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Welcome to The Adaptive Mindset. I'm Bret Gallant, cybersecurity thought leader and founder of Adaptive Office Solutions. Here, we don't just talk tech. We unlock the strategies, stories, and mindset shifts you need to stay secure, lead boldly, and thrive in a digital world. Let's get started.
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The system breaks when you stop following the system.
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I was reminded of this recently during a conversation at the gas station. The cashier, who I see quite often, was observant. He noticed something whenever I would come in to purchase gas for my vehicle. I would immediately take a picture of the receipt and email it. to my bookkeeper. I would do it right away. And the man looked at me, he said that he probably lost thousands of dollars over the years in expenses for his own small business, his own small business that he was— that he's been running for some time.
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And he, he was asking what app for Brett, what app do you use?
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He was looking for a better accounting platform, a more sophisticated filing system.
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And the truth was he just needed to develop a system, something simple, because my system I developed is nothing fancy. It's no fancy app.
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It's no fancy accounting system. It's just a matter of— Taking a picture, having a separate email dedicated just for accounting, for payments that my bookkeeper could access, can access, and it's there.
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Sometimes we blame a system or an app or the lack of an app for, for something that we haven't figured out. on our own, the simplicity of just taking small action and the discipline of doing those small actions. I've seen this for myself countless times because over the years while I've been following this system, there have been times I slipped, times that I would drift on what I knew I needed to do. And then I'd be lost trying to find That receipt.
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So focal point of today, I want to talk about systems and discipline today and keeping things simple.
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So welcome, welcome to the Adaptive Mindset.
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So I I know for years I was trying, I've been developing systems, ways to simplify my life, making sure that people around me got the information that they needed to support me.
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Like this particular story with getting receipts, I looked for a better app and there's been better apps, but sometimes it's just a matter of just keeping things Simple. So I speak to a lot of founders, a lot of business leaders, and we're all, a lot of us, we're searching for a better system. And the truth is sometimes we haven't given the current one we're using an honest chance. We haven't really stuck with it and figured it out, developed our own system around that app or the The accounting system, the application, or whatever we set our mind to do. And we go out, we buy another app, and I'll relate this to even to fitness. We start another diet, we download another template, we listen to another podcast, hire another coach, reorganize everything, make new plans. But the system eventually meets the same version of us where we're not sticking with it. We're not sticking to what we committed to doing, to saying what we were going to do.
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So the truth is, unless something changes internally, we begin negotiating with the system and the system falls apart. So I can say honestly, I do this too. I still catch myself doing it. This is not a lesson I've mastered. It's something I continue to recognize in my own life.
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See, for me, looking at my own business, I know some of the places where I hide, right? Sometimes I develop a new system where I don't stick with the simple. Simple system.
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I know what grows my business, Adaptive Office Solutions.
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It's simply this, and it's— this is true for any business. It's daily sales activity, meaningful conversations, consistent outreach, 5 opens a day with reaching out and connecting with people, protecting time. On your calendar, my calendar, this is for me personally, to build relationships and create opportunities to bring value to other people.
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But where I drift, sometimes a client issue appears, someone on the team needs an answer, an operational problem feels urgent. It feels productive to jump in because I know how to solve it. At least I tell myself that. And then I get that dopamine hit of immediately being useful. I'll be honest, I've gotten much better at this, but I know this is where I drift, where I go back and the system breaks.
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So for sales, it's different. The result may not appear every day.
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You know, making those conversations, the conversation may not lead anywhere immediately. Might hear a no, but you must trust the process. I know for me, I need to keep making those phone calls and those connections.
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So sometimes for me, it's easier for me to return to being the technician than to becoming the CEO that the company requires. Operations can make me feel productive right away. But sales requires discipline, a system, patience, faith that consistent activity will eventually produce a result.
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So the most urgent task is not always the most important task.
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Sometimes the system, it's not broken. Calendar isn't broken. The sales process isn't broken. It's simply that I've allowed myself to go back to where I'm comfortable to replace what I committed to doing.
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So for those of you listening, ask yourself where you may have felt comfortable, where you may have
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gone back to where you're more comfortable instead of doing what you committed to doing.
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So, you know, in other examples for myself, my health, I, you know, many of you have listened to me know that I've That I've experienced a considerable health transformation, releasing over 130 pounds.
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At one point, I released 150 pounds.
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I know what works for me. Movement, getting to the gym, walking, meal prepping, following my meal plan. Drinking water, sleeping properly, following a routine, putting myself first, putting the oxygen mask on.
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The challenges in all of this, it's usually not knowledge.
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It's the negotiation. Today was difficult. I'll start again Monday. One day will not matter that much.
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I'll have extra peanut butter. I'll skip the gym. I won't go for that hour walk. I can make it up tomorrow.
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So one day, really, when we slip for one day, it may not destroy the result, but if you consistently negotiate yourself and do 6 or 7 days in a month, That can destroy your result. And repeated negotiations challenge— challenges the goals where you want to go. So, see, the exception really isn't the problem. It's the identity we built through repeated exceptions is the problem. Breaking the system. So, I didn't transform my health because I discovered one magical answer. I changed because I began to do simple things repeatedly, the hikes, the walks, the nutrition, the meal plans.
