WEEK 179: VIEW OF INVESTMENTS TO ACCELERATE GROWTH

I would rather learn vicariously learn through the mistakes of others, than myself.    Charlie Munger

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Do you want growth in an area of your life?

Health, business, relationships?

Last week I mentioned ONE insight to help you do this which was to "hire the best mentors, and do what they tell you to do."

Yet, I left out one crucial step you have go through before you can do this.

Well, what is it?

I will tell you but wanted to tell you about how I was able to (actually) self-publish my first book (it all ties in, so keep reading).

The research, organizing, and writing of course was all done by myself but that was not the hard part.

The hard part was actually finding a way to get it published. 

By publishing I mean get actually on Amazon direct publishing, which entailed about 10 more steps. 

At this point my book had taken me 2.5 years to get to manuscript form and I was so close I thought. 

Now, I prided myself on doing everything by myself and wanted to finish the process. 

Yet...

I was so close and wanted to finish the book!

So, I leveraged a secret I had used to get the book to the point, which you already know. 

"Hire the best mentors, and do what they tell you."

That is how I was able to find out how to organize my outline and the strategies to get the word count up to 35,000 plus words.

So I went out and looked for a mentor who could help me one, edit, but two, help me with the marketing/publishing aspect to finish the process. 

I vetted my options and spoke to a few companies and finally found one.

They outlined all the steps I needed to do (much more than I anticipated) and would give me every resource for me to hit each milestone. 

All I had to do is invest. 

Yet...

I felt scared. 

"What happens if it does not work?"

"What happens if I am not able to do what they tell me?"

"Are they able to do what they said they could?"

and on, and on...

Literally I was talking myself out of making the investment...even though I knew it was EXACTLY what I needed. 

Now here is the one lesson you need to understand about growth and acceleration.

Move in and write this down.

Growth and acceleration come from hiring the best mentors, and doing what they tell you, I have told you this. 

But in order for that to happen you need to view investments properly?

And how do you do that?

Well, there are actually two ways you can view investments and 99% of the planet views them in properly.

In proper way:

You think in terms of LOSS.

-What could I lose?

-What happens if it does not work?

The brain in all the amazing things it does is wired or optimized for safety, not progress. 

But this thinking hinders your growth. 

This way of thinking will do two things. 

First, even if you make the decision you will sabotage yourself and not do everything you can to make the investment work for you.

Second, the greatest loss though is you talk yourself out of it and say you can do it on your own. (reminder you are looking for acceleration here).

This will lead to you either one, burning out before you achieve what you want to, or two, being so exhausted you are not able to enjoy the fruit of your labors once you get there. 

So what is the PROPER way?

View the investment as an asset and opportunity.

Know you are accelerating the learning curve, and bypassing years of frustration.

Said this before, but Charlie Munger the "right hand to Warren Buffet has stated, "I would rather learn vicariously learn through the mistakes of others, than myself."

Simple really (most powerful things are). 

Thus, invest knowing it is an opportunity to accelerate your learning and bypass costly, timely mistakes by learning from others who have gone where you want to go.

Will tell you there in only ONE 100% guarantee in life, that is if you never try, you will never grow.

An investment will have to made in order for growth to occur.

Thus, if ACCELERATION is what you want then "hire the best mentors and do what they tell you."

In oder to do this, have a proper view of investments or you will never be able to pull the trigger. 

So to wrap it up.

First, have a proper view of investments so you can hire the best mentors and do what they tell you to do.

This has been one of my secrets for a very long time for accelerated growth.

Delay No More,

J

WEEK 178: ONE INSIGHT TO ACHIEVE ACCELERATION IN ANY AREA

If you want to succeed, all you have to do is find a way to model those who have already succeeded.   Tony Robbins

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Would you like to know ONE thing which can help you accelerate your progress in any area of your life?

Health, business, relationships...

