Just Start: The Hidden Cost of Waiting

WEBVTT
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Welcome to the Optimizing Beyond podcast. I'm
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Josh Negron, and this show is all about sharing
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lessons, ideas, and strategies that sharpen your
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thinking, strengthen your habits, and push you
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to grow beyond comfort zones. Let's dive in.
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Have you ever looked back at an idea you had
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years ago and thought, man, if I would have just
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started then? That was me back in May of 2021.
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I knew I wanted to do this. I felt the pull.
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I even had the vision. I still remember my mentor
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asked us at an off -site we did with my colleagues
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a question like, what's the one thing you feel
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the pull to do but aren't doing? My answer was
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that I knew I needed to start a podcast, YouTube
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channel, a blog, or something like that. The
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stirring in my heart was real, but instead of
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starting, I waited, I overthought, and I told
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myself, I wasn't ready. Because of doubt, for
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almost five years, nothing happened. Today's
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episode is all about what actually starting taught
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me and why waiting felt safe but is actually
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expensive. Welcome back to the show today. Forgive
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my low voice. I've got some drainage going on,
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and so I've got a little Barry White situation
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going on. Maybe it's better for a podcast voice.
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Maybe not. You'll have to tell me what you think.
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So let's go back to that offsite back in May
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of 2021. Where was I in life at that moment?
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Honestly, I had a great place to start something
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like this. I was already putting into practice
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a lot of the things that I was learning, reading
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about in books that my mentors were teaching
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me. I had a well -established devotional, spiritual
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routine, great morning routine. I was already
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regular with gratitude, and I had been working
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out every morning for a very long time. So I
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had a really strong foundation in things that
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I had worked on. that I could start to teach
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other people. That's why when she asked me what's
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the one thing that I'm not doing, I felt this
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pull. This immediately came to mind because I
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knew that I was helping people on a smaller scale.
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I had people coming to me regularly asking me
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for advice for fitness, nutrition, and all sorts
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of other habits. They saw the things that I was
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working on and the foundations and habits that
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I had laid down, and they wanted my opinions
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to help them in their lives. It was such an honor
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to get that trust. And so it was just natural
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for me to feel inspired to want to spread that
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out in other avenues. And if you've ever had
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a stirring in your heart like that, you know
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what I'm talking about, where you're like, I
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know I can do this. I know I can help more people.
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And genuinely, you feel that responsibility.
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And to be quite honest with you, that had been
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present for quite a long time already. And so
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when she asked the question, I really didn't
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have to do much thinking to think about that
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idea. And honestly, I didn't really hesitate
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in saying it out loud when she finally asked
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because this idea had been pulling on me for
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probably several years before that. So you're
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totally justified in asking the question. Why
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the heck didn't you? Right? And so I knew I needed
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to start something, but knowing wasn't enough.
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For me, my biggest challenge was doubt. How would
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I do it? Would it really be meaningful? What
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if it was a failure? What if it wasn't produced
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well? Would anyone really care, benefit, all
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the things? None of those questions I asked in
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their reality, but they existed in my subconscious
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in a way where I wasn't willing to face them,
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but they definitely had power to stop any sort
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of action. We talked before on this show about
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me being a recovering perfectionist. Back then,
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I was still in that mindset that whatever I did,
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I wanted to do it with excellence. I didn't want
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to fail. So out of that naturally comes the hesitation
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to do something new. Because most of the time
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when you do something new, you're not going to
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be amazing at it. And when you're a perfectionist,
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you just can't handle that reality. So a lot
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of times, unfortunately, you don't do anything.
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Now, let's admit it. Was I generally not ready
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to do something like that? Absolutely. I knew
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nothing about anything related to podcasting,
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YouTubing, blogging, or anything. But I did know
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the things that I was passionate about. And I
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did know how to share those with other people.
