242. What stands in the way becomes the way

The obstacle isn’t in your path—it is the path. We dive into a no-fluff approach for turning constraints into momentum using simple, repeatable tools you can run today. Instead of waiting for “more time” or “more budget,” we show how specific limits become the outline of a workable plan that advances your goals without the drama.

We start by drawing a sharp line between excuses and measurements, then shift the language from “until X changes, we can’t do Y” to “given X, how do we still do Y?” That shift opens practical routes in business and health: using a zero-budget month to build targeted organic partnerships; turning travel into hotel-room training with resistance bands; reframing injury to emphasize technique and long-term performance; and designing meals that prevent late-night snacking. Each example shows how constraints define edges—and edges define the road.

You’ll learn the 3R framework—Reality, Reframe, Route—to move from fuzzy intentions to measurable action. Reality names the facts without blame. Reframe extracts the advantage created by the constraint. Route sets one minimum viable move you can complete today, not a 12-week fantasy. Layer that with “because-of” rules (pre-decisions that kill bargaining at the moment of choice) and time-boxed, single-scope blocks that build trust with yourself fast. Expect pivots, because winners adjust; owning mistakes beats telling stories, and consistency beats intensity every time.

Walk away with a checklist you can deploy now: define today’s constraint, write one “because-of” rule, set a 10–20 minute block, and execute a measurable move. Share this episode with someone in your circle who’s ready to swap excuses for outcomes, and if it helps you, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us your first minimum viable move. What route are you taking today?

Chapters

• 0:19 No Pep Talk, A Plan
• 1:06 Two Phrases, One Mindset Shift
• 2:16 Name Your Obstacle, Use It
• 3:54 Excuses vs. Measurable Results
• 4:28 Specify Constraints To Kill Excuses
• 6:09 Constraints Define Your Route
• 7:25 Because-Of Plans In Action
• 8:29 Winners Pivot, Plans Adapt
• 10:09 Wayfinder Language Beats Excuses
• 12:13 The 3R Framework: Reality, Reframe, Route
• 14:09 MVMs And Time-Box Consistency
• 16:18 Pre-Decide With Because-Of Rules
• 18:10 Catch Excuses, Codify Responses
• 21:05 Over, Around, Or Through
• 23:12 Own It, Act, Adjust, Advance

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:19

What is up, guys? Welcome to another episode of the Mindset Cafe Podcast. It's your boy Devin Gonzalez. And I just wanted to start off with saying if these episodes do give you guys um helpful tips and you guys are getting value out of these episodes, make sure you guys are sharing it with a friend. That's how the podcast grows. Um, you know, level up your circle because if you level up your circle, you level up in turn. But I will start off with saying this you know, pause this episode if you're looking for an episode with a pep talk, because this one isn't gonna be it, right? There's two sentences, two phrases that I want to kind of dive into today in the concepts and everything. And hopefully we can give you a game plan. Um, not a pep talk, but a game plan to start overcoming your obstacles, right? And the sentences essentially that draw the line in the sand is what stands in the way becomes the way. Right? That's the first thing. What stands in the way becomes the way. The next one is winners find a way, losers find an excuse. And I don't mean losers like you're a loser, I mean losers in the sense of people that aren't seeing results or that aren't ever uh progressing forward or striving for more, right? That are always kind of staying in the same place, meaning that you have goals, you have aspirations, but you don't ever take that step to actually uh uh what's it called? Um proceed or to you know uh execute the actual goal. And you've had the same goal for five years with no real moving the needle or progressing forward. That's what I was looking for progress. So what stands in the way becomes the way, and winners find a way, losers find an excuse. Just pick an obstacle that you have right now, name it out loud, you know, name in your head. And here's today's deal. We're going to use that obstacle that you're thinking of, and I want you to start using this episode as a design brief to essentially overcome that, right? If it's something in business, you don't have a budget, good constraints are gonna make you focus more on, you know, what can you do organically? You don't have time, awesome. Now you can focus on minimal viable moves that beat perfect perfect plans, right? What can you move that doesn't affect your schedule too much in terms of time? And those minor tweaks over time make huge moves. By the end of this episode, I want you to have at least one measurable route, not just one takeaway. I want you to have a measurable route that you are going to go through and focus on to basically get over whatever's blocking you. Not later today, but today, but right now, right after this episode. If you're ready to start seeing the results, make sure you keep listening. Um, because