Maintain Wellness During COVID-19 Lockdown

What can I do to feel more energy, have more clarity, have more stamina, to be able to go longer when I need to work hard and, you know, do what needs to get done. If you want a high performing business, you've got to, you know, like, you got to look at yourself like you are the prize racehorse. You know what I mean? You are your business. Like when you're on, your business goes. If you believe in the outcome, right? You have to first believe in the outcome. Then it just becomes a new habit. Then it's part of your life, then you start to feel the results. And then when you fall off, you feel the negative consequences of falling off from whatever that positive habit or that positive routine is. For me, the motivating factor was really when I realized the impact of my personal well being, you know, mind, body, spirit, like, all of that and how much impact that had on my business. You know, my morning is everything, right? The way that I set up my morning is just from my own experience. Makes the difference of my day, makes the difference of my week, makes a difference of my month, makes a difference in my year. Basically makes the difference of my life. Hey, my friends. Welcome to the Moving Mastery Podcast. My name is Luis Massaro. I got my main man, Chris. We are virtual in quarantine lockdown. Chris is at home. I'm at home looking at him right now. We're on Zoom, just kind of, you know, hanging out, doing the podcast as we normally would, but doing it virtually. What's up, Chris?

Hey, how's it going? I'm here, I'm holding it down, and it's a pleasure. We still get to do this.

Yeah, we got to keep it moving. We can't. We can't let this thing stop us. You guys shouldn't be letting this stop you as well. And we've been doing a new format with the podcast to where you are taking questions from either the audience, people on social media, emails that come in, maybe clients that we have that, you know, have something that we could. They've asked that we could use. I'm letting Chris pick the questions, surprise me with them, and we go from there. So what do we got today, Chris?

So today I had a question come in on Instagram recently, and I think it's appropriate just because of the. The last episode we did about the COVID 19 pandemic and, and how that affects your moving business. And, and a lot of that message in, in that episode was, was you telling people, hey, listen, you know, the fear can be. The fear can, can you can lock up, you can freeze up because of all the fear that's going on out there. And. And it's important to mitigate that fear and make sure you're still pressing forward with your business. And I think that's been very helpful. But I also realized that maybe there's more to it. And when this question came in, it was the perfect question. And it made me realize, yes, we got to continue sort of a part two of the COVID 19 episodes here. This question came in on Instagram, and I'll just read it to you here and then we can go from there. So the question is, I've seen a lot of your videos and listened to your COVID 19 podcast, and I really appreciate your insight on not letting the stress and the fear of this pandemic bring our businesses down. And I'd like to ask you specifically what you are doing in your daily health and wellness routines to help mitigate that stress.

Okay, that's a good one.

Yeah. And I know for you, that's something you take very seriously, so I think we'll be able to help a lot of people.

Yeah, definitely. So if you haven't already listened to, I believe it's called COVID 19 and your moving business, it's the previous episode. Go listen to that. Some powerful stuff in there. You got to listen to that one. But, yeah, as far as, like, my routine, I do take it seriously. You know, there was a. There was a point where I made a decision that, you know, after learning and understanding, right. First you've got to be able to get things in perspective. So it wasn't that I've just always been a health nut. I wouldn't say that I am a health nut, but what I am is someone who takes life and their business and their daily experience in life seriously, that I want to experience it in the best way that I possibly can. And for me, the motivating factor was really when I was realize the impact of my personal well being, you know, mind, body, spirit, like all of that and how much impact that had on my business. Right. Like, that's how it became a motivating factor for me. And so I started dabbling with a little bit of, you know, a little bit of this routine and a little bit of that routine. And once I started to see the impact of small things that I was doing, I was like, man, I need to go all in. And I've since become a student of the mind, right. How the mind works, how the body works, spirit and connection, and just overall Being a whole human and how that helps my business, right. And helps my quality of life. And so I'll share with you, you know, what I do, you know, and it's kind of years of just trying stuff, seeing what works for me, seeing what fits, right? It's all about, like, you've got to be able to try stuff on for size, right? When you're. When you're. When you hear something you read, you read something in a book or you hear something on a podcast or, you know, wherever you get it from, right? You have a mentor that tells you something. You got to be able to try it on for size, see if it works for you, and then make adjustments from there, Right? Does that make sense?

Yeah. Yeah. It's got to be your own thing. You're not living somebody else's life. This is your life. So however you can make it fit for you, that's really the key, right?

That's the key. And so, you know, I'll share, you know, kind of my routines, you know, but. But know that this is, you know, I spent a lot of time in the morning. My morning routine is really long. We'll talk about that. But it became as long as it is. It did, you know, over three hours in the morning of morning, you know, morning routine, because I saw the value first taking 20 minutes and then 30 minutes and then an hour, right? And I started to see the effectiveness of what it did for me as a business person, Right? And it all came around this time where, you know, I opened in 2000. I'm just giving you a little backstory here so you could kind of understand where this came from. And it didn't just, you know, it developed over time. It developed over time, out of a need. And the need was really first and foremost for my business and to mitigate the stress that the business was. I was allowing the business to cause me. I shouldn't say that the business was causing me, that I was allowing the business to cause me. And so, you know, it really came to a head when, you know, the recession came and, you know, that's the time where I decided to get a coach. That's the time where I started to, you know, in that couple year period, shift my mindset from, hey, I'm a moving company owner, to, like, no, I'm a. I need to, you know, conduct myself as a CEO. I need to, you know, be at a different level, right? We've got to be able to, you know, solve problems from a different place. It was, you know, Einstein Said we can't solve problems at the same. The same way of thinking about things as when we created them. That's not the exact quote. I'm butchering it. But the point is that you've got to shift your perspective. So, you know, that's when it started for me. And then again as I started to see the results in my performance, as in my business and my quality of life, it was like, all right, I'm all in. Like, what can tell me what I need to do? What can I do to feel more energy, have more clarity, have more stamina, to be able to go longer when I need to work hard and, you know, do what needs to get done? How do I manage my emotions so I'm not, you know, losing control and flipping out and, you know, you know, somebody pisses me off in the office, and I'm not like, flying off the handle like I did in the early days, Right?

Yeah.

And so, like, when you start to see all this come together, it was like, wow, okay. I put this correlation in my mind of, you know, pro athletes. Like, what separates a pro athlete from somebody playing a pickup game, you know, at the park, right? NBA player versus somebody just, you know, shoot some hoops on the weekends. And it's that they're a professional and they treat themselves as professionals, they take care of themselves as professionals. And so I think it's the same thing as a business owner. If you want a high performing business, you've got to, you know, like, you got to look at yourself like you are the prize racehorse. You know what I mean? You are your business. When, like, when you're on, your business goes, right? I mean, everybody's had the days. We all have the days where we feel super on it, right? And we're just dialed in and we're focused and we're just getting things done that matter. And then we've had the days where we're like, oh, yeah, physically you're just depleted, and physically you're just exhausted. And so, you know, when you start to see that you can have some control over that, you could feel better, perform better then, and also not be exhausted and worn out. When it comes time to enjoy your life, you go all in and you commit to being that professional. And that's. That's basically what I did. You know, it was just like, this has to be a part of my life. Because, you know, you. When you start a new routine, what happens is you fall. And we're gonna get to it in a minute. I just want to give A little, like, context here.

Yeah.

When you start a new routine, you could start something and stop. Like, I'll talk to people and they'll be like, yeah, I used to do that, but I fell off. And I used to do that and I fell off. And you know what I say is, well, okay, but keep getting back on. Right. Used to work out cool. Used to eat healthy, used to meditate, used to do these things, start doing them again. But what happens is people lose confidence in themselves because they tried something and they failed. In their mind, they failed. Right. But they just. They fell off is what happened. And so if you can just close the gap between the time that you fall off and the time that you get back on and just keep going and keep going. If you believe in the outcome, right? You have to first believe in the outcome. Then it just becomes a new habit. Then it's part of your life. Then you start to feel the results. And then when you fall off, you feel the negative consequences of falling off from whatever that positive habit or that positive routine is. Does that make sense?