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All you need is those two things in my context
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to really start something like this. But for
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me, doubt always found its way in and not always
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in one way. A lot of times it did it quietly,
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that tiny little voice that tells you nobody
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cares, nobody's going to listen, it's not going
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to matter, this is a waste of your time. Sometimes
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for us logical analytical folks out there, it
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can show up in that way of like, you know, you
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haven't... learned enough to teach anybody anything
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yet. You need to learn more. You need to accumulate
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more credibility before you do something like
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this. And sometimes it's just a really loud voice
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that tells you, yeah, this just isn't going to
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work. Why do you think that you can possibly
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do that? Like we've talked about before, the
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voice inside your head sometimes says things
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that you wouldn't dare say to another human being,
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right? And in a way, it makes you feel responsible,
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doesn't it? You're like, well, I want to do a
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good job and I want to deliver well. And you
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can apply that to so many different things. And
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so waiting and doing absolutely nothing almost
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feels like the right thing to do. Isn't that
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crazy that you know what you should do, but don't
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do it because, well, you could somehow do it
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better. So that justifies doing absolutely nothing
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at all until maybe you can sometimes do it. It's
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been five years. Come on, right? So looking back
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now, what was I actually waiting for? I was waiting
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for the right time that never came. And I could
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look back at it now and look at it with so much
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negative emotion if I wanted to, right? So if
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you Google what happened to podcasting and blogging
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during the time of COVID, it blew up. So anyone
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starting a new show around that time experienced
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crazy growth and success at much higher percentages
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because people weren't doing anything. That universe
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just really experienced exponential growth. I
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didn't do anything. And now, starting at many
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years later, it's a much different scenario.
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So, FOMO for sure. But that's okay, because I
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started now. And that's all that matters. But
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I will say, five years is a long time. And this
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is where weight enters the story. Over five years,
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this idea definitely resurfaced often. Pretty
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much all the time. Anytime I would have a conversation
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with somebody to help them with, like I said,
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anything, nutrition, finance, fitness, mindset,
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I'd realize that, man, this message could be
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more helpful across the board. But I would make
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some sort of excuse and say, well, I'm super
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busy. I don't really have the time. I would have
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to learn new things. I don't know how to do that.
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I don't know what microphone to get, blah, blah,
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blah. Right? So waiting slowly cost, from my
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perspective, the ability to help more people.
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Now, sure, you could make the argument, like,
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if I can just help one person, maybe it'll be
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worth it. And that probably is a little reductionistic.
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But it's true. Like, what if something that you
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could do right now could help more people? Why
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don't you just do it? What's holding you back?
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And I think for me, it held me back also in confidence,
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in gaining momentum in certain things, and in
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having trust in myself. I had a friend reflect
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to me back once when I made some promises to
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myself when I hit a certain goal. That person
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noticed that I kept moving my goalposts. And
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they really challenged me in an unexpected moment
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of like, hey, you know, for the integrity that
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you have, which they knew I prided myself on,
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they said, you really have crummy integrity with
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yourself. And I was like, I was kind of blown
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away. Like, what do you mean? And they're like,
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well, you're essentially lying to yourself. You're
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telling yourself you're going to hit this goal
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and then you're going to reward yourself in this
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way. And then you hit the goal, usually easier
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than maybe you thought you would. And then you
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just move the goalposts and set a new goal and
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don't really celebrate or anything. And they're
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like, that's really disingenuous to yourself.
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And quite honestly, a little dishonest. And they
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had just read that in a book and it really hit
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me like a ton of bricks. I was like, man, how
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can that potentially affect your trust in yourself?
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So I could say that in those five years, I probably
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made some commitments about I need to start something.
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I need to do something. Not to mention my mentors
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were like, great, do it. And I'm like, okay.
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And then I didn't. So what does that do to your
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confidence, your trust in yourself and those
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kinds of things? I know for me, that was pretty
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costly. So in a certain extent, it affected how
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I saw myself in a way. It didn't completely destroy
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my self -confidence or the way I view myself,
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but I would say that it did affect some of my
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perception. Of my follow through. Because it
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was lacking. And I was playing it safe. Now let's
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call a spade a spade. My personality naturally
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likes to be more conservative, to hang back,
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analyze the situation, and then act and respond.
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There are definitely other personalities that
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like to just rush in and take care of business.
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And if they made a mistake, then they'll go back
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and clean it up. Then they'll assess afterwards.
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It's definitely not my default wiring. So it
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makes sense that I would be a more conservative,
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cautious person going to things like this. But
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I have learned that over time, waiting until
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the perfect moment, often allows the moment to
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pass by or moments to pass by that you could
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have had an impact, right? And so what this five
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years has told me is that when you feel the pull,
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when you feel the responsibility to do something,
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just start. There's a famous quote from Seth
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Godin where he says, just ship it. And what he
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means by that is just do what you think you need
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to do. release the product, release the blog
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post, post the first video, and then at that
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point, you'll learn more through the act of doing
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than you will researching, brainstorming, planning,
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and all those kinds of things. James Clear in
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his book Atomic Habits does the same thing when
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he illustrates the class. We've talked about
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it before, the class that he divides in half.
