Self Improvement Daily Podcast

In this conversation, I’d be remiss not to talk about abundance. We live in a place of more than enough. There’s more resources, more love, more time, more wealth, and more opportunity than we can even fathom. Tapping into a small percent of that will result in very full life. However, this abundance needs some direction, and with the right mindset we can all begin leveraging it.

“Do good and good will come to you”. When we put a certain energy into this world, it brings aligning energy closer to us in our lives. It’s a premise that the law of attraction is built on, and it’s something that is within our conscious control.

That’s why the mindset is everything. We all evolved as humans with survival of the fittest in mindset, which means that we have competition built into our core. The implied part of competing for resources means that we believe there isn’t enough to go around, which means we need to secure them for ourselves. This is a scarcity mindset and it attracts more scarcity into our lives.

On the contrary, a growth mindset is probably a better application of our energy because we live in a different world than we evolved from. There is more than enough in this world, due to the fact that resources can be shared and not independently consumed. To tie it back into the quote, “Do good and good will come to you", by engaging in a positive act, you facilitate the flow of resources and energy that provides for those around you, who in turn become more able and willing to reciprocate and propagate that flow.  So the simple act of doing good to others will bring good upon yourself.

Recently, I had a very powerful realization, and after thinking about it and practicing it over the last few days, I have decided that it will be one of my three priority focus points for 2020. It’s around the idea of making things better than you found them. I’ll get into more detail about why that is so important, but first I want to explain what I experienced.  

I was at the airport, and had just gotten through the metal detector in security. As I was gathering my things on the other side, I saw that there was a line of empty bins crowding up the conveyor belt that caused bins to get bumped and spill over personal belongings, including my own. So, I took a bit of time to stack all the extra bins and get them out of the way. I quickly noticed that my small act improved the experience of those that came after me. As I was thinking about my impact, I went and got a breakfast burrito before my flight. When I went to throw out the wrapper, I noticed there was another wrapper next to the trash. So, I picked it up and put it in the trash. There was an odd sense of fulfillment knowing that my presence improved the quality of the area. Having taken, both, small and big moments since to leave things better than I found them, it’s something I want to prioritize in my life.

But, let’s make a really important distinction. It’s not about making things better than you found them, it’s about leaving things better than you found them. I can’t control the people that came after me who leave their bins out to cause another backup, or the person who lazily tosses their wrapper toward the trash. You must not feel responsible for creating a lasting change in areas in which you are not responsible, and I think that’s the biggest deterrent people experience when thinking about getting more involved.

At it’s core, it’s about adding value in everything you do, and while you’re there, whether it’s in a conversation, on a project at work, or in an airport, you can find a way to do something meaningful in every action you take.

The concept today is the fundamental piece to Brant Pinvidic’s book, The 3 Minute Rule. It is his WHAC method, which when used right, helps you communicate the value you offer in a way that is optimized for it to be received. What is the WHAC method?

Brant Pinvidic stated, "There's four questions to build your presentation, or the first three minutes of your pitch. And it is, what is it? How does it work? Are you sure? And, can you do it? It's in that order. What is it, is literally what is it. Something that states what it is your offering, what can you provide, what it is your offering, and what is it you want to do. Right? And then, how does it work. Break it down into simple things. How does it work? How do you operate? How do you do that? I understand what it is now, how does it work? When you go to the are you sure, that is now where you can bring in those facts, figures, logic, and reason to explain and validate the what it is and how it works, and that this is actually real. Are you sure this actually works that way? And from there, you go to how you do it. Cause I'm sold! I'm 95 percent of the way there. Now, I want to know how I can get it. And, for most people, that's a problem that's solvable".

W stands for What is it? H is How does it work? A is are you sure? And C is Can you do it. The order is important because it sets the stage for the pitch, and leverages approach motivation to extend our natural decision making cycles.

We’ve all heard about this in one form or another. It’s about taking 24 hours to evaluate how you feel about a situation before reacting or taking action on it. The most common application of this that I heard growing up was if you’re upset. Before confronting a friend, or sending that email, we were told to take 24 hours to see if we still feel so strongly. At that point, it makes sense to send it.

The concept makes total sense! Our emotions can cloud our judgment and make us act impulsively, overriding our best intentions and doing more harm than is necessary. It works for the same reason that goal setting and habit formation should be done in an unbiased state. Making decisions in an unemotional state allows you to be sure you are putting your energy where you want. It’s about being deliberate.

Well, recently I had the opposite happen, but the 24 hour rule still applies. I had a business idea and a mental plan about how to execute it. Instead of riding the momentum and staying up all night building it out, I waited a day to see if it was something I still wanted to add to my plate. As it turns out, I am still super excited about it and took the next steps writing protocols for an experiment to validate my intuition.

