Ep 641 | The Books, Podcasts, Tools, and Questions Shaping My Year

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. People ask me lots of, lots of questions. It's one of the benefits of being a podcast host and, and in business for some time. And I get questions all the time like, hey, what are you reading? Or what podcasts are you listening to? What tools are you using? What questions are you asking yourself? And I love this stuff. I love the emails. I love the texts. I love the messages on the socials. Keep sending them. What I thought would be a good exercise is in today's episode, I'm going to give you I guess, a peek behind the curtain. I'm going to share the books that are shaping my thinking this year. I'm going to share the podcasts that I'm, that I'm listening to when I'm out walking or running or hiking or doing, doing whatever I'm doing. I'm going to tell you the tools that I've been experimenting with, and I'll tell you that the questions that are currently sitting on my whiteboard that I, that I'm thinking around. So think of this as, as my current playbook, the inputs that, that I think are fueling me right now, and do with it as you'd like. I think if you're part of the No Days Off Nation, you probably like a good list of books and podcasts and things of that nature. So hopefully, hopefully I mentioned something today that piques your interest. So what am I reading, or what have I read this year that, that is really shaping my thinking. Well, you're gonna find a theme, you're gonna see a theme here as we roll through this list. I don't want to give it away just yet, but, uh, some of these might surprise you because they're not necessarily, necessarily brand new. The first book— I'm actually currently reading this right now— is Living with a SEAL by Jesse Itzler. Years ago, I think it was 2010, Jesse brought David Goggins into his home for 31 days of training. I think it's raw, it's funny, it's extreme, and it's all about accountability and discomfort. Now, what's super interesting is David Goggins just goes by SEAL in the book. They don't even disclose his name. That's how long ago it was. But I'll tell you, this book that I'm reading, it's a lot of fun, and it's making me ask, where in life am I maybe too comfortable right now? So Living with a SEAL is a great one. Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss— I've been breaking this thing out, uh, pretty much all year long. You could just dive in, flip to a page, and find something awesome because it's a giant toolbox of habits and routines. And I treat it kind of like a buffet. Like, I don't need to read it cover to cover, but I just dive in, grab a dish, and I usually walk away with something useful. The next book, one I've been hot on this year, you've heard it mentioned here in the podcast, Five Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom. We even interviewed Sahil and aired it here at No Days Off. But you've probably heard enough about that book. It is awesome. And I'm still working through a number of the different exercises. One of my favorite books, just recently went through it, Enlightened Gardener, The Enlightened Gardener. This one is so different than all of the others I'm mentioning right now because it's this short parable about how thought and mind and consciousness actually works. Uh, it's a reset for me when I, when I go through this book, and I've done it this year. The Science of Scaling by Dr. Hardy, Dr. Benjamin Hardy. Uh, I've been talking about this one a lot recently. I think right now I would put it up as best book of the year in terms of new books that I've read. Uh, The Science of Scaling, which is somewhat like the 10x Is Easier Than 2x book that Dr. Hardy did with Dan Sullivan not too long ago. This book is all about clarity. It's about eliminating the 80% of activities that don't matter and doubling down on those things that really, really scale. Uh, love this book. You're going to hear me talk more about Hardy the rest of this year. Fantastic read. And the last one, uh, I read for, you know, usually I read with a different purpose and I'm trying to improve something. This particular book I read for enjoyment. Which was Going Infinite by Michael Lewis. And this book's all about the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, who created FTX. This book, uh, all about unchecked ambition. Really interesting one. Um, I learned a lot, believe it or not. It was not the intention. It was a read for enjoyment. But, uh, I, I learned a lot around, again, this, this unchecked ambition and hubris and just the danger of believing your own myth. I think it's really a cautionary tale. Now, what are the themes here that you may have picked up on? Yes, The Science of Scaling was a newer book. Five Types of Wealth is a newer book. But all the other books I mentioned, they're rereads for me. Living with a SEAL I read years ago. Tools of Titans I've read every year or every month for a very long time. The Enlightened Gardener I go way back with that book. I made it a mission this year to reread books that were impactful or meaningful to me, and I'm still running that play. Now, what am I listening to? I have 3 podcasts that are top of my list right now. The first is the All In Podcast. The All In Podcast, actually, when we're airing today's episode, I think I'll actually be at the All In Summit. But the All In podcast is about tech and politics and investing, culture. And I don't always agree with what they're sharing, but I really value hearing, uh, the hosts of this show debate, learning how they think. I've learned a lot. So the All In podcast is, is number 1 for me. Number 2 is the Mel Robbins podcast. I love the Mel Robbins podcast. I don't love every episode, But I think that Mel does a great job