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And whether it's photography students or pottery
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students, it's the same illustration where one
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half of the class is supposed to make as many
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photographs as humanly possible, as many clay
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pots as they can make in the semester, while
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the other half of the class is focused on making
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the single one perfect pot or photo, it turns
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out. that the half of the class that does the
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most reps is the one who takes the best photograph
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or makes the best pot. And so he says it's all
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about reps, not about the perfect shot. So what
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changed? You're obviously here with me today.
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So something pivoted, something changed. And
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I realized that I wasn't taking action and it's
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something that I needed to do. Over those five
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years, I have built my confidence. I have spoken
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in public. I've helped more people and widened
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that and gained some additional reps in that
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area. So I think that over time really helped
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as well as continuing building those reps of
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sharing things on social media about what I was
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reading, what I was learning, and just getting
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in the habit of wanting to share my journey with
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other people, hoping that it would help someone.
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So how did it feel when I first started? It was
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pretty stressful, pretty terrifying to be completely
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honest. I already had a mic that I had from a
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previous setup that I did with a friend, and
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I just set up my Mac, set up my iPhone, and started
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filming. And I had already made a commitment
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to myself that whatever the video looked like,
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that I would not reshoot it. I would make the
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first episode on something that was fresh and
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passionate on my mind at that time, arguably
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a pretty controversial one, to be honest with
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you, and that it was going to get posted no matter
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what. And I had some doubts because, again, it
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was not the first episode I anticipated on doing,
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but it was one that was straight out of something
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that I was wrestling with and that I wanted to
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share with other people. And so it was real,
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it was raw, and I followed through with that
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commitment. pressed post when I wasn't even sure
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that was the best idea. And the commitment was
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that I would continue to be consistent every
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single week after that. And I've learned some
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great things over that. And to satiate my desire
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for perfection, I made the commitment to myself
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that every single week I would tweak one thing.
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One thing that I could improve. What's one thing
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I could adjust and do better the next time. And
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that's one thing you learn when you edit yourself.
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Nobody likes to listen to themselves talk, see
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recordings, or listen to recordings of themselves.
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It's pretty gross. And I have to say it's one
00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.240
of the things that I have grown to actually appreciate
00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:49.700
in editing my own videos is I get to see and
00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:53.419
listen to myself. And early on it was brutal,
00:12:53.620 --> 00:12:56.080
guys. But now it's something that I look forward
00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:58.700
to because I can see what I'm doing well, what
00:12:58.700 --> 00:13:01.159
I've changed, and what I can adjust in the future.
00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:03.480
There are definitely some episodes that I tried
00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:06.019
some things. didn't work well. And there's others
00:13:06.019 --> 00:13:08.519
where I said, yeah, that's it. Let's keep doing
00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:11.799
that. So that was really the beauty of it, that
00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:16.600
over the first few reps, I learned so much. And
00:13:17.189 --> 00:13:19.210
realizing that, well, this is how you do that,
00:13:19.210 --> 00:13:21.029
and this is how you save that, and this is how
00:13:21.029 --> 00:13:23.090
you prevent that. One of my favorite moments
00:13:23.090 --> 00:13:26.289
was, I don't even remember what episode it was,
00:13:26.370 --> 00:13:28.929
but I shot it. I actually felt really good about
00:13:28.929 --> 00:13:31.850
it. It was vibing pretty good. I knew there wasn't
00:13:31.850 --> 00:13:33.490
going to be a lot of cuts or edits, and I was
00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:35.929
like, man, that was pretty awesome. And I went
00:13:35.929 --> 00:13:38.870
back to load it into the editor, and there was
00:13:38.870 --> 00:13:41.450
no sound. I was like, man, that's kind of weird.
00:13:41.570 --> 00:13:44.629
Well, it turns out that my microphone, the mute
00:13:44.629 --> 00:13:47.169
button had been bumped and the entire episode
00:13:47.169 --> 00:13:49.950
was worthless. So I had a choice to make in that
00:13:49.950 --> 00:13:52.870
moment. I was definitely frustrated, of course,
00:13:52.889 --> 00:13:56.029
but the choice was, do you just give it up and
00:13:56.029 --> 00:13:58.549
do it again tomorrow or something, or just get
00:13:58.549 --> 00:14:01.039
back in there and do it again? And it was tough.
