251. Raise Your Floor: The Standard That Determines Your Success

Most people think they’ll rise to the occasion when it really matters. In reality, they fall to the standards they’ve built when no one is watching.

In this episode of The Mindset Café, we break down the brutal truth about self-discipline, private standards, and why the only work that truly matters is the work nobody sees. You’ll discover why your unseen habits are more powerful than your public image and how your “floor” — your lowest level of behavior — quietly controls your results in business, fitness, relationships, and life.

We unpack the difference between identity and image, how micro-decisions shape your future, and how to build an “invisible resume” of skills, habits, and standards that actually back up the person you say you are. If you’re tired of feeling like your potential doesn’t match your reality, this episode gives you the blueprint to raise your standards in the dark.

Chapters

• 0:22 Public Image Versus Private Standards
• 1:36 Results Match Consistency, Not Hype
• 2:40 Your Floor Sets Your Life
• 4:30 Invisible Work And Earned Respect
• 6:03 Integrity Beats Applause
• 8:04 Three To Five Needle-Moving Tasks
• 10:45 Micro Reps And Boredom As The Test
• 12:25 Ditch Performance Mode, Build Non-Negotiables
• 14:05 Shape Your Environment To Win
• 15:35 Build Your Invisible Resume
• 15:45 Raise Your Standards And Align Goals
• 16:05 Closing Gratitude And Support