It’s a self-improvement tool, and if all things go well in these next steps I might be asking for your feedback and thoughts shortly! But for now, make sure you are practicing the 24 hour rule in all emotional states to make sure you are acting with your purest intentions in mind.

This message isn’t as positive or motivating or enthusiastic as normal just because it’s a hard truth. And the way it was articulated is very compelling. The clip comes from one of Australia’s leading business strategists Kerwin Rae.

Stress can be managed and controlled with the right framework. Take a deep breath, focus on the elements you can control, and be mindful of the moment.

“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have”. All we can do is make the best out of our situation. Our successes, struggles, challenges, and opportunities are always relative to our context, and a lot of our context is determined by things beyond our control. Our responsibility is to make the most of what we have to find meaning and purpose in our lives. And I am comfortable looping you into that generalization because, the very fact that you’re listening to this means that you are motivated to seek the best for yourself.  The great Tony Robbins stated,“The defining factor for success is never resources, it’s resourcefulness”, and that’s exactly what today’s quote embodies.

We can get in a deprecating cycle of not finding satisfaction in our success because we play the comparison game. There’s always greener grass in someone else’s front yard. As a podcaster I am faced with comparing myself to the elite and massive podcasts that are out there. However, I always try to bring myself back and trust that I am making the best of the platform I have by impacting people like you who have chosen to include me in your lives. “I feel like I am doing what I can, where I am, with what I have”.

That’s not to say we can’t be ambitious. By doing absolutely everything we can, we leverage our resourcefulness to accomplish more within our context. So don’t be afraid to set audacious goals, but be sure to reward yourself for doing a good job using what you’ve got.  

Part of our evolution as humans is we began using the tools to help us with our survival. Back then, the tools took the form of sticks, stones, and fire. Today, we are the same fundamentally, but we have a whole suite of tools at our disposal now to use for our survival. 

Perspective is such an important part of our world because it plays a role in everything we do. When we relate to others, we judge their behavior through our own eyes. When we try to come up with a solution, we evaluate it’s viability with our own experience. And when we see something in front of us, we believe that’s the only way it can exists and draw major conclusions off of that information. A powerful example I’ve mentioned before is the shadow a cylinder gives off. With different configurations of light positioning and orientation, a cylinder can have a shadow that looks like both a rectangle and a circle. And the crazy part is, neither answer is wrong. That is the nature of perspective.

What is fascinating is how we can augment our own perspective to become better at seeing other perspectives. This requires gaining self awareness about the tendencies you have when processing information, and understanding that the information you are working with is limited and might not tell the full story.  In doing that, we can begin to change the narrative of our life a little bit.

This may be an extreme example, but it’s something I think adds value. Think of the act of getting fired. You likely were underperforming at work, and something wasn’t the right fit, so your company decided to cut their losses and let you go. Okay, but what if you think about this as getting paid to leave. The result is the same, but instead of internalizing the error you use it as a vehicle to take next steps and spin the change in employment as a positive thing. This is the power of perspective, and understanding that your perspective is limited to your own eyes is an extremely important piece to becoming more effective in life

We heard from pitch expert and author The 3 Minute Rule, Brant Pinvidic, who has an unpopular but common opinion about sales. He doesn’t just state the problem, he provides a solution to it.

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What Brant is referencing in this bit is the importance of leading the conversation to a buying decision instead of proving value. The way he does that is by using his WHAC method, where you conceptualize the idea, contextualize the feasibility, and actualize the next steps. This helps optimize the message for an autonomous evaluation, having simply and stated all of the important information that goes into the decision making process.

I read a great article called “How to keep productivity high when motivation is low”, by Haley Hoffman Smith and I wanted to share the highlights. Whether we’re not making as much progress on something as we expected, or we don’t feel creative and we’re running short on ideas, motivation escapes us all but it’s important to still be able to get the work done in those moments. 

Haley suggested a 4 step program to stay productive when low on motivation

1. Create a to-do lists when energized. Use the focus and energy you have to create accountability for when you don’t have the energy. She even shares a tactic about writing a note to yourself on that list, so when you look at it in a low motivation state, you are reminded of your intentions and reasons for doing it.

2. Work with a coach or accountability partner. Accountability is a big word for me. I have the self-awareness to know that I am at my best when I need to answer to other people. I imagine you might be the same.

3. Eliminate Distractions. Nir Eyal, author of the book we’ve talked at length about, Indistractable. A reminder about the tactic we can all use to eliminate distraction, time-boxing. Schedule what you want to do in your day so that you know when you’re off task and distracted.

4. Switch up the workspace. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery to jump-start your work flow. Or, visit places you know are designated for work. For me, that’s the desk in my room, I only go there when it’s time to get after it.

In sum, Haley Hoffman Smith stated, “Motivation is often hard to pin down, ever-changing and available at some periods of our lives more than others. Each season of our life serves a purpose. If you need rest and reflection more than you need to be productive, honor yourself. You may return to your work more productive than ever”.