Busy But Unfulfilled? Break the Default Loop and Design Your Life With Clarity

You can be successful on paper… and still feel empty inside.

In this powerful conversation, David Prosper - known as The Clarity Guy - shares how he broke free from the “Default Loop” of achievement without fulfillment and began living a life by design instead of by default.

If you’re driven but quietly questioning your direction, this episode will challenge and encourage you.

What if the real problem isn’t your work ethic… but your direction?

David Prosper grew up in the projects of Fort Lauderdale, surrounded by survival, chaos, and confusion. Through sports, discipline, and determination, he built success. He earned awards. Led teams. Climbed the ladder.

Yet inside, something was missing.

In this episode, we explore the concept of The Default Loop™ - the cycle of being busy, reactive, and productive… but not aligned.

David shares:

• How high achievers unknowingly fall into the Default Loop
• Why clarity is the real gap between knowledge and transformation
• The difference between reacting and responding
• The powerful 5C Model (Capacity, Competency, Courage, Connection, Curiosity)
• Why clarity is not having everything figured out - but knowing your next right      step
• How to live by design instead of by default
• What it means to pursue peace, purpose, and prosperity

We also talk about identity, leadership, boundaries (not balance), faith, and the compound effect of small, consistent clarity decisions.

If you are navigating transition…
If you are successful but restless…
If you are ambitious but seeking deeper alignment…

This conversation is for you.

Because clarity is not a personality trait.
It’s a muscle.

And it can be trained.

/David Dahlén D’Cruz
Life & Leadership Connected

🌐 Connect with David Prosper
davidprosper7@gmail.com
Website:
https://theclaritybrand.ai/
A free Clarity Assessment + reflection guide to help viewer and listeners identify where they’re misaligned and what to focus on next:
https://davidbprosper.com

David Dahlén D'Cruz
david.dahlendcruz@lifeleadershipconnected.com
Life & Leadership Connected
https://lifeleadershipconnected.com
https://lifeleadershipconnected.systeme.io/32644969

