The 6 step framework to get everything you want in life and business
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Most entrepreneurs drift through their careers. They did business degrees that led to jobs they tolerated. They climbed ladders without asking where they led. Then one day, they look around and realize they built someone else’s dream.
After 15 years running my own businesses, including one I exited, I recently realized that the times I actually achieved something I’m proud of weren’t accidents. When I competed in powerlifting, started living nomadically, built my second company, I didn’t stumble into success. I claimed it.
You can do this too. There’s a method behind making your biggest goals reality. I call it CLAIMS. This isn’t about hustle or grind. You won’t need to try harder or push through resistance. But it works beautifully.
The framework replaces effort with certainty. You’ll move from wanting things to having them.
Clarity (on what you want)State your intention as if it already happened
Get ultra specific about what you want. Not vague wishes. Clear, measurable outcomes. “I have a business that generates $5million in annual revenue” beats “I want to make more money.” The difference matters. Your brain can’t build a roadmap to somewhere fuzzy.
Write your intention as an affirmation. Present tense. Already true. “I am the founder of a profitable SaaS company” or “I bench press 160 kilos.” When I decided to sell my agency, I wrote myself a check. Exact amount. Perfect buyer. Signed it. Dated it. Reality eventually matched what I’d already claimed.
Add “or something better” to everything
You’re limited by what you already know. Past experiences. Current understanding. Your imagination can only stretch so far. Maybe you’re aiming for something good when something great exists just outside your awareness.
I went for a podcast co-hosting opportunity once. I visualized getting it. Pictured the yes. Then I added “or something better” to my mental rehearsal. I didn’t get that opportunity. Instead, a different co-hosting opportunity came along, on a much bigger show. The universe delivered the upgrade I didn’t know to ask for.
Learn (what success feels like)Teach your body emotionally
Close your eyes. Picture yourself achieving your goal. Feel it in your body. Notice how you sit taller. The confidence. The satisfaction. The relief. Dr. Joe Dispenza calls this teaching your body emotionally what it feels like.
Athletes do this constantly. Paula Radcliffe visualized winning marathons in exhaustive detail. The finish line. The clock. The crowd. That aluminum blanket they wrap around you. She felt every sensation of victory before it happened. Her body learned to recognize success. Her world record stood for 16 years.
Connect to certainty through sensation
Think about opening a jar. You don’t hope you’ll open it. You just do. That’s the energy of knowing. Have you ever opened a jar someone else failed with? That’s because they approached it with doubt. You brought certainty.
Your biggest goals deserve that same energy. When I prep for a powerlifting competition, I don’t try to lift heavy. I know I will. My body feels the weight moving before I touch the bar. That knowing makes it real.
Assume (it’s already true)Act as if you already have it
How would you behave if you’d already achieved your goal? That’s how you need to act now. Someone who already has millions doesn’t stress about a $10 coffee. Someone who’s already fit doesn’t skip the gym. Your identity shapes your actions.
People who always talk about money as if they don’t have it keep reinforcing that reality. They think rich people are greedy. They say wealth isn’t for them. Then they wonder why money stays out of reach. Flip that script. Money comes easily. You always find ways to add value. Watch what happens.
Let identity drive behavior
When you assume you’re someone who lifts 200 kilos, 150 doesn’t scare you. You approach the bar with confidence. When you assume you run a profitable business, you take meetings like an equal. No desperation. No proving yourself. Just confident collaboration.
I used to watch a girl in my primary school class. Renna. She had this confidence I didn’t have. So I started acting like her. Singing. Dancing. Not caring what anyone thought. Eventually, I didn’t need to channel Renna anymore. I’d become my own confident version. Fake it till you make it actually works.
Imagine (in vivid detail)Picture the exact moment it comes true
Walk through the scene in your mind. Everything. The location. The sounds. The people around you. What you’re wearing. How the floor feels under your feet. Make it so detailed you could photoshop it.
A few years into running my agency, I visualized myself at the end of a five-week trip to Australia. The business had run without me. Nothing went wrong. I could do it again. That vision wasn’t abstract. I watched videos about Australia. I felt myself boarding that plane. When it happened, I’d already lived it in my mind.
Engage all your senses
See it. Hear it. Smell it. When I visualize winning international bench press competitions, I hear “Please stand for the national anthem of Great Britain.” I picture the podium. I feel the weight of the medal. Sound connects me emotionally. Maybe for you, success smells like coffee before a big meeting. Use whatever sensory triggers work.
Print out what success looks like. Photoshop your podcast in the top 10 charts. Mock up your bank account with your target number. Put that image where you’ll see it daily. Your desktop. Your wall. Make the future feel present.
Meaning (beyond yourself)Connect your goal to something bigger
Self-actualization is great. But self-transcendence is greater. Maslow put that at the top of his hierarchy later in life. Your goals can’t just be about you. They need to matter to more people than the person in the mirror.
When you achieve your sports goals, other people believe they can too. When you build your business and sell it, other entrepreneurs see a path. Your success gives other people permission. That’s the ripple effect that makes achievement meaningful.
Find your transcendent why
I competed at the Arnold Sports Festival once. Training had gone terribly. I’d missed my intended second and third attempts repeatedly. But my family came to watch. My best friend. My team. Suddenly it wasn’t about me proving I could lift. It was about my dad proudly saying “that’s my daughter.” My sister saying “that’s my sister.” I got all three lifts. Identity unlocked performance.
What does your success mean for the world? If you build a top podcast, millions get access to insights they couldn’t get otherwise. If you scale your business, your team thrives. Connect to that bigger purpose and watch effort transform into flow.
Sync (up to your new reality)Settle into relief and gratitude
When you know you have something, you feel relief. Not striving. Not hoping. Just knowing. That’s the energy you need to embody now. You’re not trying to get money. You already have it. You’re not becoming successful. You are successful.
Think about opening that jar again. You don’t celebrate the jar opening. You just move on to making your sandwich. That’s the relationship you need with your goals. Settled. Certain. Already done.
Look for the signs and confirmations
When you get clear on what you want and you act from certainty, the universe winks at you. You see signs everywhere. Someone mentions exactly what you were thinking. An opportunity appears. A door opens. Most people miss these confirmations because they’re looking at their phones, searching for the next thing, chasing the next shiny object.
Pay attention. Notice when reality aligns with your vision. That feedback you imagined? It shows up in real form. That introduction you needed? Someone makes it. These aren’t coincidences. They’re confirmation you’re on the right path. Trust the process and keep moving.
How to claim your goals without trying: 6 steps to success
The CLAIMS framework replaces hustle with certainty. Clarify your intention. Learn what success feels like. Assume it’s already true. Imagine it in vivid detail. Connect it to meaning beyond yourself. Sync up to relief and gratitude.
Write your clear affirmation. Close your eyes and feel it. Act like the version of you who already has it. Picture the exact moment of achievement. Connect it to how it helps others. Settle into knowing it’s already done. Then watch what happens.