Most success advice begins with a goal: a number, a date, a target. The XFusion founders begin somewhere else.
Asked whether they imagined, a year earlier, being where they are now, co-founder Zeljko Cikojevic said he does not believe in goals in the usual sense. His reasoning offers a different way to think about a success mindset.
Can a goal become
a ceiling?
“It’s not a goal, because a goal is somehow limiting yourself,” Zeljko told WhatsWhat Prime. “If you say you want to earn $10,000 a month, it’s a lot of money, but it’s also a limit.”
The point is not that numbers are useless. It is that a fixed target can quietly become the maximum you allow yourself. Set it at ten thousand, a hundred thousand or a million, and you may stop where you aimed.
Alignment instead
of chasing
What replaces the goal is alignment. “Once you align so crazy with yourself, with your energy inside, you are living your highest timeline. No blockages, no resistance,” Zeljko says.
The result, in his words: “Things are lining up to us, not we run to the things.” Instead of forcing one outcome, he focuses on working at the highest level possible and letting results follow.
The gap between
wanting and having
Zeljko adds a psychological point. Constantly saying “I want to make $20,000” also reminds you that you do not have it. The wish keeps your attention on the gap.
He also suggests that many wishes come from the ego: wanting approval or proving something, “Mama, Papa, look, be proud of me.” Letting go of that pressure frees energy for the work itself.
“Doing, doing, doing”
Stanis Zichler lives the same idea in plainer words. Asked recently whether he planned to buy a plane or a yacht next, he replied: “I never plan.”
“I just do my job, fully, in a flow of what I love,” he says. “Doing, doing, doing.” He rarely checks the results. “And then sometimes I look in my wallet and I get a shock,” he adds with a smile. “It’s a good shock.”
A goal is somehow limiting yourself.ZELJKO CIKOJEVIC, CO-FOUNDER OF XFUSION
A balanced view
This is not an argument against planning a business. Events, education programmes and teams need budgets and timelines. What the founders challenge is defining personal success by a single number. Ambition, for them, should have no ceiling, and it should be fuelled by meaningful work rather than by the target alone.
The founders’ personal results are their own experience. They are not a promise of what anyone else will earn.
Five ways to build this
success mindset
- Check whether your goal is a ceiling. Ask if it motivates you or limits you.
- Put your attention on the work. Full focus on the activity often beats watching the score.
- Notice where your wants come from. Some goals are about proving something to others.
- Practise deeply. Mastery creates value, and value creates results.
- Stay consistent. Committed work compounds over time.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW
Stanis Zichler & Zeljko Cikojevic in Dubai
Success mindset in practice
What does this success mindset look like on an ordinary day? For the XFusion founders, it means starting with the work rather than the scoreboard: preparing a training, meeting a leader, travelling to an event, practising a skill. It means checking whether a target is pulling you forward or quietly holding you back. And it means paying attention to why you want something.
A success mindset, in their view, is less about bigger numbers and more about doing meaningful work fully, again and again, until the results arrive. Watch the full interview to hear more, and read the cover story in WhatsWhat Prime Magazine, Issue 17.
Frequently asked questions
Why don’t the XFusion founders set income goals?
Zeljko Cikojevic believes a fixed income goal can become a limit, so he focuses on alignment and working at his highest level instead.
What is a success mindset according to XFusion’s founders?
Putting full attention on meaningful work, staying aligned with yourself, and letting results follow rather than fixating on one number.
Does this mean businesses shouldn’t plan?
No. The founders’ view is about personal motivation. Businesses still need budgets, timelines and plans.
What does Stanis Zichler mean by “doing, doing, doing”?
He means focusing fully on the work he loves rather than planning purchases or constantly checking results.
Sources and further reading
- WhatsWhat Prime interview with Stanis Zichler and Zeljko Cikojevic (YouTube)
- WhatsWhat Prime Magazine, Issue 17
- The Coffee Test: Zeljko Cikojevic’s Simple Rule for Authentic Leadership
- How XFusion Grew So Fast in Its First Year, According to Its Founders
- XFusion Education: Why the Founders Teach Before Anything Else