Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 113 of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast. Have you ever listened to a podcast full of so much good information that you think “Oh I have to do that and that and I need to do that too?” How about reading a good book full of great new habits and you just have all of this good new information but because you’re trying to take it all in at once it becomes overwhelming so by the time you are finished it becomes a good book or podcast with great ideas but you never actually follow through because there was so much information?
I can tell you with 100% certainty that I have. But then I started realizing that it isn’t so much about doing it all…it’s about taking that one thing, the one thing that stands out and applying that one thing. Your brain absorbs all the other stuff and it will fall in line or maybe be useful later or maybe not, but don’t stress about it.
We LOVE instant gratification. Sometimes, We want change right now, without going through the phases needed to be ready for when that change happens. We want it all to happen right away, but we forget or maybe don’t realize…maybe we aren’t ready. Maybe the work we need to do is preparing us to be ready for everything that is coming. What if that book that was put in front of you had ONE thing that is meant for you and everything else is noise. What if that person that is no longer in your life was there to show you one thing and now their job is over, so the Universe moved them on? Maybe a partner or a mentor or a friend. I had an old boss in my life once that became a good friend. I thought he’d be around a long time, but that was not the case, which is actually a good thing. I look back in a way, he was the very first person that actually helped me see my own worth. He was put in my life at a time when I needed to know that. I needed to know that I deserved everything good that was coming my way and then some. But it wasn’t a relationship that was going to benefit me long term and I knew that and so did the universe. Sometimes you just have to trust that. And then there are classes you take where you only remember or learn one thing…or books where you only learn one thing. These are the things in life we don’t realize at the moment, but we look back and think “If I hadn’t read that book, or taken that class or had that boss…my life would be really different.
I think I have talked about the nutritionist Eric and I used for a while. He was really good. He helped me advance, not because of the amount of things he taught me but because of the one thing I learned and have never stopped doing…He taught me to do one thing at a time. At the time, I was disappointed because I wanted him to change everything for me right then and there in that first meeting. But what I realized and what he already knew was that if I take one thing and change it for 2-3 weeks then likely it will become a habit, whereas if I try to drastically change everything all at once, the likelihood of sustaining that long term is low. Taking one thing, just one thing and making that a part of your habits was huge for me. It was some of the best advice that applies across the board of life. We are an instant gratification society…. That’s how America is. Instant gratification has its pitfalls though. We expect things immediately, right now and if that doesn’t happen we get discouraged because we have come to expect immediate gratification. I’ll give you an example of another way it worked for me.
I did a challenge over a year ago with Russell Brunson. I love that guy. Anyway he has this challenge that he does several times a year. It’s really good, it’s about 3 weeks long I think and you have about 2 hours or so of virtual learning every day. And then there’s the homework…there was A LOT of information to take in. And I gladly took it all in and I loved it but after all that good information, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do everything but there was one thing that stuck out for me. He talked about finding your voice. Some people LOVE to blog. Some love to do videos, Some people love number crunching, and it goes on and on but he talked about the need to figure out what you love and what it is you will love so much that it doesn’t feel like work. He talked about many different things you could do and they all sounded exciting and then he told us how to start a podcast. Not only how, but He also talked about how many people quit after a few episodes because they did not instantly get 1000 downloads. He prepped us that it would take time for anything worth having to really succeed. I had been writing in my journal for months that I wanted to start my podcast, this was it. This was my one thing I was going to take from this challenge and I’m not going to quit when it gets hard or in the beginning when it feels like no-one is listening. You know why? Because I love it. I love thinking about the next episode and how I can help you guys and me for the week. I love talking to all the cool people I interview and finding out new ways to do things and good books that are helpful and how they overcome the same things we all deal with sometimes daily. You see I didn’t stress about all the other things he taught us, I took this one thing and I ran with it because I knew it was what I wanted to do. What can that be for you? Now one more thing before you hop out of your car or finish your coffee whatever we do together…be honest with yourself when you are using self improvement tools as a distraction, and I say this from experience. It can feel like you’re accomplishing something when you are taking in new tools, reading good books and things but it’s only helpful if you actually apply it and put it to use in your life. That’s why it’s good not to get overwhelmed, just always find at least one thing and take action with it, master it.
So the next book you read, the next podcast you listen to, the next seminar you attend, commit to taking it all in but take the one thing that stands out to you and master that one thing.
That’s my challenge to you for the week. Don’t try to change your entire lifestyle in one day. That isn’t realistic and it isn’t even sustainable. Pick one thing and stick with that for 2-3 weeks until it becomes a habit. It may seem hard at first, but it will only be hard until you’re used to it which takes less time than you think. And you may find yourself wanting to do it all at once but remember, instant gratification is intoxicating but short lived. We are working towards a wildly successful lifestyle long term, not just short term. When you use this technique, Your life will change and the change will stick and that’s what we are looking for. I love you guys and I’ll talk to you in a few days.