Well, you are in the right place today as I will share with you in the next 5-minutes ONE insight that will allow you to do so.

Now going to be a little vulnerable and tell you I struggled with this for years, before I was finally able to find the answer.

And once I did, everything changed. 

Literally, what had taken many years to make little progress started getting achieved within a matter of months or days in some cases. 

Today, I want to share my health journey.

More specifically my search for my six-pack.

The last time I saw was my senior year of high school.

Then like a new coat of paint, it started to fade and I lost it all together by my senior year of college. 

I continued to regain it every year, but was always caught in a vicious cycle of lose some, gain a lot back.

The thing was I tried everything. Low carb, pure protein, vegetarianism...

But all with the same result. 

I was literally caught in a downward spiral that I could not get off. 

It was unnoticeable at first. 

5 lbs in one year. Not bad.

4 lbs the next year.

5 lbs the following year. 

But...

Over a 5-year span I gained over 20 extra pounds. 

And my search to regain my six-pack was lost.

I felt hopeless and defeated, and the scariest thing is I resigned myself to just being bigger as I aged. 

And the craziest thing is I an intelligent individual and have the drive few others have.

Why could I not figure this out?

Answer.

I did not know what I did not know.

So fast forward to a point where I was the heaviest I have ever been, feeling inconsistent energy, and confidence an all time low (would have to battle myself daily to put myself out there).

Then it hit me.

I remember reading a quote by Tony Robbins, "Long ago I realized success leaves clues, and that people who create outstanding results do specific things to create those results. I believed if I duplicated these actions of others, I could reproduce the results hey had."

I had been trying for over a decade to get my health back and finally see my six-pack again.

Yet, I was trying to figure everything out by myself.

Thing was I did not spend any time in university studying the body. Tell you the truth everything I knew about diet, food, and the body were taught to me my mainstream media (scary).

Thus, I went on a search and found someone who had done what I wanted to do...master my health.

It took some time to vet my options, but once I found him I put in all the chips.

The result?

Well, remember I told you earlier I had been searching for over a decade?

It took 45 days.

No typo. 45 days to master my health and get my six-pack back.

10 years vs 45 days.

If you would have given me that choice in the beginning I would have chosen 45 days. 

So what is the ONE insight you can start using to accelerate progress in any area of your life?

Hire the best mentors, do what they tell you to do.

It is the secret that separates the good from the great.

Want to achieve new levels in health, business, life?

Find someone who has gone there and let them show you the map on how to get there yourself. 

Simple, yet powerful!

Want acceleration?

Apply this ONE insight and watch your progress in any area of your life accelerate. 

Delay No More

WEEK 177: HOW TO GET ANYTHING YOU WANT IN LIFE

A man watches his pear tree day after day, impatient for the ripening of the fruit. Let him attempt to force the process, and he may spoil both fruit and tree. But let him patiently wait, and the ripe pear at length falls into his lap.   Abraham Lincoln

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): How you would like to get anything in life?

No serious? Health, business, relationships, anything?

Well, you are int he right place today as I am going to show you in the next 5 minutes so stick around for the next 5 min.

Now last week I wanted to cook a new recipe for dinner. (I will get to the point, trust me)

It actually was something I had been wanting to cook for a while, just finally got the time to do it. 

I looked over the recipe, gathered the ingredients, and then got to work.

Everything was going to plan, but in the middle I was not sure what to do so I thought I would improvise and add a little brown sugar to balance the saltiness of the dish.

Something I had tried with other recipes, so in my mind I thought it would work here as well. 

Yet, when I tasted the dish, I was shocked at how it tasted. (It did not balance the saltiness)

Then I glanced back at the recipe and it said it should taste a little salty.

I did some corrections and in the end it was not terrible, but it definitely was not my best culinary work.

Actually did not serve it to my family or wife. Just kept it for myself.

Have you done something similar?

And more importantly, did you see the lesson that outlines how you can get anything you want in life?