So it's not about, like, not falling off or it's about once you do, you need to be able to get back on the horse as soon as possible.

Yeah.

And okay, so if somebody is. Is. Because that's probably a lot of the battle right there. Because a lot of times, you know, you start a new routine. Let's say you start a new diet or you start a new exercise program or whatever. And if you don't stick with it, you know, if it doesn't stick, you. You end up beating yourself up saying, oh, my God, I can't even make this work. How am I gonna have a successful business? I can't even, you know, work out every day or whatever. But it's not about that. It's about being able to. Once you do fall off, because you're going to fall off, right? Like, everybody falls off.

You're going to fall off because what you're doing is you're going against your natural. Your natural tendencies, right? Yeah. Like, my natural tendency is to be lazy. You know, I say that to people and they laugh, but I'm like, no, for real. Like, if I didn't have the will and the discipline to do the things that I know are going to make me and my life better. It's so easy to just be like, man, I just want to chill, right? I just want to, like, hang out, go by the pool, you know, whatever. But lay on the couch, watch tv. Like, that's our default so anytime we go against what like our natural tendencies are and we try something new, it's, you know, you, you can't just expect to stay on track. You've got to first have that vision of, of what you hope to gain from doing it. You know, you've got it. Like for me, anytime that I'm like, I'm willing to try something, it's because someone or some circumstance convinced me that the result I'm looking for is on the other end of that new habit or it's on the other end of that new routine. So, you know, you're willing to suffer through it to get to the other side, Right.

Who wants to have your reason why?

Yeah, like, who wants to eat vegetables when you could eat a cheeseburger? Right. It's like, but you have to believe in the results on the other end and you have to kind of integrate that feeling of what it's going to feel like. And so, yeah, the whole like falling off and getting back on, like anything you do, anybody listening? Anything you do in your business. Because same thing with the business people. Like, I used to look at my P. Ls and I used to look at my numbers, but then I kind of fell off. I started, you know, doing follow ups and then we kind of stop doing that. Okay, start again, start again, start again. Like never be afraid to start again. Right?

Yeah.

Just think about like, okay, the last time you went for a run was two years ago. Okay, we'll start today. Right. Or whatever it might be. And then if you fall off after a few weeks, okay, and you realize, like, man, it's been a week and I haven't got to it. Good, get back on it. Close the gap of time from when you fell off to when you get back on. And all of a sudden you just, you know, there's a lot of physical and mental and emotional muscles that get built with all of that that just make you stronger as a person.

Yeah, yeah, I think that's a lot of it too. Is that that boost you get from when you do go back to it, even though it's been two years or it's been two weeks, whatever. When you go back to it, there's that little extra boost of self confidence that says, yeah, I did it, I got back on the horse. Yeah, you know that'.

So, all right, so let's talk about the routines. We'll see what's helpful. I mean, you know, for me, you know, my morning is everything, right? The way that I set up my morning is just from My own experience makes the difference of my day, makes the difference of my week, makes the difference of my month, makes the difference of my year, basically makes the difference in my life, how my day starts. So to start the day, you know, everybody's heard of, you know, morning routine and it's important to have one, have some consistency, like just having consistency alone in the way that you start each and every day, right? Let's, or at least each and every weekday, right? You want to take the weekends off, fine. But like the way you start those days to have consistency, it creates a place for your, your ever racing mind to settle around, right? And have that, that place of kind of certainty to start the morning, right. Like I used to wake up and it was like the minute, the minute I woke up, it was like the mind was just causing havoc, right? Like, you know, just, you're going in the kitchen and get a drink and the mind just like, oh my God, oh my God, what about this? What about that? Oh God, my God, what about this? What about that? What about this? What about that? And so, you know, the way you start off is so important. So basically, you know, I get up at 5am and not because I, you know, necessarily enjoy being up so early, but because there's a lot that I want to get done in the morning before I start my day, right? And so the waking up part has to do with the going to sleep part. People think that the waking up part, and this is something I know you, you know, you recently started. I kind of got on you about this of. Because your whole lifestyle used to be different. I used to be more, you know, nightlife and, you know, night scene and music and so now you're getting up at 5 and it's a, it's a whole different, it's a whole different ball game, right?

It is completely different. It's a completely different reality. But I can, I can definitely vouch and say those hours in the morning, you're, you're more creative, you're more productive, you're more present and conscious. And it's, it's been a game changer. It really has been.

Yeah.

You know, and I never thought I would be that kind of person. Like, I was always a nighttime person. I always worked at night. I always was a night owl. And you know, the last few weeks of changing it up, you know, it's, it's, it's been amazing. It's really been life changing. It has.

Yeah. So that's awesome. But the part of that people don't think about is, it's not okay waking up. It's when you go to sleep.

That's the key.

That's the key. So people are like, I have a hard time. What time are you going to bed? Sometimes nine, sometimes 11, sometimes midnight. You know, like, I'm very strict during the week on when I go to bed. You know what I mean? Like, I don't, you know, even if I am, you know, watching very, very little tv, I'll talk to you about that. Like, very little tv. But, like, even if I am watching, like, it's like, all right, it's time. I'm going to bed. TV's off. I'm going to bed. Right? Like, almost like. Like a child has a bedtime. I've given myself that bedtime, because if I don't and I allow my lower self, I look at it all like, there's my lower self. That's like, hey, man, I just want to hang out. I just want to lay on the couch. Like, let's just watch some stuff. Let's watch another EP episode. Right? Like, if I let that person, that version of me, win the conversation, then guess what happens when I get up at 5 o', clock, I'm gonna be miserable because I didn't get any sleep. Right. Or I'm gonna be tempted to hit the snooze. So, you know, I. I go to bed by, you know, nine o' clock so that, you know, you. I get my seven or eight hours in there. And that's been scientifically proven to raise your cognitive, you know, function and ability. And I know a lot of people that, like, man, I'm good. You know, Louis, I get five hours of sleep. I'm good, right? And, yeah, okay, you're good. You can function. Absolutely. And I know that's what you've been doing all these years, but if you were to get seven hours, I bet you'd be like a whole new person and all the. You know, because, listen, we're not. You know, as a business owner, your. Your job is to think, strategize, implement. You know, if you're. If you. Listen, if you're a mover and you're on the trucks, you know, it's like, okay, if I'm tired, can I still do the job? Sure. Right? But if your job is to really, like, strategically guide the business, you need that cognitive function, and so.

Right.

Very important. So I would say, you know, you got to try to get your seven to eight hours of sleep. And that doesn't mean, like, what time do I, like when I first learned that, like, I remember back in the day, I was like, okay, whatever time I was going to bed, right. Whatever time I went to bed, I just looked at the clock, I was like, all right, what's, what's eight hours from now? And I said it was like, yeah, you know, if it was 11, I'd be like, all right, seven o'. Clock. And I got up at seven. So. So that was like, I first learned to get to sleep and now I'm like, wait, wait, no, no, I got to get to sleep. But I also got to be up at 5 because I got a lot of stuff I need to do before I start my day.

Yeah. So that bedtime is more important than what time you wake up, really, you know, to get that full eight hours. And, and another thing for me that I've noticed is the consistency because, you know, this, this new routine I'm doing, I'm. It doesn't matter whether, whether it's Saturday morning, Sunday morning, Wednesday morning, I'm getting up at five every day. And that consistency and that, that regular schedule makes all the difference too.

