12. All In or All Over the Place? Commitment & Boundaries
17 Feb 2025 · 13 min
In this solo motivational episode, Tony Suriano urges listeners to adopt an "all‑in" approach to every commitment while simultaneously establishing clear personal boundaries. He argues that giving full effort—even in low‑pay or seemingly minor tasks—builds character, momentum, and a reputation for excellence, using analogies like painting a hidden corner of a house or laying a solid foundation. Suriano then shifts to the importance of boundaries, explaining that saying "no" to tasks that don’t align with one’s priorities protects peace and prevents disappointment. He shares a personal anecdote about his wife, illustrating how unclear boundaries can lead to mutual frustration, and he proposes a disclaimer before asking for help. Throughout, he challenges listeners to reflect on where they are half‑assing or over‑committing, to declare an all‑in mindset for pursuits they truly want, and to set firm limits on obligations that drain them. The episode ends with a call to action: comment, rate, share, and commit to applying the two principles in daily life.
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My wife says this intro sounds like a conspiracy mystery. So I'll stop that voice and tell you, this show is for you to get you on the track you want for your life. I'm going to share encouraging educational content, hopefully entertaining, that will help you direct your life. Today is another day. Are you going to make it count? Are you all in? This is something that is dear to me. I always want to be all in if I decide to do something, anything. Because how you do anything is how you do everything. And today I want to talk about these 2 components that can really set you up for disappointment Or gratification and grace. So diving right into it, the first thing is being all in anything and everything you do. There is a caveat, and that's point 2. But if you decide you're going to do something, whether it's a job that's $10 an hour, Or it's helping a friend move, just go all in. Don't half-ass it. We've all heard that phrase. No one wants to be known as a half-asser. And there are facts. And if the fact is you're half-assing, you can't blame the other person. You have to own it and say, yeah, I did not go all in. Why? And this comes down to personality development. I really believe that doing something the best you can do it is essential. And it is a skill you develop early on, or never in some cases, or in the middle of life. But I want you to think about The things you do differently if you're half-assing here and there. So let's say you have a job that pays $10 an hour. You need to work that job like you're getting paid $100 per hour. Why? Because the effort pays off and it carries into other parts of your life. It conditions you to keep that momentum going and it carries over to other parts of your life. And also you're a role model, people see it, and that is how you move your way up. That's how you build character and people will notice. It may not be right away. But guess what? The most important person notices and that's you. If you're painting A house, and then there's some little corner that no one could see because there's a bush. Are you going to paint that? Or are you going to just say to yourself, well, no one can see it. I'm not going to do it. No one's going to know. Guess what? You are going to know. And that's who should count. How you do anything is how you do everything. I'm guilty. We all are guilty that some things in our lives we Half-ass. But I make the declaration where I do not want to be that, and I will push my hardest to not be that. And you should too. This gains more confidence in oneself. This gains character. This shows others that you're an all-in person. And if you could see me right now, you'd see my hands up. Because I want to work, hang out, have relations with people that are all in. Let's say you build a house. What if you don't go all in on the foundation? What's going to happen to the house? You just scrimp and scrape. The house is not going to last. The foundation is so important. And if you go all in like you should to, and that's why there's code, then the house lasts. Now you could build the rest of the house not all in, maybe use some cheaper materials, cookie cutter, and it's going to be okay. You'll have a strong foundation. The house isn't going to fall over. But do you really want a house that just won't fall over, or do you want a house that can actually Make you feel good. It's custom. It's going to last. The paint job's great, and everything you could do, you did. That's the question: Do you want an okay life? You're not gonna die, but you're not living. I want to live. I want to max out. I want to push. I want to give all I can with everything I do. Now guess what? If there's something that I really don't want to do, that it bothers me, I don't love it. Every time I try to do this thing, it's not even that I half-ass it. It's just it's grueling and I can't handle it. I did everything I could to stay with it. This is when point number two comes in: boundaries. Let's