Introduction | The Ten Domains of Effective Goal Setting
Revised and updated | The Ten Domains of Effective Goal Setting: Achieve Your Dreams in the Essential Areas of Life
Audio voiceover:
Substack’s AI-generated voiceover is now available on By David J. Waldron. To access, open the chapter in the Substack app. Please share your thoughts in the comments or via direct message. I plan to use AI to clone my voice for the book’s official audiobook release.
Learn more about audio voiceovers:
https://davidjwaldronbooks.substack.com/p/audio
Haven’t read the previous chapters? You can find them here on my webpage:
https://davidjwaldronbooks.substack.com/p/goals
INTRODUCTION
Several years ago, I attended an outstanding self-improvement seminar, the Master’s Course, in New York. My favorite takeaway from the workshop was a goal-setting exercise that utilized a holistic approach to achieving excellence in life.
The template encompasses ten domains, categorized as essential areas of life, at both personal and professional levels. It transformed my life, or at least my approach to mapping it.
To this day, it drives my short- and long-term goal setting, supporting my efforts to achieve numerous personal and professional outcomes for which I feel proud and humbled. I have yet to find a more straightforward and productive approach to prioritizing what is essential while caring for those dear to me.
One of my primary goals is to make a living by making a difference in the lives of others. Thus, I am motivated to share this timeless treasure, offering a structured approach to goal setting in pursuit of excellence in one’s personal or professional life.
The content of The Ten Domains of Effective Goal Setting is delivered in three parts.
Part I: Set Achievable Goals explores the importance of adhering to three basic rules of goal setting and explains how to replace a subconscious attempt at achieving our dreams with a more conscious, counterintuitive approach that enhances the chances of success.
Part II: The Ten Domains presents how each area embodies an essential component of a well-rounded life.
The Ten Domains:
1. Spirituality
2. Family
3. Health
4. Education
5. Career
6. Money
7. Social
8. Leisure
9. Community
10. Projects
By dividing a life’s journey into the Ten Domains, we can discover ways to enhance our lives both personally and professionally, in the short term as well as in the long term, leading to a more balanced and hopeful existence.
Part III: Achieve Your Dreams aims to connect the dots, ensuring readers develop a comprehensive goal-setting plan for success. Recognizing that not every goal is achieved or unfolds as expected, Part III emphasizes the importance of handling wins and losses with grace and dignity.
Readers can trim, expand, or rewrite the domains with more relevant alternatives based on their values and core beliefs. You may move each domain up or down the numbered list to reflect personal and professional priorities.
The book covers the essential aspects considered necessary for a typical life in today’s complex society. While I have retained the original order presented to me, I have yet to find any objection to the prioritization of the domains or the broad definition of each.
Nevertheless, any goal-setting strategy should be enjoyable, creative, and attainable. Pursuing stretch goals, or hard-to-reach dreams, is essential for ensuring we do not let ourselves off the hook, although achieving our intended outcomes remains the most critical aspect. That is why I recommend throughout the book setting goals that you are confident in achieving as a prerequisite. Pursue perceived achievable goals, complemented by expansive and thus more challenging ambitions.
My sincere hope is that this simple yet powerful goal-setting template, The Ten Domains of Effective Goal Setting, supports your quest to achieve the personal and professional dreams relevant to your life’s journey today, tomorrow, next week, next month, this year, in five or ten years, and forever.
David J. Waldron, Author
This Introduction is copyright 2016 and 2025 by David J. Waldron. All rights reserved worldwide.
Next in The Ten Domains of Effective Goal Setting | Part I: Set Achievable Goals
Universal links allow you to preview or purchase David’s published print or ebooks—each available globally at your preferred online bookstores—with one or two clicks, brought to you by our trusted partner, BookFunnel.