No...Yes?

Here you it is.

FOCUS on the PROCESS, not the results.

Truly, if you are able to do this on a consistent basis you will master the process, thus get the results you desire.

In the case of my food failure, obsessing over the process would have been fully reading the recipe and following it directly, not improvising. 

Going to tell you a mentor, crushing a million dollars a month, once told me that results pay homage to the process.

Thus, if you do not like the results, go back to the process to see what you need to change.

But, there is a huge TRAP which is omnipresent in our lives that makes us focus on the wrong things.

What is it?

Give you a hint: Facebook, Google, Instagram...

The list goes on and on, but all of these platforms all focus on the end results.

The formula usually goes "Get X in Y months without your biggest pain."

We are bombarded with these messages daily, thus what do we crave? What do we focus on?

Results.

But focusing on results will lead you to the following:

Comparison --> stress --> frustration --> overwhelm.

Ingredients for burnout.

It is like you are constantly fighting the current to get up river to your destination.

Where as, if you focus on the process and show up daily to implement it perfectly you will understand the destination is actually down river.

Thus you are able to flow with the current.

Not to say there will not be an occasional log or two which you have to maneuver around, but you are no longer in the game of constant grinding, constant struggle.

So do you want to get whatever you want in life - health, business, relationships?

Obsess over the process and focus on showing up consistently to implement perfect days.

Guaranteed you will get whatever you want if you can do this daily.

Delay No More

WEEK 176: ONE THING TO OVERCOME FEELING LIKE AN IMPOSTER

You can not escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.    Abraham Lincoln

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Have you put off important tasks recently?

You know the ones which will push the needle forward in your health, business, relationships?

You spend energy and time on things that do not matter and leave them for the last minute.

Even though you tell yourself you are going to do them and make them a priority on your "to Do" list, they get postponed until tomorrow. 

What happens next is an internal war between yourself where you call yourself out.

"Who do you think you are to think you could do that?"

You feel like an "impostor"

Going to tell you the toughest battles are the ones against yourself.  

So tell me Jess what is that ONE thing I need to overcome the feeling of being an impostor?

I will tell you, but through an alarming statistic about professional athletes.

More specifically, retired ones.

Did you know that 2 years after retirement 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress?

Within 5 years of retirement, roughly 60% of former NBA players are in similar positions.

Why is this?

They make millions of dollars over multiple years.

How can they file for bankrupt so quickly?

Enter the Forever Fallacy.

What is it?

Well, it is when the players become flush with large amounts of cash in a short amount of time and their lifestyles become inflated to match this surplus of CASH!

Life is great while the cash keeps coming in, but the trouble happens when they retire and still live at the same lifestyle.

Now you might be saying, Jess this is interesting and all but how does this relate to the ONE thing that will help me overcome feeling like an impostor?

Well, the Forever Fallacy also applies to your life, more specifically the TIME you think you have. 

Living for years where you are healthy and feel safety gives you an inflated idea of TIME.

Thus, you feel you will have an unlimited amount in the future. 

Thus, you put off today what you think you can do tomorrow. 

This is why you procrastinate and waste time and energy on activities that do not matter because you think you will have more time to do those important tasks.

Where does this get you?

Not honoring your commitments (MEGA by the way), which leads to you feeling guilt, shame, and like a big fat impostor.

"Who do you think you are..."

Again, can't tell you how important it is to avoid battling yourself (these are the toughest battles).

So how do you overcome the Forever Fallacy, utilize your time for things that matter, and thus, stop feeling like an impostor?

It is quite simple (most things are you know).

Ready for it?

Honor your commitments. 

(Is that it?)

Too simple says you...

Guarantee you will rarely feel like an impostor (until you level-up again) and make huge strides in (fill in the blank) if you were to show up everyday and honor every one of your commitments. 

Now the KEY is to make commitment that you know you will follow through on.