Yeah, absolutely. Because, you know, it's just, it's just easier. It just doesn't become anything you think about when you're just used to it. Right, right. So wake up at five. For, you know, years I've been, you know, I, I learned that I had like flexibility issues years ago. Right. So I'm like, okay, stretching, like, just, I wasn't very flexible. Right.

Like physically.

Like physically. Right. Like, I would, I would, you know, there was like, certain workouts that I struggle with. You know, I would go get a massage and you know, they'd be like, ah, you need to really, you need to stretch. You know, So I became committed to that. So I started doing that first thing in the morning. So, you know, right now what I'm doing currently, you know, in general. Right. I think massages are a very important part of your health, your well being and your stress. Like deep tissue, you know, myofascial release massages, the ones that hurt. Right. So, you know, on a regular basis, like when we're out of quarantine, if you could be getting massages once a week, once every other week, it's so worth the money to do it. Right. Because it just opens your whole body up and we start to learn and see how, you know, the physical body connects with the mental mind. Right. And that's not just like, oh, I get a massage, I'm getting pampered. It's like no, I'm taking care of myself like a pro athlete would take care of themselves. And when you treat yourself with that level of respect for yourself and your body, it's going to show in your business. So now in the mornings, what I'm doing is I'm waking up and I'm. I'm doing the foam roller. She knows, like little.

Yeah, yeah.

So it's basically got some kind of, like, little knobs on it and stuff. And it. And it's. It's not fun to do, you know, you kind of roll on it. Yeah. If you. If you. If you look up, you know, trigger release foam roller, you guys will see what I'm talking about if you don't know. But, you know, I roll out for probably 15 minutes. Like, you know, my. It bands my quads, you know, the inside of my, you know, hamstring my back, Right. And start to break down all those knots. So I'm kind of giving myself a massage with that. Right. Okay. You know, later and later in the day, I don't do it in the morning, but later in the day I'll do, you know, I'll get a lacrosse ball or something and I'll put it, like, you know, on my back where I've got those knots and I'll kind of get them out. I'll roll it on the wall.

Just dig in there. Man, that hurts so bad, but it's worth it.

It hurts so bad. But, like, you get that. You get that knot and you're like, oh, my God. Like, that's why I've felt so tense this whole time. And you feel loose, right?

Feel a release.

You feel a release. And so, like, these are the types of things that, like, you know, at first, like, this sucks, but then when you start to see the results, you're like, man, I. I can't imagine not feeling, you know, loose and mobile. So. So anyways, I roll out, then I stretch for, like 20 minutes, right? Just stretch out so that my body's open, you know, that just allows more blood flow. And you need the blood flow to get oxygen to the brain. You need oxygen to the brain to feel energy throughout the day, right? This is all stuff that's going to make you a better. Anything you're doing. I don't care what it is, right? Like, you're a business owner, you're a mover, you're a housewife, you're an employee somewhere. If you're a person, the better you feel physically. And it's not just about working out. It's about these other things, too. You're just gonna perform better day to day. You're gonna have more energy, you're gonna feel better, you'll be a better person.

Sure. Who doesn't feel better after a good massage? Exactly. And life just seems better if you get done with that massage. And, like, wow, things are okay.

Yeah. Yeah. So definitely, definitely. When you could get back out there, schedule some deep tissue massages, and then from there, I meditate. You know, I'll sit and I'll meditate for, you know, 20, you know, 20 to 25 minutes. I'll start off, really, by just sitting there for a few minutes and just thinking about everything that I'm grateful for in my life and allowing myself to feel that. Right. So instead of, you know, and this is something again, that developed over time, people are like, you know, you need. You need gratitude, and you need a gratitude journal, and you need all this stuff, and it's like, okay, you try it. And what I found is that what works best is when you actually can feel it. So if you think about, you're grateful for where you live. You're grateful for the safety of your home, you're grateful for your wife, you're grateful for the joy that your baby brings to you, and you think about that and you kind of allow yourself to just feel what it is. Right. You know, you're grateful for the business you have, whether it's where you want it to be or where, you know, you're still growing it or whatever. Like, chances are you should, you know, no matter where you're at, like, even if you just started, be grateful that you just started. Like, wow, I'm so glad that I found this business, this moving business that I could be in that's going to be able to provide a future for myself and a future future for my family and be able to take care of all my financial responsibilities and my financial freedom. I'll get into being grateful for mentors and people, my coaches and people that have guided me along the way. And I just allow myself to feel that gratitude because otherwise, especially that early in the morning, it's so easy to just start thinking about all the stuff that sucks, right? It's like, you know, again, by default, you know, your. Your mind doesn't want to, like, think. I mean, maybe some people do. I don't have that default where I wake up and I skip around the house. You know, I've got to intentionally get myself into that place.

That's interesting. I never thought about it that way. You Know, you figure I used to say that a lot, like, I'm just not a morning person.

Yeah. Well, that's. Anybody that says, I'm just not a. Whatever person. Yeah, it's. It's, you know, it's really the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset, which can be changed from fixed to growth when it. Whenever you. Because you can become any type of person you want to be. Right. It wasn't that you weren't a morning person. It's just that you didn't set up everything around you to be a morning person, and you had no interest in becoming a morning person because you didn't see any value in it. It probably wasn't until, you know, I don't want to. I'm not. I'm not taking credit, but it probably wasn't until I came along, was like, Chris and talking about it and talking to you about it and talking to you about it and, you know, finally gave you kind of challenge you a little bit. Pushed you. Yeah. To where you tried it. Probably like, hated it. But you know what? I think he's. I have faith that he's on to something. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but, like, you know, that's how it happens. Like, you've got to hear it from somebody and go, you know what? Let me, Let me try that. Let me see if he's on to something.

Well, like. Like you were saying earlier, I saw the. Why I saw the end goal, and I realized, oh, that's the benefit that's on the other side of this is worth the pain of changing my constitution, who I thought I was.

Yeah.

You know, and that's really. But if I didn't see that, if I didn't see the benefit, then that is so much easier to just go ask or it. I'm not going to do it.

You know, you could become any type of person you want to become. I mean, I believe that with all my heart. I believe it with anybody. I think it's just a matter of, you know, being able to remove some of the things in your life that are causing you to stay stuck in that position, build up some new things in your life that will help you to move forward. So if you ever find yourself saying, I'm just not that. I'm just not that type of person, you should know that you can become that type of person. Person if you want to.

Right, right. Right.

You know, and.

And it's important to. To question those beliefs.

Right.

Like, you. You find yourself saying things like that. Like, I'm. I've always been this way, or I'm like this, or I'm like that. Like, you're the only person who believes that, so why not look at it and, and challenge yourself? And, you know, I. This, I feel like, is. Is the beginning for me of a whole new reality for me, because it made me confident in the fact that, hey, I can do this. What else can I do?

And, and, and that's. That's the thing, right? Like, you start built, you know, you start building that. And so what happens is what. We'll continue with the routines, but what happens is as you start to do this stuff and as you start to see the, the, the results, you become a better person. You become more skilled, you have the energy. You, you, you know, experience the confidence, competence loop, right? Like in psychology, it's like, you know, if you can gain competence in something, become better at it, then you will become more confident at doing it. And if you become more confident at doing it, you'll want to do it more, so you'll get more competence, which will give you more confidence. And it's just like that cycle that just keeps going, but if you stop and go, I'm not good at that, so I'm not going to do it, then you're never gonna be able to pass that uncomfortable zone. So basically, anything that you want to learn, you know, you just have to know that as you get better at it, you'll get more confident at it, right? But a lot of people become so good at one thing, right? And they, you know, or, you know, they're good. They're good to a certain level in certain areas of their life that they're afraid to be a beginner again. Something holds a lot of people back is that they become successful in business or in certain areas of their life, and they have this certain, you know, image of themselves, and they say, I'm not that type of person. You could become that type of person if you want to be, right? The thing is what people fear is they fear being a beginner again, sucking at it, not being good at it, right? And, and so, like, with all this stuff you're gonna have, if you don't do it, you're gonna have to learn how to do it, right? I mean, you, you recently started working out. You really never worked out. That was something you had to learn to do, right?

