128. Are You Committed To Lesser Goals?

Foreign hey my friend, welcome back to the show. Kenny Chapman here, your host of Leadership in a nutshell, cracking the code of the driven mind. And we have an incredible mind and I break down every week a few aspects of having this amazing tool, gift, incredible computer that God, universe and spirit has given us. We just want to chunk it down a little bit here with Leadership in a nutshell. And I speak to you as a leader regardless of your specific role in business. We have leadership roles everywhere in life and today's title is are you committed to lesser goals? And I just want to caveat today with a little bit of love because I'm going to go a little bit strong and I'm going to challenge you a little bit perhaps. And when I say strong, I mean quite clear. Okay, so. Meaning that I'm not, I, I talk a lot about commitment, obviously on the show. Those of you that have been with us for a while, I'm grateful for our loyal fans and followers and listeners and I just, I, this is the favorite thing I do outside of working directly with clients where I can have you talk back to me. No, not talk back to me. I sound like my mom. Don't you talk back to me. Have a two way conversation. But this opportunity to just share a little bit on what's on my mind. I love the human brain. I love psychology. I am committed. The rest of my foreseeable future is around understanding the psychology of the brain, how to leverage it to serve us the way that it's meant to rather than creating the trauma, pain and health, mental health crisis that we're in for the foreseeable future. So I just want to help elevate the consciousness of humanity and I'm grateful that you're here and today. Are you committed to lesser goals? When we think about that, commitment is amazing. It's absolutely amazing. Like, it's just so cool when you actually get yourself to a place and it's been said that I forget the name and I apologize for not having it off the top of my head or in, in any kind of show notes or anything. But there's a, there was an older psychologist from Harvard that, that kind of coined the phrase that 100% commitment's easier than 98%. And I believe that's true. Like it, I believe that because when we have that 2% we get into decision fatigue and we have that, well, maybe I will, maybe I won't. When you're just all in, you're all in. But what I want you to be clear about today Is you've done that several areas in your life. You've done it. Whether it's career or in your relationships or getting out of debt or building businesses or becoming a manager or a leader or whatever, whatever roles you've taken on, there's been times you've been all in. I am committed to this. The challenge that happens is success creates choices, and choices minimize clarity. So there's this paradox that happens where I get committed, I go create some success. We'll call it put success in air quotes, whatever that is for you. And now that I'm getting some success, I'm starting to have some different choices and options. And because of that, I start maybe lessening my commitment in certain areas or because I have other options now, I commit to lesser goals. And there are multi, multi billion meaning there's more, there's multiple multi billion dollar industries, I'll say it that way, that are designed to get you to commit to lesser goals. Now what I mean by that is let's say you're on a good workout routine. I've got a client right now that's just committed to physical fitness and eating differently and changing his life in that fashion. And every day, hundreds of times a day, people spend zillions of dollars to get him to commit to a lesser goal. Oh, order from Domino's. Oh, go to Carl's Jr. Oh, get the Hardee's burger. Oh, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, whatever. So it's. I'm not minimizing the challenge. That's why the commitment has to be reviewed. Because when we think about Robert Bralt said, we're kept from our goals not by obstacles, but by a clear path to lesser goals. I just want you to think about that for a minute. It's not that you have so many obstacles in the way of being, doing, having, creating, building what you want in your life. The challenge comes is that it's just easier to do lesser, committed things, lesser goals. It's easier to go eat a burger than it is to go chop all the stuff that goes in a salad for that example. It's easier to go ahead and live on all of your income rather than investing some of it. It's easier to just deal with an employee, team member concern rather than coaching them through that. It's easy. And when I say easier, I'm talking short term, right? Everything I'm talking about is short term. Because the short term, I'm not all about this. No pain, no gain. I think that I remember that when I was lifting weights in high School, like ah, I think if we had banner on the wall in the, in the weightlifting room and stuff and I get there's some discomfort that has to happen in life for growth, but pain's a pretty, pretty emotionally strong word and I think pain is a choice. And I think that short term disturbance or pain, if you want to call it that, is necessary for us to get to our next levels or what that