that boulder, that obstacle, that is your ramp to the next level. That is the thing that kind of stops people at what you're doing. And that's why so many are at the level you're at, and few get to the next level in business. A lot of people say they want to open a business, very few actually do, because there's a lot of little steps that have to go into it. A lot of business owners say they want to grow their business, very few do because there's a lot of steps that go into it. Um, and that can go for anything in life, essentially. Um, so what stands in the way becomes the way. Find your obstacle and we're gonna come overcome it, right? So here's the hard truth is that excuses, everyone has them, right? There's so many different sayings and phrases to kind of go along with it, but essentially they're just stories, right? Your results are measurable. And if you are trying to measure your current progress and you're not seeing any progress in the numbers, then that tells you everything. You can make up a story of why you haven't progressed, but again, that's just an excuse. Um, let's let's turn your former thought process into the latter. The first step is essentially identifying the real obstacle. You can't turn a problem into a path until it's specific. Vague blocks or vague obstacles breed excuses. I want to lose weight, but I don't have time. Right? Vague goal, vague obstacle. Versus I want to lose 25 pounds, I don't have you know a ton of time, but I do have 30 minutes, right? Um, or I only have 30 minutes. Now we know the exact obstacle is you only have 30 minutes instead of I don't have time. So ask yourself, what's exactly in the way? Is it time? Is it a skill? Is it fear? Is it money? Uh, is it regulations, you know, laws, whatever the case may be if in business. Uh, for example, I don't have time because I have 35 minutes between 7:15 and you know 7:50 a.m. three days a week. Well, there you go. You reframed I don't have time into I have 35 minutes, and now you can focus on creating a plan for what you do have. Don't focus on what you don't have, focus on what you do have. Um, the core principle to kind of bridge this is essentially constraints can be raw materials that help define the edges, and the edges are what define your route or your path. Also, I'll say that again. Constraints can be the raw materials or or the outline essentially that define edges, right? Because a road has two edges to it, and those edges defined your route, your path. So treat the obstacle as what path exists because of this constraint that maybe wouldn't be there without this, you know, obstacle. What what am I what am I having to do, or which way am I having to look that maybe I wouldn't have looked if this obstacle wasn't there? Right? For example, you know, a tiny budget is gonna make a scrappy MVP, um, faster feedback, you know, less waist, you know, same thing, or a scrappy MVP, scrappy CEO, whatever the you know, you interchangeable thing. Focusing on fitness, let's go into like injury, right? You get injured, most people all of a sudden can't work out, they got you know, excuse A, B, and C. It's like, okay, well, you can still focus on other muscle groups, you can focus on technique, those technique-focused exercises that aren't injuring you, right, or aren't affecting your injured area, you know, that's gonna affect your long-term performance, and you're gonna have those performance gains when you're fully healed. So write a uh because of plan. So because of constraint, right? Because of you know uh injury, because of you know, strained hamstring, um, we will, and then essentially the strategy, so that, and then the the measurable outcome. So it goes because of constraint, we will, strategy, so that measurable outcome. Because and then so, for example, because of my hamstring being um strained, we're gonna focus on upper body, we're gonna focus on um non-movement and non-uh movable exercises, so seated exercises, so that we can increase X lift or increase, you know, A, B, and C. So those are things that you can do because of plans, right? Because of X, and then you create a plan. People that you see achieving their goals goal after goal after goal, it's not because they have anything special, it's not because they were just born gifted, it's not because they get different treatment or different um gifts from life. Winners just find a way. There is always a solution. Always a solution. It might not be the solution yeah, you originally thought of, or the solution that you may have even had hoped for or told people that you were gonna do, right? Because I think that's a lot of the constraint sometimes is we tell people that we're gonna do something a certain way, and then it doesn't work out that way, and we're we don't want to do any other way or go down any other path except for that because we're gonna look like a fraud if we pivot our plan at any point. When in reality, any plan should be adjustable, should be pivotable because that's how it works, that's how life works. And if you think that every path is gonna be linear, straight lined, you're you're fooling yourself, right? You're already putting a limit on your potential. You're going to have