0
SPEAKER_00
We don t like to accept the things that we know are inside of us at times.
0
SPEAKER_00
And when we have been procrastinating on something, we ve been resisting making a change.
0
SPEAKER_00
We ve been resisting shifting our habits.
0
SPEAKER_00
We ve been resisting overcoming something that helps us feel safe, feel comfortable, and feel good.
0
SPEAKER_00
Welcome to the School of Greatness.
0
SPEAKER_00
My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur.
0
SPEAKER_00
And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness.
0
SPEAKER_00
Thanks for spending some time with me today.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now let the class begin.
0
SPEAKER_00
Welcome back to another inspiring episode.
0
SPEAKER_00
This is all about the six habits to help you overcome procrastination and maximize your year and really your life.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s that time of year right now where there s this collective energy of people who want to make a change.
0
SPEAKER_00
You know, people get so ramped up and so excited.
0
SPEAKER_00
Everyone s a little more open to looking at their life and seeing how it is that they can improve it.
0
SPEAKER_00
a fresh start, a new day, a new opportunity, a new opportunity to become something greater and overcome something that s been holding you back.
0
SPEAKER_00
And the last few months have been about reflection, about thinking about the past, about thinking about what s been working, what s not working, relationships, career, business, all these different things.
0
SPEAKER_00
And if you re really in alignment with who you want to be,
0
SPEAKER_00
That s what it s been about.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I m a big fan of reflection because how can you move forward if you don t take the steps to look back?
0
SPEAKER_00
It s an important aspect in the process of becoming greater, becoming the highest version of ourselves.
0
SPEAKER_00
But at a certain point, reflection becomes a comfort, and it also becomes a massive excuse.
0
SPEAKER_00
I ve been there many times before.
0
SPEAKER_00
This excuse can lead to the enemy of self-improvement.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that enemy is called, dun, dun, dun, procrastination.
0
SPEAKER_00
Oh man, don t we all love and hate that word at the same time, procrastination.
0
SPEAKER_00
One, we love to feel comfortable.
0
SPEAKER_00
We love to think about things and not actually do the hard work to put ourselves out there, to risk feeling shamed or embarrassed or not looking good enough.
0
SPEAKER_00
Ooh, we love comfort.
0
SPEAKER_00
And we hate that word because we don t like to accept the things that we know are inside of us at times.
0
SPEAKER_00
And when we have been procrastinating on something, when we ve been talking about the thing we want to work on for years and not doing it, we don t enjoy that word because we know something in us has been resisting something.
0
SPEAKER_00
We ve been resisting
0
SPEAKER_00
Making a change, we ve been resisting.
0
SPEAKER_00
Shifting our habits, we ve been resisting.
0
SPEAKER_00
Overcoming something that helps us feel safe, feel comfortable, and feel good.
0
SPEAKER_00
But at the same time, that comfortability doesn t make us feel good in the long run.
0
SPEAKER_00
We end up resenting ourselves.
0
SPEAKER_00
We end up getting frustrated.
0
SPEAKER_00
And one of the reasons why procrastination, I think, shows up for people and it frustrates them is because they know they have a purpose and they re allowing their procrastination to hold them back.
0
SPEAKER_00
And there s two sides of the coin, this procrastination and purpose.
0
SPEAKER_00
And they ve been talking about their purpose, thinking about their purpose, dreaming about their purpose, yet they have been procrastinating on it for a number of different reasons.
0
SPEAKER_00
And some of us are more familiar with this enemy than others.
0
SPEAKER_00
And this had me thinking, how can we keep the momentum
0
SPEAKER_00
of a new year going, and how can we learn to overcome procrastination?
0
SPEAKER_00
What are the habits that will actually help us become the better version of ourselves this year?
0
SPEAKER_00
We ve had so many guests on the show who have shared their expertise, their tips, their tricks, their tools, and their science for positive habit building.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I want to talk about six habits today that will hopefully strike at the core of overcoming procrastination for yourself to really making 2024 the best year for you.
0
SPEAKER_00
And if you have the decision to make this a great year for you,
0
SPEAKER_00
Now s your chance.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now s your opportunity.
0
SPEAKER_00
You don t need to master all six of these.
0
SPEAKER_00
Although if you start applying all six of these and improving upon them, I guarantee you will start to see changes not only now that benefit you,
0
SPEAKER_00
But your future self will really be thanking you and saying, you know what, the year of 2024 was the year that you decided to step up in different ways.
0
SPEAKER_00
You weren t perfect everywhere.
0
SPEAKER_00
You fell back at times, but that s OK because you kept moving forward on these six habits.
0
SPEAKER_00
And let me tell you right now.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m going to tell you right now that the last four years, we re coming up on four years since there was shutdown happened, since COVID, since the world started to change.
0
SPEAKER_00
It s almost a four year anniversary of that.
0
SPEAKER_00
Can you believe how fast that four years has gone?
0
SPEAKER_00
Yes, it felt like a long time during it, but looking back now, boom, it s over those four years.
0
SPEAKER_00
That s like your whole college experience in the last four years done.
0
SPEAKER_00
And you have to reflect and think about how did you show up when things got tough, when there was adversity, when there was stress, when there was challenge, when there was overwhelm and uncertainty and fear and chaos and all the different tragedies that happened over the last four years, how did you show up?
0
SPEAKER_00
And the Navy SEALs talk about this.
0
SPEAKER_00
You don t,
0
SPEAKER_00
You don t rise to the level of your kind of hopes and dreams and your visions.
0
SPEAKER_00
You fall to the level of the standards, the things that you set for yourself consistently.
0
SPEAKER_00
You re never gonna rise to these best expectations.
0
SPEAKER_00
Well, when adversity strikes, I m gonna be, make sure I do all these habits.