We Empower Your Journey

Transcript

0:05

starter kit for Americans. It's like you go to college, you go to college, you get a good job, you retire and you buy a house and you have the American dream. Everyone can be successful. So that was the default loop I call like. People in life often put projections of how we're supposed to be. So as I was in college and after college, I was like, okay, I got this college degree. What do I do with it? So I get his job. And I started noticing like a lot of the workplaces that I was in, there were some great ones. There were also the majority, very challenging ones. I was like, this is not me. I'm not wired to be this way. And I would often ask my mother, like, 'Why am I so different? Why am I so different?' Like I see leadership deficiencies. Okay, why are they leading this way? This is ineffective. And I started, when I would get hired to these places, they would often say, 'We want leaders who take initiative. We want people who are proactive'. I would do the exact same thing that they asked me for, but yet met with retaliation or even hostility when I would bring things up and say, 'Hey, could we do this a little bit better?' It was like, 'no, no, no, this is the way it is. This is the way it is.' So when I started experiencing those things, I was like, why am I doing this? And I don't feel like I'm flourishing as a human first and as a worker second. So I started questioning the system and I realized I wasn't meant to be in the system. I was created to create a system. achieved a lot of accolades. I was top salesperson. I had all the awards. I have awards behind me. As far as like impacting the community. We've gotten awards. So it's just like I've achieved all these accolades my name edged in stone in the stadium my pictures all over. Being in different magazine. So I on the physical side on paper with a lot of high performers on paper I was successful but on the inside I was like 'this is meaningless', like I'm thankful in the moment. Hey, I achieve these things top salesperson. Growing in my leadership and influence from entry level all the way to like the middle management and senior management. I'm like, okay, I'm thankful for it. But at the same time, too, it didn't fill anything up inside me and I felt empty. I was in that loop myself because I believe what we're exposed to and immersed in, we start to embody. I started to embody that default loop. On every year I'm doing something that doesn't bring me joy, I'm doing something that I'm not using my giftings uh I'm not really living my purpose. I'm I'm trying to... trying to fit in a system in a place where I really don't fit in but it makes, um making a lot of money. So I'm like, okay, like this is the way life is supposed to be versus starting to design life. And that's the difference between, I believe, living a life by default and living a life by design. Default is I'm in the Passenger seat of my life and whatever happens to me, I'm just accepting without questioning. Designing is like, what intentionally can I design and facilitate and cultivate that actually brings me joy the signs and symptoms that you'll notice if you're living in a default loop is if you react more than respond, and the difference between those two things, if somebody says something and you're quick to sit to have a rebuttal, that's a quick sign versus pause, reflect.'What did you mean by that?' So when someone's in that default loop, they're very reactive. Another thing, they're... When a default loop they're highly sensitive to whatever is happening in their external world so if politics are the thing that is driving and current events now they're feeling the emotions and they're being swayed by Everything that is happening around them versus being anchored and saying "Hold on. Wait a minute. What's happening here? There's two stories being told. Which one is trying to pull me emotionally? And then the last step is of understanding the symptoms and the signals is if we're consuming more than we're creating. So when someone's in a default loop, they're constantly consuming things. They're scrolling. They're inputting inputting inputting versus what are they creating? Are they creating relationships that are helpful? Are they creating products, systems, teams? Products, all those things. So once we're living in design, we're creating, but if we're living in default, we're typically consuming, complaining, comparing. But when we're in design, we're creating, collaborating, cultivating, and celebrating others. I believe that life is about learning and unlearning. We learn things in one season and maybe in the next season it doesn't doesn't help us, So we have to unlearn it to learn something else to get us to that next place. So if we start embodying the 5C Model reflecting and assessing our Capacity, our Competency, our Courage, our Connection and our Curiosity, I believe we'll start designing a life of Clarity. If you want more information, go to lifeandleadershipconnected.com. I'm your host and coach, David Dahlén D'Cruz. Let's dive right into this episode. Hello and welcome to a new episode of the podcast, Life and Leadership Connected Podcast. And today I have very special guest. He's someone whose story carries both grit and grace and whose message couldn't be more relevant for the season many of us find ourselves in today. David Prosper is his name and he's known as the "Clarity Guy". The clarity he teaches didn't come easily for him. He grew up in... the projects of in Florida in US, and he was surrounded by violence, confusion and chaos. And as a young man, survival often dictated his decisions. But something in him kept asking deeper questions and that search led him on a transformation journey from noise to purpose. And through football, faith and decision to live by design instead of default, David charted a new course, and he went from feeling stuck, overwhelmed and directionless to becoming a founder, author and Clarity Coach who now helps leaders, founders and everyday people cut through the mental fog and reconnect with what really matters. And he's the founder of something called the "Clarity Brand AI". He's author of a book that in fact was released in August last year, the book title is "Finding Clarity, Your Guide to Peace, Purpose and Prosperity." And he's also creator of several powerful frameworks, like the "Clarity Compass", "Clarity Cycle", and a framework called "5C Model". And that's tools designed to help people just like you and me to get unstuck, simplify your decisions, and move forward with momentum. And in this conversation will explore what keeps so many high achievers trapped something he called "Default Loop". about being busy but unfulfilled and how to break free from that. And we will talk about identity, faith, focus and the compound effect of Clarity. That's also something David speaks about. And if you're navigating transition, questioning your next step or are simply tired of chasing productivity without peace, this episode is for you. And David, a blend of raw story, practical wisdom and spiritual depth. That's his gifts. I can't wait more about what David wants to share with you and me today. So welcome to the podcast, David. Well, thank you, David. That was one of the best introductions I've ever had. You did ... I was like, I did all of those things? Thank you so much for your kind words and that introduction. It was great. Absolutely, Tell me your backstory. I mean, you've described yourself growing up in the world where confusion and survival shaped most decisions. And can you take us back, take us into that world and how it shaped you early, your early sense of identity and leadership? Yeah, that's such a great question, David. So growing up in the projects of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, my parents were two Haitian immigrants