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:22

What is up, guys? Welcome to another episode of the Mindset Cafe Podcast. It's your boy, Dead Gonzalez. And today I wanted to talk about something that you know I talk to members about frequently. Um, and that is essentially realizing that you don't rise to your standards. Or actually, no, you don't rise to your public standards, you fall to your private ones. Meaning that you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your training, right? You're all of a sudden not going to perform better than you ever have because it's you know, you're rising to the occasion. You're going to rise to what you've trained, what you what work you put in, right? So you're actually gonna fall to those standards, you're not gonna outperform, you're not gonna have you know the best day in the gym or in a in a competition or at work or whatever the whatever the case is if you haven't been doing the work to do so, right? Because the real one that shows up is the real version of you that's what you've done when no one's watching, right? You can't have this public persona of yourself and then a private persona of yourself, meaning in terms of work effort, motivation, and so forth, right? Because that that essentially is what you're gonna end up falling to is that private one when all of a sudden you're posting on social media, checking at the gym, and and then all of a sudden you're really at home, you know, eating bonbons on the on the couch, right? Life doesn't reward you for claiming to be someone that you're not, it rewards you for being consistent. Life rewards you for the work that you put in. You don't get any freebies, it's no buy two, get one free in life. Just because you came to the gym two days doesn't mean your results are gonna add a third day of workouts of results to your to your shit. No, it doesn't work like that. You worked out twice, you get the effort and the results of two workouts. You work out for a month, you'll get the effort and results of a month of workouts. That's it's as simple as that, right? Your real standard is not your floor. Or your real standard, sorry, is not your or is your floor not your ceiling, right? Your your standards that you do in private, meaning that how you act, how you train, the work effort, the um dedication, consistency, that is your floor, right? Most people obsessed over their ceiling and their potential and their best day and their when I'm locked in version of themselves. But your results come from the everyday, right? What you do on your worst day, how you act, what you think about, you know, where you actually go. Do you actually go to the gym? Do you actually, you know, if you're an entrepreneur, if you're a professional uh in any industry, are you actually putting in the work that needs to be done on that day, even though you feel like shit, even though you mentally are exhausted? Because that is, if you are, that is your floor. Then when you zone in or you have that locked-in version, it only goes up from there, right? So the goal isn't hype, the goal is raising your floor, right? The your standard, your your consistency. What is the average of all your days look like? What is the work that no one sees? That's what builds results, right? Because you see someone else that you aspire to be, and you think that continuing on the path that you're on, if you're not doing the work, that you're all of a sudden magically gonna achieve what they've achieved. They're doing stuff that you're not seeing and being consistent when you're not. But the good news is that that's how you separate yourself from other people as well. I heard this quote, and honestly, it hit home for me like being an entrepreneur and going through the grind of growing a business is walking through the fire and and the growing pains and all that stuff. It's easier to be like, you know what, I'm gonna do this tomorrow. I'm gonna I'm gonna focus on this later. I'm too stressed out, and and whatever the case may be. But when you look, when I when I heard the quote, it's like I feel sorry for the other people that are trying to aspire to be me because they have to walk through this fire. Like I can get through this. This is no, this isn't this is fine. Like this is what builds me. I just feel sorry for everyone else that has to come up through this, and so you have to realize that when you don't want to do something, that's okay. But that doesn't mean you don't get to not do it. You can want to not do something all you want, just like most of the members don't want to be in here working out, just like most people in the gym don't want to be working out, but you can want to not work out as you work out all you want, as long as you're fucking working out, right? The work that really matters is that invisible work to everyone else, the work that no one applauds, the work that nobody likes, that nobody sees until they see the results. I've mentioned this before, you know, when I launched Strive 11, before I launched Strive 11, I should say, people would ask, you know, with launching a business and all that kind of stuff, they would, you know, what are you gonna do? I'm gonna open a gym one day, would be my response, and you get those pats on the head that okay, okay, yeah, I hear everyone say that. And then all of a sudden they see Strive 11 open, then they see the franchise, and all of a sudden, those same people are asking for to be connected and to you know come on the podcast and do all these other things, and it's like I'm all cool with it. Like, I love helping people and bringing people up, but realize that you're gonna go through that same thing, right? No one until people see the results, why should they believe you? Why should they applaud you? Like some clients get upset that I don't tell them good job just because they had one good workout, right? It's like that that's what you're supposed to do. They get upset because they had a good weigh-in, and I'm not like, oh wow, that's amazing. No, that's that's your responsibility, that's what we're fucking training for. And then when you go above and beyond the the requirement, like if you're supposed to lose a pound and you lose a pound, fucking good. But if you lost all of a sudden a pound of body fat and you're down this, your muscle went up, all of a sudden it's like, dude, fucking good job. You went above and beyond, right? But nobody applauds the work that you're supposed to be doing, and so you shouldn't be doing the work for the applause. You should be doing the work because you know you need to do it to get the results that you need to get and that you want, right? Visibility builds ego, but in a visibility builds skill, right? Builds consistency, builds you, right? Who are you versus who you say you are? I'm gonna say that again. Who you are versus who you say you are. That's integrity, right? Integrity is doing what you said you do when there's no audience, when there's no thank you, when there's no um social media post about you, when there's no that you do what you need to do because you said you would do it. You told yourself you're gonna go work out, go work out. You said you're gonna finish the project today, finish the project today. For an example, if you're an entrepreneur, right? You said you want you want a bigger business, but then you're actually going out and you know, partying and all that. It's like you're not doing the shit that you said you want you you want. It's like you said you want a bigger business and you actually kept your word to yourself, you started tracking your lead, you started doing follow-ups, you're doing that uncomfortable work. So good job, right? You you you're doing the things that you need to do because that's who you want to be, that's what you want your business to be, right? Self-respect comes from those private receipts, those receipts that you get at the end of the day for achieving the things that you needed to do to move the needle a little bit, right? What I've talked about, and I know a handful of people have talked about it, is that what three tasks to five tasks do you need to do today to move that needle forward of progress? All the other stuff is just noise. There's a book called Eat the Frog, I've referenced before, but focus on the biggest task, get that done first. Don't put that as the last task and be like, I'm gonna build momentum to it. Like get that out of the way first, then everything else after that is easy. But set three to five tasks for the day that is gonna move the needle, not I'm gonna get groceries today, I'm gonna do this. No, like what is going to actually get you moving forward that's gonna be uncomfortable, right? Those micro decisions, honestly, those are the hidden reps that really build the character, right? It's it's a big moment or a big moment, whether it's your results or the when people notice, that's just a collection of all your tiny decisions that you make on a daily basis. You don't become disciplined, you practice discipline in those micro reps. Micro rep, for example, is catching yourself mid-excuse, I'm tired, okay, but I'm still gonna do do it. I don't feel like it, but I'm still gonna go do it, right? A quick little thing could be even like waking up instead of hitting a snooze, just put your feet on the floor. Instead of scrolling and you catch yourself scrolling, stop, open a book. Instead of opening that bag of chips, what should you actually be eating to hit your macros? Right? It's avoid or confront. Avoid or confront, right? You don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your standards or you fall to your training. And a lot of the times the daily stuff, it's boring, it's it's it's mundane, it's the shit that you know you don't want to do anymore. But the boredom is the test, right? Not the motivation, right? Motivation can come easy when it's new, when it's fun, when it's exciting to talk about with people. But the character, your character gets built when you show up, when it's repetitive, when it is boring, when it is not fun anymore, when it's not sexy anymore.

