246. Effort Is the Edge: Outwork Everyone and Build Unshakable Momentum

Want more respect, momentum, and opportunities without waiting on talent or perfect timing? We go straight at the quiet truth: consistent, unglamorous effort is the edge that most people overlook. From showing up early to following up fast, we unpack the small behaviors that build trust, compound into reputation capital, and create real leverage in your work, health, and relationships.

We start by reframing what stands out in any room: not flashy skill, but reliability. You’ll hear practical ways to make effort concrete—arrive early, learn and use names, return messages promptly, and research solutions before someone asks. We dig into why starting is easy and staying is hard, and how boredom becomes the test that separates average from exceptional. If you’ve ever lost steam when the novelty wore off, this conversation gives you the systems to keep going.

The heart of the episode is integrity under pressure. We talk about earning your own respect by doing what you said you would do, even when you’re tired, busy, or over it. You’ll learn how to replace motivation with a daily architecture of non-negotiables: plan tomorrow’s three to five needle-moving tasks today, then execute no matter how you feel. We challenge the myth of the “right time,” make the case for starting before January, and explain how consistent follow-through turns into opportunity and trust.

If you’re ready to outwork your past self and build habits that last, press play, write down your three tasks, and start today. If this resonated, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs the push, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

Chapters

• 0:18 Effort Beats Talent
• 1:31 Where Most People Quit
• 3:31 Effort As Daily Pattern
• 5:27 Make Effort Concrete
• 8:05 Earn Others’ Respect And Yours
• 9:23 Starting Is Easy Staying Is Hard
• 12:03 Boredom As The Real Test
• 13:09 Start Now Not January
• 14:44 Integrity Under Pressure
• 16:06 Non‑Negotiables And Daily Tasks
• 18:25 Systems Over Motivation
• 19:14 Follow Up To Stand Out
• 20:13 Three Tasks To Close Strong