who came into this country for the American dream. So living in a third world country and coming to America, it's like, oh, we've made it. So we were still in the projects. And what I noticed constantly was it was very reactive. The people in my community was doing things just to get by. And sometimes we just have to survive, survive the day in order to get through today. But what I started to see every year, every new year, when we would celebrate "Happy New Year, new year, new me", like we would have all these ambitious goals, yet people would fall back to the level of their systems. So they would have these aspirations, but they wouldn't have the implementation of the consistency of long-term. So what I started noticing as a kid and as an adolescent was like, why are we aspiring to do those things, but never doing those things, and going through this loop of new year, new me, set these goals and go right back to what we used to do, where we used to be and the conversations that we're comfortable of. So seeing that in my community was like, hold on, something's not right. And I've always been that kid who questioned everything and my teachers in school did not like it. And I was just like, just accept it the way it is. But I've always been curious, like, why is it the way it is? That curiosity led me to going on this journey and ultimately finding Clarity as my platform to bring to humanity. Sports played a place in your youth, college football tell us a little bit how that helped you? Because I believe, I think you said somewhere that that helped you to leave situation at that time. How did that journey go? Yes, football and track saved my life. Where I grew up, one of the things we always did as kids, we would rob the convenience store. Like we would, one person would distract the cashier, the other person would grab the food. We didn't have food, so we would take food, without paying for it, robbing it. And that lifestyle, I started seeing my friends, because I was participating as a kid, because we didn't have much. And then I started seeing my friends just evolve. Like they started stealing cars, they started stealing other things, they started robbing people's homes. So sports saved my life. And I remember as a 17 year old telling my mother, like, I have a college scholarship to play football and run track. If I don't leave this community, I'm going to get stuck in this community and I'm gonna start embodying a lot of the lifestyle and Florida is the fast life so it's like everything comes fast most people are reactive and it's that life so you either meet that standard of lifestyle or you get rejected and no one wants to be rejected so leaving Fort Lauderdale Florida, to go play college in Wisconsin, De Pere, Wisconsin, was a cultural change, an emotional change, a climate change. It was sunny and hot and humid in Florida and it was snowing and it was just nasty in the winter in Wisconsin. But I came to Wisconsin as a boy, but I left as a man because it helped develop me, helped me see the world, helped me to experience different cultures in a way that gave me greater confidence and the right footing to start leading others. I heard you said that got some scholarship people started to give you good feedback and you succeeded in things. But still, you felt something empty inside, you said Tell us a what happened there. That's a great question. It's like The starter kit for Americans. It's like you go to college, you go to college, you get a good job, you retire and you buy a house and you have the American dream. Everyone can be successful. So that was the default loop I call like. People in life often put projections of how we're supposed to be. So as I was in college and after college, I was like, okay, I got this college degree. What do I do with it? So I get his job. And I started noticing like a lot of the workplaces that I was in, there were some great ones. There were also the majority, very challenging ones. I was like, this is not me. I'm not wired to be this way. And I would often ask my mother, like, 'Why am I so different? Why am I so different?' Like I see leadership deficiencies. Okay, why are they leading this way? This is ineffective. And I started, when I would get hired to these places, they would often say, 'We want leaders who take initiative. We want people who are proactive'. I would do the exact same thing that they asked me for, but yet met with retaliation or even hostility when I would bring things up and say, 'Hey, could we do this a little bit better?' It was like, 'no, no, no, this is the way it is. This is the way it is.' So when I started experiencing those things, I was like, why am I doing this? And I don't feel like I'm flourishing as a human first and as a worker second. So I started questioning the system and I realized I wasn't meant to be in the system. I was created to create a system. return to my question, you said felt empty inside or inside. made you feel empty inside when you got so much good feedback? What was the reason for that? Yeah, I achieved a lot of accolades. I was top salesperson. I had all the awards. I have awards behind As far as like impacting the community. We've gotten awards. So it's just like I've achieved all these accolades my name edged in stone in the stadium my pictures all over. Being in different magazine. So I on the physical side on paper with a lot of high performers on paper I was successful but on the inside I was like 'this is meaningless', like I'm thankful in the moment. Hey, I achieve these things top salesperson. Growing in my leadership and influence from entry level all the way to like the middle management and senior management. I'm like, okay, I'm thankful for it. But at the same time, too, it didn't fill anything up inside me and I felt empty. Yeah, yeah. You mentioned before the any connection there between you felt empty and the default loop? Is there something there that, yeah, tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, the default loop is like being on a treadmill. It looks like you're going somewhere, but you're actually in the same motion and you're just picking up your feet and the treadmill is moving underneath your feet. So it's it reminded me of my community of every new year there would be a goal and we would fall to the level of our systems. So for me, I was in that loop myself because I believe what we're exposed to and immersed in, we start to embody. I started to embody that default loop. On every year I'm doing something that doesn't bring me joy, I'm doing something that I'm not using my giftings uh I'm not really living my purpose. I'm I'm trying to... trying to fit in a system in a place where I really don't fit in but it makes, um making a lot of money. So I'm like, okay, like this is the way life is supposed to be versus starting to design life. And that's the difference between, I believe, living a life by default and living a life by design. Default is I'm in the Passenger seat of my life and whatever happens to me, I'm just accepting without questioning. Designing is like, what intentionally can I design and facilitate and cultivate that actually brings me joy whether it's my ecosystem or workplace? So I found myself like having the same friends, having the same conversations, going to job that wasn't fulfilling and it was depriving me of joy. So I found myself in that loop. yeah, yeah. you say it's dangerous to be there? Because I believe many people are there. They don't live by design. What are the risks to continue that way, the way you see it? Yeah, that's a great question. I would say one of the biggest risks is like the person becomes - and I myself was there too - we become more reactive than regulated. We become more defensive than receptive. And then ultimately, like my mom, back in 2016, when she passed, she was on her deathbed.

