Episode 140: To be successful, accomplish 1% more per day

Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero, and I want to get directly to the point in this episode, and that is, what do you do with your time during the lockdown? How far or how high do you raise the bar in what you plan on achieving or what you have achieved today versus how low or how high you set the bar before the lockdown? Let me call you BS directly. I've been talking to a bunch of people and I'm connecting the dots and I realize that what we define as a level of achievement at the end of our day is so drastically lower. There's so many people out there that I'm meeting that I ask, what do you do? You say, what's the exciting part of your day? What do you drive for? What excites you about your day? And they tell me that watching Netflix and binge-watching Netflix is the highlight of their day. How low is the damn bar on that person to achieve that level of success in a day? That success? Seriously? Now I'm putting the COVID lockdown, the COVID period, as a timestamp, as a before and after, because I don't think before anybody in their right mind would say that binge-watching Netflix is a damn accomplishment of the day. Picking up an instrument, a musical instrument, learning that, that's an accomplishment of the day. Learning something completely new you've never done before, that's an accomplishment of the day. Learning a new language, an accomplishment. Learning programming language, hell of an accomplishment. Going for a walk every day consistently, what a hell of an accomplishment. Binge watching Netflix, are you freaking kidding me? How many hours a day do you spend on social media? How many hours of those days do you spend listening to TikTok? How many hours of those days do you spend doing nothing? And if you don't do any of those things, you feel like, oh, he hasn't talked about me. Let me ask you, what have you accomplished today that you never would have done? What have you accomplished today that you never accomplished before in your life? Or is it okay to go every single day and not have accomplished anything new? One day turns into the next day, which turns into the next week, turns next month into the next year, and you haven't accomplished anything new. You're the same person you were before. How are you different today than who you were yesterday? Do you even think that way? I think we've forgotten to think that way. I think, I think you've forgotten. Ask yourself, have you forgotten what makes you different and makes you great? Do you spend your time watching other people online during your free time? I remember, because it wasn't that long ago, that people, young and old, especially the young, would say, I'm going to be famous. I'm going to be that person on stage singing to thousands and thousands of people. I'm going to be that person getting my own record label, gold label, whatever, platinum record. I sold so many records. I'm going to be that famous scientist receiving the Nobel Prize. I'm going to be that executive, blah blah. People had these huge goals, especially when they were young. The young people, they don't have any damn goals other than to listen to TikTok, social media, or something that's— no, Netflix. Are you serious? Who's failed them? Is it us? Is it you? Is it me? Is it them themselves? I am astonished. I am astonished because not only the young people, but I'm looking around and we have set the bar so damn low because we just want to make sure we hit the bar every day. We want to feel like we accomplished something significant. But let me tell you, before before being just a little while ago. Where you set the bar today, is that acceptable for you if it was before, a couple of years ago, a couple of days, a month ago? Is who you are today acceptable to the young version of you? And if you're young today, do you even understand what the hell I'm saying? That it is an embarrassment that you don't have a goal to be an astronaut. You don't have a goal to be someone who doesn't exist yet. That's who we expect you to be. And to everyone else out there, how high are you setting the bar? And if you don't set the bar high, what you doing with your life? I am astonished because I'm not running into and I'm not talking to enough people. And I'm online, I'm on YouTube, I'm every place everybody is. I'm meeting people as much as I can. And where the hell are the future role models, the role models of today? And please God, don't tell me it's a Kardashian. Who's your role model? The right answer really is you. You should be your own role model. You should be so proud of yourself that when you wake up the next day, you go, you know what, yesterday I accomplished this, that, this, that. Today I'm gonna do twice as much, or 10% more. I'm gonna kick ass. Watch me now, baby. Or do you not even think in those terms? You are supposed to be better than you were yesterday. That is how human beings exist and prosper. That's how we get through everything, and that's how things become innovative, and that's how life becomes so beautiful when you meet the people that you fall in love with. But if every day is the same damn day, nothing's gonna happen. I want you to push yourself. I want you to have a real moment yourself and ask yourself, are you happy with where you are right now? And then I want you to look back, not very far. I want you to look back to yesterday and then ask yourself, how high did I set the bar yesterday and did I hit it? And then ask yourself, was it how high or how low I set the bar yesterday and I hit it? Why aren't you setting that bar higher? Why aren't you setting that bar high? We all have excuses. We all have busy days. But when we go to bed with ourselves, we know the truth. I want you to go forth and spread beauty and light And I want you to reflect. Take a moment to reflect and really be serious with yourself and ask yourself, am I happy with who I am today? And please don't think about, oh, I look pretty or I look cute, or— that's not what I'm asking. Are you happy with who you are today? The insecure you, the frightened you, This you that doesn't know what to do with all the life decisions, that's okay, but at least you recognize you. And then to ask yourself, who do I want to be tomorrow? And that's the beginning of setting the bar. But if you don't even have this conversation with yourself, this basic conversation with yourself, then you're actually not setting the bar. And every day is turning into the next day and it's turning to the next, and life doesn't change. But you know what, you still grow old. You don't have to grow old. You don't have to grow old. Every day is a new day, and every day is another day, like you were a kid in the sandbox. You actually have the keys to time, eternal youth, and all you have to do is expect more of yourself. Because in that moment that you achieve that daily result, that happiness within you is the key to time, eternal youth, the key to you. Push yourself. No one is going to ask you to push. I remember someone told me, Thomas, no one cares, and I was so upset. Took me years I mean, over a decade, that thought messed with my head. No one cares. People care about me, but I actually realized no one does care. This one guy told me, you know what, people want you to fail because they want to succeed, and you're just making one less person they got to compete with. That is such a real statement, and it hurts, that statement, but it's the truth. And I don't want you to fail. I don't want you to fall behind. I want to flip that statement over and tell you this, that because everybody's binge-watching Netflix and people aren't setting the bar, this is your moment. That tomorrow, if you just set the bar a little bit higher, expect a little bit more yourself, you know, you overachieve and set yourself above 99% of all the people on the planet. You're the new 1%. And all you had to do was achieve something 5% more than what you're doing today. You want to be a 1%er? Do 5% more every day. Make it easier. Want to be a 1%er? Do 1% more every day. After 100 days, you've done 100% more. Now you're unstoppable. Take care of yourself. Push yourself. Push your mind, push your body, push your emotions. Tell people that you love them. Don't yell at people, don't criticize people. Challenge yourself. These are not things like accomplishments or physical things, because these are going to be mental things, these can be emotional things, but always, every day, get better. And then we're going to make a better world and you're going to have a better life. I promise you. But don't be like these people that I've been talking to lately who go to bed happy after watching 7 episodes of something on Netflix. I just have no words for that crap. Set a goal that you are the star of Netflix. And that everybody's using their time to watch you. I'm Thomas Anglero, hoping that someday I spend my time watching you. I love you. I truly believe in you. Set that bar. And never stop loving yourself. Until next time.