Heroic Habits in Your Life (Habits & Goals Combined)

One of the most important things that I've learned over the past 10 years is the power of habits. Putting the important things in place so that you can allow yourself to go into an almost autopilot mode is a very special place that by the end of this video, I hope you start to leverage for yourself. You see, growing takes consistency. And being consistent can be hard if we have to think about it. But if it's just a program pattern that we do without thinking 90% of the time, consistency becomes a whole lot easier. Now let me explain how I've learned this in my own life so that you can unpack the lessons and use it in your own life as well. The first step is to diagnose the thing that you want to build, change, or grow. For me, it was actually what I wanted to shrink. You see, at one point in my life I used to weigh 320 pounds. Now. Now there are a lot of reasons I got to that weight, but the biggest was a whole slew of bad habits versus heroic habits. You see, that autopilot thing can also lead to a crash landing if you're not careful. I was focused on hustling my face off to the point that I didn't have a routine for exercise. I was so focused on hustling that I would stay up late working and eat snack food to give my body false fuel to keep going. I was so focused on hustling that I wouldn't measure or track calories. Water intake, you see, it wasn't important and there wasn't a roadmap for changing this toxic set of habits. Instead, there was work to be done. And trust me when I say I realize how stupid that sounds. But I kept doing life like this until the day that I could barely move. I went from a young man to feeling like I was 90 or even 100 plus years old in a blink of an eye. And over a 30 day period, I found out that I had rheumatoid arthritis. Now, it was at this point I realized I had two options. Continue down the road I had been on, or make an abrupt turn and focus on creating some heroic habits in my own life. In other words, health became important and something I realized I needed to create some consistency around now for you. What is that thing? Because see, let's stop my story for a second. What is the heroic habits that you need in your life? What needs change? What long haul or radical turn have you been putting off? Because you see, it's only when you stop long enough to figure out what Needs to change that you can put the right habits in the right place. What habits do you need to put into place? Back to me being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and needing to make a change, or actually many changes. What does that look like for me? Well, a whole lot. In the morning when I wake up, I usually make a healthy shake. And not just any healthy shake, but the same type of shake every time. I make it. That way I don't have to think it's simply autopilot mode. On Sundays, I prepare healthy meals for the week, and that is every Sunday and for every week to come. So instead of grabbing junk food or the easiest thing out of the pantry, I grab what I've prepared in advance. Autopilot mode. I also schedule two or three walks a day for 45 minutes to an hour each walk. And this gets me four to six. And sometimes if I'm hustling seven miles a day. However, moving forward, I am trying to have a goal of 16,000 steps, which is about, for me, seven miles a day. Now, time for some unbelievable vulnerability and true transparency here. I try to do these things, and because I have the heroic habits in place, 85 to 90% of the time, it works like a charm. But I'm only human, and sometimes I miss a walk or eat the wrong thing. But it's not the end of the world. I refuse to throw my hands up in the air and feel guilty about what just happened. You see many people, and you might be one of them, usually throw their hands up in the air and give up if they start something and don't do it all the time. This, mentally, is the death of ever being consistent in your heroic habits. So please, by all that is holy, free yourself from this thought process. Because, you see, what I love about my heroic habits is the ability to mess up and jump right back in the next day. Why? Simply because they are set in place waiting for me to arrive the next day. What needs to be ready for you to arrive the next day? And by the way, when I say they're set in place, I mean that they're written down on a whiteboard so that I can see them the next time I walk in my office. Plus, they're right by my goals as well. Seeing your heroic habits and your goals side by side can mentally give you that extra boost to keep going when you mess up or when you choose to take a break. Now, notice something very important. I didn't say cheat or have a cheat day there. And what I mean by this Is be careful of the words that you use around your heroic habits. Use power words. Use positive words. Always be in control of what is happening to and around your habits. Always be in control of what is happening to you and around your goals. And of course, always be in control of what is happening to and around, well, yourself. So how can you set up better habits for yourself? Great question. And I actually want to give you three ways to look at this. The first way is to just decide to do it. Diagnose the problem, write down the goals, and then build the habits around what it will take to achieve that goal. And if it's that easy for you, awesome. Because, you know, some people are like, sounds easy. Well, for most folks, it's not. So let's move to the second way to build heroic habits in your life. The second way. Read or listen to the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. It's amazing. Now, why am I suggesting this amazing book? No matter your goals, Atomic Habit offers a proven framework to improving every single day. Every day. And James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors. Tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. And if you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. It's actually the system around it. The problem, listen to me, is your system. You see, bad habits repeat themselves, kind of like my crash course and diet and 320 pounds. But again, these bad habits repeat themselves not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for the change that you want. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. That's right out of the book, by the way. Not my words, his. And in James Clear's book, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. And of course, you know this channel. We're all about new heights. Get the book and get going on building those heroic habits. Now, the third way that you can start building heroic habits for yourself is to lean into another book called the Power of Habit by Charles Duggig. Now, this book, the Power of Habit, takes us to the edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Imagine these two books together in your brain. Now, this book focuses on simplifying large amounts of information into engrossing narratives that will take you from the boardroom of Proctor and Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Charles presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential. And by the way, if nobody's told you you have a ton of potential, understand your potential. You see, at its core, the power of habit contains an exhilarating argument. The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. Remember, systems, habits, how they work? Anyway, in the book, Charles shows us, or actually maybe more importantly you, that by harnessing this new science, you can transform your business, your community, and your life. Oh, yeah, I'm down with that. And if you're watching this video, that should be right up your alley as well, because, I mean, that's what we talk about on this channel. Oh, and if that's not enough for you, Jim Collins said that the power of habit, well, was sharp, proactive and useful. You know Jim Collins, the good to great guy. So, as we start to land this plane and you leave this video, stop for a minute or several minutes with your notebook and ask yourself, what needs to change? No, really, get your notebook or a whiteboard out and write these things down so that you can see them, visually see them. Then continue and ask yourself what needs to change? What do you want to build or where do you want to go in life? Ask yourself those questions. Then allow yourself to dream. And in that dream, uncover your goals and write them down. No, really write them down so you can visually see them. Then start with the end in mind and build those heroic habits that will consistently move you one step, step closer to your goals each and every day. Of course, get the helpful books that I've mentioned here, and of course, watch some of the other videos I've created to help you live a life beyond your default. And remember, as you journey to a life filled with purpose, passion, and profit based on the goals and habits you now have in place, remember to be a happy, helpful, humble human. And I'll see you in the next video. Sam.