One of my readers recently asked:
"Can you have more than one goal at one time? Or is it too overwhelming for you and your mind?"

That’s a great question.

The length of my answer reminds me of something Blaise Pascal once said (in French):
"I have made this [long]… because I have not had time to make it shorter."
I feel that, Blaise. I really do. So, here we go:

You can have as many goals as you want — but there should be one overarching goal guiding the ship. That “big one” becomes your compass, helping you decide which smaller goals are worth pursuing and in what order.

Before diving into the whole "one vs. many" discussion, there are a few important questions to ask yourself:

• What’s my overall goal in life? How do I define success?

• Do my smaller goals support that overall vision?

• Which goals can wait until the higher-priority ones are met?

Some goals will support your main purpose beautifully. Others might just be distractions in disguise. And if your goals contradict each other, you'll end up spinning your wheels and going nowhere fast.

All of your goals may be good. But timing is everything.

When I was newly married, one of my goals was to stay home when we started a family. Without knowing how we’d pull it off, I quit working and stayed home with our baby that first year — hoping a miracle would show up.

Well, a miracle did show up. Just not the one we expected. It came disguised as debt, struggle, and eventually, job loss. It would be years before I’d look back with gratitude for those challenges. But the miracle wasn’t what we avoided — it was that we got through it. That God trusted us to handle the mess, grow from it, and eventually use it to help others.

The goal to stay home never changed. That was my definition of success. But our priorities had to shift before we could earn the privilege of having me there full-time.

Still, my bigger goal had more to do with how I wanted my life to turn out — including the kind of people I hoped my children would become. A rich family life full of love and meaning means more to me than any bank balance. But here’s where it all connects:

When I’d imagine the future I wanted for my kids, I realized I needed to be the one influencing them most. That meant staying home. But in order to do that without drowning in money stress, I had to create a passive income stream — one that could carry us, no matter what happened to either of us.

So, we set dates and timelines. While the kids were little, I worked during naptimes and late nights, surrounded by laundry piles, cut-up paper, and coloring books. I learned real estate, stock strategies, writing, and site-building — all with one goal in mind: to be free when my kids hit their teenage years, and to be fully present for them when they’d need me in a different, deeper way.

Did I ever feel guilty for not being June Cleaver? Of course. Until one day, this scripture helped me breathe a little easier:

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies... She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands... She considereth a field, and buyeth it... She maketh fine linen, and selleth it... Strength and honour are her clothing... She openeth her mouth with wisdom... She looketh well to the ways of her household..." — Proverbs 31

That woman was busy. She worked. She invested. She sold things. And still, she looked well to her household. That helped me see my own path in a more empowered light.

Even now, every financial goal I set ultimately ties back to freedom — the freedom to raise my kids the way I feel called to, the freedom to help them build lives filled with purpose and joy. So that, one day, I can look back on my life with peace, knowing I gave my best.

Every goal I set must support that long-term vision. If it doesn’t, I already know I won’t care enough to make it happen.

Take the idea of owning a Rolls Royce. Nothing wrong with it — it’s beautiful! But for me, it’s not connected to my purpose. So while it might sound fun, I wouldn’t have the drive to go through the refiners fire to make it happen. Visualization alone won’t bring it to my driveway. Without intention and action, it’s just a fantasy.

So yes, set as many goals as you'd like — but know you can’t focus on all of them at once. Prioritize them. Then go after one at a time with laser intensity. (If you’ve read The Jackrabbit Factor, you’ll remember how to create a clear goal statement.)

Pick the one that’s most important right now, and give it your energy.

Keep your other goals visible — posted where you'll see them — but trust that if your longest-term goal is clear, you’ll instinctively know which one needs your attention first.

Sometimes, as you work toward one goal, progress shows up in others you’re not even focused on. That’s the beautiful thing — determination has ripple effects.

To focus on one doesn’t mean you won’t touch others in a given day. Just be 100% present with whatever you’re working on in the moment.

Think of it this way: a lightbulb brightens a room, but a laser beam cuts through steel. Both are useful. But the laser changes things.

I’ll be honest — I’m not great at sticking to routines that divide my day neatly between goals. Switching gears constantly isn’t easy for me. But I’ve learned to embrace my “temporary seasons of imbalance,” knowing they are temporary.

If you’ve got a head full of big, beautiful goals but aren’t truly focused on any of them, you’re like that gentle lightbulb. Helpful, yes — but no steel is bending for you.

And if it feels like everything is urgent and your brain is in a fog?

Write. It. Down.

Get it out of your head and onto paper, where you can see it without emotion. Relax. Breathe. And you’ll know what needs your attention first.

Your instincts are wiser than you think.

Trust yourself. Trust that even if something slips through the cracks, good can still come of it. You're doing your best — and that is enough.

Once it’s on paper, you’ll realize the “overwhelm” was mostly in your mind. It’s just ink. Just data. And peace, not panic, is what will open the door to real solutions.

Prosper on.

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