If someone were to share the secret to success, it’s not actually a secret...

We all know what it takes to produce unbelievable, overwhelming results in our life - Consistency.

When we consistently make good choices, follow through on our daily commitments, and take action toward our goals… We become exponentially more likely to achieve them. Darren Hardy has popularized this as “The Compound Effect”.

Some of the key ingredients to consistency are self-control and self-discipline. They’re often used interchangeably, but there’s actually a significant difference between the two:

Self-control relates more to our ability to resist an urge or do what we feel tempted to do. It’s to avoid the allure of pleasure, or hedonism, knowing that overall we’re a lot better off without it. In many ways self-control is self-restraint, keeping you from doing what might feel good in the moment but actually does you harm - like overindulging on sweets, being unfaithful to a partner, getting distracted on your phone when you’re supposed to be focused, or whatever it might be.

Self-control is like will-power where you make yourself make a good choice that aligns with what’s most important to you, rather than what you feel like doing in the moment. Self-control is effortful.

And the important distinction is… Self-control is just one of the expressions of self-discipline. We conflate the two because it’s the one we’re most aware of, but if I’m being honest, it’s also the least significant.

Self-discipline relates to your overall ability to follow through on doing what most serves you, consistently, despite the circumstances. Only a small fraction of what we do on a daily basis is done consciously… Most of it happens without us even realizing it. Every day we take consistent action and we don’t even know it because it falls into this unconscious category.

So what guides self-discipline behind the scenes, in every moment when you’re not choosing self-control?

In one word: Environment.

Like a canoe on a river, your actions flow automatically in the direction of your environment, effortlessly downstream.

This means that if you want to master self-discipline, it’s much more a matter of changing the design of your environment than it is making yourself do things consistently.

What I’ve just described is so important that it’s what I call one of the 7 Fundamentals To Self Improvement. If you want to learn more about the power of environment, and how to get it working for you and not against you… And learn what the other 6 game-changing fundamentals are, click here and discover them for yourself!

One of the things that I’m a huge proponent for, that I see a lot of people struggle with, is creating a schedule for the day.

For many, a schedule is filled with ‘empty promises’. It’s a list of all the things they wanted to do - but there are some things they forget to add, that take longer than expected, that they don’t feel like doing… And before they know it they’re completely off track. 

When your day goes off the rails, it might feel like your schedule isn’t relevant anymore. But that’s only because it is out of place with old information.

As the day unfolds, things genuinely change. New priorities surface, previously unknown information is revealed, and the way you thought you wanted to spend your day doesn’t represent what you actually want to do with your time.

As regimented, organized, and disciplined as I try to be - this happens to me too. But that’s because I’m human and limited by the same constraints.

I've learned that when I make my schedule for the day, I can only do it at the level of consciousness I had when I made it. This means that once you increase awareness on how you actually want to spend your day, which you can’t plan for ahead of time, your plan isn’t designed to accommodate those things.

But that’s not to say it’s impossible to stay on task… What you need to redefine what on task is. In other words, you need to update your schedule. 

Just because you already prepared your schedule for the day doesn’t mean it needs to stay that way. Just because you’ve established your plan doesn’t mean that the plan can’t change. As your day evolves, your schedule must evolve with it if you want it to accurately reflect what you want to do.

One of the best practices I’ve implemented in the last year is keeping my schedule dynamic. This means that I’m constantly making adjustments to my schedule. Moving things around, adding extra time to finish things, removing others. Why? Because when I see the rest of my day through the lens of what I want to do, what I can actually get done, and how much time I have left to do it... I constantly get to make new decisions with new information.

On an afternoon where I’m feeling I’ve had too much time in front of a computer, I add a break I didn’t plan for. When there’s an extra task that pops up that really needs to get done, and I don’t want to compromise anything else on my list, I extend my work day to accommodate it. I change my schedule in real-time so that moving forward my schedule always represents what I believe to be my best intentions.

This practice carves out a clever middle ground between staying disciplined and flexible. My personal protocol is that any time I choose to go off schedule, I must update my schedule to represent the new plan for the day. What this does is add enough friction to spontaneously going off track (because there’s an effort and a cost to it) while also giving myself the ability to change my plans as needed (to accommodate new priorities).