Because at the end of the day you are the one that agrees or does not agree to make each one. 

Well, there you have it. 

The ONE thing you need to do in order to follow through on your important goals and not feel like an impostor.

So, what have you been postponing due to the (false) idea that you will have tomorrow to start... your HEALTH, BUSINESS, or RELATIONSHIPS? 

Make the commitment.

Then honor the actions to take steps to achieve it.

Do that consistently and you will stop feeling like an impostor and achieve your most important goals. 

Delay No More,

J

WEEK 175: ONE SECRET WEAPON

There is too much life to be lived for you to hit the snooze button. In fact I believe it is "seize the day" not "snooze the day!"
Hal Erod 

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): So what is the answer?

Is it habits?

Is it meditation?

Is it breathing techniques?

Yes all of these elements are useful, but there is something which lies as the foundation of all of these actions which allows you to win the day.

And by winning the day, you can win the week, and then the month...and so on!

So what is this secret weapon?

We will get to it, but think of it like the immortality all Greek gods possess which separates them from the mere mortals. 

But before we get started wanted to ask if you have ever gotten lost while traveling?

I have many times, and although you might be in some beautiful and exotic locations, you end up frustrated and stressed when there is an easy solution to this problem.

This past week, my family and I were able to travel to Chiang Mai Thailand (highly recommend you going) to see Asian elephants in their natural habitat.

We had a few days before our reservation, so we decided to explore the city.

One day, we decided to go in and explore some temples in an older area of the city and get a bite to eat. 

So, we got directions from the hotel concierge and he outlined where we should walk and go. 

Before I left he asked if I wanted to take the map and I said "NO" we can figure it out...

So thus, off we went to explore some beautiful temples in the middle of Chiang Mai.

Getting there was no issue and finding the main street where all the temples were no problem.

Here is the caveat, traveling with kids and without kids is night and day in difference. 

If you have kids (especially young ones) you know they can change from super happy to meltdown in a matter of minutes. 

Well, we hit that point when my daughter fell and scraped her knee.

Thus, we needed to find the restaurant and find it fast.

So I retraced the streets in my mind and we were off in search of food.

Small problem...

Seeing streets on a map and actually walking them is a slightly different.

In my mind I knew what street I was looking for, but did not know how far ahead it was.

Problem. Our daughter was losing patience with every step we took. 

We walked one block, then two, then three...

I started to doubt my memory and asked myself why I did not take the map.

I thought about just turning around and going back to the hotel, yet decided we should go a little further.

It took a few more blocks, but we were able to find the street finally, albeit after what seemed like an eternity of our daughter whaling away wanting to sit inside somewhere. 

Now what does this story of getting a little lost tie to the ONE secret weapon all uber-successful professionals use daily?

Well, it starts with choice (always does).

Now, I want you to imagine how this scenario would have been different if I just took the map?

Although we would have met some difficulty in the distance, there would certainty in the fact I knew how much further we had to go.

We could have avoided the doubt, the frustration, and the stress of not knowing.

Now, this ties into how you operate on a daily basis. 

On the path of realizing your potential and achieving amazing goals you will encounter difficulty and challenge. 

Givens, by the way.

But you have a choice.

And that choice is how you start your day.

Now, I did not say waking up early (some say just by waking up super early ensures your success...false).

I said how you START your day.

Do you have a ritual in place to help you sequence your state for success?

Thus, allowing you to manage the stress and challenges you will face in the day? 

If not, it is like going out into a foreign city and trying to navigate to an area of town without a map (raising my hand here).

Yes you might get there, but once there you will endure unneeded frustration and stress, or note even get there at all.  

This leads me to the ONE secret all uber-successful professionals use to ensure winning the day.

A Morning Routine.

Again, it does not mean you wake up in the wee hours of the morning, but do you have a mechanism in place to get you focused on who you are and what you need to accomplish that day?

If not, then you set yourself for failure, as leaving it to chance gurantees you will fail.

