Impossible Goals
And How to Build an Impossible Tax System
The Problem with Success
We all want to be successful — especially in our professional lives.
But success has a problem. We get used to it — and when we get used to it, we crave it more and more. And then we become repetitively successful.
What’s wrong with that?
Anyone who is repetitively successful is one of two things — either they are very smart and very lucky — and likely both. Or else, they are not challenging themselves enough. After all, it is easy to be successful if your goals are too easy, right?
And probably for this reason, the professionals I respect the most have a healthy mix of success and failure. Part of the reason they have failures is that they are both brave and wise enough to pursue what I call “Impossible Goals.”
Impossible Goals
An impossible goal is exactly what it means. It is a goal that is not just difficult but, to the logical and rational mind, sounds impossible.
You might argue that if a goal is impossible, then by definition it is doomed to failure.
So why pursue it?
At the time of setting a goal, it might be impossible. But once it is defined, written down, and thought about, more often than not, ideas emerge that make it possible.
The impossible begins to become possible. The chance of failure might still be high, but as we start working on the problem and breaking it down, it usually becomes more and more achievable.
Nothing gives you more satisfaction and an adrenaline rush than seeing, before your very eyes, the impossible becoming possible.
And so, for some years now, I’ve been convinced that the only goals really worth pursuing are impossible goals.
But all this I’ve said is quite philosophical and abstract. Let me give you a real example of “Impossible Goals in Action.”
Case Study: Building a Tax System
In most countries, tax systems are complicated. Some countries far more than others. And our story starts in such a country, with one of the most complicated and cumbersome tax codes.
So much so that for many people, weeks or even months before the tax deadline, they spent a significant chunk of their time preparing their tax returns.
A small group of us wanted to build a technology product that would simplify this process. And not just make a very complicated process a little simpler. We wanted to make it so simple that what we were aiming for sounded literally impossible.
Here were the 10 impossible goals we came up with:
90% of people don’t need to “do anything” to file their taxes. Everything happens seamlessly.
For the 10% of people who have to do something, filing a tax return should take less than 20 minutes.
100% Accuracy — No errors, no audits, no discrepancies. Every tax return is flawlessly prepared and filed.
Instant Refunds — If a refund is due, it is deposited into the taxpayer’s account within seconds of filing.
Zero Paper — No forms, no receipts, no calculations. The system automatically pulls and processes all necessary data.
100% Taxpayer Control, Awareness & Transparency — Everyone understands exactly what they are paying, why they are paying it, and where their tax money is going.
Automatic Tax Optimisation — The system finds every deduction and credit the taxpayer is eligible for without them needing to ask.
Zero Tax Season Stress — Taxes are handled throughout the year, so there’s no last-minute scramble before deadlines.
Zero Cost to Taxpayers — The system is entirely free for taxpayers, funded through government efficiency savings or other innovative models.
Zero Late Fees or Penalties — The system automatically ensures timely filing and payments, eliminating any risk of penalties or interest charges.
We started by focusing on the 90%.
The key was integration with the taxpayers’ sources of income — in most cases, employers, banks, stockbrokers, and sometimes tenants. And as we started building, as you might expect, more and more impossibilities became possible.
Slowly but surely, we got to a point where about 50% of our impossible goals seemed very possible.
Sadly, our story ended around here because we failed at what should have been a possible goal.
A large tax services company offered to acquire us. Financially, the deal was excellent. But it was unclear if they would let us continue with our “impossible vision” post-acquisition. Also, there was some evidence that if we didn’t join them, they might use their power and clout to block our progress.
And so, we decided that we could not achieve a very possible goal: “We could do this by ourselves.” And so, that was that.
I’m not going to say what happened afterwards, except to say that it was somewhat disappointing.
On the plus side, my most important takeaway from this experience was that “Impossible Goals” work.
And since then, I’ve tried to make as many of my goals “Impossible”.