0
SPEAKER_00
No, if you re not doing these habits consistently on the regular, on the normal, when things hit the fan, you re gonna fall back into old ways of being, old comfort zones.
0
SPEAKER_00
And that s why I want to talk about these six things today.
0
SPEAKER_00
And before I jump into the first one, I want to prepare you.
0
SPEAKER_00
I want to ground you.
0
SPEAKER_00
Because this is a year that hopefully goes amazing for you.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I hope a lot of great things happen in the world.
0
SPEAKER_00
I hope there s peace.
0
SPEAKER_00
I hope there s community.
0
SPEAKER_00
I hope there s a lot of health.
0
SPEAKER_00
I hope people collaborate and support one another.
0
SPEAKER_00
And there s not a lot of pain and suffering and war and chaos and friction.
0
SPEAKER_00
However, this is an election year.
0
SPEAKER_00
We re in the middle of wars happening still.
0
SPEAKER_00
And for whatever reason, we don t know where the economy is going to be at this year also.
0
SPEAKER_00
There s a lot of uncertainties, and I want you to be prepared.
0
SPEAKER_00
It could be this year, later in the year, could be a few years.
0
SPEAKER_00
There is going to be a time where life happens again in the world, where emotions get high, where tensions are high with family members, where careers are uncertain, economies uncertain, politics are uncertain.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I want you to be prepared.
0
SPEAKER_00
I want you to be set up so that when
0
SPEAKER_00
There is chaos around you.
0
SPEAKER_00
You have the habits within you that you ve been consistent with.
0
SPEAKER_00
So you can have that standard still set high when everything around you feels like it s crumbling.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I remember when 2024 hit, I remember saying, I m ready.
0
SPEAKER_00
I m ready because I ve been preparing for this since 2008.
0
SPEAKER_00
Since I went through my injury, lost my dream of playing professional football, had to have a surgery, was on my sister s couch for a year and a half making no money, I remember saying to myself,
0
SPEAKER_00
If this ever happens again in the world, where there s some economic crisis, something happening, I will be ready.
0
SPEAKER_00
I will be prepared.
0
SPEAKER_00
That doesn t mean I m going to be perfect.
0
SPEAKER_00
That doesn t mean I m not going to make mistakes, but I will be ready because I started to build habits to prepare me for 2020.
0
SPEAKER_00
And I want these six habits to prepare you for 2024 and beyond.
0
SPEAKER_00
wherever you re at in your life right now, you have an opportunity to set yourself up for success.
0
SPEAKER_00
And the number one thing that I want to talk about this number one habit is to use the 1% rule.
0
SPEAKER_00
That is habit number one, use the 1% rule.
0
SPEAKER_00
Feel free to write this down, put it in your phone notes, whatever it might be, but use the 1% rule.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now, as you set off to create goals, try to accomplish goals, be in the process of pursuing them,
0
SPEAKER_00
One of the biggest battles that you will face against is procrastination.
0
SPEAKER_00
Now, perfectionism can equal procrastination.
0
SPEAKER_00
So don t use perfectionism as an excuse.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I ve been coaching people in their online businesses, in their lives, in their relationships, off and on for the last 15 years in some capacity.
1
SPEAKER_00
And so many people put off launching their idea, their book, their show, their course, their program, their event, their whatever it might be.
1
SPEAKER_00
They put it off for years because of the excuse of perfectionism.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that perfectionism equals procrastination, where they just keep putting it off because they want it to be perfect before they let it out into the world, before people can see it.
1
SPEAKER_00
And Brene Brown, when I had her on the show, she s talked about this, and she says, quote, perfectionism is something we don t understand very well.
1
SPEAKER_00
We think it s being our best selves.
1
SPEAKER_00
Perfectionism is actually a defense mechanism that says to us, hey, if you look perfect, do perfect, and accomplish perfect, you can avoid or minimize shame and judgment and blame.
1
SPEAKER_00
So, perfectionism is not about striving for excellence or being our best selves.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s how we use self-protection.
1
SPEAKER_00
Ooh, man, how many of us have tried to protect ourselves from judgment and shame and criticism and what people are going to think and say about us?
1
SPEAKER_00
How many of us, I have been to blame, I raised my hand in so many different areas of my life, been afraid of what people are going to think and say about me.
1
SPEAKER_00
But I ve always said good and done is better than perfect and never done.
1
SPEAKER_00
Because so many of us try to be perfect and we never get anything done.
1
SPEAKER_00
So good and done is better than perfect and never done.
1
SPEAKER_00
So what this is saying is that to be productive, we have to be willing to put ourselves out there, risk
1
SPEAKER_00
be vulnerable enough to put ourselves out there to take the pen off the paper and stop planning and start doing.
1
SPEAKER_00
So many times we just plan and dream and talk about the things we re going to do as opposed to just taking the actions on them.
1
SPEAKER_00
This is 11 years of the School of Greatness podcast.
1
SPEAKER_00
This month, it is our 11-year anniversary.
1
SPEAKER_00
If I waited until I felt like it was perfect, this podcast would not be here.
1
SPEAKER_00
I was so sloppy in the first few months.
1
SPEAKER_00
I just used my iPhone.
1
SPEAKER_00
I just recorded it.
1
SPEAKER_00
I put it on the table.
1
SPEAKER_00
I had bad audio.
1
SPEAKER_00
I had no video.
1
SPEAKER_00
I had
1
SPEAKER_00
very little quality, but I had passion and excitement and I was creating and I was putting it out there.
1
SPEAKER_00
And all I thought about was really the 1% rule.
1
SPEAKER_00
How can I make it 1% better every episode?
1
SPEAKER_00
What can I do?
1
SPEAKER_00
How can I become a better researcher, interviewer?
1
SPEAKER_00
How can I get better quality audio, video, all these different things?
1
SPEAKER_00
What is the 1% thing that I can do to get a little bit better every time?