to adjust as you go. You don't know what roadblocks are ahead, so you can't plan for them. And if you try to plan for every single roadblock, you're gonna spend too much time in the planning phase. You just need to go execute, and then you focus at at or my my favorite saying is focus on the task at hand, focus on the obstacle at hand. And if you can't do anything about it right now, there's no no issue, there's no um no one you can call, there's nothing you can file, or there's nothing you can do about it, then don't worry about it. Focus on what you can focus on. Is there anything else I could do to either get around this, or is there something else I can focus on until that you know settles? There's always a solution, there's always a path forward. You just have to be willing to look for it. For example, a wayfinder, right, is gonna say, given X, how do we do Y? Given this constraint, how do we still do this thing? Right? And you collect some evidence, you test, you try, you fail, you get up, you test, you try, you fail, you get up, you keep doing it until you find the way. Excusefinder is essentially gonna be like, Well, until X changes, we can't do Y. Until X changes, we can't do Y. Right? So X is the excuse to not achieve the goal. Instead of being, how do we still get to Y, even though we have X? See the switch in in language, and that's what you have to tell yourself. A lot of times, I think even the clients that like the members and stuff at the gym, you know, they go on a trip, for example, and all of a sudden, well, there's not gonna be a gym near me. Okay, not a problem. How about how about I send you a workout, you know, that you can do in a hotel room that you don't need any equipment? Would you still work out? Well, yeah, perfect. I'm gonna send this to you. Tell let me know each time you complete one of the days, right? There's always a solution, there's always a way if you're willing to do it and willing to look for it. In that case, the constraint was they're going on a trip, they're not gonna have the gym. So they actually started to find a way by asking a resource. They asked me, they told me, and I gave them away. If they didn't ask me and they just didn't say anything, they went on their trip, came back. Oh, sorry, I didn't work out, I was on my trip, I couldn't work out, there was no gym. Well, there's the excuse finder versus the wayfinder. So there's a framework I want to kind of go over, and this is a framework you can apply to anything essentially in life, but it's the the three R's, right? Or the R three, which is reality, reframe, and route. Reality, reframe, and route, right? It's simple, it's a repeatable loop that converts any blocks into action. Block meaning obstacle. So reality, state what it state the obstacle or like with no drama or anything, just the reality of state the obstacle with data, identify any facts, define the problem, you know, not the feelings about it. Just the goal is here to see what can you or what path can you clearly choose. Now, reframe, instead of asking, how might this be uh ask how might this be advantage, or what unique path exists only under these constraints, it starts to flip that you start to have that mental flip, right? What felt like a dead end starts to become an endless pool of opportunity. Then you have route, decide the next minimum viable move, MVM, which is essentially the metric, right? That you start to see if this is working or not, right? The route isn't gonna be a 12-week master plan, it's one measurable move forward under today's conditions. What can I do today that if I do them, I can check my box that I did it and I tried it. I still am on the path and I did this today, right? For example, let's go into you know a business example. First R, reality, right? You have no ad budget this month, right? So the reframe, the next R essentially, well, organic partnerships can deliver still a targeted reach. So I can still get to a targeted audience. So the route, let's book three maybe webinars, co-webinars in the next 14 days. The goal is still 150 signups, right? Reality is no ad budget, reframe. Well, we can try to do the organic partnership route and then route. Okay, cool. Let's try to book three in 14 days, and this is the goal of signups. Weight loss example, right? In fitness, reality, I can't get to the gym because my work schedule. Reframe. This constraint forces me to really master an efficient at-home training and meal prep. The route, I'm gonna do 20 minutes of resistant band workouts on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays before work, and then track my progress over the next 14 days. So instead of being like, Well, I can't go to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because of work. I will at least something's better than nothing. I'm gonna do a 20-minute, you know, home workout, basically limited breaks, just push through it, power through it. 20 minutes, I'll be I have plenty of time. That's fine, right? So now that goes essentially the reality, you know, can't go to the gym because of work schedule, Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays. Well, reframe, it's gonna make me focus on mastering an efficient, time-efficient