This weekend I got to catch up with someone who left a big impression on me. Her name is Johanna Molina and she’s an impressive entrepreneur who founded The Intern Group, placing young professionals in quality internships in cities across the world.

In 2016 I was part of the program and spent 6 weeks in Medellin, Colombia where I met Johanna in person and had an experience that has completely shifted the direction of my life. I share more about that in my TedX Talk!

Seeing her got me thinking about my experience in Colombia, and something that stood out about it was how warm and friendly the people were. Within minutes of me arriving on site for my first day, nearly 15 people swarmed me with a bunch of questions and a genuine intention to get to know me. If that were to happen in the States, in most cases the new guy would be ignored and avoided.

Another example of the warmth of the Colombian people happens any time you get in an elevator. Literally, for every person at every floor, each person in the elevator greets each other hello and wishes them a good day when they leave. There was constant chatter and it took the awkwardness out of riding in an elevator, which for whatever reason in the United States is a time where we all act like the people around us don’t exist. 

And of course, I was reminded of Colombian kindness in spending time with Johanna. She greeted me with a warm hug and a gift. She asked about everything that has happened in my life in the last 9 years, personally and professionally, and listened intently. 

We have a lot to learn about life from other cultures. Just because we do things one way doesn’t mean that’s how it needs to be. It’s just the norm that we’ve been taught and haven’t thought to question. And my takeaway is to be friendlier and kinder, just because it’s the right things to do, and it makes the world a little brighter.

High achievers want more - To be a part of more, to contribute more, to do more, and to be more. For that reason high achievers set big goals in their fitness, business, and life… And cast share their visions so that they can recruit the help, support, and good fortune they need to make it a reality.

But here’s the part high achievers don’t talk about: Achieving your goals comes with a cost, and sometimes, it’s a cost you're unwilling to pay. 

John Assaraf is known for saying “When you set a goal you must be willing to trade your life for it.” because that’s what you’re doing. It’s not just that you double your business, start working out 5 times a week, and go on an international vacation twice a year. When you invite something new into your life you’re pushing something else out, or at the very least changing how it works.

That’s why you need to be really thoughtful about the way you craft your goals. You don’t want to just achieve what’s on your heart at all costs… There are assumed conditions within the goal that represent a more specific version of what you want. Be clear about those conditions and then it creates more criteria that go into your plan for goal achievement.

And I’m not immune to this problem. For example, I set the goal to run my first marathon this year. But, given how much travel and unexpected additions the first half of this year has had, I’m not making progress on it. And that’s because I don’t actually want to trade my current life for the achievement of this goal. I want a version of it that doesn’t compromise my ability to be spontaneous for other opportunities.

So a more aligned representation of the true intention behind this goal, that I feel more prepared to be committed to, is: To do my best to run a marathon at Runningman without stopping, and to genuinely prioritize training for it.

It’s not as inspiring… Some would argue I’m way less likely to achieve it because I’m giving myself an out. And I agree. But it’s more true to me. I don’t want to run a marathon this year at all costs. If I did, I wouldn’t add all the extra conditions. But structuring it like this offers a practicality that gets you headed in the right direction. 

To wrap up with another thought from John Assaraf, he often asks the question “When it comes to achieving your goals, are you interested or are you committed?” Because being ‘interested’ means you think it’d be nice for it to happen, but it lacks follow through. Being committed means you will do whatever it takes to achieve it. And doing my best to run a marathon, that’s something I can confidently commit to.

We live in a world where we need to be more productive. We’ve got more going on than ever, there’s more demands for our time than we have time for, and it’s causing many people to feel stuck in the rat race of ‘just getting through the day’ rather than being available to make the most of the day.

In an effort to help you achieve that, I’d like to present the more elaborate definition of productivity which has considerations you might be missing:

Productivity = Quantity x Quality

A productive day is not just a day where we get a lot done.... When we work our way through as many things as we can on a check list. We feel the most productive when we fill our time doing things that actually make progress in the areas that matter most to us. That’s why the quality of what we do is so important, both for how well we do it and what we choose to do.

Let’s breakdown the elements so that you’re prepared to begin having highly-productive, high output days with real traction:

1) Quantity. The amount you get done in a day is still half the formula! It’s just not the whole formula. So here are some ideas to increase how much you do.

