. Prep everything so it's so easy to execute. Boil the eggs, pack the water, put the gym bag by the door. Make it concrete, what went how, so your brain has picture-like clarity. Make it visible, triggers, reminders, notifications, leave yourself no chance to forget. Instead of remembering, think reminders.

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  Make it rewarding, a high five in the mirror every time. You are indeed a badass for choosing to take action instead of just, you know, let it sleep. Get accountability, by far the most effective way to make sure you show up every day or as often as needed. A buddy, a friend, a community, a coach checking on you every day.

• 14:44Speaker 00

  Constructing a system, designing a system that supports your behaviors is, this is the step that makes milestones real. And what people really underestimate, what people skip or don't do well enough. This is where all of your best intentions and goals, no matter how smart, go to die. Not having a system that supports execution, that supports milestones becoming your reality.

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  But we are still not at the end. Step number six, count. To get good at making cakes, you need to make a lot of cakes, period.

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  There is a famous story from a pottery class. One group was told to make as many pots as they could. The other was told to make just one, the best one. Guess who made the best pot in the end?

• 15:43Speaker 00

  Without a lot of reps, most goals are a prayer for luck, a lottery ticket. You might get lucky indeed, but I'd rather do the reps that make luck non-essential because it doesn't happen for everyone.

• 15:59Speaker 00

  So don't just track goals, track your actions, not the skills, the meals, the workouts, the consistency.

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  Have you made as many pots as you could, as many as you planned before your outcomes start showing up? Before progress starts showing up? You gotta put in the reps and your brain loves seeing progress. So make your reps your progress. Have a poster on the wall, one of my favorite tools ever. Poster on any wall that you see frequently where you put an X every time you take the action. This is where one of the best writers for comedy, Seinfeld, I think his name is Jerry. That's how he got really good at writing jokes.

• 16:50Speaker 00

  Every day he gave himself an assignment to write jokes, like every single day. And the point is to never skip a day, just like with these podcasts. The point is to make three of them a week. The point of my daily writing is to write every day, to show up for the page, not to create some masterpiece, but to practice. And then, because I do it publicly, I automatically have the record of the blocks, the number. But sometimes when, you know, I feel like I, my consistency on certain things like doing cold outreach might not be as good as I want it to be, then I put a poster on the wall for myself.

• 17:35Speaker 00

  So count, count, count, but not the milestones. Re, that your consistency of your actions, your repetitions.

• 17:47Speaker 00

  And the last, but definitely, definitely, definitely not least, especially if you are interested in energy and motivation for taking action, even when it gets hard and you see no freaking progress. So this is where celebration, celebrate, step number seven. Celebrating the right thing gets crucial. And what is the right thing? Your consistency, your everyday actions, not just the milestones, big and small actions. Your brain worries habits much faster with positive feedback. Habit, in fact, is a much stronger function of emotion, not repetition.

• 18:26Speaker 00

  You know, they say it takes 18 to 254 days to build a habit. What habit researchers believe is true is that the higher the positive emotion from you day doing the actual habit, the faster it's going to be wired by your brain because then the dopamine is released and dopamine is like tattooing the signal that they think we need to do more of it in your brain. It's why drugs are so addictive. It's not because you did a lot of repetitions, it's because it produces dopamine spike that signifies to your brain.

• 19:06Speaker 00

  There is a lot of reward and it's good for us, even though it's not, but there is a lot of reward chemical in your brain. That's why drugs are so addictive, junk food and all kinds of addictive stuff is addictive. Emotion, emotion. So back to that high five in the mirror, jump for joy for doing the daily grind and you'll do more of it with a smile on your face. And then your goals, big and small, become just a matter of time. When you celebrate the action and you'll do more of the action.

• 19:41Speaker 00

  That's how, again, your goals, big and small, become just a matter of time. The way muscle is a side effect of showing up in the gym and training with progressive overload. Do it consistently and you can't help yourself but get the result. I'm sharing this whole system, again, the worksheet that I put together, really well done with the iHelp. It's available in the show notes, it's on my Google Drive. Click the link, get to the Google Drive and save it and work through it. Grab it, use it, share it, let other, help others to also get good at setting and most importantly, achieving their goals.

• 20:22Speaker 00

  They change their lives, so help me to help others to have the best life they can have. We are heading into the last quarter of 2026. So try this system for the next 90 days and see how much better things get. And remember, the fewer the goals, the more energy, time and resources each one gets. The fewer the goals you have, the more of them you'll achieve. You know, Warren Buffett, I think, has this exercise where he says, write down 25 goals and then get to the top five ones and choose the top one from all of the five fives

• 21:03Speaker 00

  and get working on that and make sure you don't allow yourself to work on the rest four, which gonna interrupt your progress and you're doing to achieve goal number one. So get very focused and you'll be surprised how often you're gonna start achieving those goals, the one goal perhaps. So the fewer the goals, the more energy, time and resources each one gets, the higher the odds you make it happen instead of forgetting it. So if you could shoot for only one goal, and that is the question of the day before we wrap it up, repeat all these steps and I'll let you go.

• 21:47Speaker 00

  So question number one, if you could shoot for only one goal in the last three months of the year, what would that be? Choose it and take the courage to go for it. Don't forget to share this podcast episode, to get the worksheet, to use it. Share, share this podcast episode with people who you want also to succeed and achieve their goals. Let's together help each other to achieve more goals. So share, review, rate this podcast episode, whatever action works for you today. And let's recap, step number one, clarify, get smart, get specific, so you can almost taste it. Step number two, connect, why is this important? You'll need that answer when things get tough.

• 22:32Speaker 00

  Three, chunk it down, you get more motivation and energy, the closer the milestone is. So chunk it down, make a lot of milestones. Number four, convert milestones into actions you need to take and you actually have control of. Number five, construct the system, the scaffolding for that seed to grow into a beautiful tree of your goals. So construct the system, count the actions, not just the milestones. And number seven, celebrate the actions, not just the milestones.

• 23:10Speaker 00

  Because actions is what gets you, get you to the goals, the milestones that you care about. And that's it for today, guys. Thank you for tuning in, thank you for listening. And till next time, focus on fewer goals to achieve more of your goals.