1
SPEAKER_00
And that helped me
1
SPEAKER_00
overcome my fears because I knew I was progressing every week as opposed to waiting until I was perfect.
1
SPEAKER_00
And if you can focus on the process of progress, I m telling you, it will support you in overcoming procrastination and the need to being perfect.
1
SPEAKER_00
Focus on the process and progress every single week.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I like how productivity expert Thomas Frank
1
SPEAKER_00
said on this show, he said, quote, My favorite thing about overcoming perfectionism is the 1% rule.
1
SPEAKER_00
Basically, the 1% involves setting a schedule to create, learn, grow, or move.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then each time you act determined to get just 1% better, just like I talked about with this podcast.
1
SPEAKER_00
He said the 1% rule acknowledges that you won t be perfect out the gate, but you get 1% better.
1
SPEAKER_00
So many of us get intimidated by greatness, but we forget that greatness is not always loud.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s not shiny saying, look at me.
1
SPEAKER_00
Greatness is what you do when no one else is looking.
1
SPEAKER_00
The tiny details in your life
1
SPEAKER_00
that no one will notice but you greatness is built in the one percent man isn t that true you think about these great athletes or great artists or musicians or writers and you hear their backstory if you read their biographies or watch a documentary on them you hear them talk about man i spent so many nights
1
SPEAKER_00
practicing by myself when no one is watching.
1
SPEAKER_00
I spent so many hours in pain physically from the workouts.
1
SPEAKER_00
You know, a guitarist saying my my fingers were cramping and bleeding because I was just plucking the strings so often.
1
SPEAKER_00
You think about these moments that are not glorious.
1
SPEAKER_00
Greatness is not always glory every moment.
1
SPEAKER_00
It is the 1% thing that you try to do every day just to get a little bit better.
1
SPEAKER_00
Now, here s how that might look for your life personally.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you are trying to exercise right now and get in better shape, just strive for 1% better form during a pushup or a pull-up or some type of activity that you re doing.
1
SPEAKER_00
1% better form during your jog, your run.
1
SPEAKER_00
Don t try to be like, I m gonna break a five minute mile right now on the first day.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s like, give your best.
1
SPEAKER_00
And then how can you be 1% better the next day.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you re a musician, aim for 1% better control of the note of the tone.
1
SPEAKER_00
And just saying how can I do 1% better not how can I be perfect right now.
1
SPEAKER_00
That s just not going to work out, you re going to fail.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you re going to be frustrated when you fail, because you re going to feel like I m never going to be a perfect.
1
SPEAKER_00
Just aim for 1% better control of the note.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you re in business, how can you write a 1% better customer service email or 1% better social media posts?
1
SPEAKER_00
Like whatever it might be, how can you be 1% better in writing draft a 1% stronger sentence in a paragraph, just a sentence.
1
SPEAKER_00
Not a whole chapter, not a whole book, just a sentence.
1
SPEAKER_00
In your relationships, how can you get 1% better at making eye contact in conversation?
1
SPEAKER_00
Again, don t be perfect and stare at someone all day long in their eyes.
1
SPEAKER_00
But during that conversation, can I be 1% more present?
1
SPEAKER_00
This is a really simple way to give yourself some grace while continuing to move the needle toward getting better.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I talk more about this concept in the book, The Greatness Mindset that came out last year.
1
SPEAKER_00
If you don t have your copy yet, make sure to get your copy of The Greatness Mindset.
1
SPEAKER_00
This is number one, use the 1% rule.
1
SPEAKER_00
Number two is to ask for help.
1
SPEAKER_00
Who, who, how many of us struggle
1
SPEAKER_00
resist, just do not want to ask for help from anyone.
1
SPEAKER_00
I have been known to over give, give, give, give, give, and never ask, and just try to do everything on my own.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that got me certain results, but it left me feeling burned out at times, exhausted at times,
1
SPEAKER_00
resentful at times because I ve never asked for help.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I would just think that, oh, because I m always giving to someone, they would think like me and they just want to give in return.
1
SPEAKER_00
But not everyone thinks like you.
1
SPEAKER_00
Not everyone s going to always just automatically give to you and say, hey, what do you need right now?
1
SPEAKER_00
That s something I like to do with a lot of people and say, hey, what s your biggest challenge and how can I support you?
1
SPEAKER_00
But not everyone is going to think and act the same way you do.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that s OK.
1
SPEAKER_00
But you ve got to be willing to ask for help.
1
SPEAKER_00
Many of us feel like we have to do everything on our own.
1
SPEAKER_00
And if that s you, if you re guilty of that, just go ahead and nod right now and just smile and say, OK, yeah, that s me.
1
SPEAKER_00
I try to do everything on my own.
1
SPEAKER_00
And in result, this leaves us with overwhelm,
1
SPEAKER_00
And that overwhelmed leads to procrastination or some type of burnout, frustration.
1
SPEAKER_00
And it s never really good to create from a space of burnout, frustration, and things like that.
1
SPEAKER_00
Getting in the habit of asking for help will save you so much precious time and energy.
1
SPEAKER_00
And they are our biggest resource after all.
1
SPEAKER_00
We ve got people in our lives.
1
SPEAKER_00
We ve got friends.
1
SPEAKER_00
We ve got colleagues.
1
SPEAKER_00
We ve got family members.
1
SPEAKER_00
We ve got acquaintances.
1
SPEAKER_00
We ve got connections on social media.
1
SPEAKER_00
Reach out and ask for help.
1
SPEAKER_00
Now, just because you ask for help, it doesn t mean people have to help you.
1
SPEAKER_00
They might be going through something.
1
SPEAKER_00
They may not be able to help you in this moment.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that s okay, too.
1
SPEAKER_00
So you can t let the risk of asking for help and being shot down, hold you back from asking for help.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I m sure some of you have done that before, you ve asked for help, and people didn t help you, or they abandoned you, or they said they would, and they didn t follow up.