00:14:01.220 --> 00:14:03.200
It took me a minute to get in the groove because
00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:06.279
I was kind of thrown off. I was a little frustrated
00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:09.320
and I needed to get my head back in the game.
00:14:09.500 --> 00:14:11.879
Now, was the episode as good as the first time?
00:14:12.220 --> 00:14:15.820
Honestly, probably not. But that's okay. Because
00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:18.360
in those moments, I'm practicing what I preach,
00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:20.879
right? And in those moments, that's when you
00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:23.740
find your strength. And if you think about anything
00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.240
that you start for the first time, whether it's,
00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:28.539
you know, let's say you pick up pickleball or
00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.039
golfing or something new, right, that you don't
00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:34.759
know how to do, you end up learning so much in
00:14:34.759 --> 00:14:37.899
those early days that you could never learn by
00:14:37.899 --> 00:14:41.679
just reading blogs and asking ChatGPT or anything
00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.460
like that. So the theory of research and planning
00:14:45.149 --> 00:14:47.149
There is definitely a place for those things,
00:14:47.250 --> 00:14:50.409
but you can definitely learn so much more when
00:14:50.409 --> 00:14:53.110
you just decide to start, give it a whirl, and
00:14:53.110 --> 00:14:54.830
see what you can do. And there are some really
00:14:54.830 --> 00:14:57.870
powerful things that kind of tend to emerge after
00:14:57.870 --> 00:15:01.230
you get moving. People started reaching out and
00:15:01.230 --> 00:15:03.870
telling me how certain episodes affected them,
00:15:03.990 --> 00:15:06.090
how helpful they were to them. And those are
00:15:06.090 --> 00:15:08.830
honestly things that I wasn't particularly expecting.
00:15:09.049 --> 00:15:11.649
And then to be honest with you, the fears turned
00:15:11.649 --> 00:15:14.590
out to be super exaggerated or really had no
00:15:14.590 --> 00:15:17.610
basis whatsoever to begin with. A lot of the
00:15:17.610 --> 00:15:19.570
things that I was afraid of were just things
00:15:19.570 --> 00:15:22.629
in my head that completely dissipated, mostly
00:15:22.629 --> 00:15:24.929
after pushing the first publish button. And so
00:15:24.929 --> 00:15:28.870
what did action teach me about clarity? Well,
00:15:28.950 --> 00:15:31.169
I do a lot of reading. I do a lot of researching.
00:15:31.330 --> 00:15:34.210
I love knowledge and I love learning new things.
00:15:34.889 --> 00:15:37.629
But there is a type of learning that you can
00:15:37.629 --> 00:15:40.950
only gain by taking action and by actually doing
00:15:40.950 --> 00:15:43.809
it. And that type of learning gives you clarity
00:15:43.809 --> 00:15:48.250
to execute at a higher level over and over. And
00:15:48.250 --> 00:15:50.909
that momentum actually started changing my relationship
00:15:50.909 --> 00:15:55.590
with doubt. I remember probably in 2022, after
00:15:55.590 --> 00:15:58.509
working with one of my mentors for over a year,
00:15:58.629 --> 00:16:02.909
they were talking about her phrase, your gap
00:16:02.909 --> 00:16:06.080
in the crap. So she talks about on the left,
00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:08.740
you have where you currently are. And on the
00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:10.820
right, you have where you want to be, what you
00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:14.080
want to accomplish, et cetera. And in the middle,
00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:18.620
she says, draw a big V. And she's like, and that
00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:22.070
is your gap of crap. And that is those things
00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:25.110
that are keeping you from moving towards where
00:16:25.110 --> 00:16:26.990
you want to go, what you want to do. And I still
00:16:26.990 --> 00:16:30.230
remember today, I was writing down all of those
00:16:30.230 --> 00:16:32.590
things that I thought were holding me back. And
00:16:32.590 --> 00:16:34.730
she says, yep, those are all true. She's like,
00:16:34.789 --> 00:16:37.169
but do you know what the underlying singular
00:16:37.169 --> 00:16:40.830
binding thing is for all those things? And I
