How Brad and Lindsay Noll Set Goals Together Every December
Relationships · From Student of the Game
How Brad and Lindsay Noll Set Goals Together Every December
Every December, Brad Noll and his wife, Lindsay, get away for a day they call December to Remember. They look back at the year, choose a word for the next one, and set goals for their family, their faith, their finances, and their businesses. Enough people have asked about it that Brad decided to pull back the curtain on Student of the Game.
Lindsay, who runs Noll Team Interiors, is the show's first repeat guest. She shares that her business had a year of growth, with clients bringing her into multiple rooms and a few commercial projects. Then the two walk through their framework, step by step, for anyone who wants to set goals as a couple, with a business partner, or with an accountability friend.
A Word of the Year
Brad and Lindsay have chosen a word of the year for about 12 years, an idea Brad first heard from a conference speaker who talked about a one-word mission statement. Their word for 2024 was connect. After a busy 2023, they wanted to get back to relationships. That meant planning one-on-one time with family members, a trip with siblings, more intentional coaching time with Brad's team, and deeper connection with clients.
"What I love about the word of the year is that it gives us a focus for the year," Lindsay says. Brad ties it to a phrase he loves, energy flows where focus goes, and to advice from a legendary Indy 500 driver to rookies: don't look at the wall, because your car goes where your eyes go.
Choosing a word can feel like pressure the first time, Lindsay admits, but it gets easier. Theirs tends to reveal itself. For 2025 the word is elevate, and they pair it with a verse: whoever elevates himself will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be elevated. Brad says serving others is the first core value of his business, so the verse fits. "I think in order to elevate, you have to be humble," Lindsay says.
Brad even studied the word's history. Its Latin root relates to being light in weight. To lift something up, you have to make it lighter, so before the new year they are asking what they need to let go of. It's not about simply doing more.
“So I would just say we're more in control of our decisions when we plan ahead.”
Lindsay Noll
The December to Remember Framework
They go off site to get a fresh frame of reference, and this year they brought their oldest daughter, who plans to study business. The day follows a simple flow:
- Choose a word of the year and a verse, quote, or theme to go with it.
- Apply the word to five circles: faith, family and relationships, personal (mind and body), business, and finances.
- Review the year's highlights, starting with what went well.
- Write a bucket list and life goals for the coming year, covering what you want to be, do, feel, and have.
- Talk about money: net worth, cash flow, and what your goals will cost.
- Take a real break for lunch and something restful.
- Set business goals, then put the big rocks on next year's calendar.
Brad's simplest tip for the highlights session is to scroll through your camera roll month by month. Lindsay says that is the fun part, because it shows you everything you did do. Their highlights included a first trip to Napa with Lindsay's siblings and plenty of time with their kids.
Bucket Lists and Both-And Thinking
Brad is the future thinker. Lindsay prefers to focus on the day in front of her, so bucket lists have been a stretch. But she has come to see their value. "It allows us to look forward to something or have something to look forward to because we all need to have that," she says. You don't have to do everything on the list. A few items can give you a reason to get up and work hard.
What happens when spouses want different things, like Europe versus Hawaii? Lindsay's answer is both-and. Talk about the why behind each goal, and you may find you can do both, just not in the same year. Brad adds that a couple needs both perspectives: someone focused on today's details and someone pointing toward the future. He also has a test for goals: if you could do it next week with the money you have, it's not a goal. It's a to-do. Lindsay credits The 12 Week Year workbook, which a coach gave her, for teaching her how to write goals.
Talking About Money as a Couple
Lindsay admits her eyes start to glaze over when money comes up, but she values the conversation. Knowing where they stand gives her security, which makes it easier to get excited about the future or to decide a trip should wait while their daughter heads to college. They have been through years when they had to be careful with spending and years that were more fun. What matters, she says, is that they are transparent and decide together.
Brad thinks of net worth as a scorecard and a legacy play, while cash flow is what you actually live on each month. Like asking how long it takes to drive to Indianapolis, the answer depends on where you start, so give yourself grace. For Lindsay, the good life is time with family, being present, helping others, and low stress. For Brad, it is margin in his time, finances, and schedule. He sees the lifestyle circles as the reason, business as the machine, and money as the fuel.
Filling the Calendar With Intention
The day ends with business goals for each of their companies and a 12-month calendar. Lindsay explains that they put the big rocks in first, from family commitments and kids' activities to bucket list items that fit the gaps. "When you say yes to one thing, you're saying no to something else," she says. The calendar stays flexible, but planning ahead means decisions are made while they are thinking clearly rather than reacting. Before they leave, they set the date for their next check-in.
How Can Couples Set Goals Together?
Lindsay suggests each person first reflect on the year alone, then come together around what gets you excited and out of bed in the morning. Her word of the year pushed her to take a color class so she could serve clients better. Brad says the fundamentals are the preparation: they showed up with pages already written. Falling in love with practice means loving the life you are designing, even when you get punched in the face along the way.
Brad sends his flowers to Lindsay, his life partner, and to the friends who first introduced them to a December to Remember. Lindsay sends hers to their three kids, who write goals alongside them. Brad closes with the lesson behind it all: kids won't listen to what you say because they're too busy watching what you do. If you want your kids to set goals, set some yourself.
▶ Listen to the full episode
Elevate Your Life: The Importance of Intentional Goal Setting with Brad and Lindsay Noll, on Student of the Game.
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