When Joe Hudson asked Ali Abdaal to list his goals—in-person teaching, adventures with friends, health, community—he noticed they all shared a single thread: connection. Connection to self, connection to others. Even Ali’s preference for in-person teaching over YouTube was a desire for deeper connection through the medium of teaching.
Rather than helping Ali choose between career options, Joe reframed the entire question: what if the career goal wasn’t “write a book” or “make X dollars” but “be 10% more connected in everything I do”? This single lens immediately unlocked creativity even in Ali’s most mundane business task (sponsorship segments), generating ideas he’d been suppressing.
The insight is that connection isn’t one goal among many—it’s the meta-goal that organizes all the others. When you orient toward connection, the specific career decisions often make themselves, because you’re finally asking the right question.
Related Concepts
- Ten percent more connected as a practice
- Connection enables accomplishment
- Enjoyment as compass for surrender
- Connection is the most effective bottom-line principle for life