00:16:40.830 --> 00:16:46.330
was like, no. And she said, it's doubt. doubt
00:16:46.330 --> 00:16:49.070
is what holds you back from doing almost everything
00:16:49.070 --> 00:16:53.730
on that list. And I was like, yes, I can totally
00:16:53.730 --> 00:16:56.230
see that. And so that tied into a very tangible
00:16:56.230 --> 00:16:58.789
way the things we've talked about before. I am
00:16:58.789 --> 00:17:00.730
a very disciplined person. I don't think that's
00:17:00.730 --> 00:17:04.230
by accident. Because discipline over time, over
00:17:04.230 --> 00:17:07.450
almost decades now in certain areas, has taught
00:17:07.450 --> 00:17:10.680
me that discipline overcomes when motivation
00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:13.859
wanes. And so in certain areas of my life, I've
00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:16.099
established habits and patterns to guarantee
00:17:16.099 --> 00:17:19.140
that I put in the work and I execute on those
00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:22.140
areas regardless of if I feel like it. And it's
00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:25.500
just been a matter of time of applying that discipline
00:17:25.500 --> 00:17:28.660
in other areas like sitting down and filming
00:17:28.660 --> 00:17:31.740
every single week to talk about something that
00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:34.400
we can optimize together. Now, looking back,
00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:37.079
we talked about last episode about personality
00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:40.619
types, and my personality type is one that really
00:17:40.619 --> 00:17:43.980
desires control. And so I definitely had to release
00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:46.519
some semblance of control in order to start.
00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:49.460
Again, similar in the perfectionistic thread,
00:17:49.619 --> 00:17:53.400
I would have to release my desire for control
00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:58.559
of a certain expectation of execution in order
00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:03.559
to just do and just be myself. and see who I
00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:06.099
can help, who I can take along this journey with
00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:08.480
me and see where we can go together. And in a
00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:11.680
unique way, taking action like this started to
00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.500
deepen the trust within me more than waiting
00:18:14.500 --> 00:18:17.819
ever did. Because like I said before, that responsibility
00:18:17.819 --> 00:18:21.119
that you think you have of waiting so that you
00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:23.710
can execute better. and never actually execute
00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:26.170
at all. Now is completely different. And it's
00:18:26.170 --> 00:18:28.769
fueled by when I get messages and people telling
00:18:28.769 --> 00:18:31.089
me their thoughts and opinions about the episodes
00:18:31.089 --> 00:18:33.029
that they caught. So can you think back to a
00:18:33.029 --> 00:18:35.470
time where you were just waiting, when there
00:18:35.470 --> 00:18:38.289
was something you knew you needed to do and you
00:18:38.289 --> 00:18:40.809
just weren't doing it? What was that for you?
00:18:40.910 --> 00:18:42.829
I'd love to know. Let me know in the comments.
00:18:43.009 --> 00:18:46.069
And then did you start? What happened when you
00:18:46.069 --> 00:18:48.369
did? Was there unexpected things that happened?
00:18:48.509 --> 00:18:51.210
I can guess probably yes. Yeah. And then if you
00:18:51.210 --> 00:18:53.900
haven't started. I will tell you, there probably
00:18:53.900 --> 00:18:56.079
isn't a better time than now. It makes me think
00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:58.599
of what a lot of my mentors in the past have
00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:02.099
said, that the version of you that is necessary
00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:05.299
to execute on the thing that you know you need
00:19:05.299 --> 00:19:07.700
to do is a different version than the person
00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:11.079
you are today. Meaning you have to become a different
00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:14.380
yourself, to level up, to move up, to step up.