Yeah, I mean, in this, in this structured way, you know, I always was athletic and I played sports and stuff, but I never took it seriously as Like I'm gonna go to the gym and I'm gonna get a routine down and I'm gonna, you know, do sets and reps of this or that. And yeah, that's, that's been one of the benefits and one of the results of, of just sort of taking control of, of my, myself, you know, part of that, that morning routines, part of it, you know, getting up in the morning and I know you do this too, like meditating and you know, just taking that extra time to, to take care of yourself and getting yourself in the right, you know, state of mind in the right physical, you know, place to, to be, to be ready for your day.

Yeah.

You know, so.

Alright, so back to the routine. So I'm waking up, I'm, you know, I'm rolling out, I'm stretching, doing some, some gratitude before I get into meditation. And then I meditate for, you know, 20, 25 minutes. You know, I started. I've learned many different techniques over time because I just see the value in being able to slow the mind, calm the mind. Because, you know, I think a lot of people deal with this, but my mind naturally will kind of be thinking about a lot that I have going on. And as you have more going on in your life and you have more responsibilities like a business, you're kind of consistently thinking about different scenarios and what's going on. So to be able to hit that reset button and quiet the mind, you know, it's kind of like if you think about your mind like it's the ocean, right? It's wavy, there's waves, you see the white caps, all that. And then meditation turns it into more of like a lake that, that nobody's touched or been in. And it's just like super flat and super clear. Right? Does that make sense? Like it just takes what, like it takes all of that noise and just quiets it. And there's so much that comes from that. I mean, yeah, you know, it just your, your ability to just have more clarity and to just be able to react in your day better with everything. Whether it's a reaction to a, a customer that's giving you a hard time or a reaction to an employee that's not doing what they're supposed to do or decisions on what to eat, right. You're not coming from a place of, you know, so much turbulence going on, right. And so, you know, I would say to learn, if you haven't learned how to meditate, you know, first Google it, right? Start by Googling it. Right? But there's all kinds of, you know, I started with guided meditation on an app, you know, Then I learned, you know, meditation from a, you know, like an expert, you know, meditation person. And I've tried some other stuff. I recently even started a new how to meditate course just because, like, I like to learn different ways of doing it. And I've. I've started to introduce Dirt Break, like, straight up during the. This whole Covid thing. It increased my. My stress too. It's not like I don't get stressed at all. So I added another meditation later in the day, right? So I wanted to kind of change it up. So I learned, like, a new way of doing it. So meditation is huge. You know, it doesn't have any type of, you know, anything you want to add to it. You want to add some prayer, you want to add some chance. You want to add, like, that's all on you. It has no, you know, religious or any specific type of relation like that. It's really just to help you quiet the mind.

Okay, Now, I know recently we did our virtual seminar. And during the virtual seminar, you had walked three people through what you called a visualization. So what's the difference? Is that like a meditation or is that something different? And maybe talk a little bit about that? Like, what was the visualization?

Sure. So. So my. My set that I do is kind of like I start with the gratitude, right? Like, all in the sitting down in the same. Same spot. Start with the gratitude, go into the meditation. The meditations to quiet the mind, to not think, right? To allow thoughts. They're gonna come no matter what everybody thinks. Like, if they have thoughts, they're not doing it right. The thoughts come. You just don't want to attach to them. And you want to let them just kind of drift away, right? Yeah, just kind of like focus on, you know, some. Your breath or some people use a mantra and just, you know, focus on that centering point and just try to let your. Try to not attach yourself to any of the thoughts, like they're going to come, but let them be, you know? And one of the things that really helped me over years was, was like, if it's important, I'll think of it later again, you know, like, you feel like, I gotta write that down. I gotta write that down. Write that down. Oh, I got to do this. I got to do that. Because all this stuff's popping in your head. So I let it go. So anyways, the meditations is to quiet the mind. Then I go into visualization, and we do this Always at the. At the seminars. Right. Like, we do it. We did it. The virtual.

It's always a big hit. Yeah. People really like it.

And so what it is, is it's like, you know, it's visualizing your future as if it's a reality. So it's meditative. It's not meditation. It's meditative, but it's more of an active. Now you're wanting to think, right? So now you're thinking about your future results. Okay, so you could be thinking 10 years from now, 20 years from now. You could be thinking for the day ahead. And so, you know, I'll actually think about, you know, future results of goals that I have and where I want to go and, you know, having already achieved them. Right. Like, I run through a scenario in my mind. Like. Like, kind of take myself through visualizing, like, waking up in this new, you know, in this new place that I want to be living in and going on this new trip in the way. And just every. Everything that I want in my life, that it's already done. And I, like, go there. Like, imagine, Like, I imagine that I'm there. I imagine. I allow myself to feel it again. Like, it's not just in the mind, it's in the body. Like, wow. Like, this feels great. Like, imagine, like, as.

Like, as it. Like it already happened. Like. Like it's in the past.

Like, it's like. Like I know for certain that it's coming and that, you know, I'm just visiting there at the moment.

Okay.

You know what I mean? Like. Like, in other words. And it's. It's. You know, it's. It, people. It's. It's like you've got to be able to visualize what you want again. This is. A lot of athletes do this. You know, you talk about, you know, you look at. You know, you look at LeBron sitting on the sidelines, or you look at a top golfer, you know, and they've kind of visualized that shot. They visualize that happening. They've played it over and over and over in their head so that when the time comes, they're prepared for it.

So.

So for me, I. And I've done this, and it's worked for me to where, you know, I've. And I didn't realize that I was doing this early on. Like, when I first started, you know, I was visualizing all my trucks and my locations and the houses and the cars. I wasn't doing it. I wasn't, like, sitting down and making it formal. I was Just kind of like what was playing in my head as I was doing whatever it is I was doing. Right.

Okay.

And so you. You kind of first. It's. What's important is you first have to know what you want. Right. Knowing what you want in your life is huge, and it'll reduce your stress tremendously, you know, But I have no attachment to it. So I'm thinking about this future scenario, right? I'm imagining the people that I love are with me. I'm imagining that I'm doing all that I want to do. I'm imagining that it's not. There's zero stress, zero burdens, zero. Like, oh, my God, what's that gonna cost me? Like, it's just everything's flowing perfectly, Right. I mean, you've heard me kind of guide people through it at the seminars and. Yeah, yeah. And so what that does is it starts to feel real. Right. And so, you know, people will talk about, like, the law of attraction, and then it's essentially what it is. Right. You can't just sit and visualize. You've got to do the work. Right?

Yeah.

So if you could visualize what you want, you know, when you come out of that, you're like, all right. You feel like you just experienced it, and so now you're like, I want that. What do I do to get that right? And now your actions, your. Your day to day becomes more purposeful because you've got this vision of. Of where you want to be with your life. And when I say vision, it doesn't have to be all materialistic stuff. I mean, it could totally be. You know, you're sitting on a rocking chair, like, with your spouse, looking out at a, you know, whatever grass field and just feeling zero kind of stress or burden financially because, you know, everything's all good. You know, your family's all good. You know, you've donated a bunch of money to your church, or you built some schools or, you know, so it's not all about, like, I want this car, I want this thing. And so when you experience it in a way where it feels real, now you want to go do the work. And so does that make sense so far?

