In this solo motivational podcast, Tony Suriano urges listeners to create a clear life vision and stay in alignment with what matters. He introduces two core ideas: (1) Alignment – a dynamic triangle of health, energy, vision, and excitement that must be regularly maintained like a car’s wheel alignment; and (2) Distinguishing real obstacles (cement walls) from perceived, flimsy ones (cellophane) that can be removed with simple tools. Using a rain‑and‑umbrella story, he illustrates how many challenges are merely superficial. He stresses daily practices—walks, gym, sauna, journaling, and measuring progress—to keep alignment, and references the “memento mori” reminder that life is finite, prompting immediate action. He cites research from the High Performance Habit book that high performers spend 60‑70% of their time on purpose‑driven activities and the rest on necessary responsibilities. The episode concludes with a challenge to identify and dismantle false barriers, adopt tools for real obstacles, and commit to ongoing accountability through his Creatives Unleashed mastermind group.
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My wife says this intro sounds like a conspiracy mystery. So I'm gonna cut the crap and tell you, this show is for you if you felt like your life needs more direction, or you're just not having fun, or if you're a high performer like me and you love new perspectives and you always want to seek the next level. This is where we create your vision, break through your barriers, and find your magic. It is time. For you to direct your life. Welcome in. Today's episode is about creating that vision for you, breaking through that barrier, finding the magic within you. And there are 2 main ideas here today, but I want to start out with this powerful, positive statement. Here it is. You're going to die someday. You don't know when. Yes, it's positive. You know why? Because it gets us into action. It's a newsflash, reality check. We need to start directing our lives today, and these 2 ideas can help. Listen up, grab a pen. Don't just passively listen. Think and do, and ye shall have. The big idea number one is alignment. Are you in alignment with the things that matter to you? That is the question. And we need to ask this question weekly because it's so easy to have these obstacles hit us off track and we get out of alignment. It's just like a car. You gotta have maintenance. And if you don't, even a small alignment, if it's off, can take you miles away from the destination if you don't watch it. If you have your hands on the wheel, You're struggling to keep it on the line unless it's maintained properly. That's just how cars work. If you have your hands off the wheel, wow, you go way miles, miles away from the destination. But we'll talk about more on how to stay in alignment in a moment. But the second idea, here we go. This is what throws us off often. Real obstacles versus perceived obstacles. Do you know the difference? I know for myself, sometimes I put up this wall and I pretend that it's cement when it's really cellophane. I could poke my finger through it, but sometimes I make it seem like it's cement. Now, yeah, there's times where it is a cement wall. We have a barrier. It's just like, wow, something came in my life, it's very hard, and that's when it requires specific heavy-duty tools. But you need to know the difference because sometimes it seems so big you don't even want to go research those tools, and you just have that barrier blocked and you don't go and live your life. But a lot of the time we have that cellophane wall. It just takes a finger poke and you can wipe it away and go after it. How do you know the difference? I have a little Quick story that is very, very simple that might serve you to think about it this way. The other day it started to rain, and part of my day-to-day is to have a walk at least once a day, sometimes twice a day, with my wife or alone, depending on where we are. And we just had dinner. It was a kind of a long day, and then it started to rain out. And we mentioned talking— well, we talked about having a walk, but the rain started coming and we thought, oh well, it's raining. We almost— both of us almost just gave in and said, well, it's raining, let's, let's just— we'll walk tomorrow, that's fine. But I don't know exactly who, but we both probably collaboratively caught ourselves and said, wait, I know it's going to be great after the walk. We're going to feel better. We're going to get fresh air before the end— the night ends. And guess what? That was one of those times where you could have made it a cement wall, but really it's cellophane. And guess what? All you need is an umbrella. Pop it open and you're protected and you're good and you can go on the walk. And that's what we did. It was an amazing walk. And that little metaphor The reason I shared it is we can't let rain stop us as if it's a storm. And most of the time it's not a storm, it's just a little rain. So if you have things that matter, really know the difference and don't make it worse than it is. And just identify real obstacles versus made-up ones. Now, part of alignment is staying in health and good energy. And I know when I don't get some walks in during the week, some gym sessions and sauna sessions in the week, I get off a little bit of my