set stronger boundaries for ourselves. Some people do it better than others. I'm a pretty darn good boundary setter. Sometimes I can sound like a jerk because I set boundaries, because I always ask, is this going to empower the things I need to be doing in my life right now? And if the answer is no, usually it's a no, then I give a no and they'll get over it. Now, I love helping people. I love doing challenging things. So if I say yes to something, I'm all in. I've already declared that. But I will not commit to something that I don't want to do and then half-ass it. So if you get dragged into something, someone influences you to help them with something, and you really shouldn't be doing that, you should have set a boundary. That's on you. Don't make it hard for them when they criticize you to grow and to do better and put more effort in. Don't take it personally. You didn't go all in because you didn't want to be there in the first place and you didn't set enough boundary. Now we know there's certain things we have to do, have to do. And sometimes that's how it is. That means go all in, push, try to make it fun. And it's temporary. It's not going to be forever. But that is the conditioning and it carries over to other parts of your life. Okay, I am getting pretty good influencing people. I study it, I read about it, I practice it, and I do it for positive reasons. I push to inspire people to expand themselves, to do hard things, and to grow, and to help. Now, I'm going to talk a little personal right now. Sometimes I influence people in my immediate circle. And let's say my wife, sometimes she lets me drag her into doing something or helping me with my business. And she doesn't want to do it. But she doesn't set the boundary. But she commits. So what do I do? I set some expectations. I say, hey, I need all this. I would love for you to help with that. This would really be great. And I can't help but notice sometimes she's not all in, and it might just not be her thing to help me in that. And it's hard for me sometimes to think about that because I want her to be around, and I would love for her to help me with Things I know she could be good at. But if she doesn't set the boundary, I have the expectations and she doesn't even want to meet them. And she's just trying to be nice. Guess what? It's disappointment all around. And that is not a good way to deal with each other. So I asked her and I'm working on implementing this disclaimer before I ask. As well, and I think she'll appreciate that. But she needs to set some boundaries so we don't get into disappointment. So where in your life are you not setting boundaries, and how is it affecting what you want to do? Is it getting you out of alignment with what really matters to you? Because you keep getting dragged into other people's agendas? Where do you have to draw the line in that sand and say, hey, I can help you with a couple of these things, but I cannot help with that, and I will not, and I hope you can respect it? There's nothing wrong with drawing that line and setting a boundary to protect your peace. Because guess what? When you protect your peace and you're feeling better, about your day, those around you benefit. And that's your own contribution. Work on yourself, get yourself ready in a good state with boundaries. And then when you do commit, go all in. Especially the things you really want to do, don't do them unless you're all in. And some of the things we get cajoled into doing, It happens, but just go all in. Just try to make it fun. Don't be a wet blanket. There's always next time, another chance to set a boundary, another chance to decide. But these things don't happen automatically if you don't condition it, if you don't reflect on it like I hope you're doing right now. Your boundaries will not be set. Your peace will not be protected. You will not be all in. You're going to half-ass things. I don't want that for you. You don't want that for you. The other person you're trying to help doesn't want that for you. So commit right now. From here on out, make a declaration. From here on out, you will commit all in when you do. And you will set boundaries for those things that will disturb your peace and you're just not all jazzed about. And then the ones that you have to do, quote, have to do, make it fun. Go all in. It's temporary. Get through it. Act as if it's a $1,000 an hour gig, a job, and then you'll move on and you'll be In a stronger state. That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this. I hope this is helping you reflect and think about those 2 points in your life. And if it is, if you like this episode and you found some aha moments, let me know. Comment on Spotify, there's a comment section now. Wherever else you listen to podcasts, please Rate this show, leave a review, share it with a friend that you know would love to hear this message today. And I wish you an amazing day, and I want you to go and direct your life. I want you to be all in. I want you to commit or not commit, set the boundary, and make sure it's clear so you can protect your peace.
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