Alan Lazarus, an engineer turned podcaster, argues that grit—long-term staying power and adherence to core values—matters more than most self-improvement advice suggests. His podcast, The Next Level University, reached over 100 countries and surpassed its first-year audience in a single week. He credits his busboy job at a golf course with teaching him the hard work that built everything after.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
My name is Alan Lazarus. I was born and raised in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. I am currently a podcaster. We have a podcast called The Next Level University. I've got the thing behind me. Next Level U is the pun because it's becoming the best version of yourself. I'm a podcaster, speaker. I'm also a business consultant. A lot of people don't know this about me. I'm an engineer, degreed engineer, electrical and computer engineering with an MBA. And so I absolutely adore business, podcasting, and speaking.
Well, Alan, it's an absolute pleasure to have you on the show. Question number 2: What is something that makes you smile and/or laugh about working in your industry?
So I work in the self-improvement industry, podcasting specifically, but also speaking and all that. One thing that makes me laugh and smile, I would say a lot of people in this industry believe that there's a one-size-fits-all approach to personal development. Everybody's kind of got their own shtick, so to speak. But what I find fascinating and what makes me smile is that we're all so unique. And so I have this framework called physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I think those are the four facets of the human condition. And I think some people are more physical, Some people are more mental, some people are more emotional, and some people are more spiritual. And if you want to study in this industry, the self-improvement space, you have to be very careful of who you learn from and make sure that you're making it unique to you.
I like that a lot. And actually, kind of on a funny sense, I have a sign in my office that says, "You are unique just like everyone else." And so it's just kind of like a quick, you know, a good thing to see. You have to go for what makes you, you, right?
Got to.
Question number 3. I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
Grit. It's got to be grit. So you told me that a lot of young entrepreneurs and just starting out or early before entrepreneurship, grit is to me staying power. Try to build something that's real, building a real business that helps real people and solves a real problem and try to focus on the long run. Yes, you're going to pivot. Yes, you're going to adapt. Yes, you're going to innovate. But I think having a long-term strategic focus based on what the core values of your business are and staying there, the earth's core is what I call it, I think is absolutely critical. Yes, the way in which you serve can change and adapt, but the core values shouldn't change. And so Grit is the chapter that I would have everyone read because that's the one thing that like is not talked about enough, I think.
I would agree with you. I mean, it's something that you don't hear about in books or in, in webinars or lectures or anything like that. But boy, I tell you, when someone talks about it, everybody listens because they think, yeah, it makes total sense. So I'm glad that you shared that. Question number 4, other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
Especially nowadays, and this is interesting, I think that we think linearly, but we live in a world of exponentials. And if you think about it, Basically, now more than ever with the internet, if you touch 1,000 lives and those 1,000 people touch 1,000 lives and those 1,000 people touch 1,000 lives, you're actually at a billion. And so I don't think we fully can wrap our head around how quickly things can proliferate in this technological world. And so the main insight here is try hard not to think linearly in an exponential economy. Try not to think just locally. Yes, you have to act locally, but you have to think globally, I believe, especially with a digital infrastructure that we all have access to as long as we have an internet connection.
I think that that's really insightful. I especially, as you were talking about that, I was thinking to myself, in addition that what, you know, that's, um, that we're, uh, only 6 degrees from anyone else in the, in the world. And, you know, when you connect and you're able to connect with another 1,000 people and 1,000 people and you get in into that, you know, that billion people. Think about how you can really reach pretty much almost anyone who has an internet connection. So, you know, and it really, there's something that can be tapped into that. Have you found anything in particular that you have done for your business that really has helped you, you know, do that exponential growth?
For sure. So, podcasting, for example, I often say this, we had more listeners, more listens last week than we did entire first year. So we're 5 and a half years into our journey and we have reached over 100 countries. And in the beginning, we were thinking globally from the beginning. And honestly, if we weren't, we probably wouldn't have scaled to the level that we have.
Great example there. Thank you so much. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
So his name is Anthony Trucks. He is basically a business leader. He, he started a fitness business and a gym for a while. He was in the NFL actually for a while. Now he's a speaker as well. He's spoken on Brendon Burchard's stages as well. His name is Anthony Trucks. He's a great man. He talks a lot about identity. And I think that that's a really important thing for business insights. Your business is a byproduct of you in many regards, especially in the beginning. And if you're not clear on who you are in terms of your core aspirations, your core values, and your core beliefs, you won't have a business that's in alignment with your highest self. And if that's the case, you won't have the grit and the staying power that I mentioned earlier. And so Anthony Trucks definitely is one of those people who talks about like, if you want to build a new business, you're going to have to become a new and better version of yourself. And you're going to have to maybe level up from some of those old past conditionings and fears and limiting beliefs. And he can help you guys do that.
Mm, sounds great. I look forward to talking to him. Thank you for that referral. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
My very first job, I was actually a busboy at a golf course. And I did not like that job. So I would be tipped out at the end of the night. And I could have sworn that I was being tipped out, maybe less than what I had earned. And it's interesting, but it also taught me that hard work is a really important thing. And I'm not just saying that. So I, as a busboy, It's interesting because you make the least money but you do the most work out of all the waitstaff. And it really, in hindsight, bothered me at the time, but now I understand that you don't start out making tons and tons of money. You have to work your way up. And I think that it stripped away any entitlement. It definitely created humility, um, because I was a straight-A student in high school and I was still this busboy making minimum wage. And I do I have reverence for that now. So that was my first job, busboy at a golf course. I was also a cart kid and I washed people's clubs for tips. And so, yeah.
I love that story. And I love how you learned about it too, because I did busboying as well when I was a teenager. And you're right, it really teaches you humility. And also for me, I'm not sure for you, but for me, I have found that I actually have much more of an appreciation for restaurant staff that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't had that experience. Is that the same with you?
It is the same with me, for sure. It's, it's, it's actually a lot harder of a job than people realize because you, you don't know when to interrupt. You always feel like a nuisance, but you're the one who has to take the plates. Sometimes you don't know when they're done eating. Right. And so it was a high-end golf course. So some people were, were unkind at times and, and, um, other people were very kind. So it's just, it teaches you a lot for sure. And it does give you reverence for that. Those jobs because they're a lot harder than they look.
They absolutely are. So, Alan, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
Uh, you can go to any podcast platform, you can type in Next Level University just like it sounds, and we'll come up. Or you can find me on Instagram at Alazaros88, so A-L-A-Z-A-R-O-S-88. Reach out anytime between my assistant and myself. I get back to literally everyone. If anything I said resonated, I'm a coach, I'm a consultant, reach out, I'm happy to connect.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Get hundreds of amazing business insights from previous guest episodes on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening.
