Ep 242 | Are You Willing?

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Let's get into it. Today, I want to talk about something that was recently brought to me based on an episode that we just recently did, episode 238. That was part 2 of the series I did on quitting, the unique topic of quitting. And 238 was when you should quit, when you should really consider quitting. Funny topic, right? In that conversation, I more or less gave a list of things that you should ask yourself, or questions you should ask yourself, things you should consider in analyzing and underwriting whether tapping out in fact makes sense. And just a real quick review of those things. First, I said, close your eyes and revisit the goals, right? Like you set a goal years ago to achieve, or maybe months ago, whatever it may be. You set a goal to achieve. You felt a certain way. There was a reason why you wanted to get after it. Today, you're considering given up on that goal, you need to figure out why you set it to begin with and go back to that place and decide, gosh, do I still want this as badly as I wanted it then? I want you to consider that. The next thing was you got to consider all options, right? Turn over all rocks, make sure that you've given every ounce of energy possible. You've exhausted all options before you were— before you quit. If you could say you, you have exhausted all options, then maybe it makes sense. Next, I said, you got to talk to your mentor or your coach or whoever your sounding board is and ask them, what do you think? What do you think about this goal I set? And what do you think about, you know, my desire, or at least my consideration to stop pursuing this goal? So seek guidance. But the last thing that I had shared, that I'd shared in that episode of the 4 things that you should be reviewing, if in fact you're considering going a different direction or quitting. The very last thing, and maybe the most powerful of the group, was for you to consider if you're willing, if you're still willing to become the person necessary, the person that you have to become in order to achieve the goal, right? So if you're considering whether or not you should continue to pursue a certain path, a certain goal, Maybe the most important question to ask yourself is, am I still willing to become that guy, to become that girl, to become a different person than I am today in order to achieve the success or the goal that I've set? I think that's a very, very— I think they're all great questions, but I think that last one is the most powerful of the bunch. And I think it's probably the one that we could easily overlook. Here's the reality, right? And in a couple episodes I've talked about this before. I think episode 226, which was about sacrificing who you are today for who you can become tomorrow. I think episode 219, we talked about good being the enemy of great. These are things to go back and review because the reality is this, right? If you want to achieve a goal, a big goal, Who you are today is not going to be the person that achieves that goal. It's who you can become that actually achieves that goal. An example of this, right? A great example of this. If you are making $100,000 today and you say, you know what, in order for me to live the life that I want to live and support my family and my dreams and my aspirations, the way I'd like to support them. I want to make $300,000. So you're saying in this example, I make $100,000. I want to make $300,000. That's my goal. Recognize that in order to achieve that 3x multiple, that 3x growth, massive growth, you've got to become an entirely different person. Now here's what I want to talk about in today's episode. What does it mean? What does it mean to become a different person? That was the question asked to me. Hey, Brian, I understand this idea that, you know, you got to become a different person, but like dig a little deeper in that, into that. What do you mean when you say that? And here's, here's what goes through my mind. Okay. First thing, sacrifice. If you are trying to achieve something big, You are going to have to make all sorts of sacrifices on that journey. Sacrificing some sleep, sacrificing some, even some relationships, sacrificing some, some activities that you want to participate in, sacrificing a show that you want to watch. I've found that if in fact you're pursuing a big goal, it requires insane commitment. Now I'm talking big goal. I'm not talking small. Big goal requires insane commitment. And that commitment involves saying, saying no to so many things. That's what I mean when I say sacrifice, saying no to those things that so many others have a very easy time saying yes to. The next thing that comes to mind for me, if I'm aiming to become a different person in order to achieve a goal, I've got to recognize that the environment that I currently exist in has got to look dramatically different in order to achieve the goal. No matter where you're at, if you set a big goal, no matter where you're standing right now, your environment, your peer group, who you're spending time with, you know, where you're spending most of your time, that has got to change. I'm not saying where you're spending your time is bad. I'm just saying that where you're spending your time and who you're hanging with is aligned with where you're at today. Where you want to go though requires different environment, different people, different places, right? Surrounding yourself with these different factors that influence your performance. So if you have to become a different person, in addition to making more sacrifice, you're going to have to change your environment. Along those same lines, your habits today are not in line with the goals that you're setting tomorrow, the achievement of your goals tomorrow. In other words, where you're at today is a function of the habits up into this point, but your habits have to change, have to, have to be even stronger or surrounded around or built around, I should say, You know, these bigger thinking ideas, these bigger activities, uh, this greater drive in order to get to where you want to go. Today's habits got you to where you're at right now. Tomorrow's habits get you to where you want to go. So in terms of becoming a different person, you've got to sacrifice. You've