1
SPEAKER_00
And you said, ah, screw this, I m going to do it on my own.
1
SPEAKER_00
And that s going to happen.
1
SPEAKER_00
But it doesn t mean you should stop asking for support.
1
SPEAKER_00
It doesn t make you weak, asking for help.
1
SPEAKER_00
It makes you wise.
1
SPEAKER_00
Another thing that you
2
SPEAKER_00
can do is asking for help builds your leadership muscle as well.
2
SPEAKER_00
Instead of learning to take on everything yourself and be this unrealistic hero of mastering everything in your life, you learn the delicate tasks that will help 10X your productivity as a leader in your own personal life, in your home, in your business, in your school, on a sports team,
2
SPEAKER_00
any area of your life.
2
SPEAKER_00
Again, you doing all the work at home, and if you ve got kids and never empowering them to take responsibility is not you being a hero.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s actually you empowering bad habits in your kids or your family members.
2
SPEAKER_00
And you just saying, I m going to do it all.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m going to take it all on, take all the responsibility.
2
SPEAKER_00
That doesn t empower you.
2
SPEAKER_00
Asking for help from your family, from your friends to support you is key.
2
SPEAKER_00
Now, again,
2
SPEAKER_00
Doesn t mean you have to get mad at people if they don t help you.
2
SPEAKER_00
They may not be able to, and accept that within them as well.
2
SPEAKER_00
But another habit, number two, is to ask for help and support.
2
SPEAKER_00
And some of these things might be investing in support.
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, I ve got a great, you know, my best friend goes to the gym with me and he holds me accountable, I hold him accountable, working out.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I also invest in coaching,
2
SPEAKER_00
to give meal plan and workout plans and things like that to save myself time.
2
SPEAKER_00
I invest in different people to coach me, a therapist, coaching, business coaches, things like that.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ask for help from mentors that are willing to give me time and energy and support for free because they care about me.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I also invest in help.
2
SPEAKER_00
I invest in support.
2
SPEAKER_00
And that supports me in knowing that I m going to have someone that I can rely on because I m spending money on it and investing in it.
2
SPEAKER_00
And you also don t want to just ask everyone to do everything for you for free all the time.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s not the best way to do it.
2
SPEAKER_00
People will start to feel taken advantage of after a while.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I think you can have both in your life, ask for support and help, but also invest in it to support you in saving time.
2
SPEAKER_00
Number three habit that I want you to take on this year.
2
SPEAKER_00
Oh, this is a big one for me.
2
SPEAKER_00
This has been something that I ve been doing over the last few months as I started to reflect on what I needed more in my life.
2
SPEAKER_00
And this is the habit of saying no.
2
SPEAKER_00
Now, that might be counterintuitive to what you d think I would say here on the School of Greatness, but I m saying yes to life and saying yes to every opportunity.
2
SPEAKER_00
And there is a season and a place
2
SPEAKER_00
for that.
2
SPEAKER_00
You might be in the season of needing to say yes to lots of different things.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I did that for, I don t know, 15 years.
2
SPEAKER_00
I said yes to every event, every interview, every speaking gig I could do, all these cool opportunities that came my way, etc.
2
SPEAKER_00
I said yes.
2
SPEAKER_00
And in a lot of ways, that has served and helped me get to where I m at.
2
SPEAKER_00
But as I reflect back, there s also many things that just took unnecessary time and energy away from more of the core main thing that I m focusing on.
2
SPEAKER_00
And in the book, The Greenest Mindset, we talk about developing your meaningful mission.
2
SPEAKER_00
When you create and get clear on what your meaningful mission is for this season of life, not forever, but for this season of your life, it will serve you to say no to the things that aren t fully in alignment to helping you maximize your meaningful mission right now.
2
SPEAKER_00
I recently had Ali Abdaal on the show, and he is a master at providing tools for people to overcome procrastination and become more productive in their lives.
2
SPEAKER_00
And one of my favorite tools he has shared is actually a word, and this concept of saying no.
2
SPEAKER_00
This isn t anything revolutionary, but it gets harder and harder to do now because of opportunities, because of growth, because of success, all these different things.
2
SPEAKER_00
It gets harder and harder.
2
SPEAKER_00
There is an immense pressure to say yes to everything.
2
SPEAKER_00
the possibilities that can come out of saying yes to go to that dinner, to take that meeting, to take on a new project.
2
SPEAKER_00
These all could lead to great opportunities.
2
SPEAKER_00
But on the other hand, saying no to going to that dinner and staying up all night and lose your routines the next morning, you may not feel great.
2
SPEAKER_00
You may not feel focused.
2
SPEAKER_00
You may get off track that way.
2
SPEAKER_00
So saying no conserves your energy to focus on what needs to get done.
2
SPEAKER_00
We can say yes to all these cool things.
2
SPEAKER_00
And that s another form of procrastination.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s another form of not doing what you said you were going to do for yourself, for your own goals and your own mission by saying yes to everyone else s.
2
SPEAKER_00
Again, saying no is also setting boundaries to protect your peace and focus.
2
SPEAKER_00
Procrastination is the result of a disturbance in peace and focus.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m going to say that one more time.
2
SPEAKER_00
Procrastination is the result of a disturbance in peace and in focus.
2
SPEAKER_00
So I want you to start saying yes to the things that align to your meaningful mission, to the habits that support you, and start saying no to the shiny objects
2
SPEAKER_00
that allow you to spend time and energy away from the things that you re supposed to be doing.
2
SPEAKER_00
The meaningful mission, the goals that you have set out.
2
SPEAKER_00
The things that are hard work to do.
2
SPEAKER_00
The shiny objects are fun, they re easy, they re exciting.
2
SPEAKER_00
Ah, what can I create from this?