00:19:14.579 --> 00:19:17.299
Once you do that, you will be able to execute
00:19:17.299 --> 00:19:19.980
at that next level. So I was reflecting back
00:19:19.980 --> 00:19:23.930
on May 2021. and what this almost five -year
00:19:23.930 --> 00:19:26.069
journey has taught me now that we're on episode
00:19:26.069 --> 00:19:29.750
17, if I could sit across from that person in
00:19:29.750 --> 00:19:32.809
that rocking chair so many years ago, what would
00:19:32.809 --> 00:19:35.369
I tell him? Honestly. Well, I would definitely
00:19:35.369 --> 00:19:38.829
say, listen, bro, like COVID's about to make
00:19:38.829 --> 00:19:40.769
this thing go crazy. You need to start a podcast
00:19:40.769 --> 00:19:44.589
now. No, I'm just kidding. Kind of. But I would
00:19:44.589 --> 00:19:48.950
really say. Just start, man. Like, you have very
00:19:48.950 --> 00:19:51.829
high expectations for yourself and sometimes
00:19:51.829 --> 00:19:54.490
others, and your pursuit of excellence has its
00:19:54.490 --> 00:19:57.630
place. However, if you keep it where it currently
00:19:57.630 --> 00:20:00.549
is, it will actually hold you back for almost
00:20:00.549 --> 00:20:04.250
five years from doing anything in this area that
00:20:04.250 --> 00:20:06.190
you feel led to do. Is that something you're
00:20:06.190 --> 00:20:08.690
okay with? And just wait. I don't think even
00:20:08.690 --> 00:20:11.309
2021 Josh would have been okay with that. And
00:20:11.309 --> 00:20:13.250
I would also tell him to consider the cost of
00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:15.579
waiting. If there's something that you need to
00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:18.519
do that you know will impact more lives, have
00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:20.759
you considered the people that you're currently
00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.180
unable to help because you haven't taken action
00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:25.680
yet? Now, I'm not interested in you beating yourself
00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:27.920
over the head with it, but what I am interested
00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:30.500
in you doing is thinking through the responsibility
00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:32.940
of that. Because like I said earlier, waiting
00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:35.359
sometimes feels responsible because you're like,
00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:37.079
well, I'm going to do it better, right? So I
00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:39.019
mean, I need to wait so I can be responsible.
00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:41.599
But what about the people that you aren't helping?
00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:44.259
Let's feel responsibility for those people. Some
00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:47.319
mentors might even say they need you. You might
00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:50.000
be the only one that they'll listen to that will
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:52.700
maybe connect with them in a unique way. I believe
00:20:52.700 --> 00:20:55.240
that everyone is created in a very unique way
00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:58.319
with unique gifts and unique perspectives. And
00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:00.859
those things can be used for good. They can also
00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:03.339
be used for bad. And we've got enough of the
00:21:03.339 --> 00:21:06.359
latter right now, right? So I think that if you
00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:08.160
think you have something to offer the world in
00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:10.799
whatever way really stirs your heart and stirs
00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.480
your passions, why are you chasing that? I get
00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:15.240
it. You're busy. You're doing a lot of things.
00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:18.480
So am I. But I'll tell you, this one thing I
00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.140
know has been something that I've been needing
00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:23.519
to do for a long time. I love sharing what I'm
00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:26.240
learning. I love helping other people and bringing
00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:28.460
them along with me. And if that speaks to you,
00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:31.200
I also want you to take action. Start thinking
00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:33.720
about what that looks like for you. For some
00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:35.700
of you, you might know exactly what that is.
00:21:35.819 --> 00:21:38.240
You might already be doing it a little bit. Maybe
00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:40.599
now that means you'll run a little faster. Some
00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:42.859
of you might know exactly what it is and just
00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:45.700
be like me back in 2021. You haven't taken action.
00:21:45.779 --> 00:21:47.599
You haven't done anything yet. And that's okay.
00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:49.960
Remember, I'm not preaching at you. This is episode
00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:53.279
17, right? So, when are we going to start? I
00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:54.660
don't like waiting until Monday, and I don't
00:21:54.660 --> 00:21:56.559
like waiting until the new year. But hey, it's
00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.019
the new year now, so let's get going. When are
00:21:59.019 --> 00:22:00.960
you going to start? Again, tell me in the comments.
00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:02.680
I'd love to know. When are you going to start?
00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:04.500
What are you going to start? I'm so excited.
00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:06.579
And I'll tell you, there is something enjoyable
00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:09.839
about just starting and not being that great.
00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:12.000
Think about it. There's a lot of creators out
00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.200
there that have been on YouTube and other platforms
00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:17.319
for a really long time. And one of my favorite
00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:19.599
things is to go look at their earliest content.