home workout and really make sure that I'm meal prepping a little bit more. And then the route, the 20 minutes, you know, a resistance and band workout. I don't need a whole gym, I can just buy some resistance bands Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays before work, and then track it for 14 days, see my progress, right? Um an MVM is the minimal uh viable movement, right, and time boxing is that your tool set number one, right? The reason for it, it's small, it's a scheduled move, but they beat giant intentions, right? Consistency crushes intensity. The brain trusts what it sees you do, not what you promise to do it. I'm just gonna say that one more time because I think that hits the brain, your subconscious, trust what it sees you do, right? So it what you actually do, it trusts that versus what you say or what you tell yourself you're gonna do, right? The proof is in the pudding. Uh how you do it essentially, 10 minutes, you know, single scope, you know, time blocks, right? Um have one thing per block of time, and then focus on the smallest unit of progress, right? I'm gonna plan my meals, I'm gonna prep my meals, I'm gonna, you know, see what I mean. It's like it's small, small, small. I'm gonna write my workout, my 20-minute workout, five minutes, and then 20 minutes, I'm gonna write, I'm gonna do the workout, I'm gonna um get my meal prep ready, boom, out the door. Small minimal moves. For example, weight loss, right? I'm gonna do a uh 10-minute uh body circuit, body weighted circuit before work instead of waiting for 60 minutes at the gym, um, which never opens up in my daily schedule. I'm gonna prep one balanced meal tonight uh for the morning, and I'm not gonna overhaul my diet, you know, by eating out on because I don't I didn't have breakfast. Consistency beats intention, right? Prove to yourself that your consistency is what you are doing, and your brain will trust the process, right? Prove consistency in that first meal. I'm going to prep meal prep. I'm gonna eat this meal so I don't eat out, right? Don't grab something on the way to work, right? Now you've already set yourself up on a winning day. Uh track water intake for a single day to build awareness before worrying about macros, right? Those are those are small things. I'm gonna I want to start watching my nutrition, another, another uh MVM. I want to start, you know, really focusing on my my diet. Okay, cool. Well, there's a lot of moving parts to a diet. Yes, you could just jump right in, but a lot of people what I tell them is like, let's just try to track your protein first. Because most people aren't hitting enough protein, right? How much protein are you eating in a day? Track that for this week. Let's see what where you're at, and then maybe even halfway through the week, send me your your three days, four days, and then you're I'm gonna set a goal for you, and your goal is to hit that for the next three days. Small movements combined and condensed over time, stacks on top of each other, are big moves, right? So the next thing is creating because of plans, and some of these happen when an obstacle presents itself. You you create the because of plan. If this obstacle presents itself again, because of this obstacle, I'm gonna do X and focus on Y. Um, and the reason for it is it's a predecided, yeah, you it's already pre-decided that you know it's almost like the if-then, right? So this rule reduces friction and excuse making essentially. Excuses love the uncertainty and clarity kills them. Excuses love uncertainty, clarity kills them. When the condition is defined as advanced, the brain can't really bargain. So when you've already decided in advance that you're gonna do something and you've been doing it consistently, your brain doesn't start to try to find a way out, right? So because of predictable blocker, predictable obstacle, I will name the action at and then time and place. Um, and that flip that script will start to flip your your limitations and really become a cue for your execution. Anytime X happens, the the blocker, essentially, you already know you're gonna do X at Y, right? For example, in business, because of every because of every evening fatigue, I'll start to record in the mornings only. Another one, because of meetings running long, I will leave at the last five minutes for decisions. Let's go into fitness. Because of my predictable, unpredictable work schedule, I'll keep resistant bands in my office and train during my uh lunch breaks. Because of, and or actually this one would be because I intend to because I tend to snack late at night, I'm gonna drink a protein shake right after dinner just to stay full, right? Or drink, you know, uh a glass or two of water because the same mechanics in the brain work for hunger and thirst. Um, because the weekends derail me, I'll plan and shop for all my my meals on Friday afternoon so that I have them all for the weekend. Right? So you keep three to five of these rules that your main ones for getting kind of thrown off your your snowball of results, right? Because the snowball effect essentially, as you're starting to see it, it starts to get bigger and bigger, bigger. Anything that starts to derail