Achievement-and-Becoming Success Test
Define the result and judge both what you achieve and who you become
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 94%
Gali's success test starts with two questions: what do you want, and why does it matter? The desired result must be specific, measurable, and personally owned rather than inherited from someone else's expectations. The reason supplies the motive to act, while the target determines the capabilities and habits the person must develop. Gali then adds a second axis: success is not only what a person achieves but who that person becomes in the process. Financial or professional gains fail the test if they leave family behind or produce a crude or mean person. Character without the ability to meet responsibilities also fails. The framework therefore evaluates a goal through both measurable achievement and identity, keeping external progress, personal development, and important relationships in the same definition of success.
Origin
Setema Gali explained this two-part definition after Joe Shalaby asked how he defines results when the stakes are personal and professional on Coffeez for Closers.
Core principles
- 01Specify what you want in measurable terms
- 02Choose a goal that belongs to you
- 03Connect the target to a meaningful reason
- 04Measure success by achievement and character together
- 05Reject wins that leave loved ones behind
How to run it
- 1
Name the Desired Result
State what you want in concrete terms. Avoid substituting a general aspiration for an observable result.
Watch out A vague target makes it impossible to judge whether you achieved it.
- 2
Make It Measurable and Personal
Define how you will recognize the result and confirm that the goal genuinely belongs to you. This keeps the pursuit anchored to an outcome you chose.
Pro tip Use a number or other observable finish condition where the goal allows it.
- 3
Clarify Why It Matters
Identify the reason the result deserves effort. Use that reason as the source of persistence when the work becomes difficult.
Pro tip Connect the reason to people, duties, or changes that carry real emotional weight.
- 4
Define Who Must Emerge
Identify the type of person capable of producing the target. Evaluate the habits, capabilities, and character the pursuit demands.
- 5
Run the Relationship and Character Check
Ask whether the pursuit leaves family behind or makes you crude, mean, or irresponsible. Reject an achievement path that destroys the people or character that make the result worthwhile.
Watch out Financial success without loved ones or sound character does not pass Gali's definition of success.
- 6
Score Both Sides
Review what you achieved and who you became together. Treat both as required components rather than allowing one to excuse the absence of the other.
Pro tip Repeat the test throughout the pursuit, not only at the finish.
In the wild
Gali uses fitness as an example: a person may want to strip fat from the body to gain energy and confidence and to become an example to their children. The physical result is observable, while the reason and the person developed through the work give the achievement broader meaning.
→ The goal joins a measurable physical change with energy, confidence, and positive example-setting.
Gali contrasts financial success and accolades with leaving one's family behind. Even possessing everything fails his test if the person ends life without loved ones, while becoming a good person without being able to pay bills and provide also falls short.
→ Success requires both responsible achievement and constructive personal development.
Common mistakes
Borrowing Someone Else's Goal
A target that does not belong to you lacks the ownership Gali requires at the start of the test.
Counting Achievement Alone
Money or accolades do not constitute success when the pursuit abandons family or damages character.
Counting Character Alone
Personal goodness does not remove the responsibility to produce results, pay bills, and provide.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for evaluating personal, professional, financial, and fitness goals before and during pursuit.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for decisions that require an immediate response before a goal and its consequences can be examined.
From the transcript
“What is it that you want? Why does that matter? And the what you want's got to be specific, measurable. It's got to belong to…”
“And if you build up all this financial success and accolades, but you leave your family behind, that is not success.”
“So success is who you like what you achieve and who you become in the process.”
From the episode
From Super Bowl to Setback to Success ft. Setema Gali
Setema Gali