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:18

What is up, guys? Welcome to another episode of the Mindset Cafe Podcast. It's your boy, Devin Gonzalez. And today I wanted to talk about a topic that I know has resonated at least with you at some point in your life, right? And that's everyone wants to stand out, right? Everyone wants the opportunities, the respect, the momentum. But here's the truth: the fastest way to stand out has nothing to do with your talent, your timing, or your connections, right? It's effort, pure, consistent, boring, unglamorous effort. It's showing up early when everyone else is just coasting in. It's doing the extra research before anyone asks. It's remembering names. It's following up with things fastly, right? Someone texts you, text back fast. It's smiling when you actually greet people. Work ethic is the universal currency of respect. And it costs you nothing, to be honest. But if it can give you everything, this is something that we should maximize on. So today we're gonna be talking about work ethic. Right? Most people think that the hard part is just getting started, and it's not right. That's the easy part. The easy part is getting started. The hard part comes when it starts to get boring, when the excitement fades, when the grind feels invisible and nobody's clapping anymore. That's when that's where this episode really lives. And I want to I want to really dive into those things today, into the quiet, into the grind, into that place where most people end up stopping, where the great gets separated from average. Right. So today we're talking about effort, where the underrated edge that separates the ordinary from exceptional, and how to turn that habit that will outlast your motivation. So I want to start with what effort actually looks like, not just as an idea, but as a pattern that you can build in every single day. Right. So this is one of those things. It's not fun, it's not easy, you know, to show up and to be excited about what you have to do every single day. And that's fine, right? Everyone, that's normal for everyone, right? I don't want to get up and you know do most of the things that I do in a day, every single day, but you do it right because you know you need to get it done. But effort is the fastest way to stand out. When you show up on your in your A game every single day, whether you feel like it or not, people notice, right? That sets your stakes, and that's what sets and that's what earns attention, to be honest. You can't control your born talent or timing, but you can't control if you outwork everyone. Your work ethic is your universal currency of respect, and that respect will earn you the opportunities, will earn you the connections, will earn you everything else, but you have to show up and give it your all every single day. Other otherwise, you know, what's the point? Like we've talked about before, your time is the one thing you don't get back, so don't waste it doing things half-assed. Right? So you have to realize that that your effort showing up every single day, it compounds, it compounds day after day, and consistently will start to build trust. It will start to that trust will start to you know build your opportunities, will start to attract your opportunities, right? For example, you all know that that coworker, that teammate, or um that employee or that friend who you can call and they're gonna do what you need, or you know, if they say they're gonna get it done, they're gonna get it done because they're reliable. That has been built over time of them doing the you know, doing that day after day. So you got to be that person. Your work ethic is one of the most important attributes to you. So, what does your effort actually look like out there in the wild, out there in your workspace, out there with your family, right? Because all those things take work. Your relationship takes work, your fitness takes work, your you know, nutrition takes work, your business that's work, right? So, what are you doing that could be improved? What are you doing that you're you've if you really think about it, you're kind of just coasting by and you're just waiting for someone to tell you the next thing, even though you know that there's some other things that could be done, those are the things that you should just be doing. So it's the the micro behaviors, right? It's not just a mood, right? Make effort concrete, everything you do, look for you know, be proactive. So think of think of the easiest ones would be almost like you know, showing up early, right? And when you show up early, that's a huge, a huge thing people start to notice. That person's always on time, they're always early, right? Versus being the person that's always late. Other thing is you know, use people's names, right? Use it a couple times when you first meet them, so it gets sunk into your brain. But people like hearing their name. That's one of the most like endearing sounds is your own name, right? That way you know someone's actually talking to you, you know someone actually knows who you are, and if you use people's names, I guarantee you will stick out in their mind and they will try to remember your name in return, right? The things let's say with work, what could you be researching how to do better or how to improve the system or how to improve your business or the business? You know, do that instead of waiting to be asked. That stands out. The easiest one I could think of, honestly, and this one is probably one of the most underrated ones, is just smile, right? And and I say that, and I mean, believe me, this is one of those ones I have to work on most of the time, too, that have a very straight face. But when you're greeting someone and you're saying hello, especially for the first time, smile when you say it. Look pleasant when you're introducing yourself to someone, when someone introduces themselves to you, that first impression gets ingrained in their brain, right? So you have to do more than is asked of you to stand out, otherwise, you blend in with the herd. And you don't need to do these huge, extravagant things and be the MVP of the team. Sometimes it's