is. So let me ask you, what is your next level? When you think about what you're committed to, what is your next level? Is there another level in your career? Is there another skill you want to learn? Is there another sales process? Is there closing percentages? Is there big promotions? What is it that you want? Perhaps it's tied to health or fitness like I mentioned. Maybe there's a certain goal weight, maybe there's certain health markers that you want. With technology coming along and all the amazing advancements in health, like when I first came out probably three years ago, three or four years ago and said I was gonna live to be 146 years old, many of you called me crazy. And everybody's like, oh, now we're seeing that as technology rolls along, I mean there's a good chance we'll see people live 4, 5, 700 years and call me crazy now and keep on calling me crazy because I'm going to be around a long time for you to call me crazy. But the point is like you can measure so many more things in health and not to get like, oh my gosh, I had, I breathe wrong or I have this, I'm talking about just fundamental health that leads to happiness. Because when I say I'm going to live to 146, there's no question in my mind that is true. But I want to live healthily until 146 plus. And I'll add the plus because I believe it's going to be longer now. But the fact is I want quality of life, I want to be happy. So is your next level. When I say what's the next level for you, does that include a happiness component? Because all the things that we talked about before, oh, I want the promotion, I want the better sales, I want the higher conversion rate, I want to make more money, I want whatever it is that there's a part in you that wants that because it believes that it's going to make you happy. And if you can't be happy today, then you can't be happy when you get, fill in the blank, whatever it is. And so I'm not talking about pausing. And that's why I say I'm cautious with the no pain, no gain thing, because I'm also cautious with delayed happiness. And there's these things around finance or whatever and delayed gratitude. And we live in this instant gratification society. I get all that. But what I'm saying is if I'm saving for the future, then I'm going to find happiness. I'm not delaying my gratitude. Let's say I'm putting away 100 bucks a week or whatever it is, right? So if I'm saving a hundred bucks a week, I was programmed in my day that sucked. And that was painful because for 100 bucks a week, I can buy a lot of Carl's Jr burgers, right? Or back in my day when we used to measure our army checks by Milwaukee's best in cigarettes, right? So how many cartons of smokes and how many cases of Milwaukee's best? Okay, I digress. But the point is, like, that hundred dollars a week that I'm setting aside has a value to me. And if I assign delayed gratification, I'll be grateful when I'm, well, now I'm in my 50s, but at the time when I was in the army, like, oh, I'll be grateful in 30 years from now. Like, I don't want to wait for 30 years. I want to be grateful that I'm doing it today. And that's the challenge that we have. That's kind of the. The dichotomy that we're in is when we make, quote, sacrifices. How can we reframe in the brain so I get a dopamine shot every time I save that hundred bucks, every time I make the automatic deposit from my check into my 401k, whatever that is, every time I'm like, oh, hell yeah, look at this. This feels good. This looks good. We've all been through those different types of things. So when I ask you, what's your next level? You've got to fill in the blank there, whatever it is, personal, professional, relational, financial, whatever that is. And then answer this question. Is this activity taking me closer to my next level? Is what I'm doing today, right now, taking me closer to my next level? And it's kind of fascinating as I ask you that question. One of, one of my goals in the next couple years is to have a number one podcast in the home service space, in the blue collar space. I want to grow our following. I want to grow. Which, by the way, if you like, what we're doing here, kick it to somebody else. I'm going to start having guests on and do. I'm not. I won't get away from solo cast. Don't worry. I know a lot of you have reached out and said we want to keep hearing you. Just me download my brain and just talk one on one with you. So I will still continue to do that, but in between, I'll have some guests come on and share their perspective and we'll have some good conversations. And so I have a goal for that. So right now I can say, yes, what I'm doing today is taking me closer to my next level. And at the time I'm recording this, I'm getting ready to be on site with a client. And I say, well, is being on site with a client taking me closer to my next level of that? And I believe that right now it is, yes. Because the work that I'm doing with this client is massive leadership, understanding, learning, growth. I'll get to use tools, I'll get to test tools. I'll get to work with people. And that makes me a better podcaster for you. And the better podcaster I become for you, the more likely you're willing to share this show with