2
SPEAKER_00
But it s just another way to procrastinate and pull you out of what you are meant to do today.
2
SPEAKER_00
Again, go back to that 1%.
2
SPEAKER_00
How can I be 1% better at saying no?
2
SPEAKER_00
And this is hard.
2
SPEAKER_00
I mean, I ve got so many different relationships in my life, so many different people that I ve met over the years, different connections, different colleagues, different friends, different people that I would like to get to know better, people that I ve interviewed on this show that have become closer in my life.
2
SPEAKER_00
And there s so many different people gathering and evening events and all these cool activities.
2
SPEAKER_00
I live in Los Angeles.
2
SPEAKER_00
There s an activity
2
SPEAKER_00
You turn around the corner and there s some cool event happening, right?
2
SPEAKER_00
There s always an opportunity to do something.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I ve got to ask myself, am I going to overeat?
2
SPEAKER_00
Am I going to stay up late?
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, and if I do this one, two, three, four nights a week, where, what is my life going to look like?
2
SPEAKER_00
You know, am I going to be creating the things I want to create?
2
SPEAKER_00
And you ve just got to ask yourself, what season of life are you in?
2
SPEAKER_00
Are you in a season of life where you should be saying yes to everything?
2
SPEAKER_00
Or are you in a season of life where saying yes is just a story you tell yourself and it s making you procrastinate from everything that you should be doing?
2
SPEAKER_00
So take on habit number three and say no.
2
SPEAKER_00
Habit number four to overcome procrastination.
2
SPEAKER_00
Write it down.
2
SPEAKER_00
Write it down.
2
SPEAKER_00
This is goal setting 101.
2
SPEAKER_00
Have a game plan and write it down.
2
SPEAKER_00
Think of this as a real-time manifestation.
2
SPEAKER_00
When you see the images and words, this will prime your brain to take on the task you need to get done.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m going to give an example of this from neuroscientists that we had on, but this is something that I ve been doing since I was in high school, high school athletics, football.
2
SPEAKER_00
We used to have our schedule written down
2
SPEAKER_00
When we d walk into the locker room, we d have the schedule of the activities we were doing for the next two and a half hours of practice.
2
SPEAKER_00
Every 10 minutes was accounted for.
2
SPEAKER_00
We would write it down, and we had our goals written on a chalkboard.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t know if anyone uses chalkboards anymore.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s more like whiteboards today.
2
SPEAKER_00
Back in the late 90s, it was a chalkboard in the locker room with our goals written down.
2
SPEAKER_00
We would look at them every single day.
2
SPEAKER_00
We had a game plan every single day of practice on what actions we were going to take to accomplish the goals written down.
2
SPEAKER_00
It was like this visual manifestation that was happening every single day.
2
SPEAKER_00
And then we would move into action.
2
SPEAKER_00
We wouldn t procrastinate and say, yeah, let s just take five days off this week and try to play a game with no practice.
2
SPEAKER_00
We took practice every single day and then showed up for the game.
2
SPEAKER_00
And then we reflected on it.
2
SPEAKER_00
Then we showed up with a better game plan for next week.
2
SPEAKER_00
We had Dr. Tara Swart, Bieber, on the show.
2
SPEAKER_00
She s an amazing neuroscientist.
2
SPEAKER_00
And she talked about mentally rehearsing what you desire.
2
SPEAKER_00
You can also think of this like running.
2
SPEAKER_00
Let s say you signed up for your first 5K or a half marathon.
2
SPEAKER_00
Seeing three miles or 13.1 mile runs on your training plan seems like it could be a lot.
2
SPEAKER_00
Seems like, man, I can barely run a mile right now.
2
SPEAKER_00
How am I going to run three?
2
SPEAKER_00
How am I going to run 13?
2
SPEAKER_00
but seeing it seems impossible.
2
SPEAKER_00
But as you break it down into chunks, it is not as overwhelming.
2
SPEAKER_00
You feel like, okay, I m just going to do this half mile and I m going to do it at a slower pace.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I m going to try to get 1% better every day at this
3
SPEAKER_00
training, right?
3
SPEAKER_00
If you break it down in chunks, it s not as overwhelming and you can go to the track.
3
SPEAKER_00
You don t have to think about, I m going to run 13 miles today.
3
SPEAKER_00
You re just thinking about running the first lap.
3
SPEAKER_00
And this is where it gets so daunting for people, especially when they want to write a book or do something.
3
SPEAKER_00
They re like, Oh my God, how am I going to write this full book in a day?
3
SPEAKER_00
You re trying to get it all done in one day or one week or one month.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s just not realistic.
3
SPEAKER_00
You ve got to be thinking about how can I write a page today, a paragraph today, just being consistent.
3
SPEAKER_00
Again, guys, this is 11 years of the School of Greatness.
3
SPEAKER_00
11 years.
3
SPEAKER_00
It was not perfect overnight.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m still not where I want to be.
3
SPEAKER_00
But every week, I just try to get a little bit better.
3
SPEAKER_00
And that s what I think you need to think about as well.
3
SPEAKER_00
The same goes for writing down your tasks, your goals are the things you have to get done mentally break down these different tasks and chunks.
3
SPEAKER_00
The best way you can do this is just schedule it.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, when I m writing my book, I m working on my next book right now, I will spend Monday for a couple hours and Friday for a couple hours.
3
SPEAKER_00
writing and researching and reviewing.
3
SPEAKER_00
I do interviews on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for the show to get ahead.
3
SPEAKER_00
So Mondays and Fridays are when I m spending time right now for writing, for researching, for going over it with my editor.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I just schedule it in, and then I show up for the time.
3
SPEAKER_00
I do the work.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m not always motivated to do it.
3
SPEAKER_00
Sometimes there s other things going on.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t always feel like I m giving my best.
3
SPEAKER_00
I don t always feel like I m in the flow.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s not like, oh man, I m always in the perfect mind space.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s not true.
