Hi there,
This is more than just a newsletter. I’m going to share the exact approach that transforms lives—including Matt’s, and my own—and give you a personal AI tool I created to guide you in crafting and refining your 2025 goals. (Stick with me, keep reading, and I promise this will be worth it.)
We’re about to enter 2025. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned after years of experimenting with goal-setting, it’s this: the year ahead doesn’t happen to you—it happens through you.
That’s why it’s so important to go into this year intentionally. I don’t mean scribbling down New Year’s resolutions that vanish by February. I’ve never been a fan of those.
I’m talking about stepping into 2025 with clear desires, intentions, and a vision for who you want to become.
This isn’t just about what you’ll do, achieve, or acquire. It’s about setting an energetic tone for the entire year—clarifying the habits, beliefs, and sense of self you’re committed to.
Let me share something wild to inspire you. It’s a story from a conversation I had with Matthew McConaughey when he came on the Mindvalley Podcast.
The dorm room dream that changed everything
Picture this: It’s 1992. Matthew McConaughey isn’t the Oscar-winning star we know today. He’s a college kid, sleeping on the top bunk of a dorm bed, probably trying to figure out life like the rest of us at that age.
But one night, he does something that changes his life forever.
He grabs a piece of paper and writes down 10 goals he wants to accomplish.
That’s it. No special system, no apps, no SMART goals. Just a list of things he deeply wanted in his soul. Most of the goals are simple.
Become a father.
Take more risks.
Just keep living.
But one goal stands out.
“Win an Academy Award for Best Actor.”
Now, if you look at that list (yes, he shared it in his book Greenlights), it’s… unconventional.
It doesn’t follow the rules of goal-setting you might’ve heard before.
– It’s not “realistic.” After all, only one person gets an Academy Award for best actor every year.
– It’s not measurable.
– It’s not time-bound. No deadline.
By every traditional standard, that list would’ve been written off as wishful thinking.
But 20 years later, Matthew was on stage at the Academy Awards, holding that golden statue.
What the heck happened?
How did something so bold, so “unrealistic,” become reality?
And here’s the kicker: Not only did Matthew win that Oscar, but every single goal on that list eventually came true.
PS – you can watch the 5-minute snippet from my interview with Matthew McConaughey, where he talks about these ideas here on my @vishen Instagram.
Manifesting is real—Here’s why it works
What Matthew did here wasn’t just a fluke or luck.
When he shared his story, I realized he had tapped into something deeper—something I believe in with every fiber of my being: Manifestation is real.
Your reality is created by the dominant thoughts in your mind.
It’s not a coincidence that the Cambridge Dictionary chose “manifest” as the word of the year for 2024. More and more people are realizing that when you focus powerfully on a vision—especially one that’s tied to an emotional, heartfelt desire—you shift the odds of it becoming real.
Matthew summed it up with a phrase I’ll never forget:
The target attracts the arrow
Take a moment to reflect on that.
Your vision—the “target”—isn’t passive. It pulls the arrow of your life toward it. It guides you. It whispers in your ear, nudges you toward the right people, the right ideas, the right opportunities.
The target attracts the arrow.
What Larry Page and Google taught me about bold goals
But there’s another layer to what Matthew did—and it has to do with the nature of the goals he set.
Let me take you back to my time at the University of Michigan. Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, and I both attended a leadership program called “Leader Shape” while we were there.
Years later, Larry spoke about something called the 50-50 Rule.
It’s simple:
50% of your goals should have a 50% chance of failure.
Why? Because when you stretch yourself to aim for audacious, “impossible” goals, even if you don’t hit them, you end up achieving more than you would have with smaller, safer goals.
This wasn’t just a theory for Larry—it became a core practice at Google.
How the 50-50 rule transformed Google
Take Google’s early days with YouTube as an example.
When Google acquired YouTube, it wasn’t yet the global video giant we know today. Larry Page set an audacious goal:
“Let’s hit 1 billion views in a single day.”
At the time, this seemed absurd. YouTube was still a niche platform, and 1 billion daily views was a staggering number.
They didn’t hit the goal right away. But aiming for it forced their teams to think bigger. They had to innovate at a pace that no one else in the industry could match.
And guess what? Today, YouTube gets over 5 billion HOURS of video per day.
Another example? Google’s moonshot projects, like self-driving cars or internet balloons to bring connectivity to rural areas.
These aren’t “safe” goals. They’re bold, they’re risky, and they come with a high chance of failure.
But here’s the magic: When failure is acceptable, thinking small isn’t.
This philosophy didn’t just push Google to achieve extraordinary things—it also created a culture where employees were free to dream big without fear.
If you’re hitting every single goal you set, you’re not thinking big enough.
This same principle can be applied to your PERSONAL goals.
Now, look at Matthew’s list.
He had a mix of “easier” goals and incredibly bold ones. Winning an Academy Award? That’s a 50-50 goal if I’ve ever seen one.
Here’s the thing: Even if Matthew hadn’t won that Oscar, his life wouldn’t have been a failure. Because the process of striving for that level of excellence elevated every other area of his life.
What are your 50-50 goals for 2025?
This brings me to YOU.
As you think about your goals for 2025, I want you to challenge yourself.
Add a couple of goals that feel impossible.
Be okay with failure. It’s not the opposite of success—it’s often the path to it.
And here’s the final piece:
Alongside your bold, 50-50 goals, include what I call “self-fulfilling goals.” I describe this idea in my book “The Code of the Extraordinary Mind.”
These are simple, meaningful goals that you can achieve no matter what.
For example:
I will truly love myself.
I will learn and grow every day.
I will experience the beauty of the world daily.
Think about it: Even if you lost everything tomorrow, you could still accomplish these goals. Imagine someone homeless in New York. Even in those dire circumstances this person could walk through a park and admire the trees. They could pick up a book from the New York public library for free and learn something new. If truly in touch with themselves, they could experience self-love through compassion practices.
These goals are designed to be easy.
These goals remind you that you’re winning, even when life feels hard. And this is a good feeling to have to fuel you to pursue bigger goals. For Matthew, these were things like “Chase my best self” and “Look back and enjoy the view”.
Your 2025 blueprint
Here’s how to start:
1. Write down 10 goals
Make 2-3 of them bold (50% chance of failure).
Add a few self-fulfilling goals that keep you grounded.
Include the usual goals that feel achievable but still meaningful.
2. Write this phrase at the bottom of your list:
– “The target attracts the arrow.”
3. Place your list somewhere you’ll see it daily
Let 2025 be the year you dream big, fail boldly, and win anyway.
Now the surprise. To help you really craft your 2025 Goals I’ve created a simple AI tool for you to use powered by OpenAI. Simply type in your goals in this AI and it will analyze your 2025 goals and help you improve and refine them.
If you want a glimpse of how this works paste this set of random goals as input and you can see the AI magic at work:
1. Find my soulmate
2. Read a book a week
3. Get to 13% bodyfat
4. Bond better with my brother
5. Go on two family vacations
6. Save 10% of my income and place it in index funds
7. Write the first 50 pages of my new book
8. 7 Day road trip across Indonesia.
The final word
Matthew McConaughey’s story isn’t just inspiring—it’s proof that when you align your vision with your actions, the universe moves with you.
So, grab a piece of paper. Give yourself the space to dream.
And remember, the target attracts the arrow.
Here’s to an extraordinary 2025 
With love and belief in your greatness,
Vishen