Yeah, it's almost like it's your. I heard somebody say this once too, that the. The law of attraction would be better suited if it was called the law of creation. Because it's about, like you said, doing the work. Because it's one thing to visualize it and see it, but it's another thing to actually make it happen.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, there's, you know, there's, like, I'm not just doing that. Like, I've got, you know, maybe another episode. We'll talk about, like, planning out your life and planning out your. Your, you know, your decade and planning out your year, planning out your quarters, all to lead you to that place. Yeah, but, yeah, it is, and it's true. Like, you could create and you could become. And, you know, you could craft your life the way you want to craft your period, you know, and so it becomes. And as you start to see it develop, like, I have the confidence to teach it now, right? I'm like, you know, some people might think I'm crazy. Like, I do it right at the seminar, right? Hundreds of people are sitting there. I'm like, close your eyes. Let's go through this visualization. And I have the confidence because I've done it so long and I've seen it come to fruition so many times. And so, you know, you start to believe in it. And so what I'll do is I'll kind of go, you know, to this future, and then I'll bring it back to the day, and I'll visualize my day. I'll start to think about kind of, like, what I've got coming up for the day and just imagine everything going. Going well, right? Just going the way that I want it to go. And. Yeah, I mean, that's. That's the visualization part.

Now, aside from the obvious benefits of, you know, you using those tools, the meditation, the visualization of being able to, it sort of forces you to ask yourself, what do I want? Right? So you decide what you want. You use those tools to sort of bring yourself there. But what other kind of benefit does that have? I mean, to me, it feels like, you know, I've meditated for a long time, too, but I feel like the biggest benefit for it is just learning how to. How to calm yourself down and just stop all the madness. And, you know, in this time that we're in right now with this pandemic and everything, the stress levels are high, and it's. It's. Even if you're not sitting there visualizing your future and trying to create this great reality for yourself, if you're just taking time to be quiet and just sit there and allow yourself to be calm and, you know, let the stress kind of roll away, like, that's a huge benefit in and of itself.

Yeah, absolutely. But I do think that right now it actually is important to think about the future. And I think it's really important to get connected to that. Right? Because, you know, the immediate, like, right now, today, there's so much uncertainty that you've got to be able to look past that and you've got to be able to, you know, because you. You need to be working hard right now. Like, you need. Like, now's the time. The people that are putting. The people that are, like, going at it right now and staying focused and staying on top of their business, they're going to come out stronger and better than they possibly would have ever been had they not gone through this. And the people that aren't paying attention, the people that are like deer in a headlight and they're just kind of, you know, I don't know what to do. I'm going to sit at home and I'm going to, you know, have a virtual happy hour with people and just kind of, you know, mess around. They're going to be in a bad shape after all this because, you know, we're heading into a place where, you know, it's most. We're heading into recession. Right? Which is. Which is okay as a moving company. Like, people still need to move. That's what you got to remember. But, you know, you've got to rise to the occasion and the important part. Let me just, you know, I want to make sure I give the proper context on the. On the visualization, you know, I've been able to look at. And I think this is the key to setting goals, because a lot of times people will set big goals or they'll visualize stuff, and then they're just so stressed out because they're. They want that. Give me that. Right? Like, they're not there yet, so they're, like, stressed until they get there. You've got to be able to accept and appreciate where you are now. Right? Like, okay, like, when I'm. When I come. When I'm coming back from the visualization, I'll just, like, look around the room and just start to feel gratitude again for where I am. Knowing that it's just part of the journey, knowing that, hey, I'm gonna get to that place. I might not know exactly how, I might not know exactly when, but I'm going to get to that place. But I'm also going to, like, live fully today and be present today. And, you know, like, I look at everything now. Like. Like, I'm. I'm good. Like, I could be. And I don't mean that, like. Like, I'm good financially for life. Like, I. I mean, Most people, they're afraid to let. It's like, there's that balance between being satisfied and having ambition, right? And you want to be able to strive, but strive while you're satisfied. So to me, I look at it and I'm like, I'm good today. Like, if somebody was to say, hey, look, you're good. You're done. You can't do anymore. This is what it is. I'd be like, okay, I could settle into this, and I could do that, you know, even if. If I didn't, you know, if I had less money, if I lived in a different place. It's not about that. It's about you've got to be able to appreciate, accept, and enjoy where you are today and then know, hey, this is just part of my journey that I'm going to get there. Like, I say it all the time, like, I'm good. Everything else from here is a bonus in life. And you want to be able to get to that place where you could have complete satisfaction for where you are. Right. And it's hard when you're someone who's like, you know, my whole thing forever was like, there's got to be a better way. There's got to be a better way. There's got to be a better way. And always looking for a better way to grow the business, but then balancing that with like, hey, but I could also be happy today knowing that I'm also working on ways to make the business better, knowing that I'm also shooting for this high goal and I'm going to get there at some point. Point. But being able to, you know, be satisfied today, like, look, I'm. I'm good. Everything else from here on out's a bonus. Does that make sense?

Yeah. How. How can you expect yourself to be happy in the future if you're not happy now or at least content?

Right. It's the same with everything, right? How could you expect, like, I'm going to work on this in my business in the future when I get bigger, I'm going to do this or I'm going to do, like, you've got to do all the stuff now, like, get everything in order now, right? And then carry that with you. So, yeah, that's okay. That's essentially the visualization part.

That's pretty good stuff. So you. This is still, you know, part of your routine. You. You've done your. Your meditation, you've worked out, you've stretched.

What.

What else goes on in the mornings before you even start your.

Your workday oh man. So from there what I'll do then is I'll drink some powdered greens, right? They're just like powder organic, basically like a green juice, but in a powder. I just mix it with some water. Helps the alkalinity in your body. I won't get into all this scientific stuff about that. You want to look it up, but it helps a lot with your body, your energy levels, everything else. And then now I'm feeding my daughter, right? So I'll make her a bottle and I'll go wake her up, which is like one of my favorite things to do now in the morning, spend a little time with her, you know, get her up, get her going. And then from there I'll make myself a cup of coffee, you know. Now like one of my favorite 10 minutes that I have is just kind of sitting with my wife and the dog and her daughter in the living room drinking coffee. And just because she's our happiest at that point, right? Like she's lit up, she's excited, she's playing every day, she's new, you know, you guys, you know, have kids, you know, she's gonna be nine months. And so like that's one of my favorite, you know, 10 minutes. So I take that 10 minutes and kind of, you know, slow it down and just sit there. And then from there I'm either going to read or I'm gonna journal.

Okay.

And it's. It used to be both, right? It used to be both. But you know, based on your circumstances, right. So now I'm spending time with my daughter in the morning. So I've kind of made it a one or the other thing.

Okay.

And so, you know, I'll go sit, you know, in my office here. I've got, you know, got some like chairs. I'll either come sitting here and journal and, or read or I'll sit out back kind of, you know, just. It's very peaceful out there and just do that. And so, you know, I'll read anything from, you know, anything that's going to help make me better as a person, as a, as a business person. So it's all, you know, non fiction, you know, either business, self help, spiritual, anything that's going to help, you know, mind, body, spirit, like anything that's going to help that and learn that. And I'll, I'll literally set the timer on my phone for 30 minutes and just start reading. And when it goes off, I'm done. And, and this way I know I got that in for the day. And journaling something that, you know, I learned that years ago. And it, you know, it's, you know, people, when you say it, oh, what do you got, a diary or something? And like it's.

Yeah, but it's.

