Scott Empringham argues that willpower is unreliable (describing it as a depleting battery) and recommends changing environment and making public, high-stakes commitments instead. He recounts losing his business and family, moving into a small office at his dad’s place, publicly committing to rebuild for 90 days, and within 88 days paying off a $500,000 loan and restarting his business. The clip closes with actionable prompts: change your environment, make a public commitment, and consider external supports (coaches, recovery meetings, or joining his program).
Questions this video answers
90 days (he posted daily for the commitment period).
88 days.
100% of a $500,000 loan (half a million dollars).
A $10 million agency.
About 40 employees.
Chapters
Really fast. Video about willpower. Willpower doesn't work. This book by Benjamin Hardy, you got a bunch of questions about it. In the book, he talks about basically three ways to overtake. Your willpower is like a battery. And every decision you make, it drains a battery. You wake up in the morning, got 80% charge on a given day. Every big decision you make, every little decision you make, all the decisions, drain your battery. At the end of the day, you lose your willpower. You start succumbing to all your bad habits. When I lost my stuff is. Some of you may know. I had this big office, 40 employees, great office in Newport Beach, $10 million agency, lost a business, lost my wife, lost my family, lost everything. I was just in the shitter. It was a shit show. I needed something that would stimulate me. I needed something to turn around. I needed something big. And this was the ultimate life hack. He talks about environment, systems and habits. I changed my environment. I walked into my office, my dad's office one day. I said, hey, do you think I could get an office here, one of his offices? He's like, yeah, I'll get you an office. I walk in, he parks me between two filing cabinets. And in his office, he goes, that's going to be your office. I said, dad, I need an office. You don't have a customer. You don't have any job, you don't have any business. You got nothing. Dude, you're going to take that. That's going to be your office. And when he would pull something out of the filing cabinet, I have to duck. My sister comes in, she's laughing her ass off. My niece is there. They're kind of laughing in a good way. They're giving me some good ribbing. And I'm like, you know what? Screw it. Take a picture of this right in between the filing cabinets. For the next 90 days, I'm going to post this. I'm going to use this. I'm going to go on the hook. This is my shit moment. I'm going to go out on a limb. This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to tell everybody this is where I am. I'm doing this over the next 90 days. I'm a rebuild my business. Grant Cardone. All these other people talk about this. I'm going to use environment is the ultimate stimulus to get myself to take action and keep taking action. And every day I posted day after day. In 88 days, I walked into the bank and I paid off 100% of a half a million dollar loan and restarted my life. What's an environment you could get into? Could you make a public declaration? Could you invest in a business coach? Could you invest in a fitness coach? Could you go to an AA meeting? Could you go to a narcotics A meeting? Could you go to addiction recovery meeting? What public commitment can you make that you are freaking done with the past. You're starting over new and you're going to make a commitment. It's going to be a big one. It's going to be a public one. Could you invest in your business and join my program? X100 if that's you, DME x100, I'll give you all the information. Elite marketing, whatever you're going to do, willpower doesn't work. Make a big commitment, make it public. Change the environment now.