making psychology and behavior change seem simple. I think her takeaways are always super practical, and I, I love the way she words certain things. I could really use them in my own life and in coaching and leading my teams. And then the last podcast that I'm listening to, really quick, simple one, uh, much like the No Days Off podcast being so short each day. You have the Quote of the Day show. It's called the Quote of the Day show, and it's just this bite-sized motivation from great thinkers. It's like 5 minutes, and it's the spark for my morning or for my day. And so the Quote of the Day show, I've actually really, really enjoyed. I've written down a significant number of quotes, and I store them in my phone, and I, I revisit them from time to time. Now, the tools I'm using right now The tools I'm using, uh, number one, George Anton, who wrote The Banker's Code and a handful of other financial books. George Anton has a leverage calculator, a leverage calculator. If you just go and Google or search George Anton's leverage calculator, you'll find it. It's this, it's this calculator that helps you kind of visualize leverage in wealth and business. He wrote The Wealthy Code as well, but The Banker's Code is, I think, where he breaks out the leverage calculator. It's a framework for visualizing leverage. It shows me where I might be overlevered or even underutilizing opportunity. For me, it's a really good gut check sort of tool, a filter when I'm making investments. So I'm using George Anton's, Anton's leverage calculator on a monthly basis, basis, if not weekly right now. I'm also using Korsiv's AI training program. I got hit on Instagram so many times and had to sign up, and I'll tell you what, it delivered. With AI no longer being optional, I think I've got to learn more and more, and this program has been super hands-on for me. It's a hands-on way for me, uh, to learn how to actually use AI and to work faster and to work smarter with it. And then the last tool I'm using, I broke this out. I've had them, I've had them with me for a while. I haven't looked at them in a long time, but The Untethered Soul, again, another one of my favorite books by Michael Singer. The Untethered Soul has a 52-card deck. Again, you just go to Amazon and put Untethered Soul 52-card deck. You'll find what I'm talking about. It's 52 cards based on Michael Singer's book, The Untethered Soul, and each card has a question or reflection, something for you to center your day. I pull one every morning and it definitely impacts my mindset. I've had these for a long time. I gifted them for a while and I broke them back out again and I'm glad I did. Now, what questions am I asking myself that's shaping my year? I'm going to give you 4 questions I'm currently asking myself. They're on my whiteboard right now. And it's what's rattling around in my head. Question 1: In my businesses, are there ways to further monetize each client? In my businesses, are there ways to further monetize each client? I'm not, I'm not just talking about like upsells, but is there deeper service to provide? Is there more value to provide? Are there more offerings for the client that would make their life better? So I'm not necessarily just trying to make money, I'm just saying Being that I've captured a client, are there other things I can be doing for them that would benefit the business as well as benefit the client? Number 2, are we doing enough unreasonable hospitality? Now, I'm borrowing from Will Goddard's philosophy. Will Goddard wrote the book, wrote the book Unreasonable Hospitality. But I'm asking myself as of late, are we doing enough unreasonable hospitality? Or how can we go above and beyond so people walk away not just satisfied but absolutely amazed? I'm starting to think we're not doing enough, and that's one thing I'm contemplating. Question 3: What am I saying yes to right now that I really don't want to, to do? Like, what am I saying yes to that I really shouldn't be saying yes to. This one stings, but I know right now when I look at my calendar and I just think like what I'm committed to in the coming months, I think I've said yes to a lot of things that I'm not really fired up about. So, this kind of serves as a reminder that every yes is a no to something else. And the wrong yes strains my energy and focus. And so, I'm evaluating this kind of last third of the year around those things I may have said yes to, and maybe I'm canceling some things. But I'm just getting clear around, you know, what am I saying yes to right now? Especially those things I really don't want to do. And then the last question I'm asking myself, do I need to get a sauna? Now, this is, this is half joke, half serious. You know, I'm in the recovery and in the health and longevity and things of that nature. And every time I read about recovery, health, longevity, sauna comes up. Comes up in the research, and I'm wondering if it's worth adding. Now, many of you are thinking, well, you live in Arizona, you don't really need a sauna, and I think you're kind of right. I haven't gotten one yet, but it's on my mind. So, there you have it. What I'm reading, what I'm listening to, what I'm using, what I'm asking myself right now. So, here's an idea for you. Pick one of those books or one of the podcasts, one of the tools, or one of the questions. And then try them out this week or order them or do whatever with it and let me know. Let me know if any of these sparks a shift, a shift for you. Because, uh, in all seriousness, I think the truth is the inputs you choose, what you consume, what you use, what you reflect on, those inputs are shaping the outputs in your life and business. So make those inputs intentional and the results will follow. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.