Lots more to say on all of this, but in summary if you know that being more organized and focused about how you structure your day will unlock more productivity and progress in your life, let me help you get in the habit of mastering your scheduling. Detailed scheduling is one of the pillars of the 21 Day Super Habits Challenge - check it out if you’re ready to live up to the higher standard you see for yourself.

I want to change my stance on something...

Have you ever heard someone say as a line of encouragement “Give it 110%”? Every time I did, I’d roll my eyes. My logical brain would write it off as nonsensical. Anything more than 100% is literally impossible because it’s by definition, beyond capacity. That’s what 100% represents… Everything that’s available.

But that’s only when you look at it completely literally. Now, I think you can actually give 110%, and here’s why.

David Goggins is known to be “the hardest, toughest man on Earth”. He’s a former Navy SEAL, ultramarathoner, used to have the world-record for pull-ups in 24 hours, and is the best in the world at pushing his mind and body to its fullest. In his book ‘Can’t Hurt Me’, he introduced the concept of ‘The Governor’. 

The Governor is our brain’s voice of reason, trying to tell us to slow down and back off. It’s responsible for the thought that creeps in telling you to stop in a hard workout, skip making a ridiculously bold request, or give up on a stressful project. 

Goggins believes that this ‘Governor’ gets activated at a certain threshold that is 40% of our body’s true capacity. And that when we push through the mind’s attempts to make us slow down or quit, we can push through to unlock that fuller capacity.

Basically, what we’ve learned to be our 100% - everything we’ve got - only gets you up to the threshold that activates the ‘Governor’. The mind is often unwilling to see beyond that amount because it exposes our body to levels of strain and difficulty that are considered to be unsafe. Like a reflex to faint, it’s a psychological off-switch the mind uses to keeps us from doing what it believes to be dangerous. The mind doesn’t want you to reach your fullest capacity. It just wants to protect you. 

In reevaluating this concept of giving more than 100%, it’s with this new understanding that what we call 100% is only what your mind is telling you is your 100%. But it’s not accurate. It’s a facade. It’s a programmed maximum velocity that keeps the car from going as fast as it truly can.

So if I were to use other words to summarize what giving 110% really is… It’s to push yourself beyond what’s comfortably possible. To exceed the expectations you have for yourself. To go beyond the limitations of the governor and into the unknown depths of your greater potential.

Giving 110% isn’t an impossible task, it’s just an incredibly uncomfortable one. But, at the same time it’s the mechanism for redefining what you believe you’re capable of. Each time you do it, you update your reference point for what ‘giving it your all’ means to you, and unlock your own ability to believe in yourself that much more.

I just came up with one of the most ridiculous, boring examples of a critical part to personal development. This morning as I was about to prepare my breakfast, a high-protein Kreatures Of Habit oatmeal, I noticed that the box was empty. I have plenty more, but they aren’t easily accessible. I store them in a cabinet tucked away behind some bigger bowls.

Originally I had the boxes of oatmeal in the front of the cabinet and the bowls behind it, but every time I needed the bowls (which was multiple times a week) I had to pull the oatmail boxes out to access them. It was an inconvenient process and I realized that if I flipped the way I organized things, bowls in front and boxes in back, that would be more efficient.

But… Only so long as I make another change. I make my oatmeal every day, and instead of opening the box every single time, I decided to pull the individual packets out and put them front and center and easily accessible. What that means is the only times I need to pull out the bowls to access the boxes in the back are when I need to restock packets that I store in the front.

What this did is it turned a daily problem of reorganizing my cabinets into a more coordinated, streamlined system. Every morning I can access my oatmeal easily because there are packets right there in the front… Any time I need a big bowl for my salad it’s right there in the front too. Only every 2 weeks or so do I need to go into the boxes of oatmeal packets in the back.

I share this because underlying everything we do is a system, and what gets output into our life is based on the quality of that system. The more thoughtful, organized, and designed a system is, the more efficiently it helps you generate a certain result.

And the thing about systems is that they take some time and thought upfront to be established. You need to invest now in order for them to produce for you later. But it doesn't need to be too difficult or elaborate - sometimes it can be as simple as looking at a problem, identifying the constraints, and brainstorming a different way of doing things that creates a much more sustainable result.

