Growth Instigators Hotline

#488 Gasoline: Consume.

• Aaron Havens • Season 5 • Episode 488

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A gas station mistake made headlines in Colorado when diesel was pumped into unleaded tanks across dozens of stations. That story became our spark: if the wrong fuel can sideline a car in minutes, what are the slow, silent misfuels we allow into our minds, bodies, and calendars every day? We take a common object—the pump handle—and turn it into a powerful audit for conversations, content, and environments so you can run cleaner, think clearer, and execute with consistency.

We break down three levers that determine your daily performance. First, the voices you let close: conversations either lift your standards or erode them, and the easiest upgrade is setting refusal rules for negativity and gossip. Second, the content diet: phones are pump handles for attention, and swapping outrage loops for learning loops restores focus, reduces stress, and builds momentum. Third, the environment design: small cues in your space—lighting, layout, visibility—quietly nudge behavior more reliably than motivation ever will. Along the way, we share simple, repeatable prompts, including a two-minute check while you fill your car: What went into your personal tank today?

You’ll leave with a handful of practical commitments: protect the workout to avoid the slippery “skip again” slope, batch your media into windows, curate one quality conversation each week, and set up spaces that default you to action. And if you’re feeling stuck or coasting, consider bringing in a coach for that second set of eyes to spot friction and clarify next moves. Your engine is intricate, and your life is valuable—choose premium inputs and drive with intention.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with someone who needs a tune-up, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Then tell us: what single input will you upgrade this week?

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to message 488 of the Growth Instigators Hotline, where we examine an everyday normal object and assign it a deeper meaning. I'm Aaron Havens, your host and growth coach. What can gasoline remind us of today? My friends, the right fuel matters. Put diesel engine in a gas engine and you're calling a tow truck. What you consume, conversations, content, environments directly affects performance. Last week in Colorado, somehow a major gasoline supplier accidentally put diesel fuel in the unleaded tanks in something like 30 gas stations. Oops, headline news. How many cars do they need to replace? Our bodies and mind are even more intricate than our vehicles. What we put in is imperative. So the next time you're filling up gas at a gas station, putting gas in your car, you know that awkward two minutes that it takes to fill up your tank? Yeah, why don't you take that time to reflect? What are you putting in your personal tank? Are your conversations healthy and productive and honoring? Is the content you consume on your phones and internet, does it make you better? Are your environments encouraging and healthy? Why? Well, we all know the importance of putting the right fuel in our vehicles, but many of us think that our bodies and minds can operate optimally while we consume junk. Everyone thinks they are the exception to the rules until they are not, myself included. So, my friends, refuse to engage in that meaningless and negative conversation. Refuse to let your thinking be soured. Refuse to skip a day at the gym because you know it'll be that much easier to skip the day after that. Refuse to put anything less than premium grade into your fuel system. Hey, if you need help with thinking in your life and leadership, I can help. Your life is too valuable to just coast along. Sometimes we just need another set of ears or eyes on something to help growth happen. Shoot me a text or send me an email at Aaron at Growth Instigators.com if that is you. Thank you for tuning in today. You can listen to any of our past messages wherever you get your podcasts. If you have thoughts you'd like to share, I'd love to hear them. Contact me at growth instigators.com or leave me a message after the beep. Here's to putting better fuel in your system today. Here's to growth.