It is like trying to win the mega millions lottery.

Yes, there is a chance you might win, but the probability is so low the odds are against you.

It is simple (all powerful things usually are). 

Win the morning. Win the day. Win the day, win the week, Win the week, win the month. Win the month, win the quarter. Win the quarter, win the year. Win the year, win the decade!

You might think it is something small, but this simple activity is what all uber-successful professionals use to win the day.

Want to level up and become more productive so you can realize that immense potential inside of you?

Well, set a morning routine so you can start the day with intention so you can win.

Delay No More,

J

WEEK 174: AVERAGE OF 5 PEOPLE

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.   Jim Rohn

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Who do you hang out with the most?

Seriously, take a moment and think about the five people you spend the most time with?

Next, think about each person and identify if they are winning or not?

By winning, I mean what are their routines?

How do they tackle each day? 

What language do they use (Not English or French, but how they talk about pressure)?

How do they make decisions?

Lastly, do they believe anything is possible...even if they can not see all the steps?

There are a few more questions you could ask, but these are some general questions which you can use to identify the state of your environment.

As you might have guessed, I want to talk to you about the power of environment today.

To do this I want to share a story about hockey.

You are probably thinking, how can hockey explain how environments can shape us?

Sit back, as I am about to tell you.

Today Canada is considered one of the top nations to produce elite hockey players on the planet. 

Makes sense as the whole country experiences chilling winters. 

Also, they have produced hall of game players like...Wayne Gretsky, Mark Messier, and Sidney Crosby to name a few.

But how is it that Canada produces so many elite hockey players year after year?

Well, if we take a closer look it depends on birthdays.

More specifically if a player is born in the first quarter of the year - January to March versus the last quarter - September to December.

Really?

It is not just being born in those months, but the birthday triggers a chain of events which leads 40% of those players to become elite players in the NHL. 

Why is this?

Well, a study showed that when a player was born in the first quarter of the year, they have a 9-8 month advantage over their peers.

This leads to a life long advantage.

First, they are bigger and taller.

Second, they are selected to more elite teams.

Third, they get better coaching.

Fourth, they get more ice time playing against better competition.

They are pushed harder and faster and given the support to progress faster in all aspects of the game. 

Thus, being in this elevated environment from a young age allows them to accelerate the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and mindsets versus their other peers.

Thus, the environment plays a crucial role in the entire development of a young hockey player.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but 40% of players born in the beginning months of the year have a better shot (no pun intended) of becoming an elite player in the NHL.

***

Now going back to your life and the five people you hang out with most...

Do they provide an environment for you to accelerate your growth or do they stunt it?

Going to tell you right now this could be a major reason you are STUCK at your current level of play.

Think about it.

If your goal is to lose weight and get in the best shape of your life, but have a choice to hang out with one, five friends who love to eat, versus, five other people who have their fitness on point, which group (environment) will help you accelerate in achieving and maintaining your goal?

The answer is pretty clear.

Environment. Environment. Environment.

Mega!

Going to tell you it is one of the easiest things you can vet and change in order help you get unstuck and start making progress towards achieving your goals. 

Now, there is so much more to environment than just the people you hang around and I could rap about that in a whole other post, but will leave you with this to process. 

Delay No More

WEEK 173: PUSHING THROUGH PERCEIVED LIMITS

All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small. Lao Tzu

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Have you ever felt like quitting?

No serious, you wake up and ask what I am doing all this for? (Par the course if you are doing something worthwhile)

Well, today I am going to explain 3 insights which will help you push past your perceived limits while avoiding burnout. 

And burnout is no joke, as I have seen it take a lot of talented and driven people out of the game.

So what are the insights?

We will get into it, I promise.

But wanted to ask who in here likes to run?

I am going to tell you I do not love to run and neither enjoy 100% the time.

Serious, there are times when before I don't even want to do it even before I start. 