Let me tie it back to this example in my kitchen:

The problem was that I had to clear the cabinet to get to whatever is in back, which I needed access to often.

The constraint was that I had a tradeoff between making it easy to get into my box of oatmeal, and making it easy to pull out a bowl, and I couldn’t do both.

The new system is to have oatmeal available as packets, to move the bowls in front of the boxes, and every 2 weeks I replenish my access to packets by pulling out the bowls to access the box.

Ridiculous, I know. But insightful? I hope so!

If you feel like you’re overstretched, overwhelmed, burned out and behind on things... Just trying to keep your head above water... This one is for you.

One of the primary purposes of our personal development is to expand our capacity and streamline our effort. We have ambitions to live big lives with impactful careers, great habits, and strong relationships. We’re constantly in search of ways to improve so that then we can put more of ourselves in what we care about. 

However, if you find yourself on the opposite side of the spectrum - exhausted instead of inspired - it’s not a reflection that your self-growth isn’t working or that you’re failing. It’s just because you have a lot on your plate.

Perhaps you’re keeping tough to carry the emotional burden of your family, managing urgent and stressful situations in your work, and knowing that you’re not doing everything you want to be doing for yourself and your own wellness. It can be frustrating to know that so much needs to get done and you just don’t have the energy for it.

First, I want you to be able to accept how things are and give yourself permission that it’s okay to be tired. Everyone has a limit, and being worn out by life is an indicator that you’ve reached yours. 

But that’s not something to judge yourself about or feel ashamed of. It can actually be a really useful tool. It’s a prompt to help you think more about what specifically is causing you more stress, taking up more of your emotional capacity, and pulling from your inspiration. It urges you to audit your conditions, and in that awareness lies the wisdom of what you need to do next. 

If that’s the season you’re in and you want to get out of it, I’d ask you to identify your biggest constraint. Are you limited by time, navigating difficult situations, working with demanding people, or in the middle of something that requires a lot of you? Having an awareness for that it will validate your feelings and give you hope that you’ll be able to work through it. You can’t change what you’re not aware of.

Certain  periods of life are more challenging than others. It’s completely normal to feel the weight of that. But don’t use it as a reason to be hard on yourself. You’re allowed to be tired. It happens, and as long as you find small ways to be proactive about decreasing your commitments and increasing your self-care, you’ll find your way out of it. You got this!

Want to work your way back to where you know you can be? There are 9 micro-routines and micro-actions that create outsized effects in supporting your energy levels, improved daily productivity, and a strong mindset.⁠ ⁠Click here to learn the 9 Super Habits! ⁠

Like the good old days, one of my friends told me to just drop by at his house randomly to hang out. He’s not great at making plans, hardly gets back to text messages and calls, and told me that if I were to just stop in he’s always down to spend some time together. So last Friday I took him up on it and went over to his place.

I’d been over a few times before but this time looked different. I went to the side unit he lives in and it was completely empty.

Not just that he wasn’t there... But all of the furniture was gone.

When I turned around to leave a man I didn’t recognize was standing there curiously. “Hey are you here to see the unit?” He asked. “No, I’m here to see a friend.” I responded.

To that, this main explained how my friend moved out on short notice and has been gone for a week. He then started asking me questions, asked about my story, and before we knew it we were seated at a picnic table for an hour getting to know each other.

We uncovered some friends we have in common but truly, I got to hear his story. He’s a successful startup founder with a big acquisition, spiritually-grounded with extensive training as a Sufi, and a recent father with a 4 month old son.

What struck me most about this was his presence. As a stranger who he found lost on his doorstep, he took time away from his Friday to just connect. In a busy world where everyone has plans and an agenda, it was a rare encounter just like people used to have all the time.

And that’s the ironic part about. The original intention was to just stop by and visit a friend unannounced like the good old days, and instead I began a new relationship with an incredible person just because we happened to be in the same place at the same time.

Taking a step back, there’s a spiritual lesson in this as well. The things you want in life don’t always take the shape you expected them to. The more we can be unattached to the way we want things to be, the more channels the universe has available to deliver you what you need. I showed up for friendship, and I certainly left with it.

