22 Jan 2026 · 6 min
Steve Lichtman argues identity is a daily choice, not a fixed label. He offers the mantra "I'm the one who follows through, period" and his RISE model as tools to become unshakable by default. Small wins stacked intentionally create the mental shift that makes you unstoppable.
Hey folks, today we're gonna talk a little bit about claiming your identity because you don't necessarily build that unshakable vibe and that unshakable feeling by just dodging hits all the time. You take them by standing tall and grinning. It's not about being fluffy with the motivation and hoorah and all that good stuff. It's, it's who you decide to be today, right? I mean, for all of us, myself included, who do I want to be today going into tomorrow? It doesn't have to be the person I was yesterday or a week ago or a month ago or a year ago. Somebody might remember me as that person from a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, a decade ago. Like when you see an old friend. They remind, they remind you of the past. They remember you from the past. So if you had somebody that you were friends with in high school and you're 50 now and you saw them 32 years later from graduating, you've had 3 decades of changes, of experiences, of life moments that they have no idea about. But they see the guy that did the keg stand after the football game and the winning touchdown. That's how life works sometimes. But the way you decide to be today, that's when you, as the owner of your own body and the owner of your own soul, showing up raw, you're protecting your own energy, you're putting things out that are real, and you're staying human in a world that is becoming more and more inhuman every single day. So you could say it with me now about taking ownership of yourself. We could all say it together. At the count of 3, we're gonna say, I'm the one who follows through, period. So 3, 2, 1. I'm the one who follows through, period. Own it. And you gotta prove it with one move, right? Just like we talked about recently about stacking wins. You have to own that moment, own that change, and start stacking the little things that connect to that change. So when people see you, they see the new you that you're projecting to the world. They see the you that you want to be tomorrow and the you that you're gonna be right now as of this minute. So remember this, and this will be the riff. I'm keeping this one super short. This is also episode 30. So thank you all for being here. This may be the shortest podcast series by minute for 30 episodes in the history of time and space. So I thank you all for spending a few seconds with me every day. My daughter's guitar teacher has a band. You can listen to it. It's, uh, hardcore music, uh, New York hardcore scene. It's called Wreath of Tongues. We went to a concert and his singer made a joke. We've got 40 minutes and we've got 90 songs and we'll, we'll have time to spare. Every song is like a minute, minute and a half, right? So sometimes it's not about the length of something, it's about just the quality of the moment to make a change in your life. I don't want you to sit here and listen to me for 3 hours. Hell, I don't want to talk for 3 hours about one topic. I don't want to beat anything to death that severely. I, I, I live and operate with an understanding that I'm talking to intelligent people that can onboard simple concepts. Make a change in their day, make a change in their life for the better and for the good. For the complicated people out there that need way more time and need way more energy, you know, look, we could work together privately. You can go get a therapist, you could do whatever you need to do. I mean, a life coach. There could be a million other avenues that you might need. I'm here just to give you really quick, hardcore rock and roll energy because that's the kind of person I am and that's the way I operate when I'm around other people. So The riff for today is unshakable ain't a goal. It's your default setting now. So own the hell out of that, folks. I really want you to own that. And one action today that you could take from your new identity. I want you to think about your new identity of who you are moving forward. And look, some of you, it might be the same identity, but, but you're learning to take stack quick wins. You know, it could be something, just a piece of the last 30 episodes that you took. And you're, it could be something from the RISE framework. It could be something from The Effort Switch, which my 8-day challenge is coming out. It might already be out by the time this post, since I'm recording at a batch right now. It's, it's about you doing things for yourself that make your life and world better. And I'm hoping for you that you're able to take even one sentence, one thought, one word from any of these episodes. And help make yourself more unshakeable. So take one action today from everything you've learned. Do it. Lock it in. You are all absolute freaking legends. I wanna thank every single one of you for being here on this journey. We're not stopping anytime soon. If anything, we're just getting started. And yeah, thank you. I'm Steve Lichtman, and this was Unfiltered and Unshakeable, episode 30.