3
SPEAKER_00
But I have it scheduled in my calendar.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I like making these must-do and can-do lists because it lets me see everything I need to do in a day.
3
SPEAKER_00
But it takes the pressure off of not getting everything done in that day.
3
SPEAKER_00
The must-do list is much shorter, and it s like the red marked list.
3
SPEAKER_00
the things that have to get done because of a deadline or will help set your immediate future self up for success.
3
SPEAKER_00
So that s like my workouts.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s like, okay, if I have to record an interview, if I ve got to do some ad reads, if they ve got something that is, if I go to speech coming up, I ve got to get these things done today.
3
SPEAKER_00
Like these are important to do every single day.
3
SPEAKER_00
The can-do list is the one that it would be nice if you could get them done today, but it s not imperative.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s not the most urgent and important thing to do right now.
3
SPEAKER_00
So just think about reflecting on some of these things when you are
3
SPEAKER_00
thinking about your time, your energy, your schedule, write it down, have a game plan, visualize what you re really looking to create, and then schedule it.
3
SPEAKER_00
We don t need to overcomplicate these things.
3
SPEAKER_00
Schedule the most important things for me.
3
SPEAKER_00
My workout is the most important because I have a vision for myself being healthy.
3
SPEAKER_00
So I got to put that in first.
3
SPEAKER_00
And then I focus on my show.
3
SPEAKER_00
The podcast is of high importance for myself and the business.
3
SPEAKER_00
So we block off three days a week to record the show.
3
SPEAKER_00
It doesn t mean every day that s happening, but we have those times set to be able to schedule interviews.
3
SPEAKER_00
then I m working around my book on Mondays and Fridays, team calls and everything else in between fits in the space in the gaps.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I just put it between must do and can do.
3
SPEAKER_00
Number five habit to really optimize for this year.
3
SPEAKER_00
This again, a lot of these things might sound a little basic, but they re so important.
3
SPEAKER_00
And number five is to drink
3
SPEAKER_00
more water, and eat quality food.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, I just hit 40 last year.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I noticed that when I was in my early 20s, I was training so hard.
3
SPEAKER_00
That was my profession.
3
SPEAKER_00
Being a professional football player was my life.
3
SPEAKER_00
So I was training so much that I could eat whatever I wanted to.
3
SPEAKER_00
Plus, I just had so much more testosterone constantly running through me.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, I had youth on my side, all that different stuff.
3
SPEAKER_00
where I could eat whatever because I was burning so many calories.
3
SPEAKER_00
When I hit 40, I realized like, man, I just really have to be more mindful.
3
SPEAKER_00
I can t just eat whatever.
3
SPEAKER_00
Even though I was working out hard, I couldn t just eat whatever anymore because it wasn t my full time.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, I m sitting around throughout the day, I m interviewing.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m not moving all day long.
3
SPEAKER_00
So I started to pay more attention to drinking more and eating more quality food and really just setting a goal, scheduling it in, tracking it daily.
3
SPEAKER_00
That might not sound sexy, but I lost 25 pounds by doing that in about six months.
3
SPEAKER_00
And it didn t happen overnight.
3
SPEAKER_00
It was just by being the consistent habit of tracking these things.
3
SPEAKER_00
And if your health has taken a backseat in your life, eventually your body will force you to pay attention to it.
3
SPEAKER_00
I tore my Achilles.
3
SPEAKER_00
I was just feeling like not confident with myself as much anymore based on my body and it made me pay attention to it.
3
SPEAKER_00
So I did.
3
SPEAKER_00
And if we are unhealthy, our bodies take a lot of energy to heal.
3
SPEAKER_00
I mean, it took me, I don t know, like nine months to fully recover from the Achilles because
3
SPEAKER_00
It was just a bad tear, and it took time and energy.
3
SPEAKER_00
That energy that you could have been using to build your business is now trying to rebuild your body back to health.
3
SPEAKER_00
So you ve got to be thinking about preventative care.
3
SPEAKER_00
You know, I started to really invest in prevention for these things.
3
SPEAKER_00
I did a brain scan with Dr. Daniel Lehman.
3
SPEAKER_00
I did a full-body MRI scan.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m doing blood work.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m trying all these things to track and measure my health metrics.
3
SPEAKER_00
to stay on top of it, as opposed to waiting until it s too late.
3
SPEAKER_00
And a lot of people rely on the latest drug or energy drink or caffeinated drink to stay focused and energized.
3
SPEAKER_00
But you know what, while those might help for some people, the greatest source of energy can come from us.
3
SPEAKER_00
So try this for one week.
3
SPEAKER_00
Just one week.
3
SPEAKER_00
I m not telling you to reinvent your whole lifestyle this whole year.
3
SPEAKER_00
But I d love for you to try for one week to cut out processed sugar from your diet.
3
SPEAKER_00
This is my biggest crutch, so it s not easy.
3
SPEAKER_00
And I don t do this perfectly every day now.
3
SPEAKER_00
But there was a time where I cut this out for a long time, and I saw incredible results.
3
SPEAKER_00
Cut out processed sugar from your diet for one week.
3
SPEAKER_00
Eat something green every day.
3
SPEAKER_00
Eat lean protein, go for a 15-minute walk every day, and just drink plenty of water.
3
SPEAKER_00
Drink plenty of water.
3
SPEAKER_00
Hydration.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s so good for your body, your blood, and your brain.
3
SPEAKER_00
Hydration is key.
3
SPEAKER_00
You can add some electrolytes in there.
3
SPEAKER_00
Do that.
3
SPEAKER_00
But try that and try to be at least one hour a day unplugged.
3
SPEAKER_00
Just unplugged from your phone, your computer, TV, screens, unplug.
3
SPEAKER_00
If you re 40, you remember what it was like growing up.
