Goal Setting — Q3 2026 — July 7, 2026
I’ve spent years training as an endurance athlete. Marathons. 50Ks. A full Ironman. If it required grinding out hours on my feet, I was in. So when I decided to pivot my training toward Hyrox this quarter — a sport built on speed and power instead of distance and patience — I knew I was stepping into unfamiliar territory.
What I didn’t expect was how quickly the discomfort would show up.
My running coach gave me the Week 4 target: a 5K time trial at 7:20 per mile. For context, my fastest 5K ever — set back in March — was an 8:09 pace. The 7:20 target didn’t just feel like a stretch. It felt impossible.
On the scheduled day, I got on the treadmill and went after it anyway. I held the pace through the first half, and then, right around the midpoint, it broke me. My legs gave out before my will did. I stepped off that treadmill having missed the number I’d set out to hit.
The Second Attempt
I could have filed the miss away and waited for the next scheduled attempt on the plan. That would have been the comfortable move.
Instead, the next morning I laced up again. This time outside — on the trail. No belt setting the pace for me. Just me, the ground, and the watch on my wrist.
I hit 7:19 per mile for the first half of the 5K. Right on target — even a touch ahead of it. And then, just like the day before, the second half unraveled. I fell apart. I came up short again.
Two attempts. Two misses. Here’s what I know to be true: I am not defeated. I am four weeks in.
My coach built this plan for a reason. The next time trial is coming. And I will be ready for it — because I understand what these two attempts actually were. Not verdicts. Data.
“I am not defeated. I am four weeks in. I have zero doubt I will get there.”
— Chris Keller, Week 4 of Hyrox training
What This Has to Do With Your Q3 Goals
Everything. This has everything to do with your goals.
I sit across from law firm owners and business owners every week who are staring down their own version of a 7:20 pace — a revenue target, a hiring plan, a launch, a number that feels just out of reach — and they talk themselves out of it before they ever attempt it.
Or worse: they make one real attempt, fall short, and quietly downgrade the goal so it feels more “realistic.” That’s the wrong move. The goal wasn’t the problem. Quitting after one attempt was.
Here’s the pattern I see constantly in our quarterly planning sessions: someone sets an ambitious Q3 goal. They take one real swing at it. They fall short. And in the space between that first attempt and the next, they make a decision — consciously or not — about whether they’re still the kind of person who chases that number.
The ones who break through are the ones who make the second attempt. And the third. Here’s the framework I use to keep going.
The Three-Part Framework: Set the Goal. Trust the Plan. Go Again.
01 — Set the Goal
Name the goal that scares you. The one that feels just beyond what you think is possible right now. Not the safe number you’re confident you’ll hit anyway — the number that demands a better version of you to achieve it.
The 7:20 pace wasn’t a goal I could run today. That’s exactly why it’s the right goal. Setting it changed how I trained. It will change who I am as a runner by the time the next time trial comes.
Your Q3 revenue goal, your hiring target, your intake conversion number — if it doesn’t scare you a little, you didn’t set it right.
02 — Trust the Plan
A good plan works over time, not overnight. When you fall short on the first attempt, the answer is rarely to scrap the plan. It’s to stick to it and show up for the next day.
My coach built a twelve-week training block. I am four weeks in. One missed time trial doesn’t mean the plan is broken. It means the plan is doing exactly what it’s supposed to — exposing the gap and giving me the information I need to close it.
In our quarterly planning sessions, we build the same kind of structure. Not a goal list. A system with leading indicators, accountability checkpoints, and a clear framework that survives contact with reality — because reality will always complicate the plan.
03 — Go Again
Falling short of a goal is not failure. Failing to try again is.
The relentless pursuit — that’s what separates who you are from who you’re becoming. The attorneys I’ve watched build $5M+ firms didn’t do it on their first attempt at anything. They built the rhythm of going again. Every single time.
I went back the next morning. Outside instead of the treadmill. Different conditions, same goal. I ran 7:19 for the first half. I’m faster than I was last week. The plan is working.
“I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.”
— Lionel Messi
The Deeper Truth
Even the attempts that don’t land move you forward. You learn. You recalibrate. You come back stronger. The treadmill run taught me exactly where I break down under that pace. The trail run taught me I can hold it longer than I thought. Neither attempt hit the number — but both moved me closer to the day that will.
The same is true for your business. The quarter you miss your number by 12% instead of 30% is progress, even if it doesn’t feel like a win. The launch that gets half the signups you wanted still teaches you what your market actually responds to. Progress rarely looks like a straight line. It looks like two hard attempts and a lesson each time.
This is exactly what we build in quarterly planning sessions. Not just a goal on a whiteboard. A commitment to the process of going after it — every single day — until you get there.
Your Assignment This Week
Don’t just read this and nod along. Do something with it before you close this page.
Write down your impossible Q3 goal — the one you’ve been quietly downgrading because it scares you. Then write down one daily action that moves you toward it. Not a someday action. A today action.
That’s it. Set the goal. Trust the plan. Go again tomorrow, no matter what today’s attempt tells you.
My 7:20 goal is still out there waiting for me. I will reach it — because I refuse to stop showing up. That’s the deal I made with myself when I committed to this plan. It’s the same deal I want you to make with your Q3 goals.
Ready to Set Your Impossible Q3 Goal?
If you’re a law firm owner or business owner who’s serious about stopping the pattern of safe goals and starting to build the plan that gets you to the number that actually matters — let’s talk.
I work with a small group of clients at a time. Not a course. Not a group program. A direct working relationship where we build the quarterly planning rhythm, the accountability structure, and the goals worth building toward — and then make sure you actually do the work.
30 minutes. No pitch. Just a clear conversation about where you are, where you want to go, and whether working together makes sense.
Join Me in Nashville This August
I’ll be speaking at the Lunch Hour Legal Marketing Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, August 11–13, 2026, at Acme Feed & Seed, 101 Broadway — co-hosted by Conrad Saam and Gyi Tsakalakis. It’s one of the premier gatherings for law firm marketers and growth-focused attorneys. Real conversations about what actually works in legal marketing.
I’d love to see you there.
Chris Keller is a business coach, attorney, and founder of Call Chris Keller. He built a personal injury law firm from 1 employee to 80+ across multiple states before transitioning to coaching law firm owners and entrepreneurs on scaling with intention. He competes in marathons, 50K races, and Ironmans — and is currently training for Hyrox. Learn more at callchriskeller.com/coaching.
