Is Plan B Keeping You Stuck? How to Commit + Go ALL IN On Your Next Level

The natural human thing to do is to look at your life and see why you're not at that next level. But it's not strategy, it's not your talent, it's commitment. Most people don't fail because they are not capable. They fail because they let themselves have an escape route. Your backup plan isn't really protecting you. It's actually training you that it's okay to quit. Welcome back to the podcast. It's time for another quickie because there's always time to fit in. Inspiration. If you do not have that New Year ritual that is making you feel amazing yet, you need to go check out Glossy. Because what everybody tells us is how much more water they're drinking, how great their skin looks, and how much less bloated they feel every single day. This is such a staple in so many people's routine and it is a no brainer because of how it's going to make you feel and how incredible your skin is going to look. You guys, I looked in the mirror this morning. 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I can't be in the middle. I can't be wishy washy. I need to figure this out and I need to go all in. And the natural human thing to do is to look at your life and see why you're not at that next level. But it's not strategy, it's not your talent, it's commitment in the beginning of really going all in. Most people don't fail because they are not capable. They fail because they let themselves have an escape route. So today we're talking about burning the boats. It's one of my favorite phrases, one of my favorite quotes, and what it actually means, what people get wrong about it and how to do it in a way that's bold and. But also sustainable. So Burn the Moats comes from not only a book that I love by Matt Higgins, it's called Burn the Boats. You guys, if you have not read it yet, go and check it out. I want to give him credit because this framework is so powerful and it's going to be partially what I'm referring to in this podcast. But the original phrase comes from the story of Julius Caesar. And Caesar had his army land on enemy territory. And what ended up happening is that the soldiers started to hesitate because the boats were still there. And Julius Caesar had to think of a way to get all of his army to be 100% committed, to be 100% all in. And because retreat was still possible, Caesar realized that if he burned the boats and took the way out for them to escape, for them to be able to eat any food throughout this whole battle, that there would be no going back if they burn the boats. In fact, every single thought and plan moving forward would only be forward. It would only be through. So you guys have also heard the quote, the only way out is through if we know that there is an out behind us. Guess what? We're not going to be looking forward. We'll constantly be looking in the rearview mirror as well, which can't help you fully engage in the battle ahead of you, which is forward, which is facing forward. So what's wild is the moment retreat disappears, resourcefulness appears. All of these different other possibilities are going to come into your mind because you've cut off giving yourself that escape route. Tony Robbins also loves to talk about this and he shares a lot about why plan B is so dangerous. So there's something that he says that if you leave open a plan B, you'll eventually take it. Because plan B becomes the emotional escape when things are hard, when things are tough in the middle of the night and you've woke up again at 2am and you're like, okay, well I can always do that. Okay, well I can always do this. And it can be that excuse on really hard days. It can be the thing that you reach for when discomfort shows up and gross is not comfortable. So whenever you're in growth, guess where we want to go. We want to go to our escape route because that is what's going to bring us instant comfort. Because your backup plan isn't really protecting you, it's actually training you that it's okay to quit. So here's the part that people misunderstand. So I want to be super clear because people here burn the boats and they think it means to be reckless and to just like completely risk everything, be alone, unsupported. And I do believe in safety nets, but just not as options out. So I don't believe in half commitments, I don't believe in secret exits, I don't believe in just in case plans that you emotionally rely on. But I do deeply believe in safety nets that are made of people. So let me explain what I mean by this. Your safety net should be the fact that you have worked really hard to be around people whose reality is what you are going for, whose reality is your dreams, like at least have them accessible, who have been there before, who have done that, who can answer questions for you, who can tell you if this is normal or not, who can tell you if this is a risk worthy moment or not. Your safety net should be mentors, should be coaches, should be masterminds, should be friends who've been where you're trying to go, people who can see clearly where you can't, people who help you problem solve instead of retreat. So you can say my safety net is people. It's not permission to back Out. Now, on some of these podcasts, you have heard me say that in order to go all in, in order to burn the boats, there is a part of me that needs to know I'm going to be okay if all of it fails. Sometimes we can waste so much energy thinking about, well, what if this happens? Well, what if that happens? Well, what if this happens? Yes. What if you lose your business? Will you