Chris, it's one of the most powerful things that I've ever learned to do because it becomes a way to record, you know, what's good, what's bad and self diagnose things that you're trying to improve upon. Right. Like my whole thing has always been from early on, like, there's got to be a better way, there's got to be a better way. So every time I come across something in business or personal or, you know, just an inner personal struggle that I might be dealing with, I want to overcome that, I want to learn about it. And we've got so much information inside of us and our own mind and a lot of our own answers if we allow ourselves a platform to be able to get that stuff out. And so for me, that's my thinking time, is my journaling time. I'm not like describing my day and what I, you know, what I had to eat and all that. If that's what somebody does, fine. What I'm doing is I'm diving into either challenges that I'm trying to overcome or things that are working really well. I want to kind of plant those deeper, right? So it becomes like a self coaching session. It becomes where I'm just going through and I'm figuring stuff out. Right. And that too. I'll set the timer and I'll go for 30 minutes and just write and write and write. And the key is to not filter anything that you are thinking. You know what I mean? This, like kind of let your intuition flow because there's no wrong answer. Nobody's reading this. It's not going to be in some memoir one day. They're not going to publish it. And if they do, it's because you are a genius and the stuff you wrote in there was a genius. So don't worry about it, right? Otherwise, like, you know, don't, you know, make sure you either have an app that you use that is safe and nobody else could get into it, if that's what your concern is, or you're writing it and putting it somewhere where nobody could get to it. But you know, you want to just let the ideas and the thoughts flow without concern of like, should I write that down? Like my hand goes so much, can't keep up with my mind. Right. And this is, this is everybody. If they really do it. If you just let your. Like, all those thoughts that are going and going and going. Right. If you just try to keep up and just write all that stuff. But what about this? What about that? Right? Okay, so how do I solve that? Okay, there's this option. This option, this option. Okay, but what about if I. And it's just, you know, I say, you're getting it all out of your head on paper, and the.

The.

The. The. The. The worst result you're going to have is at the end of it, you're like, okay, at least, like, I vented. But the. Like, for me, more times than not, I've got a solution or I've got a next step that I need to take in figuring out whatever it is.

Wow, that's. That's very powerful. So how do you recommend somebody go about it? They should just download one of these apps and just start writing. And I mean, is there. Because for me, I sit down and I think, okay, if I'm gonna write, like, what would I even write about? Is it. Is it, like, how do you get started? Like, what. To me, I go. I feel stupid.

Yeah, so. So, you know what I mean? Yeah. So, you know what? If that's the case. That's the case. You know? Okay, like, sometimes you've got something where, like, I'm already thinking about it. Like, as I'm having my coffee, I'm like, already, like, all right, I got to figure this out. Right?

Okay.

And, like, you can't. You can't figure things out the same way. People are like, hey, I could get away with five hours of sleep. Yeah, but you'd be better with seven or eight hours of sleep. The same way people say, I could figure it all out while I'm driving or while I'm in the shower. Yeah, but can you really sort out complex ideas all in your mind? If you can, you're blessed. You're a genius, and that's amazing. But for me, I've got to be able to put it on paper. Paper. Or literally, I could write it in the notes in my phone or in an app on my phone. Like, it doesn't. It doesn't matter. Like, whatever platform works best. Like, you've got to. You know, maybe there's something powerful about pen to paper, but if it's typing, if it's on your phone, it doesn't matter. But it could literally be. You know, you could start off like, I feel stupid. This is dumb. Why am I doing this? You know, I can't believe that Like, I feel ridiculous, but maybe this could be something that helps me, so why not give it a shot? Like, every little thought that's coming to your mind, you put it on paper and what happens is, you know, and still to this day, I've been doing this a long time. Still to this day, sometimes that's how it starts for me. What's up, buddy? How you feeling today? I'm like talking to myself, right? And just, you know, that's not how I start all of them. But, you know, you could start some of them with, with a problem that you're trying to solve, right. What do I do about this? You could start some of it with like, man, I feel so grateful for this, this, this, this, this, and this. And it's almost like you're just warming yourself up, right? And a lot of times the first few paragraphs will be total nonsense. And then all of a sudden you just, it starts, it starts flowing. You know, you've got, you know, I'll come to you with ideas all the time. And I'm like, yeah, I was like, I'll say I was writing about this this morning. And like, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's powerful.

Okay, so at this point in your morning, how, like, how many hours are we into the day?

We're at about, we're at about 7:30 at this point.

Okay, you're up at 5. You're at 7:30 at this point, at this point.

And so now I work out, okay, Physically, like work out for an hour. Right. And you know, right now we're talking about how to do this, you know, during call. I mean, I have an elliptical machine in the house. And then I have like, you know, just basic stuff that I'm using, some bands, some dumbbells, just making use of what I have. You know, before I would go to a gym and work out at a gym, but now I'm just making use of whatever I could do, right? So if I don't have a bench, I'm doing push ups, like, you know, just a mix of cardio and some weights. The key is you've got to break a sweat. You know, it's so important to break a sweat, you know, and if that means that you're doing some circuit training and it's all weights, but you're just going, you know, high intensity and you're, you're able to break that sweat. Okay. You know, for me, I need to get a little cardio going first. A lot of, you know, if you're weight lifting, a lot of people Say you got to do your cardio after. I'm not so concerned, and I'm not. I'm not a fitness expert by any means, but, like, I'm not so concerned about, you know, building mass. I like to get the blood flowing and the sweat going first and then keep it going during a workout. Right? So it's like the whole time. Because what that does, number one, it's great for your physical body, right? But it's amazing for your mind. You know, it releases, you know, chemicals in your mind. Neurotransmitters start to, you know, fire off. You've got, you know, bdnf, you've got dopamine, you've got, you know, your cortisol, which is your stress hormone, starts to go down. Right. That stuff doesn't happen if you're just like going and doing a few sets and not really breaking a sweat, not really getting the heart rate up. Right. So you want to get a good sweat going.

Okay.

Yeah.

So how long. How long do you work out?

An hour at the most. At most.

Okay.

You know what I mean? 40 minutes to an hour. I've definitely cut it short and more like, maintain, you know, but, yeah, that's it. So now we're like, you know, 8:30, you know, 8:30. My breakfast every day is a shake. It's a protein shake. Every day? Every day, Every day. You know, maybe once a while on the weekends, I'll, you know, Google, go to breakfast or make breakfast at home or something. But it's, it's. It's just the routine of, like, the consistency, right? It makes it easy. Like, instead of thinking about, okay, what do I eat today or what do I do? It's just like, it's the same thing. It's not even a question. And I know it's giving me everything I need to fuel my body, right? So I'm using a. You know, I'm not, I'm not vegan, but I use a vegan protein. Some avocados, blueberries, a bunch of spinach, some coconut milk, some flaxseed. Just stuff that's really giving me the nutrients for my body and for my mind that I need. That's also not going to weigh me down. It's not going to give me any digestive issues. I'll take the shake and then I'll sit down and I'll plan my day for 20 minutes. I set the timer again and I'll just start thinking through my day, what projects I've got going on, what people I need to Talk to or I'm waiting to hear from what my priorities are. And I also plan my week once a week. So it's not like I'm just. I'm kind of going into it with a little bit of. I already know what I'm doing for the day, but I'm thinking through it, right? How could I. What could I do to make this day excellent? Right. What could I do to make this day better? Oh, wow. I've got to do that, you know. You know what? I'm going to do that sitting out here by the pool, right? Because if it's nice out, I'll go out back and I'll plan my day with the shake. You know, kind of look and see the mountains and just have the, you know, just the peacefulness out there. And if there's something I could do in my day that. To make it part of that or sometimes you. You don't even realize, But I'll be like, all right, I got to meet with Chris today or I got to meet with, you know, whoever. You know what? Let's. I'm going to do that over lunch. We'll go to this place. And I'm kind of thinking through how we could just, you know, execute the day in a way that. That is enjoyable and is impactful.

Now, are you physically or actually writing out, like, blocking time on your calendar? Are you just kind of saying loosely, I'll do that at lunch? Like, are you literally going into your calendar and saying, meeting with Chris, 12 o'. Clock.