00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:22.619
And what you'll notice is they've come such a
00:22:22.619 --> 00:22:24.759
long way. And isn't that encouraging? Isn't that
00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:28.059
amazing? Like MKBHD is one of my favorite YouTubers
00:22:28.059 --> 00:22:30.779
in the tech arena. And going back to see his
00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:34.160
first video where it's super grainy, really rough
00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.519
quality on the camera. He's got his glasses on
00:22:36.519 --> 00:22:38.740
and he's like 12 years old or something. And
00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:40.420
it's just awesome. He's just talking about this
00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:42.619
camera, if I remember right. And it's just super
00:22:42.619 --> 00:22:44.299
encouraging. And so there's something really
00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:47.539
nice about just rocking it and bringing your
00:22:47.539 --> 00:22:50.000
community along with you on that journey. There's
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:52.079
also a genuineness and a vulnerability that comes
00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:54.259
from that that's really powerful. And consequently,
00:22:54.359 --> 00:22:57.460
on the other end, there's sometimes a barrier
00:22:57.460 --> 00:23:00.200
that is created if you start too polished and
00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:03.359
you're too perfect, right? And so I ask you again,
00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:06.400
what's your May 2021 right now? Is there something
00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:08.960
that's holding you back? Is doubt in your way?
00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:12.220
Is procrastination being fueled by perfectionism
00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:15.259
or certain expectations? Another popular one
00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:17.759
is fear, fear of failure, fear of rejection,
00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:20.140
or just fear that it won't turn out the way you
00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:22.319
expect. So I want you to think about the story
00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:24.940
you're telling yourself currently to justify
00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:27.539
the waiting. Is it a legitimate reason? And honestly,
00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:30.220
it might be. But is there an expiration to that
00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:32.940
waiting? So what's the plan after that? Are you
00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:35.200
going to start next month, in the next quarter?
00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:37.730
Think about that. What's the plan? And then finally,
00:23:37.769 --> 00:23:40.990
think about what it might be costing you to wait.
00:23:41.170 --> 00:23:43.309
Five years is a long time. It's a good amount
00:23:43.309 --> 00:23:45.430
of time that can affect a good amount of people.
00:23:45.549 --> 00:23:48.490
And unfortunately, I let negative emotion get
00:23:48.490 --> 00:23:50.430
in the way. And don't get me wrong, I'm not going
00:23:50.430 --> 00:23:52.630
to beat myself up about it, but I am going to
00:23:52.630 --> 00:23:55.410
feel the weight of that choice, the weight of
00:23:55.410 --> 00:23:58.289
that responsibility, the weight of waiting. And
00:23:58.289 --> 00:24:01.589
instead, now it fuels my reps. And I realized
00:24:01.589 --> 00:24:05.559
that I didn't need more time. I needed... more
00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:08.339
action. And it's not always the big action you
00:24:08.339 --> 00:24:11.700
think it is. Sometimes it's just the small action
00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:14.519
of starting. I'll reference again Atomic Habits
00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:16.740
by James Clear. He says that sometimes going
00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:20.319
to the gym is too much of an effort. So he suggests
00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:23.700
picking a much smaller anchoring habit to see
00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:25.799
if you can get started with whatever you want
00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:28.460
to do. His example that he gives is putting on
00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:31.339
the shoes to go to the gym. And in this exercise,
00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:33.700
sometimes he doesn't even go to the gym early
00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:36.089
on. He says he puts on the shoes and then that's
00:24:36.089 --> 00:24:38.009
it. And then he'll put on the shoes the next
00:24:38.009 --> 00:24:40.049
time and walk out the door. And then he'll put
00:24:40.049 --> 00:24:41.869
on the shoes, walk out the door, get in the car.
00:24:41.950 --> 00:24:43.789
You get where this is going. And eventually it
00:24:43.789 --> 00:24:45.970
builds a habit where you get the momentum going
00:24:45.970 --> 00:24:48.490
with the smallest action. And next thing you
00:24:48.490 --> 00:24:50.710
know, you're doing the thing. So let's do the
00:24:50.710 --> 00:24:53.410
thing. Just start. Start today. What's the one
00:24:53.410 --> 00:24:56.549
thing that you know you should be doing that
00:24:56.549 --> 00:24:58.910
you're not currently doing? Think about that.
00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:01.279
Let me know. I'd love to hear from you in the
00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:03.740
comments and see what an impact you can have
00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:06.279
in the world. Thanks for listening to the Optimizing
00:25:06.279 --> 00:25:08.839
Beyond podcast. Growth happens when you take
00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:11.299
action. So subscribe, share this with a friend,
00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:13.539
and most importantly, put what you learned into
00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:16.279
practice. Until next time, remember, keep moving
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forward because daily anything changes everything.