somebody or kick it to somebody or whatever the case may be, as I just, I just want to grow my influence here with you. So whatever it is for you, is this activity now taking me closer? Because results follow commitment by the moment. And so I can say, yeah, I'm committed to whatever my goal is, but what are my actions that. That are showing that, oh, yeah, I'm committed. But now I'm squirreling on social media. I'm doing all these different things. I'm over here, I'm over there. I. There's so many distractions, and people are coming at you. They're coming at you with distractions. Right? So when we think about your commitment to your goals, whether it's money, whether it's happiness, you're committed. Write this down. If you're taking any notes or if you're in your office, don't obviously, or pull over if you're going to stop the car. I mean, do something in your car. You're committed to identity. You're. You're committed to what you see as your identity. And in my first book, the Six Dimensions of Change, which is now 2.0, if you haven't got a copy of that, make sure you get the audio or the video audio or the, the written version of that book. But the fact is, I grew up with what I call us and them mentality. Right? And I've talked about that some. And so identity is where we commit. And when I understood that concept, I said, wait a minute, I've been committed to a, to an us identity. When I want to be them. I want to be the people that have nice cars and go on vacation and have freedom of schedule and freedom of relationship and different things like, wait a minute, what's going on here? So where are you committed to your future self? Where are you committed to who you are becoming? Are you becoming who you want to be? And if you are, keep it up and look at what you need to shed to continue to go in that direction, to continue to go to the next level. The lovely Christy and I do a ton of hiking and I use a lot of my analogies around hiking. And if I'm going up different levels or I need to stop and get a water break, is this taking me up the mountain? Is it taking me where I want go? And when you look at your goals, sometimes you need to uncommit to what you're doing. You might want to write that down. Do I need to uncommit to something that I'm doing in order to really commit to what I'm saying? My goal is what I'm saying. I want to do what I'm saying. I want my future self to look like. Because what I know in my 50s now, as fast as I got here, I'll get to my hundreds just as quick, if not quicker, right? And so when I think about, I will be my future self in five years, I'll be five years older and I'll be the future self. So I might as well start deciding what I want that five year from now future self to look like. Be, think, act, do, have, be. And now start taking steps today and make sure I'm going in that direction. But sometimes I have to uncommit to certain things. I have to stop doing things that are blocking the opportunity to go where I truly want to go. Here's the reality. Doesn't matter what you say. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter if you say, yeah, Kenny, I'm committed. I'm in. I'm committed to my next level leadership. I'm committed to communicating better. I'm committed to having the, quote, difficult conversations with my team members. I'm committed to doing sales training every week. I'm committed to holding team member trainings and becoming a training organization. I'm committed. Are you or are you just saying you are because your Actions prove it. And that's where I said I'm going to come at you with clarity and love. But it might feel a little strong. I just want you to have a little bit of a wake up call. Is the world shifting again? It's always shifting. It's just fascinating. The news decides to tell us things are quote, bad. All of a sudden people's attention gets awakened a little bit. Like we're just going through another phase of life. That's fine. But this phase is going to demand a little better of you, a little, a little higher level of clarity, a little deeper commitment to what you truly want in order to get where you want to go. Results are simply proof of commitment. So I want you to answer four questions today around what this looks like as you just kind of get this clarity. And they're simply, what, why, how and who and how. Rather, what, why, who and how? And so it's like, what do you want? What do you want your future self to look like? Why do you want that? And you can go out six months, you can go out three years. I don't care what the frame is, don't. For the sake of today, don't go maybe 10 years. Just think a little bit further ahead of where you are. Maybe it's just the rest of this year, right? We've got, I mean, we're not even into the fourth quarter, so by January I'd like to be doing blah, blah, blah. I'd like to have this in play. It's about progress, not perfection. So what do you want? Why do you want it? That's where we get the emotional connection. That's where we get the staying power. That's where we dig in for the grit of the commitment. And then who, who, meaning who do I need to seek out to help me? Who do I need to help hold me accountable? Who can maybe do this for