A big opportunity is to attack the day with a fast pace. When you choose to act with speed, you get through tasks faster and ultimately get more done. Having a sense of urgency also helps you transition quickly from one task to the next so that you minimize lost time and avoid getting distracted. Having the structure of a schedule for the day is your ticket to getting more done faster, because it gives you the clarity you need to know what to do next and how long you have to do it.

Another point to consider is how to increase overall output, and the best way to do that is by creating efficiencies. When you enable yourself to do more with less, then you don’t need as much time to complete the same task. Creating efficiencies often involves making upfront investments to build the systems that create them. Time you invest today to frees up time tomorrow and every day moving forward, creating leverage in your life.

2) Quality. This is how effective you are in the task. You can create multiples of value for yourself when you do something well versus just getting it done. 

One of the main drivers of the ‘quality’ you put into your day is your energetic state. By making healthy choices and prioritizing your self-care routines (even though that's time you can't spend doing something else), it gives you a positive return on investment. You give yourself the capacity to show up with more focus, presence, and discipline which enables you to perform at a higher level throughout the day. Self-care easily pays for itself in terms of how much overall value you create. It helps you be more effective.

Also important to consider in your effectiveness is that you’re doing the right things... Taking action in ways that most contribute to your goals or results you want to create. Productive days aren’t just supposed to be busy, they’re supposed to be meaningful. So don’t just go top to bottom on a to-do list but select the most valuable things from that list and commit to those.

Overall, this shift to a new definition of productivity can be summarized as this: We want to be more intentional.

When we think of wanting more productive days, what we actually mean is we want more intentional days. Fast-paced, full, value-packed days filled with the things we want to do and that make progress toward what we care about. 

This is misunderstood so much that I believe getting it right is one of the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement. If you want to learn about it in more detail, and discover the other 6, you can check them all out here!

If you’ve got a huge vision for your life but you’re starting to question if you have what it takes to make it happen… You’re not alone. For many years that was my story.

When I was just getting started in my career, I had big ambitions for the change I wanted to create in the world. I felt like I belonged at the highest levels, collaborating with the world’s most influential people doing things that are deeply meaningful and impactful. That ambition and vision drove me to the point that I was investing hours every day in books, podcasts, and information to try to get an edge… But there was one problem:

I wasn’t getting the results to match. 

I was grinding to put out quality content but not getting much engagement or traction. Hustling to open doors with impressive people, but then the relationships would fizzle out. I was working really hard but I wasn’t getting any of the pay off…

And as much as I didn’t want to admit it… It made me think that maybe I wasn’t good enough to pull it all off. That my dreams were just me ‘talking big’ and I wasn’t actually capable of delivering on it. That’s the thought that creeps in when you feel like you should be further along, and you hope you have what it takes to succeed at the highest levels, but don’t have the results to back it up.

And now that I’ve worked through that phase in my life - I’ve built up my business, found a healthy rhythm of good habits and routines, and created a platform that I can use to collaborate with high-level change-makers - I see what I was doing wrong. 

I was taking a lot of action but I was doing it without strategy.

It was hard work with no progress… And not having a strategy was diluting the outcomes I was generating from my efforts. It’s like putting water in a bucket that has holes in it… Your potential for success is leaking out, and you have to constantly pour so much more in just to raise the level a little bit. 

For many, strategy is the missing link for goal achievement. There’s a lot of talk about setting goals and a lot of emphasis on taking action. Strategy is the bridge that ensures you’re taking the right actions so that you actually achieve your goals. 

Once you’re clear on what to do and how it contributes to what you want to achieve, that’s when you can concentrate your efforts and work hard in a very focused way. That’s how you create the specific outcomes you’re looking for! Otherwise, you’re putting so much into achieving what you want, and feeling like you’re ‘doing the right things’ because you’re working hard… But you’re not getting the result. 

And that’s a frustrating and discouraging cycle to be in - Knowing that you have the work ethic and talent to achieve so much more, but it’s just not happening for you. 

If you’ve been working hard and feel like you’re on the verge of a breakthrough, I’d love to support you and help you fix that. Book a call with me and we can chat about how to transform your life and business, so that you can start getting the results your hard work and dedication deserves.

Whether you’re brand new to my work or have been with me for a while, let’s take a trip down memory lane. I’ve had the great honor of keeping up with Self Improvement Daily for over 7 years, resulting in over 2200 episodes to date. The impossible question I get all the time is, What’s the #1 most important lesson or idea you’ve shared on the podcast?

