Set A Goal That Scares You!

What if the biggest thing holding your nonprofit back isn’t budget, bandwidth, or the board… but the size of the goal itself?

In this energizing conversation, Julia C. Patrick turns the spotlight inward for a rare public coaching session with Keith Ellis, “The Impossible Success Coach.” Together they tackle a leadership problem every nonprofit executive and development team knows too well: the endless list of “important” goals that leaves you busy, stressed, and still frustrated come October.

Keith’s premise is bold: stop aiming for incremental wins and start committing to the goal you genuinely believe you can’t reach — the one you keep dismissing because it feels out of reach. Why? Because “normal” goals create too many options. If your organization wants to raise 20% more this year, you can name 1,000 tactics… and you’ll spend the year guessing which ones matter most. But when you pursue a truly audacious target, the noise fades fast. Suddenly, there are only one or two moves that can realistically change the outcome — and your operational strategy gets clean, focused, and decisive.

The conversation also goes straight at board dynamics. Julia asks the question every nonprofit leader has whispered after a board meeting: how do you keep governance from chasing shiny objects? Keith reframes it as leadership sales: connect the vision to what board members already want, then “herd the cats” toward one clear, motivating aim that’s bigger than everyone’s comfort zone.

Most powerful: the episode redefines success as more than results. Keith argues the real payoff is who you become while building the capacity to achieve the goal — and that’s exactly how nonprofits scale beyond last year’s limits.

“If you set an impossible goal, it’s actually easier to achieve than a normal goal.” — Keith Ellis

00:00:00 Welcome and transformational goals
00:01:26 Why Keith Ellis uses the word impossible
00:02:09 Wishes come true and you are your own genie
00:04:07 Why aiming bigger can make progress simpler
00:06:11 How to choose one goal instead of 100
00:09:04 Fundraising example 20% vs 200% vs 500%
00:12:40 Tracking goals and building motivation
00:16:40 Keeping boards focused and aligned
00:19:27 Preventing board disengagement when work gets hard
00:23:27 The real payoff becoming more capable
00:28:38 Homework question to find your audacious goal

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