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And whenever I drift, the answer is usually not another complex strategy. The answer is returning to what I already know works. I'm in the middle of that now, right now. I drifted a little bit.
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You know, I've— I'm almost 60 days since losing my mom. I was carrying a lot, and I, I did find an extra 30 pounds on over the last— oh, I would say the last 3 or 4 months.
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And I put off— not so much put off, but I, I put off Following the basics, the systems that I did, I would allow myself to drift. I negotiate a little bit. Oh, what's a large coffee with 2 milk and 1 sugar or an ice cream here and there going to do? Or extra peanut butter? Well, it adds up over time.
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But right now I'm in the middle of a cleanse and I'm trending back to hitting my goal, and I expect by October, end of October, I'll be back to being at having released 150 pounds total.
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That's pure honesty. That's pure acceptance of knowing that I know where the system broke.
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So, when you think about this with your team, You have to look at this discipline, this honesty with identity. You can't ask your team to trust a system that a leader continuously bypasses. So for me, every time I've stepped into operations and tickets and all that, I'm not doing my team a favor. My job is to do the necessary reps of doing the sales, doing the CEO role, staying in that lane.
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So sometimes I've really had a hard time to recognize that Adaptive didn't need me to step in there. I have the team. It needed me to stay where I do best, where I lead. I make the connections, I make the relationships, following the process for sales. Allowing someone else on my team to own the result. And I mentioned this a lot, which I've learned from scouting, train them, trust them, let them lead. Letting my team do what's necessary to deliver exceptional service, figuring it out. They know it. I know they know it. And also the biggest thing for me, which I've learned over the last few years, is accepting that another person May accomplish the result of helping someone completely differently than I would.
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And truth is, a lot of times better.
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So why do we negotiate? Why do intelligent, capable people abandon systems that they know to be helpful?
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I believe there's several reasons. And number one, Oftentimes the result is delayed. We prefer actions that prefer immediate results. Sometimes answering an email feels productive, but let's be honest, is email the best use of our time? Solving a ticket might— my world feels productive. Eating something gives immediate comfort. I can relate to that. And skipping a difficult conversation unnecessary conversation gives us immediate relief, and avoid— avoiding sales calls protects us from rejection.
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But the most important work often produces delayed results in our health or relationships, leadership, sales, financial discipline, and personal growth. So we often trade the future we want for the relief we can feel right now. And then reason 2, the exception sounds reasonable. We rarely get out and go on the internet or say to our loved ones that I am abandoning this commitment forever. Instead, we say to ourselves, just for today.
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This week is unusual. I will catch up later.
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This situation is different. I need to be flexible. The excuse is often believable, but that's what makes it dangerous.
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It contains enough truth to receive our permission to drift. So the most important commitments do not begin with rebellion. They begin with a reasonable Sounding exception.
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And reason 3, the systems remove emotional freedom. A system tells us what to do before our emotions go to vote.
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This is exactly why systems work. The workout is scheduled before we know how motivated we feel. Sometimes we gotta just put the damn shoes on and go, but following what we put in our calendar.
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The sales block is protected. It's in our calendar. Before the day becomes busy. Non-negotiable
time. The receipt is submitted before it can disappear.
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Take the picture like I do at the gas station and email it right away. The difficult conversation is placed on the calendar, calendar before avoidance takes over. We all know those conversations we need to have with our clients, with our team. With their loved ones.
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We know we all have to have those conversations. They're necessary.
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So a good system protects us from the version of ourselves that will not feel like it doing it later.
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Sometimes we just need to peel off the Band-Aid and do it.
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And that's what these systems are for, that daily Courtroom argument, negotiating with yourself, saying, no, I'll do it later. So adapting versus avoiding. So this creates an important question. How do we know when it's genuinely time to change the system and when we are simply avoiding discomfort? See, Genuine adaptation may be needed when the system repeatedly fails despite us consistently doing it, the consistent execution.
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Circumstances have materially changed, they've changed. New information shows that the plan that you made is no longer effective, and the cost outweighs the benefits. Sometimes we're doing things You know, I, you know, we do things when it doesn't make sense.
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We try to fix it, you know, install a new piece of software when, when simply, you know, we try to fix, for example, a scanner. When I've seen this before, trying to fix the scanner for outdated software, spend 3 or 4 hours finding out that The client only scans 3 sheets a day when it could be done manually and effectively and done faster.
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Another approach has been tested and known to work better. You know, sometimes we try to make something work that we— when we know something else is better, like that example I just made for that scanning.
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System, and negotiating or avoidance may be happening when you know you abandon the plan before you even give it enough time. You know, there's sometimes when I know I haven't done enough sales calls, or or you haven't stuck with the diet. You haven't stuck with going for the walks, the the the walks for even twenty minutes a day, or eating or cutting something out. You only question it.