In today’s world, with the technologies we have access to, our ability to communicate with people online for free, and so many user-friendly tools available at our disposal… It has never been easier to start your own business and be successful with it. And rightfully so, many new industries have opened up and people have seized the opportunity.

Yet, many people still aren’t winning. They’re not as successful as they know they could be, should be, or want to be. And it doesn't make sense. If it’s easier than ever than why is it still so hard?

That’s because it’s also easier than ever to get distracted.

There’s so much opportunity, so many things to build a business around, and so many ways to move forward that many people don’t stick with one thing for long enough to be successful. They get distracted. And even though all of these incredible technologies and opportunities are available, they don’t create value on their own. You still need to take action to generate results, and the world today is constructed in such a way that we don’t need to work hard to survive.

We live in an economy of convenience where anything we want is available in a click, a world of entertainment and information is in our pocket, and our evolutionary predisposition to be lazy is being amplified by everything around us.

It’s a paradox: It has never been easier to be successful because there’s so much access and opportunity, but it’s never been harder to stay focused to leverage those tools to build something meaningful.

And while I’ve been presenting this specifically about succeeding in business, the same is true for succeeding in anything. Want to get in shape? There are more resources, quality education, and workout plans than ever. But it’s harder than ever to get yourself up and out of the house to do it.

Want to travel the world? Remote work is more acceptable than ever, and planning a trip that accommodates your needs is easy. But simultaneously we’re busier than ever, more overcommitted than ever, and it can be really hard to separate from those things to carve out the time to actually get away.

As far as I see it, the difference is simple: Those who are successful in today's world are the ones who actually follow through.

If you have access to the tools, use them. If you commit to a business or strategy, stick with it and don’t waiver. If you know what you need to do, do it. Access is abundant, but follow through is rare. And those who figure it out are the ones who capitalize on all of the opportunities today’s world has in store for them.

If you want to start following through and create the success you see for yourself, you might be able to learn from my personal Follow Through Framework. I call it my Self Improvement Scorecard, check it out here if you want to see how it works.

Let’s talk about the age-old question that is “what’s the meaning of life?” Easy topic right?

In the grand scheme of things, our life is pretty meaningless. At some point our planet will no longer exist, and everything that ever happened on it will have zero significance because it’s all gone. It can make your life feel really unimportant because no matter what you do, it’s all going to be erased.

And while that’s true over the long-term, it discredits what’s happening right now. In the world today there is joy, suffering, excitement, tragedy, and so much that people are experiencing. Our choices and actions today can feel insignificant because in the whole wide world, what are we going to do that’s actually going to change the course of humanity... But if you zoom in one layer further, your influence can be felt.

Your family, immediate community, collaborators, and even the strangers that you encounter - Your actions impact their experience. You can ruin someone’s day or be their hero. You can add to their stress and negative outlook, or you can be a refreshing source of gratitude. You can be the light that brightens their darkness… And I don’t care how big the world is, or how meaningless our planet’s history is on a universal scale, it matters.

You are more than just a speck in the world, you are the creator of it.

Because even in the macro picture of how the world operates, think about how it got there. It was from the collective actions of all of humanity. It didn’t happen randomly, it is the effect of every single person’s choices, actions, and influence. Yes, some figures are more influential than others, but ultimately they’re just shaping the systems that then drive each individual’s actions. It’s the individual, you, who builds our future every single day locally and globally.

What this means is - it is critically important that we are thoughtful about what we do. As long as we operate unconsciously, we’re aligning with the systems created for us and contributing to the world other people want to see, which in many ways we probably disagree with. But when we’re intentional about what we do, we start creating the world we want to see!

How you navigate that is your choice. You can create your own ways of doing things or align with people who also believe in what you believe in. Do not underestimate the power of your existence and the role you play in creating a better future.

Let me share my vision with you, and if you agree with it, then let’s get to work.

I believe that the most wasted resource on Earth is human intention. People have great ideas that they don’t follow through on. And I believe that if people were only to take action on their good intentions - to change their life and be the healthy, highly focused, disciplined person they’re capable of being, and to change the world by getting more involved in impact projects and initiatives that speak to their heart - the world would be a much better place.

So that’s what I’m building! And if that’s what you want to see in the world too, then let’s build it together.