3
SPEAKER_00
We didn t have screens.
3
SPEAKER_00
We didn t have iPads and iPhones and iWatches all day looking at everything.
3
SPEAKER_00
We didn t have unlimited content.
3
SPEAKER_00
We didn t have that.
3
SPEAKER_00
So start a tray unplugged and watch how you ll start to feel better.
3
SPEAKER_00
Now that s saying this is going to fix everything, but when your body starts to be given what it needs, it will work for you, not against you.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s number five.
3
SPEAKER_00
Number six.
3
SPEAKER_00
This is, uh, the final habit for today s episode.
3
SPEAKER_00
This is kind of like important for you to have this so that every other habit really lands and really matters.
3
SPEAKER_00
Number six is to check in on your why.
3
SPEAKER_00
We talk about this in The Greatness Mindset.
3
SPEAKER_00
The Greatness Mindset is the book that I wrote for my younger self.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s the book that I wish I had when I was injured, when I was in transition, when I was going through different breakups, when I was going through a business transformation, when I hit 20, when I hit 30, when I hit 40.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s the book I wish I had at every stage of my life.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s the last 10 years of research from the world s greatest experts, my own personal mistakes, my own personal lessons and all the
3
SPEAKER_00
Frameworks and tools that I would use to live a better life.
3
SPEAKER_00
And in the book, we talk about your meaningful mission.
3
SPEAKER_00
Your meaningful mission is your roadmap.
3
SPEAKER_00
It is the game plan personalized, designed for you specifically and your life.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s not something someone else gives you.
3
SPEAKER_00
You give yourself this gift because this gift is inside of you.
3
SPEAKER_00
And it is so important to write it down and see it daily, or at least just know it and memorize it.
3
SPEAKER_00
as a reminder of where you are and where you are going.
3
SPEAKER_00
And if you don t have a meaningful mission, a one-sentence meaningful mission, clear direction of what you want and why you want it, you re just going to feel like you re wandering.
3
SPEAKER_00
You re going to feel like, what s the point?
3
SPEAKER_00
Why am I working so hard doing this thing?
3
SPEAKER_00
Why am I chasing
4
SPEAKER_00
You re going to be jealous of other people.
4
SPEAKER_00
You re going to be all these different emotions that aren t serving you.
4
SPEAKER_00
So this is a reminder of where you are and where you are going.
4
SPEAKER_00
You need to get clear on this.
4
SPEAKER_00
When you remind yourself of why you are doing the things you are doing, it just grounds you.
4
SPEAKER_00
It helps keep you on track, even through turbulence.
4
SPEAKER_00
Because you need to be excited or passionate about the things you re doing to be able to overcome all the challenges and obstacles that will be in your way.
4
SPEAKER_00
If you re not clear on the meaningful mission, and there s no excitement around it, emotional energy around it, you ll get so burnt out and frustrated because you won t be in alignment with who you are and where you want to be.
4
SPEAKER_00
So this reminds you, it grounds you, it keeps you on track through the turbulence.
4
SPEAKER_00
And like I said in the beginning, there may be some big turbulence later this year, and I want you to be grounded and ready for it.
4
SPEAKER_00
In the Greatness Mindset, we talk about something called the Greatness Performance System, or the GPS.
4
SPEAKER_00
This is a system that has helped me define a clear, meaningful mission and rate myself where I m at on the different areas of my life.
4
SPEAKER_00
I break it down into three pillars, your business, your relationships, and wellness.
4
SPEAKER_00
The business can also mean career.
4
SPEAKER_00
This is on page 250 of the Greatness Mindset book.
4
SPEAKER_00
So if you have that book already, just pull up page 250 and check it out.
4
SPEAKER_00
If you don t have the book yet,
4
SPEAKER_00
You can go on Amazon.
4
SPEAKER_00
You can buy it right now.
4
SPEAKER_00
Type in The Greatness Mindset by Lewis Howes.
4
SPEAKER_00
I think it s, you know, $15 on Amazon.
4
SPEAKER_00
Or you can get it on Kindle.
4
SPEAKER_00
You can get it on Audible.
4
SPEAKER_00
But it s on page 250 of The Greatness Mindset.
4
SPEAKER_00
When I have chosen my top three goals for each of those three players, the player of business or career, the player of relationships, and the player of wellness, I ask myself these questions.
4
SPEAKER_00
What do I want?
4
SPEAKER_00
Why do I want it?
4
SPEAKER_00
What s the next step?
4
SPEAKER_00
That next step is kind of like, what s the 1% that I m going to improve on in this next step to move forward?
4
SPEAKER_00
How can I make that a standard and then improve upon that and just keep improving?
4
SPEAKER_00
What do I want?
4
SPEAKER_00
Why do I want this?
4
SPEAKER_00
And what s the next step?
4
SPEAKER_00
Sometimes we think about what we want.
4
SPEAKER_00
We just say something.
4
SPEAKER_00
I want a million dollars.
4
SPEAKER_00
I want a girlfriend.
4
SPEAKER_00
I want this.
4
SPEAKER_00
I want a fancy car.
4
SPEAKER_00
I want a home.
4
SPEAKER_00
But we don t actually think about why.
4
SPEAKER_00
When you go deeper on why you want it, there s more meaning behind what you want.
4
SPEAKER_00
And then the next step becomes clearer.
4
SPEAKER_00
Again, these are my six habits to help you overcome procrastination and optimize where you re at in your journey and enjoy this process.
4
SPEAKER_00
And there are so many tools, tips, and tricks, and things to help you overcome procrastination.
4
SPEAKER_00
This is just a few key fundamentals that I think will serve and support you if you do these things.
4
SPEAKER_00
And at the end of the day, what is going to move the needle is actually applying what you have learned.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I wanted to give you six things that are actually based on science and research and that have helped me personally and that aren t overcomplicated or some big hack that isn t going to be sustainable.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s six rules and principles
4
SPEAKER_00
that you can live by, that we can all live by.
