Ray Dalio’s Five-Step Success Principles
- Set clear goals.
(1) Prioritize. With strong desire you can get almost anything, but opportunities often clash in time and some won’t return. You can’t have everything. Think at a higher level, keep first principles in view, and choose optimally.
(2) Don’t confuse goals with desires. Goals are substance; desires are surface. Know the substance you truly want so you can ignore vanity. A sound goal is something you truly need to achieve and that creates value — not snacks and entertainment that merely gratify desire. Only after identifying what you really want can you reconcile goals and desires.
(3) Believe people can move mountains. Never reject a goal just because it looks hard, nor abandon it because others call it unrealistic. Great dreams create great capabilities. Moonshots and Mars missions look uneconomic on the surface, yet capable nations keep pursuing them because the pursuit births new tech, materials, and products with broad real‑world uses.
(4) Expect obstacles. If the path is too smooth, the goal is too small. Failure and setbacks are unavoidable. Meet them calmly; keep an open, flexible strategy. Many roads lead to Rome: if one is blocked, choose another. Be persistent without being stubborn.
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Identify problems that block the goals. A goal may be “land on the moon,” but reality starts on Earth. Success requires overcoming Earth’s gravity, the Moon’s gravity, the lack of oxygen, and many other concrete issues. These problems lie beneath every dream; you can’t ignore them and wish your way to success. See clearly, reason comprehensively, find the underlying laws, and tackle problems one by one.
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Diagnose and find root causes. After surfacing problems, think objectively. Assess capabilities and resources — technology, capital, people. Know yourself and your context. Seek constructive input from professionals as widely as possible.
The first three steps require “eyes on the stars, feet on the ground.” Next, make a sound “moon‑landing plan” — and execute it.
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Design a practical plan. Before planning, inventory your resources: what the goal is, what you have, what you lack. Write it like a screenplay: begin with an imaginative outline, then translate it into realistic tasks and timelines, solving cost, time, and staffing details along the way. Don’t try to craft a perfect plan once and for all — that wastes time. New issues emerge during execution, and plans should adapt accordingly. In execution, use the 5W principle (who does what, why, and when) so everyone understands the plan and their role.
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Push the plan to completion. A beautiful blueprint is just paper without execution. Maintain self‑discipline and good work habits, focus on outcomes, and — even through a thousand hurdles, words, miles, and methods — see it through.
As you practice the five steps, remember: every person and organization has weaknesses. By the “barrel theory,” outcomes are constrained by the shortest stave. Face weaknesses honestly; stay humble and open‑minded. Either overcome them yourself or complement them through others. Always remember there are two roads to success: possess the needed elements yourself, or obtain them from others.
Bridgewater’s official five‑step process video explainer
Published at: May 14, 2019 · Modified at: Oct 26, 2025