Yet, let me tell you 3 insights about running which will allow you to push past your perceived limits.

INISIGHT #1

The feeling of not wanting to do difficult things.

This is >>NORMAL<< as that amazing tool we call the brain likes to make big deal out of everything when it is pushed out of its comfort zone.

I have been running consistently for over a year or so now, but there are still times when I do not feel like running half the time before I even take my first step.

INSIGHT #2

Somewhere along the run I will feel my first shot of pain in my left knee.

Often times the first sign of pain is connected to the idea that you have reached your max, however...

Pain is just feedback you need to change something.

Usually not drastically, but a slight modification.

INSIGHT #3

Third, I get past the half way point and feel tired and a voice says you "done enough, or you have done more than others at this hour."

The first couple of times you hear this voice is just the "Governor" kicking in.

What is the "Governor?" Make sure to read David Goggin's book CAN'T HURT ME.

Essentially feeling those first initial moments where you think you have done enough represents you have reached 40% of your potential.

That means you have 60% still left in the tank.

So there you have it.

Three insights to help you push past your comfort zone and breakthrough your perceived limits.

I have said this many times before, but AWARENESS is key.

Without it you move blindly from one action to another and complete actions for actions sake.

It is like you are a hamster in a wheel. A lot fo action, no real progress.

This leads to you getting in the middle of the process and where you start to battle yourself.

And that never results in good things.

Awareness is half the battle.

Love all of you.

Delay No More,

-J

WEEK 172: TWO KEYS MILLIONAIRES USE TO PRODUCE GROWTH CONSISTENTLY

Strength and growth come from continuous effort and struggle. The journey is never-ending.   Napoleon Hill

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Do you want to grow?

Business, relationships, health, life?

(I am going to assume the answer to that question is a yes). Next question.

Do you know how growth feels like?

No seriously, do you know?

If I were to ask you, would you be able to explain it to me?

The reason I ask, is if you do not know what growth feels like, then you will not know when you are experiencing it. Thus, making it nearly impossible for you to actually attain it.

Now to highlight what growth feels like I want to tell you about my "growth spurts."

I still vividly remember those 4-5 months where I was growing like a weed.

(If you know me, you know I am not the tallest of people, so these were glorious months).

I still remember those times when all I wanted was to be "just a little bit taller" in the words of Skeelo. 

And then it happened, I started to grow.

Then continued to grow.

Yet, throughout the process, I realized that it was quite painful.

My hips really hurt, to the point that I had to kneel down because the pain was so intense.

I can remember that I actually had to lay down one day as I thought both my hips would burst out of skin.

Yes I wanted to be taller, but in the middle of those "growth spurts" I did not enjoy it.

But how does a story about my "growth spurts" relate to growth in real life?

Well, you must first know what the definition of growth is.

Napoleon Hill said, "Growth comes from continuous effort and struggle."

The truth is, people want growth, but they forget that growth requires a payment. 

Do you know the payment you must make? 

COMFORT.

This is the first crucial part you must understand. Growth is umcomfortable and requires a payment of your current level of comfort. 

But this leads to a second key about growth which often times is overlooked. 

And you know what happens if you are not aware of this?

Burnout...and that is no joke. 

Well what is the second key.

SEASONS.

You know like, spring, summer, fall, winter. 

The key is to know if you are in a season of growth. 

This is MEGA important as if you know it is, then you know the cost you will have to pay.

Comfort. 

Awareness of this wins half the battle already.

Just like plants usually sprout int he spring, blossom in the summer, and wilt away in the fall growth follows the same cycles. 

There must be seasons where it is the focus, and there are seasons where it is not.

Otherwise you are looking at burnout city.

So two keys about growth.

1. Define it properly and know what the payment is required. Comfort. 

2. Identify what season you are in, so you can dig in, or recharge.

Guaranteed to grow consistently by following these two keys.

As always, Delay No More....J