4
SPEAKER_00
Use the 1% rule.
4
SPEAKER_00
Just 1% better in the process every day.
4
SPEAKER_00
Not perfect, but progress in the process.
4
SPEAKER_00
We talked about different things there.
4
SPEAKER_00
Number two, ask for support.
4
SPEAKER_00
Ask for help.
4
SPEAKER_00
You cannot do everything alone.
4
SPEAKER_00
You cannot live alone and be alone and build something meaningful alone.
4
SPEAKER_00
Life is about togetherness.
4
SPEAKER_00
Life is about asking and receiving support and also giving and contributing help as well to others.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s about working as a team.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s about working together, collaboration.
4
SPEAKER_00
Ask for help.
4
SPEAKER_00
Number three, say no.
4
SPEAKER_00
And what I really mean by that is say yes to the things that will support your meaningful mission and say no to the distractions that hold you back from the time and energy of taking action.
4
SPEAKER_00
Because those distractions, when you say yes to everything, it s just a form of procrastination.
4
SPEAKER_00
Number four, write it down.
4
SPEAKER_00
This is not hard work, guys.
4
SPEAKER_00
This is getting clear by writing it down and visualizing it, scheduling it in, planning, organizing your life just a little bit better.
4
SPEAKER_00
Write it down.
4
SPEAKER_00
Number five, again, stuff our parents told us growing up as kids, drink more water, eat more quality food, your future self will thank you for the decisions your current self makes every single day.
4
SPEAKER_00
When you do this, if you take the right decisions, your future self will be frustrated at you,
4
SPEAKER_00
your current self if you continue to make poor decisions around nutrition and food.
4
SPEAKER_00
Again, just try this for one week and see how it makes you feel and then apply it the best you can moving forward.
4
SPEAKER_00
And the sixth one is to check in on your why.
4
SPEAKER_00
Get clear on the meaningful mission and reflect on it consistently in your relationships, in your wellness, and in your career or business.
4
SPEAKER_00
What do I want?
4
SPEAKER_00
Why do I want it?
4
SPEAKER_00
And what s the next step?
4
SPEAKER_00
Again, movement generates momentum.
4
SPEAKER_00
Just thinking about something and talking about it does not generate momentum.
4
SPEAKER_00
Movement, action, consistency builds momentum.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yes, physical movement, but also by taking action in incorporating these effective tools and practices, these six core habits for overcoming procrastination.
4
SPEAKER_00
And these won t work for everyone.
4
SPEAKER_00
That is why you need to find the best tool that works for you.
4
SPEAKER_00
I recommend applying all six of these.
4
SPEAKER_00
These can t, these aren t that hard to do.
4
SPEAKER_00
You just got to figure out which ones can you do more consistently.
4
SPEAKER_00
And again, not try to be perfect on everything.
4
SPEAKER_00
And you won t find out what works for you until you test it and you fail and you make mistakes and you fall back.
4
SPEAKER_00
You know, I m not asking you to be perfect at everything.
4
SPEAKER_00
Don t get disappointed if you break a habit or if you mess it up.
4
SPEAKER_00
This is not the perfectionism police over here at the School of Greatness.
4
SPEAKER_00
I ve never proclaimed to be perfect myself.
4
SPEAKER_00
I ve made a ton of mistakes.
4
SPEAKER_00
I fall back all the time on different things.
4
SPEAKER_00
But this is about being able to reflect and have progress.
4
SPEAKER_00
You won t know what works for you until you test it, until you try it, until you fail.
4
SPEAKER_00
Remember, your life is yours.
4
SPEAKER_00
If the fear of failing stops you from taking action,
4
SPEAKER_00
Just think about this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
4
SPEAKER_00
All life is an experiment.
4
SPEAKER_00
The more experiments you make, the better.
4
SPEAKER_00
Take these six habits as an experiment for you, as an exploration to try these things.
4
SPEAKER_00
Try for 30 days.
4
SPEAKER_00
And tell me what you think about them.
4
SPEAKER_00
You know, what else would you add to this list?
4
SPEAKER_00
Feel free to send me a message over on email, or you can send me a DM over on social media at Lewis Howes.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I would love for you to follow this podcast.
4
SPEAKER_00
If this has added value to you, make sure you just click on the follow button on the Apple podcast or Spotify podcast app.
4
SPEAKER_00
Click that follow button right now if you can to stay up to date on more great content here on the School of Greatness and leave us a review.
4
SPEAKER_00
I would really love to hear from you.
4
SPEAKER_00
If you leave a review, I read all these over on Apple podcast, and they really inspire me.
4
SPEAKER_00
And the more reviews that you leave,
4
SPEAKER_00
It helps us spread this message to more people over on the platforms on Apple podcasts and Spotify.
4
SPEAKER_00
So please click that follow button right now and leave a review of what you got out of this episode.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I would remind you if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter.
4
SPEAKER_00
And now it s time to go out there and do something great.
4
SPEAKER_01
I hope today s episode inspired you on your journey towards greatness.
4
SPEAKER_01
Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a rundown of today s show with all the important links.
4
SPEAKER_01
And if you want weekly exclusive bonus episodes with me as well as ad free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our greatness plus channel on apple podcast.
4
SPEAKER_01
If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend over on social media or text a friend.
4
SPEAKER_01
Leave us a review over on Apple podcast and let me know what you learned over on our social media channels at Lewis Howes.
4
SPEAKER_01
I really love hearing the feedback from you and it helps us continue to make the show better.
4
SPEAKER_01
And if you want more inspiration from our world-class guests and content to learn how to improve the quality of your life, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness Newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter.
4
SPEAKER_01
And if no one has told you today, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter.
4
SPEAKER_01
And now it s time to go out there and do something great.