I’ve thought a lot about it, and here’s my answer: 

What happens in life isn’t random… It’s by design. And it’s within your power to take ownership of the design of your life so that you get more of what you want.

In my opinion this connects a lot of key concepts, so let’s break it down.

First, everything we do in our self-improvement is in service of us getting what we want. Efforts to improve your life are worthless if you don’t know what you’re hoping to achieve, or what outcomes you want to create. That’s why everything about our growth should be reverse-engineered from our goals, which is simply just what we want to achieve in life.

Also, it captures the self-efficacy piece. The intro for the podcast for years was “Take ownership of your personal development one tip at a time” because there’s nothing that will change your life more than taking full, radical responsibility for everything. If you view yourself as the one responsible for it, then you can do something about it. If not, then it’s out of your control and you get whatever you get. 

And last, the most underrepresented component of personal development is improving your life’s design. Your life-design is a product of your environment, which is constantly influencing you in known and unknown ways. It’s the guiding force that shapes the choices you make, the actions you take, and ultimately the results you get… And it does that without you even realizing it.

There are a few main things people know they need to be doing better to have the healthy habits, highly productive days, and strong relationships that they want out of life - Being inconsistent, wasting time, lacking discipline, being overstretched due to poor time management, not having clarity, not being focused - And it’s causing many people to underachieve, and fall short of the big ambitions they have for themselves and what they can do in the world. 

But here’s the thing: These aren’t character flaws… There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re undisciplined, unfocused, and unmotivated… They’re the symptoms of having a poorly designed life and an unsupportive environment. 

So when you take ownership of the design of your life, and adjust it so that it begins to shape the future you see for yourself, that’s how you get what you want. 

If you want to overhaul your life-design so that good habits come easier and you have highly-focused, productive days that generate traction in your life and business… You need to install a new foundational life operating system. Your life-systems make up your life-design.

That’s exactly what you do in the 21 Day Super Habits Challenge. This is where I’ve taken all of the most effective ideas from past podcast episodes and countless life-changing books and walk you step-by-step through a 3 week process that takes 10 minutes a day to do.

If you’re ready to start being the most high-performing, unstoppable version of yourself that takes your life and career to the next level, register for the Challenge and let’s get to work!

One of the things that causes a lot of disruption throughout our days and workflow are the requests of others. Someone needs this, asks for that, thinks one thing is more important than the next… And if you let their agenda overpower your own, then you’re living by someone else’s design.

In the book “Essentialism”, which I read once a year, Greg McKeown dedicates an entire page to highlight this one quote:

“If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”

Essentially, what this means is that your time can either be filled with the things you want to do or the things that others want you to do. And the more you allow others to use you as a vehicle to get what they want, the more they’ll use it.

Prioritizing your life involves two things - Being clear on what you want, and being strong with your boundaries so that you can enforce them. It might be overly simple, but that’s all it takes to make sure your life is filled with the things that matter to you.

Setting boundaries is one of those things that’s ‘easier said than done’. You can have the intention to stay focused on what you're doing and decline a request, but when that decision gets challenged it becomes harder to follow through on that intention. It's especially difficult when someone comes from a place of authority or there’s a power dynamic at play, like having a ‘no work boundary’ in the evening to prioritize personal time but a client or boss makes a request.

Strong boundaries come from having self-respect. If you genuinely value your life and what you want, then you can confidently communicate that to other people who might try to compromise it. It’s an energy that influences others. I’ve found that the more you own your standards and what you stand for, the less people try to push you to get what they want. Because they know that you’re serious about it, and they’re more likely to respect your boundaries once you’ve established that you respect yourself.

I put this into practice this past weekend. I was at a friend’s birthday dinner and she wanted to go out to a bar afterwards. She didn’t really ask me to come… She told me to. And I responded with my boundary that I was going to go home. She pushed harder but I didn’t give in, and eventually it was resolved.

No one wants to say “no” to the birthday girl, especially when it’s someone who’s so important to you. It would’ve been easy to let her win and accommodate her request, but out of self-respect and a commitment to doing what most serves the life I want to live, I declined.

You prioritize your life by holding strong to it. By knowing you deserve to get what you want, and that your ways of collaborating with others need to fit within your terms. Th self-respect required to enforce your personal boundaries is built one interaction at a time. So the next time you feel like your boundaries are being put into question, communicate your side of the story, ask for their compassion, and stay strong.