got to change your environment. You've got to change your habits. Your habits got to be bigger, right? You've got to set or be even more committed to creating even bigger, more impactful habits in your world. An example, if you've got a habit of, of reading, right? Maybe you have a goal of, I'm going to read 5 or 10 pages a night that are around the subject that I need to better understand to get to where I'm going. Well, that's great if you're at 5 to 10 pages and that's what got you here today. But I know this may sound like a silly example. You're probably going to up that to 10 or 20 or 30 pages because you have to understand and learn at an even greater level if you want to, in this example, go 3x, right? What you were reading and the pace at which you were reading and studying got you to where you're at today. But what you're reading and the pace at which you're learning has to exponentially grow to get to where you want to go tomorrow. That's what I mean when I say you've got to become a different person. So you've made sacrifice, you've changed your environment, you're changing your habits, right? The next thing I would say is if you want to, you know, get to where you want to go and you're becoming a different person, you're actually, you know, arguably going to have less social, social activity and social fun. What do I mean when I say that? Right? Not saying forego, you know, your personal life and the fun and the joy that comes with that. I'm just saying you're going to have some choices to make. Are you going to go to that sports game? You know, with your friends that you enjoy to do so much, or are you going to use that 3, 4, 5, 6 hours differently? That's more in line with your goal. Again, this has to do a little bit with sacrifice, but you will forego certain things that you deem fun right now. If you are committed to 3 or 4Xing or whatever it may be in this example, or any goal that you set. I'll give you an example of this, right? For me, you know, I just was at a real estate conference, and that conference happened to be in Vegas. Now, I don't want to be a total bump on the log, right? I like going out, I like gambling, I like nice dinners, you know, I like to get out there in Vegas. But the reality is, none of those things are truly in line with where I want to go. They're fun, and I love it, and I will still do it from time to time. But consistently doing that is misaligned with where I want to go. Right? I need to be, I need to have energy and be focused the next day so I can extract more value out of that learning environment I was in. I know I may sound over the top, but I've got some freaking big goals. And so do you. So you may have to forego some fun. The last couple of things I'll share, reality. In order to become the person that you need to become in order to achieve the goal that you have in mind, you're going to have some early mornings and you're going to have some late nights. Are you good with that? Are you good with that? That's just, I mean, I, hey, I love that. I know we always talk about working, working smarter, creating more leverage. I get it. We should all be doing that. But the reality is there's very little substitute for hard work. Early mornings, late nights. It's just, for me, that's just an analogy. You know, that's just that, that I'm talking just hard work. Are you willing to work that hard? If not, cool. Change your goal. If you are though, right, then maybe the goal is right for you. And the last thing I'm going to say, this is my own personal experience. If you set really big goals and you've got to become a different person, one thing you've got to be willing to do is be on, be on more time than you're on right now. What do I mean when I say be on? You've got to be dialed. You got to be focused. You've got to, you've got to be professional, right? If you want different results, right, than where you're at today, you've got to be a different version of you tomorrow. When I say be on, I mean more focused, more diligent, more purposeful, more structured, right? I'll give you the Vegas example again. If everybody else is going out and doing a certain thing, Maybe you should be doing things a little bit differently if you, if you truly desire different results. I'm not knocking anybody for having fun. I'm just saying, if you're committed to the goal and you've got to become a different version of you, you got to be on. So in summary, where am I, where am I kind of going with all this? If you set a big goal, you know, you've got to sacrifice who you are today for who you want to become tomorrow. And when I think about that sacrifice, I think about the things I have to forego. In order to get to where I need to go. I think about my environment and how it's got to be different than it is today. I think about the habits I've created up until this point and realize I've got to double or triple the intensity of those habits. There are certain things I'm going to have to forego, like fun activities I really enjoy. I'm going to have to sacrifice those things from time to time if I'm committed to the championship. I'm going to have to outwork who I am today. Like, who I am tomorrow's got to have— got to be even more intense in certain things. Right? Early mornings, late nights. And then lastly, I got to be a professional. If I've set a big professional goal, I got to be a pro. I got to go pro, right? As Steve Pressfield teaches, and we've talked about here before, who I am today, right? I'm a different version of me tomorrow if I want to get there. So the focusing question for everybody, are you committed to your goals? And are you willing to do what it takes? Are you willing to become the person that you need to become in order to achieve that goal? It's a big question. I think if you're listening to this podcast, yeah, you do, you do want to become that person. So I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're here. If you're new to the podcast, go back and listen to a handful of our episodes. Everything that we're talking about has to do with getting better each and every day. So on that note, I'm Brian Gubernick. Thank you so much for listening to the No Days Off Podcast. We really, really appreciate your support. Remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.