My block time that I do Sunday nights, where I kind of put blocks of time on the calendar for what I'm going to do for that upcoming week is already set. I'm just kind of, you know, it's kind of like, you know, I set the trajectory at the beginning of the week, but, you know, each day brings new stuff. Each day new things happen. And you just gotta, like, you know, you might have to slightly recalibrate bit.

A little.

Little bit.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

And it's. In a lot of times, I'm just. Again, I'm writing through stuff and thinking through things that I have going on so that when it's time to do it, I've kind of thought through the best way to do it. So I, you know, I might write the same stuff over and over. I might have already really planned it out, but I just kind of want to think through it again.

Okay, so this is every morning.

Yeah.

Is there.

I'll take. I'll take like a. I'll take a Weekend day off, you know.

Okay.

Yeah.

And are we through the morning? Are you off to work now at this point or are you.

Where are we? Yeah, now I'm pretty much. Now I'm getting ready and, and going, okay, you know, now I'm getting ready and going to work. And by the way, another thing is that my phone has been on do not disturb until this point. So now we're like, you know, now we're, we're approaching 9 o', clock, right. And I. And by the way, this wasn't always this way. It's like started off with 20 minutes in the morning and it went to 30. It's just as I started to see the value in, in my effectiveness and what, you know, because I had it ingrained in my head that I got to be at work, I got to be at work, I got to stay at work, I got to stay at work, I got to be there seven days a week. Like, that was my early programming. I had to reprogram myself to see it differently. And I, when I started to realize that the more I took care of me and the more I structured things, even if I took all that time in the morning to do it, my impact is bigger. Right. So, you know, so like, if you're like, wow, that's, you know, that's a lot of time. I don't have that kind of time. Start with, with, you know, start with an hour in the morning, your first hour. But the key is during that time, you're not checking in on anything. You're checking in with yourself. So if you notice the pattern, right. It's like, you know, I kind of start off with the, with the gratitude and the meditation, the visualization. Right. Then I'm, I'm either absorbing good information that I chose in advance, right. Like a book that I've already chose in advance, that I, that I want that knowledge, or I'm putting my thoughts on the paper and getting that out, and then I'll take care of myself, my body. And by the way, when I'm working out, I'm listening to an audiobook at that point too. Oh. And so it's kind of like, you know, almost double. Double reading. Yeah. And so, but, but the key is you keep your phone. Do not disturb. Right. You know, and it depends on what your situation is and what you have going on at your business. But you can't start your day off reacting. And a lot of people started off, they pull this up and it's like.

Right, right. How does that set the proper Mood.

For your day, hey, you know what? Some days it's good, some days it's bad, right? But who knows? But it's not under your control, right? And so once you start to realize that, you know what, you know, that, that one. If, if once a week you're getting a text first thing in the morning, you're seeing an email first thing in the morning, that's just like pissing you off and setting you off in a bad direction for the day. It's like, why let that ruin your day? Like, take care of you. Decide. Like, before I check in on the world, before I check in on emails, social media, texts, missed phone calls, any of that, I'm checking in on me. I'm checking in on what I want to do, what my plan is for the day, right? And then when I do start working, you know, before I, before I even look at any emails, I'm already decided who I need to reach out to. And I'm doing that outbound first, right before I start to go, okay, who wants something from me? I'm like, what do I need to do first? And then, and then the workday starts, you know, and then I literally only spot check the email at that point just to make sure there's nothing that, you know, I could forward on or, you know, that needs immediate attention. And then I really don't process or check email until after launch.

Okay, yeah, yeah, I've heard you say that before. The, the. What do you say? The inbox is a nice place for other people's priorities? Something like that.

Yeah. I mean, it's, it's basically, you know, and it becomes, it becomes the business owners and the business persons, you know, like a lot of people have got social media addiction or, you know, they have a problem putting it down. And, you know, for, if you're, you're like, oh, no, but this is business. It's email, it's email, it's email, but it's like, yeah, but are you moving towards really building your business? Are you moving towards, you know, are you, you know, you want to have blocks of time on your calendar that. As many as possible, as much time as you can in the week. You want to be working on your objectives that are leading you towards the life you want, right? So we'll do another episode on that. But like, you know, figuring out what you want in your life and then, you know, reverse engineering that into, you know, weekly plan. You want to make sure you have as much time on objectives as possible. And if you're just Constantly reacting, reacting, reacting. Right. Ding, ding, ding. And you're like, email, text, this, that, this, that. There's no way you could have the proper focus to be able to work on what really matters.

Yeah, yeah, I see that. So that's your morning routine. Now, is there anything else you do the rest of the day that helps sort of mitigate any stress or keep you, you know, sane in this crazy time we're living in?

Yeah, I mean, you know, we. I think a lot of his perspective. Right.

Yeah.

How you choose to handle information as it comes your way and how you choose to look at it. I think one of the things that just really simple, that's helped me a lot over the years is, is, is there anything I could do about it? If there is, what is it? And let me start doing it. And if there's not, then I just accept it is what it is. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not getting outraged over stuff I have no control over. You know, there's. Yeah, it's.

It's.

Or.

Or.

Or fearing things and worrying about things that haven't happened yet. You know, it's like, okay, you know, it's smart to anticipate what might happen. Right. But there's always the what ifs, the what ifs, the what ifs. So it's like, you know, what if I get an accident, incident in my car? Okay, what can I do about that? Make sure you have proper insurance. Right. Go check your insurance. Make sure you probably. If you're good there, then you're good. But, you know, you can't allow yourself to get caught up in the fear and the what ifs. If there's. Ask yourself one, two questions. Is there something I could do about it? If there is, what is it? And then if there's nothing you could do about it, just accept it. Just accept it. I don't get outraged at stuff that goes on in the world, whether I agree or disagree, because it's not productive to me and it's not productive to my life and it's not productive to my business and it's not productive to my family.

Yeah. You're either dealing with it or you accept it. And really, I think that's the point is if you're standing still, you're not taking action or you're not accepting it. That's what's stressful is you're not doing anything.

Yeah, exactly. Right, exactly. So a lot of people take, you know, the information from the news and wherever else, and they just. It builds on them Right. I had a family member that's like, over the weekend was like, telling me about all these conspiracy theories going on, and I'm like, okay, so that doesn't, that doesn't piss you off? I'm like, listen, if it's true, then what could I do about it? I can't think of anything at the moment. Do you know something I could do about it? Well, no, but, like, what if. Okay, then that's the way it's going to be, right? Then that's what it is. If there's nothing I could do about it, why resist? Resist it. You know, it's so much easier to just kind of flow with things that you can't change. Right? Yeah, but if you could change it, great. Do something about it. Yeah, do something about it. So, yeah, I mean, if I get stressed throughout the day, you know, I'll stop, I'll take some breaths, you know, just, Just like that one breath. I just felt kind of.

There's a lot of relief in that.

Yeah, there's a lot of relief in that. You know, you take a few minutes and just breathe. You know, even if we're talking about meditation, even if you're like, I don't know how to meditate, I feel funny. Just breathe. You don't have to close your eyes.

Just. Yeah, be still for a minute.

Be still. You know, if I get stressed out, I'll go for a walk, right? Go for a quick walk. If I get, if I get stuck, you know, I, you know, I kind of set my time in one hour blocks. I'll take one hour, I'll work for a little bit. I'll work for one hour because I know I could go for three or four hours, but I'll step away, you know, I'll do a little routine where I kind of like pat my back and do some deep breaths just to get the blood flowing. People that have been to the seminar know what I'm talking about. I'm not going to the seminar.

People know what's up with that.