As people dedicated to becoming the best version of ourselves, we all want to be successful. And that’s not just in the way society has painted it to be with the wealth and influence, but in the ways that are unique to us and represent the lives we want to live.

In case you didn't know, the secret to success is defining it for yourself.

But regardless of what success looks like, author David Schwartz says there are 4 common excuses people make that’s holding them back from achieving the results they want in life:

Excuse #1 - Poor Health. People think that in order to excel in their career or have a fun and social lifestyle, they must compromise their personal health to accommodate. They view taking care of themselves as a tradeoff that takes time from other important things… 

But the truth of it is that good health is an investment that facilitates more quality in everything else. And for those who are in poor health, it becomes such a dominant focus that it takes away from being able to prioritize other desires.

Excuse #2 - Low Intelligence And Being Underqualified. As people reflect on the vision they’ve casted for themselves, who they can be, and the level that they can contribute at... Often they feel like an imposter. They reason that they’re not smart enough to excel, or don’t have the degrees or schooling they need to be taken seriously. 

But your goals don’t care how educated you are. All that matters is the extent of action you take toward what you care about, and if you’re not “good enough” to meet the required standard, the fastest way to bridge the gap is with hands-on experience.

Excuse #3 - Being Too Old Or Too Young. Some people think that their time has already passed. That they no longer have the drive, energy, or work ethic to keep up… And that new technologies and ways of doing things have passed them by, and they’re too far behind to catch up. Some think that they don’t have the experience yet to command the respect they need to be effective.

But anyone can learn anything. You can teach an old dog new tricks, and youngsters can catch up fast. That is, as long as the individual has the desire to invest the time required to learn. 

Excuse #4 - Being Unlucky. The most successful people in the world would admit that luck has played a major role in their success. Opportunities had to present themselves. And for those who haven’t had their stroke of luck, or where the timing just didn’t work out, it’s easier to explain away why certain things didn’t happen.

But we’re not just the recipients of good fortune, we’re also the creators of it. The old expression goes “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” You can certainly prepare, and in some ways ‘knock on doors’ which will cause more to open. Richard Branson puts it perfectly - “Everyone’s lucky. I’ve just managed to do a lot with the good luck that’s come my way.” And golf legend Gary Player is known for saying “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”

These are the 4 most common excuses holding people back from success... But what’s an excuse anyway? It’s just an explanation for why something out of your control caused you to not get what you want, or do what you wanted to do. 

And every time you make an excuse, you give your power to everything else. It makes you powerless, and that’s not a recipe for achieving your goals.

One of the most iconic brands in fashion and retail, JCPenney, hasn’t been successful by accident... It’s a testament to a foundational culture built into the business, “Just do what’s right.”

When you build the habit of doing the right thing, things tends to work out.

“Just do what’s right” is the life mantra of the founder James Cash Penney. In practice it’s pretty simple: Act with integrity, treat people fairly, and act in good conscience. It’s an intention to do what’s in the best interest of everyone involved, and being willing to take on personal sacrifice to achieve it. Doing the right thing might have short-term costs, but as a law of the world, good karma always seems to come back around and provide in unexpected ways when you do what’s right. 

Interestingly, Mr. JC Penney learned this lesson from his first business partners, where he bought into becoming a partial owner of a new location associated with the “Golden Rule” stores. As you’ll probably remember, the Golden Rule is to “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Doing what’s right is doing exactly that.

It’s with that spirit that JC Penney turned a ⅓ stake in one store into 1400 stores less than 30 years later.

In our lives, we’re tempted to not ‘do what’s right’ in an effort to save some money, time, and our reputation. But when we go down that path, we know it’s out of integrity. There’s something about that choice that doesn’t sit well with us, and it’s a feeling we need to live with. Sure, in the short-term we took the path that was easier, more convenient, and came with more personal benefit… But it quietly eats away at our confidence and puts our character into question.

Doing what’s right often involves being the bigger person. Perhaps JC Penney is somewhat responsible for the expression “the customer is always right”... But doing what’s right involves a lot more than just conceding an argument. It’s also apologizing and acknowledging that you made a mistake, or that you did something that negatively affected someone else. It’s taking responsibility for something you played a part in, even if you can easily point the finger. It’s making things even when someone else doesn’t even know they’re being wronged, because it’s the right thing to do.

The right thing to do is always the right thing to do.

Not only are you rewarded for it in the long-term, but you also feel good about yourself, you can proudly look at yourself in the mirror because you’re a person of integrity, and you can’t put a price on that.