A short YouTube talk by Steve D Valentine arguing against pursuing success 'at all cost.' He shares a personal anecdote about his father’s health, urges defining a personal, balanced version of success, and recommends small, sustainable habits (e.g., cold plunges, journaling, habit stacking) to protect health and relationships while pursuing goals.
Chapters
Foreign. That's what everybody says to do. Right? Well, I'm gonna call. You know, I think that there is something to be said about winning and succeeding, but at all cost. That. That is the question, right? What are you willing to sacrifice for the success? And we've all heard multiple stories about people that are like, you know, they succeed, they're miserable, they're out of shape, their families are a mess, their. Their relationships and friendships are a mess. And they kind of come alone. So I believe that success should also have a rhythm. And, you know, I got to experience this firsthand. I believe that my dad had success, but I think that he sacrificed his health at the cost of success. You know, my dad was about 100 pounds overweight when he passed away and had cancer. And I thoroughly believe that if you went back to his 40s and he had done 20 minutes of exercise a day and ate a little bit healthier, he would still be here today. So I want to encourage you that are out there is don't succeed at all cost, especially at the cost of your family, your relationships, or your health. And by the way, you don't have to go through major life changes to start changing your health. You know, I love one of my favorite books is Atomic Habits, and it talks about creating small habits and habit hacking and habit stacking. And so I highly encourage you. You know, we're coming up on the end of the year or getting ready to go to New Year, and everybody's going to make big long lists of New Year's resolutions that they, 90% of them will fall by the wayside in a week. Find small things that you can start adding to your life. So here's a couple of examples. You know, 60 days ago, I started with a small thing, right? It's five minutes a day. It's a hard thing, right? I started cold plungin in the pool. Now, I started in October, moved into December, and I've been doing it every day. The good news is the pool is only a little bit colder today than it was yesterday, but definitely way colder than it was in October. Now, that's one thing. Journaling. Some of you like it, some of you don't. Don't take it too serious. Just find some things to write to. Brain dump inside a journal. Small habit, right? You can do it for five minutes, you can do it for 10 minutes. Find some things with your kids, your wife, your friends that you can add consistently, either on a daily or weekly basis so that you are continuing to have success in all areas of your life, not just in one. You don't want to have, like, great success with your kids, but you're not working or you're shifting your responsibilities. So try to find those things that you believe. When you lay your head down on the pillow at night, you can a, be proud of yourself. And two, since I'm going off order A and number two, two, you can think back and go, yes, my day was successful because all of these things are in rhythm and I am enjoying this version of success. And keep in mind the third point. Define your version of success. Everybody's is different. Some people want to fly private, Some people want to own the jet. I'm not one of those. I could care less either way. Sure, it's fun to fly private. And sure, I'm sure it'd be fun to own a jet. Define your success now. Your successes will change. Your definition of it will change as time goes on. Find the things that define your success now and continue to move that forward rather than living in this version of yourself that is sacrificing your health for money. And, you know, we all hear that, that old saying of, you know, people that are really wealthy, you know, go back and wish that they could trade or buy back, you know, that time to be healthy and be able to enjoy their successes. Just keep that in mind today that define your own version of success. And don't sacrifice the main things in your life for that success.