still have shelter? Can you go live in your parents basement? Can you live on a friend's couch for a while? Do you have friends that you can go and talk to who will help you get back on your feet? The answer to all of are typically yes, that you will somehow figure it out. So once I have that in my head of like, okay, I will figure it out. I'm not going to go and create this like very in depth plan B where I have steps, I know exactly how I'm going to get out. I start the conversations of getting out. That's not what I'm going to do. Because what happens is that I start leaning that way and I start cutting off the ideas of, no, the only way I'm going to take the island is to burn the boats. The only way that you're going to win in your company is to burn the plan B. You have to move forward. What does that look like for you? So the psychology behind why it works is over time, we've been trained to hedge literally everything. And that you never know loop constantly stays in our head. The, you know, Matt Hagens talks a lot about this, where everyone around you is saying, well, you never know, know this could fail. And then we stop trusting ourselves. So the moment we make a bold move, we literally undercut it with a backup plan. And it cuts out our intuition, it cuts out our knowing, it cuts out our forward momentum. And so the act of building a safety net as an exit actually forces you to focus on it and feel like you need it. So if you're already worried constantly that you won't succeed, you're rehearsing failure. How can you learn to switch your brain into rehearsing, going through it, getting through the fire, getting to the next level, feeling yourself expand, feeling yourself move through the struggle, support yourself with people, support yourself with sleep, with prayer, with friends, with people who have been there before. How can you really focus on that? And trust me, I am in this right now. Now I am the person who can tell you this is not easy, but this is a choice, this is doable, and this is a choice. And I don't believe there is any other way. But one thing I do know is that I don't want to rehearse failure. I do not want to start thinking about what I can do if this doesn't work and start feeling how cushy and how much easier that would feel. Because as soon as you move back to that place, I want you to play that movie to the end. I want you to play the movie to the end of giving up on the thing that you were so excited about. 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And so I want you to stop rehearsing failure and I want you to start rehearsing what it feels like to go through to win. What would it look like? What would it feel like? Who are you when you have expanded your capacity so much that a problem that would have rocked you to your core is now just something that you move through in a matter of five minutes and a day after saying a prayer and you let it go and you let it roll right off of your back. So I want you to ask yourself these questions. Where am I secretly leaving an exit open for myself? What would I do differently if quitting wasn't an option? If it was not an option, if you just burnt your boats, what would look different? Would you have to play a lot bigger? Would you have to ask much larger people to come on board or to help you with what you're doing? Would you have to take bigger risks in order to get bigger rewards? Because you don't have an option of this mediocre playing average, playing small anymore? Who needs to be your safety net so that you are not doing this alone? These are the questions you need to focus on. Where am I secretly leaving an exit open? What would I do different, differently if quitting wasn't an option? And who needs to be in my safety net so that I don't do this alone? So one simple action, you can tell one person your real goal. You can remove one backup option that you have been leaning on. What does that feel like? Did you just have the realization that maybe you are rehearsing failure more than you're rehearsing success? So I want you to remember that God does not put ceilings on your ambition. That is there for a reason. You put your own ceiling on your own ambition because if you have it and you believe it, that is where you're meant to move forward. So I want you to go through these questions, have the realization that maybe you're leaning into the plan B. And I want you to start painting such a vivid picture of winning, of getting through, of who you need, of what that would look like, of what those big, bold moves would be. Because that is what is going to be required in order for you to truly win and get out of this middle ground. If you want to leave the pack behind, this is what you have to do. You have to stop thinking like pack mentality, which is giving yourself plan B's, plan C's, plan D's, and you need to just burn the boats and start rehearsing winning. You guys, I'm sending you so much love. I'm so grateful for you. I needed this podcast as much as you needed this podcast. Please send this to a friend. Send this to a friend who needs this, who, you know, just needs to go to the next level. Say some prayers. I truly believe if it is in your heart that God wants you to move forward on that goal and that you absolutely can become the person who can handle the journey of getting there. This is a mental game. This is all just a mental game. And how calm can you keep your nervous system during the storm of becoming the person that you came here to be? Sending you guys so much love. And until next time, earn your happy. Bye, everyone. Sam.