your snowball, it's like that's your that's where you create your because of plans. Realize that excuses will still try to sneak in, you catch them as they come. You have to have excuse detection, essentially, right? An excuse alarm in your head. You know, you can't you can't fight what you can't see. You're not gonna know every excuse unless it starts to arise. So when an excuse starts to arise, you internalize it and then you start to create the because of plan for it, right? You start to use your toolbox. What is the the MVM, the minimal viable movement that I could do for this, right? You know, you can swap the the wordage in your head, um why not for how to spite how despite this thing can we still get to X? Um let's see what else I mean I think it it really comes down to it's a lot of people try to try to make it where they give themselves an excuse because it's obviously easier. And if you just follow that roadmap, the the three R's, the because of the plan, there is really no excuse. Like just as like in business and like with my team and even with myself, I don't accept excuses. I accept mistakes because mistakes mean that you take ownership of it. You know what happened, when it happened, why it happened, and we can move forward from there. But an excuse means that you're not taking ownership of that mistake, of that thing you told yourself you're gonna do and you didn't do it. So excuses are not acceptable, makes mistakes are right? Mistakes are life, but you learn from them and you grow from them. Well, when that happens again, how are you going to avoid it or overcome it so that this doesn't happen again? And now there's a because of plan. You were late this morning, okay, why? And the excuse maker is gonna be like, Well, you know, my alarm was supposed to wake me up, and you know, then my you know, roommate parked behind me, and you know, okay. Instead of, hey, I'm so sorry I was late, you know, I didn't park correctly, and I should have, you know, set um, I should have set uh more alarms or I should have set um the alarm closer to me. Now you have the what happened, why it happened, and now you have also a plan. Make sure you set more alarms, make sure you park at night, you park where you need to at night so that you get your stuff, you know, where you need to get to where you need to get to, right? I hope this helped um in overcoming that obstacle that you have in your journey right now. Because I guarantee there is one obstacle that you are avoiding or that you have been confronted with and are deciding just not to do it until something else happens. And for some reason, that something else just never really seems to happen, right? I'm gonna start going to the gym when I get more time. Well, guess what? You just never seem to get more time, right? It's crazy how that works. You're gonna start um saving money when you get extra money, but then you never seem to have extra money. It's crazy how this all works, right? There's always an excuse if you say when X happens, then I'll X, or I'll then I'll Y. When X happens, then I'll Y. It's like, no, because of X, how do I still get to Y? Because I don't have uh a ton of extra income. How do I still save another thousand dollars? Because of uh my work schedule and I don't have a lot of free time, how do I still get a workout in? You specify the constraint, the the roadblock, the limiting factor, and you've designed a plan around it. Think about you know, like modern construction, right? We would if if every train wasn't built that went through a mountain and through a tunnel, fucking the train was able to stop. Like you wouldn't you wouldn't be able to get across country. But they're like, Well, this mountain's in the way, how do we do this? We can go over it, around it, or through it. Perfect. We just need to get to the other side. So because this mountain's in the way, until this mountain moves, we can't continue our train building. That would be the excuse. Or, well, this mountain's in the way, how do we get to the other side of the of the mountain with this in the way? Well, over it, around it, through it, right? So that's kind of a a uh you know elementary version of an example, but you know, hope you get the point. Hope this episode made you rethink one of your obstacles. I hope that you truly design some because of plans and take that 3R framework and apply it to whatever you're focusing on right now and start taking action because there is no excuses. Excuses are not acceptable. If you're giving yourself an excuse, you're your you're the reason why you are where you are. Nothing else. Realize that you are exactly where you have designed yourself to be. All of the actions that you've done for the last three months, last six months, the last 12 months, the last seven days have led you to be exactly where you are. If you want to change where you are, you need to design a plan to move the needle. And then after designing the plan, you need to take action and then adjust the plan as constraints start to come forward. Cross the bridge that is in front of you. Focus on the task at hand. And with that being said, guys, I appreciate you guys. I love you guys. I'll see you guys on the next one.