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When the work becomes uncomfortable. Listen, folks, when you do things uncomfortable, everything gets easier. But there's that moment when you do something that's uncomfortable and it sucks, but you gotta do it. It's like getting on the roller coaster for the first time. And you keep replacing systems, but you keep repeating the same behavior when ultimately the behavior needs to change. You're looking for an approach that requires no sacrifice.
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You know what to do, but you're waiting to feel motivated. Listen, no one's coming. No one's coming. You don't need to be motivated. You just need to go and do. And you keep promising to restart on a future date.
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I've talked to some people that say, hey, I'm going to start next week after I have this done, this done. And here's the real honest truth. Why can't you start today? Why couldn't you go to the gym?
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Or why couldn't you pick up the phone and make the phone call or change something in your business? So adaptation changes the method while protecting the objective. So when we avoid, we're changing the, the, the objective so we can escape the method.
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Where are we hiding? So another,
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an adaptive mindset is not permission to constantly move the finish line. It's not.
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So here's a 3-move reset for you.
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When I recognize that I'm negotiating with myself, I find it helpful to return to 3 simple moves.
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Notice, simplify, and obey.
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So move 1, notice. Where am I repeatedly experiencing the same problem? For example, receipts are continuously being lost. Sales activity keeps being pushed aside. Workouts disappear when the week becomes busy. The same communication breaks— breakdown keeps happening. A task Repeatedly fails between 2 people, and you continue avoiding the same difficult conversation.
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So recurring frustration is often evidence that a system is missing or that an existing system is not being followed.
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So ask yourself, what problem in my life am I tired of solving repeatedly? That's where you notice it. And you decide to make a change. And then move number 2, simplify. What is the smallest action that would prevent this problem? Example, keeping it simple, taking the photograph immediately and emailing it.
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Send it, send it before you leave the store. Sales, complete 5 phone calls before allowing operations to consume the day or getting drifted into something else. Close the door. Execute, make it happen. In your health, hey, simplify. Meal prep tomorrow's food in the evening or meal prep for 3 days in a row. Making simple emails at work, putting your gym clothes out before bed, perhaps even putting the sneakers for the gym in the car so they're right there.
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You can't negotiate that you forgot your sneakers. Been there.
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Go for a walk at the same time each and every morning. I go for a walk when school year is in. I go for a walk for at least 20 minutes.
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That's my first walk in the day. That's my time where I keep it simple. I get centered, get a little bit of blood flowing, and I get some positive energy. And it helps so much in the day. Leadership. Direct requests
through the proper channel. People are continually coming to you and you've told people or you haven't told people the right channel to go to. It's on you to tell them to go through the right channel. Allow the responsible person to own the decision.
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Let your team own it. Stop becoming the automatic solution. So the best system is really, folks, it's not the most impressive one. It's the one you actually follow that's simple. And move number 3, obey.
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This word might sound strong, but sometimes that is exactly what is required.
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Follow the system before debating with yourself. Do the next action.
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Do not redesign it during the moment of discomfort. Do not wait for motivation. Do not turn one decision into a lengthy internal negotiation. See, self-trust is built when your actions begin matching the promises you keep to yourself. So every time we keep a small commitment, we provide evidence that our word matters. For example, me getting to the gym, me following this meal plan that I'm on right now, this cleanse that I'm on matters. I'm obeying it. I'm 13 days in this amazing cleanse that I have with my coach. And I am 13 pounds released. Every time we repeatedly abandon a commitment, we weaken trust in ourselves. And the deepest value of consistency may not be a result itself. It may be becoming someone who believes themselves when they say, I'm going to do this. So here's the challenge to all of you listening today. I want you— I want to leave you with a challenge. Choose one area, one area of your life where you already know what works. Not an area where you need more information, not something that requires another course, another app, another coach or strategy. You know what to do.
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Choose something you already understand. It might be your health, might be your finances, your marriage, your parenting, your leadership, your sales activity, your morning routine, your spiritual life, a difficult conversation
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is the system actually broken, or have I stopped following it?
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Have I quit too soon? So for the next 7 days, I encourage you to choose one simple behavior, decide exactly when it will happen.
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Do not improve the system. Do not replace it. Do not research alternatives and don't wait for motivation.
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Follow it. Hey, if you've been thinking about going to the gym or getting out for a walk, Maybe this is your time. Maybe this is your time to make that 7-day commitment. For 7 days, stop negotiating with what you know already works and just go. Just do it.
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So I want to thank you for spending this time with me today.
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I've started this podcast to make a difference, to challenge myself.
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And I hope that these words have connected with you, that perhaps today that you're going to make that commitment, find that system, stop negotiating with yourself, and go all in.
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I appreciate you all, and I hope you have an incredible week. Have an incredible day. And if this episode has helped you, or if you know it can help someone, please share it and let me know if it, if it has impacted you.
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Take care. Thanks for tuning into The Adaptive Mindset. If you found value in today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, And share it with someone who's ready to thrive in the digital age. Stay secure, stay adaptable, and I'll see you next time.