just being reliable, sometimes it's just showing up, sometimes it's just doing more than you're asked, but you're constantly looking for those things and trying to improve yourself. And one of the things that you're trying to improve is your work ethic. Because respect, it's earned, right? Someone, someone lies to you, whatever you they lose a little bit of your respect. If someone's truthful with you, someone always set follows through what they said they're gonna do, they earn your respect. But why don't you earn your own respect? That's one of the biggest things I want you to to kind of take on this too. Is when I when I say respect, I don't mean respect of only others, but the respect of yourself because if you tell yourself you're gonna work out today and then you don't, well, you just lost a little bit of respect for yourself that day because you just lied to yourself and your subconscious knows it. Let that sink in. How many times this last month, or and over in the beginning of the month? Last month did you say you were gonna go work out and you didn't? Follow through the things that you tell yourself you're gonna do them, regardless of what time it is, regardless of how you feel. Believe me, there's been countless times where I told myself I'm gonna work out, and 10 o'clock hits, 11 o'clock hits, and I'm like, damn, I don't really want to work out right now. I'd rather just go home, get some sleep, and I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna do a 30-minute workout, you know, and just knock it out. At least I stayed true to my word. You have to be truthful to yourself, and you have to follow things with follow through with the things that you would tell your boss. You would have to follow through the same things you for yourself. Because if you can't trust you, then who else can trust you? If you don't respect you, who else would respect you? You should be your biggest fan, you should be your biggest motivator, your biggest hype person, your biggest you know, encouragement is from yourself. That's what goes into that self-a positive self-talk that we've talked about, right? And the biggest myth that I think people have is you know, well, I don't know how to get started. Getting started is the easy part. You don't know, you don't need to know everything in order to get started. You don't know how to work out. Go to the gym and just hop on a machine, do it wrong. That's still getting started, right? It's the hard part comes when it's not exciting anymore. The hard part isn't getting started, that's easy. You can start right, you can start wrong. You just getting started is easy, but it's exciting, it's that new thing when you get started, right? You're your motivation, you're telling yourself, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that, and everything feels like this glorious plan until the hard part hits, and that's doing the mondane, that's doing the things you have to do day after day after day, and it almost becomes you know repetitious and boring and monotonous. Years that ban that this is this is not fun anymore. No one said it was gonna be fun, no one promised you that. You built that up in your head in the beginning. That's like a new relationship. Everyone that gets in a new relationship enters that puppy dog phase, you know, where you're all over each other, you know, and it's almost like you're in high school again, and then all of a sudden that ends, and now it's you're just in a relationship. Well, that's how it is with your goals as well. Your goals feel fun, they feel exciting, it's this new thing, and then all of a sudden you are doing the things you know you need to do day after day, and you're like, this is not as fun as I thought it would be. No one said it was gonna be that. But will it be rewarding? 100%. Your effort is going to dictate what you earn in any form or form or fashion of your life, in any area of your life, your effort towards that thing, you will get out what you put in. And more times than not, you'll get out more than you put in. So if you're putting in a hundred, you're gonna end up getting 110% out. That's just the way it works. Other people will start to put you on a pedestal and try to rise to your work ethic. They'll try to rise to your commitment to the relationship. Not the other way around. If you're dragging the relationship, people will drop down to meet you there. If you're dragging it in business, you're dragging it as an employee, believe me, the team will start to do it, or you'll stand out in a way that you don't want to stand out, and then you probably won't be a part of that team as long as you thought you would be. So there's this gray zone that even with like business, for example, and fitness, that the excitement fades and the progress feels almost invisible, right? And that's the phase that normalizes the I almost said I don't want to say bored, but technically it just feels boring because you're doing the same things because you're not hitting that next level yet. But those boring things allow you to push through to the other side. Those boring things are the tests sometimes that separate the people that succeed and the people that don't. You can get through that phase, you know you can. You just have to be willing to stay committed and truthful to yourself and stay committed to the things that you told yourself you're gonna do it. Instead of I'm gonna start fresh next week, I'm gonna start cleaning, start today. The day's not over. I'm gonna start meal prepping next week, it's fucking Wednesday. Start today. You don't need to start next week. I'm gonna start working out, you know, January 1st. Why? You still have two months left of the year. Finish the year strong. So I think like this is almost like towards the time we start talking about New Year's resolutions, most people. And this is a perfect example of this topic because January 1st hits, everyone's excited, everyone has their New Year's resolution, and how many times have you had the same New Year's resolution? How many years in a row? Why have you not succeeded that New Year's resolution? It's supposed to be different every year. And why are you