unknown: 11:48

Right?

SPEAKER_00: 11:48

Anyone can train hard in the gym for two weeks, but the real ones who train when progress starts to slow down, they start to hit a plateau when the the scale really isn't moving, that's where you start to really build. Right? Anyone can feel excited in entrepreneurship about an exciting idea or a new business, you know, venture. But the real ones are the ones that are still executing in the phases that are maybe the dips, right? And they're not just throwing their hands up, all this is too hard, this is too too much for me. Performance mode, which I've heard before, is like you know, when you're locked in and you're you're in the zone, right? Like that's a trap, and it's a trap because it's a mental state that you think that you need to be in to execute, right? A lot of people are only disciplined when the spy the spotlight is on them, right? Or when they're locked in, quote unquote, right? And that's not the case. You're locked in when you just focus when you're focused, shit gets done, but you're the only one that has control over your attention span. So focus on what you need to do and just get it done. Raise your standards with non-negotiables. If you want to change your life, set your floor of standards higher. You refuse to go under these standards, you refuse to do less than this. This is my minimum standard. I move every day, I hit you know X amount of protein a day, I do X, you know, um money check-ins, you know, and with my with my savings, right? Whatever it is. I do the this uncomfortable task first, whatever the case may be, right? Standards beat your mood, beat your mindset, beat all that. Your standards are just what needs to get done, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Sometimes, though, you do need to change your environment, right? And that can help, but at the end of the day, it all starts with your mind, right? People will blame your what the you know self-will power, and most of the time it's just your environment. If junk food is within arm's reach, your discipline is gonna be a lot harder to hit, right? But if your junk food's not there at all, easier. Make your environment suitable for your bulls. If your phone is charging next to your bed and you can't sleep, you're probably gonna start scrolling. Maybe put a book next to your phone, fall asleep reading. Right? Your environment is either recruiting you or it's sabotaging you. Again, I'll say that again. Your environment is either recruiting you, meaning the future version of you that you want to be, or it is sabotaging that future version that you want to be. Every micro micro decision that you make in the day is building your invisible resume, right? That's the resume you show people when you just walk in the room when people hear about you. Not the physical resume you can for a job, but the invisible resume is built in private from your habits, from your skills that you start to learn, from your follow-through with yourself, from your workouts, from your work uh effort, right? Great ethic. That's what I've been trying to say. Uh, and when they see you, they're like, That's that's someone I aspire to be. So, my challenge to you is not falling to your standards, but I want you to raise your standards. My challenge for you is to think about what are your daily standards and do those align with your goal. If they don't, set some, set some new standards that align with your goal, and they are non-negotiable. But if there's anything I can do, please reach out to me. I appreciate you guys all for following the mindset cafe. I'm always here to help any way I can. I love you guys, I appreciate you guys, and I'll see you guys on the next one.