me? If it's an outsourced type situation or a delegation type situation, Many of us as leaders on the line have plenty of things that we could not do ourselves. And quite honestly, we're robbing. I've seen it in my own organization. With some changes recently that have been made, we're unleashing greatness in people that was being blocked. It's amazing when you get to do this and sometimes offloading some of the quote stuff on your plate gives somebody else their unique genius zone and they get to, to really thrive. So what do you want? Why do you want it? Who do you need to enlist help or delegate to? And then we finally get to the, how are we going to go about it? What are the actual action steps that I'm going to take? What am I actually going to commit to and uncommit from? Write this down. Get better at saying no. You gotta get better at saying no, my friend. When you ask the question, is this getting me closer to my next level? If it's not, you gotta stop, you gotta delegate, you gotta build a plan. And I get it. Like, I mean, gosh, I go all the way back to when I started in the service business and I was by myself in the truck and running calls 247 on call all the time. Pager going off in the middle of the night. Yes, I'll date myself. That was in the mid-90s. So pager going off, me peeling myself off the ceiling. Some of you remember what I'm talking about. That pager was loud as hell, boy. And going out to, to run drain calls in the middle of the night, I didn't want to be doing those things. But somewhere deep inside me though, I didn't have the level of consciousness I enjoy today, Something within me knew that it was helping me go to my next level. Little did I know it was going to take me to an opportunity to become a psychology expert with you and human behavior and help amazing leaders in the blue collar industries grow their own influence and following. Because I got to get up in the middle of the night. I got to, I didn't have to, I got to get up in the middle of the night and go do that and realize your next level. It's always a moving target. So my next level then get another fricking team member so I can split the call schedule in half so I can stop being on call all the time. And then once I got that, I went, well, man, I can't wait till I can get in the office and start running a few less calls. And once I got in the office and so on and so on all the way up to taking a six month motorhome trip where I never walked through the doors of the building and other people ran call and other people answered the phone and other people ran the service calls and other people processed the books and other people paid the bills and I got sent a check and I worked with the leadership team and that was one of my goals. That was the next level for me. Once I did it, I don't think I'll ever take six months off again. Because I work in my zone of genius now. I don't need to. I don't want to take 6 months quote off because I don't work. I create. I have an affiliation. I don't love the word work because people have a negative connotation with it. So I don't work. I create every day. Right now I'm in my creative condo. I don't call it a work condo. It's blue collar headquarters here in Scottsdale. And I'm in the studio, what some people would say working in order to record for you. But I say I'm creating, baby. And yes, it's transformational vocabulary, but I like it, it's awesome. And so as your next level continues to change, that's fine. And then you just keep on going, hey, is this taking me closer? Am I committed to lesser goals than what I really want, desire, deserve? Check yourself and make sure that you uncommit to the things that don't desire your best anymore. It's okay to evolve. That's the whole point. This moving target of success, that's the point of evolving consciousness. That's what we're doing as human. That's why we're different than animals. We have a different brain. And as we evolve our consciousness, we get to see things differently. You see the world the way you see it. I see it the way I see it. As we evolve our consciousness, we get to see it different ways, different levels, different shapes, different forms, different understanding, different levels of peace, happiness, love and bliss. And that is why I'm on the planet. To help you discover those, to help you lean into those. Which is why I wrote the success laws. Blue collar success laws. By the way, if you don't have your copy, go to www.bluecollarlaws.com blue collarlaws.com and just pay for shipping and we'll send you a free book. So I. It's just the seven laws that I see around succeeding in the blue collar industries. I'd love to share it with you. I'd love to hear how your how you feel about it and keep on rocking, my friend. Do me a favor and share this with somebody today. And if you haven't given us a rating, it's just a quick click on. Just mash the five star button or however it is on your platform, wherever you're listening. I want to thank you so much for leaning into yourself, for saying yes to your greatness. That's what we're here for and I'm pumped about it. Until we talk, make it a better than fantastic week and uncommit to those lesser goals. Thanks everybody.