waiting until January 1st to start on anything? January 1st is just a date on the calendar. What's the difference between January 1st and November 5th? Nothing. It's just your willingness to commit. Nothing is different. The days are the same, same hours in the day, your work is the same, everything is the same. Why not start now and start with a head start on it? Then January 1st comes around, you already have a head start on what you wanted to achieve for the year, and then you can end up accomplishing it and setting a new goal by the end of the year. Why did you stop achieving your goal for this year? What makes commitment a commitment to achieving your goals or to anything to relationship, it's your integrity under pressure. It's your integrity under pressure. Commitment counts when it's inconvenient for you. Otherwise, it just feels like a good promise. Right? Commitment counts when it's inconvenient, otherwise, it's just a feel-good promise. One thing I would say you could do is write your non-negotiables down. Keep them next to you, keep them in your pocket, and when you're tired or busy or unmotivated, look at them. What are your non-negotiables that you need to do every day to achieve the goal that you're set out to achieve? And we don't feel like it. Pull that little list out and be like, I work out, I do this, I be, I need to do that, and then you do them, check them off the list. If you set a list for each day of three to five things you need to accomplish in the day to move the needle towards your goal, and you actually accomplish those, regardless of what else you accomplish in the day, you would make more progress than 99% of people. If you plan the goals that you need to accomplish tomorrow, today, and then you accomplish them, you are more productive than 99% of people. It seems small, but you gotta think all of a sudden 365 days in and you accomplish three to five tasks that would move the needle, your progress should be huge. No one's gonna be clapping for you along the progress, no one's gonna be clapping you along the journey, right? They'll clap when you first tell them that, oh yeah, that's great, that sounds so cool, and then you get into it, it's you and it's you and yourself. But you fo that's why you did it. You didn't do it for the accolades, you didn't do it for the clapping, you did it for you. So focus on that, accomplish it. Start now when it's inconvenient. Right now we're hitting the holidays. It's not convenient to start anything right now. Start now. That way you start when it is hard already, and then all of a sudden everything starts to lighten up at the beginning of the year, there's not as many holidays. Now it's easy. So it's easier. You've already built the habits during the hard time. Now you don't have to worry about that. Now that now the hard is even easier. Kill your your sense of perfectionism and your sense of delay. Kill your sense of perfectionism. I need to wait until the time is right. Fuck that. Your time is never gonna be right. I promise on anything. Starting a business, starting your fitness, starting your health, um, starting a family, right? You know, I just had my second, you know, I would say we, me and my wife just had our second child, and the timing's never right. I hear so many people, well, we're waiting for this, and I'm waiting for that to start a business, and just fucking start. That's all it is. You start and you figure it out. That's what life is most of the time. Just figuring it out. You figure out what you need to do today to accomplish the tasks set out for today. That's it. Plain and simple. And if you can do that, there's no stopping you. You have to. You know, that asked if I was gonna be working on certain nights because they were more motivated when I was here versus some of my trainers. And what I told her was, it doesn't matter if I'm here or not, I shouldn't be your motivation. You should be your motivation. Build or replace, I should say, your motivation with the architecture of your day, with your systems of today, of the uh non-negotiables of today. You don't need motivation, you don't need a YouTube video to watch, you don't need any of that. Your reason why for accomplishing your goals should be your own self-intern motivation, regardless of how excited or how happy or how energized you feel for that day. One thing kind of transitioning I want to say to was separating yourself is more on the social aspect. You know, if you told someone you're gonna follow up with them, follow up with them.

unknown: 19:28

Right?

SPEAKER_01: 19:28

And I believe me, I know I'm guilty of this as well, but that's one of the biggest things, set a calendar reminder. If you told you know someone you're gonna look into something for them, look into it and then follow up with them. You told them you're someone you're gonna call them later, call them later. That's how you separate yourself, right? Your your effort, your work ethic, your trust, your reliability, all turn into your reputation capital. If people can trust you, and people again start trusting you if you trust yourself, right? So like all these things build interest almost. That's what like that compounding daily is. And so I just want you to think that your work ethic can start today if it hasn't already, and it can improve. If you haven't set out for three things to accomplish today, write them down now. What are three things that you need to accomplish today to move forward towards your goal and then do them? And that's where I'm gonna end this podcast right here is writing your you writing those three things down and accomplishing them. Okay. I appreciate you guys. Hopefully, this guy is giving you guys a little reality check for before the new year hits. You know, we're starting to wrap up, all the holidays are gonna about to start to hit. Make sure you guys accomplish three things each day until the end of the year. See how far you get. I appreciate you guys. I love you guys. If you guys need anything from me, you can always shoot over a DM. I'm always happy to help. But otherwise, guys, make sure you guys leave a review. Otherwise, I'll see you guys on the next one.