alignment. And when I don't have my health and energy, I don't want to do the other 2 parts of alignment. So think of alignment as this triangle and alignment in the middle is a little framework I came up with. The word alignment is in the middle, and that's for your life, the things that matter to you. And you have your health on one side of the triangle, energy on the bottom. You have vision and you need that clear vision, right, to get going. And then on the other side, it's excitement. What drives you? What makes it fun to live and go after things? And you need all of those to follow through and to direct your life better. Can you agree that if you have low energy, you're not really gonna go and do some actions that, you know, you really should do to serve yourself or others or make your life better? And can you also agree, if you're not excited about something, you don't have the vision, it's just your life's not together. And then you start blurring days into weeks and sometimes weeks into months. I know when I go through the week and I can't remember which day it is, Ooh, I'm a little bit out of whack. And that's one reason I love to journal pretty much every day because it just keeps me focused and reminds me of the magic moments that happened during the day. Where was I out of alignment? Where do I need to get back into alignment? How was my health? I love managing and measuring myself for real change. Because if you don't manage and measure it, how are you going to get the change you want in your life? So alignment, obstacles, decide and discern which is which and what does it need, what types of tools, or is it just this false obstacle that you're putting up in front of your face? Now, if you create alignment in your life properly, then you'll have stamina for the long term because that's what you want. Who wants to be in alignment for 6 months? And great things happen, and then you fall off the wagon, and you just have years pass. Nothing happens. No excitement, no fulfillment, no happiness. We don't want that. We want over the long term. So think of it with stamina. Think of it with clarity. Think of it with hunger and drive towards the things that matter to you. This is. Something that I think about often. The opening of this episode, I said we are going to leave the Earth someday, and it's a phrase I remember and recall often, and it's memento mori. It just means like your day is coming, so live it up in the way that feels purposeful to you. Doesn't mean go out and have a crazy cooking binge. Yeah, I said cookie binge on a Friday night where you can't move. It just means be present and get in alignment and make sure you're doing 60 to 70% of what matters to you. That's all you really need to do. In the studies in the High Performance Habit book, which is amazing. They say these high performers that actually have happiness in relationships and overall well-being in the long term, they're pretty much doing 60-70% of the things they really are, are loving and their purpose and they're after. And then the other 30-40% is some of the things we just need to do, some of the responsibilities, you know, you just can't get out of sometimes. But you can enjoy those And I think you'll be able to enjoy those moments when you really focus on that 60, 70% of your clarity, your health, your excitement, your alignment. So the challenge for you today is to identify the real obstacles versus the made-up ones. Get the tools if you need them. Don't make mountains over molehills. The time to start life is now because time is short. Life is short, so go now. Do not wait. Make something happen today. One step towards better alignment. One discernment over cement versus cellophane. What tools do you need? Look forward to the fruits of your life and your labor because you need to do things that matter to you to get the life that matters to you. Most people aren't willing to do the extra Extraordinary things and to get in alignment. And guess what? Most people don't have alignment in their life. They don't have extraordinary things. They don't have the flexibility, the freedom that life can be. So go out there and direct your life. Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope it sparked some inspiration, not just for motivation but for action. Do the challenges. I promise you, you do the challenges little by little, day by day, you'll get transformation in your life and you'll get more in alignment with what matters to you. If you love this stuff, please let me know in the comments. Please share this episode. I'm excited to hear what you think. What struggles are you going with? Rate the show, review the show. Let me know anywhere and everywhere what's going on with you and what you'd like to focus on for the future. Maybe I'll throw it in the next episode. Thank you so much. And if you're really interested in staying held accountable, check out creativesunleashed.com/mastermind. This is a new monthly group where we meet up and I'm coaching you live and you have social learning and you get a chance to share your struggles and be coached so you stay in alignment each and every month. Check it out. It's creativesunleashed.com/mastermind. I'd love to see you there. This is a way to commit to make this year the best year yet. Thank you so much again, and I'll see you in the next one.