Yeah, I'm not going to try to die. Demonstrate it now. But. And just maintain that, maintain that focus, right? If I'm working on something important, I'll put my phone and do not disturb and eat, you know, eat a good lunch, right? Eat a healthy lunch. It's not going to weigh me down. Take, take breaks, you know, make sure those breaks are, are, you know, powerful. Like, even if you're working on one thing and then you move to something else, you're working on your numbers, right? You're deep in the spirit. Spreadsheets, you're doing this, you're doing that, and then it's like the next thing you need to do is work on the design of your website. Give yourself 5 minutes to just step away and refocus on what you're working on. New. Otherwise you're just frantic all day. Working through stuff.

Yeah, sometimes it's tough to change directions after you've been working on something for an extended period of time. And then all of a sudden there's a new thing that you got to do and it's. It takes a minute to shift your mindset, to be able to think of it in a different way.

Yeah, I mean, I call it switching gears, right?

Switching gears.

Yeah. It's like if I've started to realize over the years, I think everybody does it, but they don't realize the impact. Once you become, I think meditation helps with this a lot. Once you become more self aware, you start to see how things impact you. And so if I'm going in one direction and then somebody wants to, like, you know, come knock on my door, my office, or call me and bring me in another direction, it's. I could do it, but it's like shifting gears, right? Like, you want to put the clutch down, you want to shift properly, and sometimes it's just too abrupt. There's like, no clutches, like, and it just, you know, that transition from one thing to another. Give yourself a couple of minutes to just, you know, allow yourself to mentally shift. Right? Because it's a whole, you're a whole, it's a whole different energy mindset skill set that you bring to the table. If you need to, you know, sit and confirm all your moves for tomorrow and then work on, you know, the design of your new postcard. Like, it's just, it's, it's different and, and you've got to allow your mind to shift gears. And that's what happens is people get, you know, the, all the, the cylinders get like, and they get caught. And then you're like, I'm just done for the day.

You locked up the engine? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And so, you know, kind of sticking to the routines here is this, is this. Am I going too deep into this or is this good?

I think it's great. I think, I think a lot of people will like it. And, and I mean, you take it to a whole nother level. I feel like, you know, if people out there can, can do one tenth of this, you're gonna, you're gonna breathe Easier and sleep better at night.

Yeah. I mean, if you just make it a goal to say, you know, what, the first hour of my day. Right. I'm gonna get some exercise in. I'm gonna, you know, get some positive input into my mind. Right?

Yeah, that's a big part of it.

You know, if you're not a reader, get an audiobook or, you know, listen to a podcast or, you know, something that's positive into your mind and, and meditate, you know, during that time. If you could just start with that. That's huge. And take bits and pieces of this and realize, like, it doesn't. You got to try it on. You got to see what, you know, what works for you and adjust it. But it'll. I mean, just adopting the mindset of, like, man, I could. There's things I could do to make life flow better. If you're a hardcore, like, I'm out to make money in business, and that's what it's all about for me. Just know you'll. You'll make more money that way and you'll be less stressed. If you're just like, hey, I just want to live a good quality of life, you'll be able to get super clear on what that is for you and decide the path on how to get there.

That's powerful.

Yeah. And, you know, that's it. The end of the day. Now I'm, you know, my end of my work day, I'm just doing a quick, like 10 minute meditation just to kind of transition. We talked about the shifting of the gears. Yeah, but if I'm in work mode all day. Right. And you know, for me, work mode could be this or I could be on the phone all day with private clients. Like, you know, so, like, all the stuff you guys are dealing with, you know, from your trucks to your movers to your expansion of new locations to, you know, rebranding to, like, you know, lawsuits, payroll issues, you know, what to do. Now I'm dealing with all that same stuff. So it's not like, oh, I used to be in the moving business and now I do a podcast. Like, no, I'm actively every day working with moving companies, almost partnering with them, if you will, and helping them navigate through. Through issues. And I only get the call with the issues. Right. So, you know, you've got to be able to. So imagine like, you know, at the end of a day where I might talk to, you know, a handful of clients, working through their issues with them or opportunities. It's not always issues. I need to kind of. I want to release that right before I go into family mode, right before I go into, you know, husband and father mode. And now during this pandemic, we've been. We've been trying to get out for a walk at the end of the day, my wife, my daughter, the dog, and just kind of take a. Take a stroll around the neighborhood and just allow that to kind of decompress and settle into, you know, the family time. Yeah, that's kind of. You know, I Very, very. I'm. I'm not a big social media consumer. You know, we use it for the business to communicate. And, you know, obviously I respond to people that are communicating with me, but I'm not really consuming or news either. You know, we talked about in the last episode, I talked about, I was checking the news twice a day. I've reduced that back now.

Okay.

To like, once every other day. And I know that. That, you know, for some people, they're like, whoa, there's so much going on. There's so much can change. You know, I've got people that are. Are letting me know if there's anything super important. But I've. I've gone back to, you know, once every other day. And that was. And that's only because where we're at with COVID and everything that's going on, but before that, very seldom am I watching, like, the news and. And absorbing that information.

Well, I. I think this has been very helpful. Is there anything else you. You can think of as far as the food stuff?

I'm eating healthy, right as, you know, like, it's. I really just, you know, try to cut out the carbs, cut out the sugar, cut out the dairy, and that's just, you know, kind of try to eat some real whole foods, organic most of the time. And then I give myself that. That cheat day on. On, you know, on the weekend to just go get whatever I want. And that's what allows me to have the discipline. Right. And I know some people could just be like, nope, I'm fully on all the time. No issues. For me, it makes it harder to stay on there because I love, you know, pasta, pizza, burgers, you know, all that type of stuff. And if I know I've got a day where I could go have one of those meals, it just makes trying to stay on track so much easier.

Yeah.

So that helps a lot. And. And I would just say that, you know, you got to get in the habit of just, like, treating yourself like you're worth being treated like you're that prize racehorse, you know what I mean? Because your business will be as successful as you are. And if. And if you say, well, Louis, I'm. I'm out of shape. I never took care of myself, and my business is doing great. It can do a lot better. It can do a lot better.

And just.

And just know that through this whole thing, you're in a business right now that is as close to recession proof as you can get. You know, there's a lot of people in the restaurant business right now having a really hard time in other businesses. Right? And, you know, the recession is not by any means a death sentence for a moving company. People still need to move, and now's the time for you to really step up in all areas. Personal business, all the stuff that you've been needing to do in your business, start doing it now. Because the people that aren't taking action, the people that are allowing themselves to fall into a slump, the people that are turning to, you know, alcohol or other bad habits during this time and aren't focusing in on their business and what's important, they're gonna have a really hard time as things get a little shaky. And so the people that are focused, the people that are on it, the people that are implementing the things that matter, they're gonna get through this. They're gonna be stronger, have a better business, and might see some of their competition drop off completely. So, you know, take this as an opportunity to build that strength as a leader, as a business owner, as a moving CEO, and go out there and just make it happen. That's it. So that's all I got. Chris, you got anything?

I got nothing else. Thanks a lot for sharing all of that. And I think if people have any questions, feel free to write us in and ask, you know, ask away.

Yeah, definitely. So, guys, thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed that episode, do me a favor. If you're watching this, leave me a comment down below. Let me know what you thought. If you're listening on itunes, leave me a comment. Leave me a review. You know, thumbs up, thumbs down, whatever you think. If you've got any questions at all that you want me to address on this podcast, just go to Instagram and DM me. It's@lewismassaro.com. so it's at L O U I S M A S s a r o dot. No, not dot com. Just Louis Massaro.

Just Massaro.

The website's louismissaro.com we're here to help you. We want to help you get through this situation. Just know, be on top of your game and you've got nothing to worry about. Keep pushing forward. Keep moving forward. Go out there every single day, profiting your business, thriving your life. I'll see you guys next time. Hey, my friend, I hope you enjoyed that video. Make sure you subscribe to this channel. And if you're really ready to take your moving company to that next level, watch that video right there. And until I see you in the next one, go out there every single day. Profit in your business and thrive in your life.