She said: 18:10

"I wish I did enough. I wish I did enough." So at the end of her life, she, she felt this level of regret and sadness. She did a lot, but she, she didn't do what she wanted to do, what she aspired to do, her dream. So at the end of it, it becomes a life unfulfilled. And that is, I think the greatest sadness. oh but during our lives it impact our relationships. We are physically in our relationships but we are presently emotionally absent. Deteriation, the solve of the relationship oh starts to impact the other things in our lives. So when we're in that default loop, like it impacts our relationships. And then if that goes long enough, it'll impact our finances, and then it'll impact our spiritual, our spiritual person. And then before you know we will physically be here, but will be emotionally, mentally, spiritually, financially exhausted, deprived. And well, it's the slow death. I call it a slow death. Yeah, Okay, great. Thank you for sharing that. What are some What can we look for, to not walk into that kind of default loop? What would you say are some signs for that? Yeah, that's a great question. The the signs and symptoms that you'll notice if you're living in a default loop is if you react more than respond, and the difference between those two things, if somebody says something and you're quick to sit to have a rebuttal, that's a quick sign versus pause, reflect.'What did you mean by that?' So when someone's in that default loop, they're very reactive. Another thing, they're... When a default loop they're highly sensitive to whatever is happening in their external world so if politics are the thing that is driving and current events now they're feeling the emotions and they're being swayed by Everything that is happening around them versus being anchored and saying "Hold on. Wait a minute. What's happening here? There's two stories being told. Which one is trying to pull me emotionally? And then the last step is of understanding the symptoms and the signals is if we're consuming more than we're creating. So when someone's in a default loop, they're constantly consuming things. They're scrolling. They're inputting inputting inputting versus what are they creating? Are they creating relationships that are helpful? Are they creating products, systems, teams? Products, all those things. So once we're living in design, we're creating, but if we're living in default, we're typically consuming, complaining, comparing. But when we're in design, we're creating, collaborating, cultivating, and celebrating others. Thank you. Before you discovered this default loop, what did it cost you personally? share something about that? Because before we discover something, we often go through the valley of darkness and then comes the light. What was it like for you? What did it cost you to make this discovery? It cost me everything. was such in the default loop that I reacted from a wound and got into a marriage because I needed that marriage to save me, to fill that void, to fill that wound. And it was a reckless decision that I for the person that I married and even myself, high inside looking 2020. When I was in that marriage, it was very, it was not compatible. It was an emotional reactive decision. I like you, you meet a need, you like me, let's get married. And that divorce process was, it tore me from the inside. It forced me to look in the mirror and it impacted my siblings. So like I lost family because I was in a default loop and divorce, even if it's amicable or it's mutual, it still plays a toll on the people involved. So my default loop impacted the next generation of two of my step-sons at the time. And it shifted their paradigm. So me living in default impacted an entire generation within those two young men. And it was that moment for me was just like, okay, like if I continue down this road, who else would I negatively impact because of my default loop versus live a life by design and impact the right people in a positive way. Wow, thank you. And you shared somewhere that early on in life you discovered you was a leader, you was a leader type, but you used it, you know, was a negative leader first. And then of course, you you become positive leader today. But can you tell us a little bit about your leadership, yourself, because most leadership, you know, starts with yourself before you can start to lead others. Tell us a little bit about that, how you guide yourself, and how that lead to others, leading others, and what challenges or maybe milestones shaped you to the one your today? Can you talk a little bit about that. That's a great question. I would say I was always that kid who asked question who quote unquote"defiled authority". And I remember we would go to the corner store. So the convenience store here in the projects. I would have, I would distract and orchestrate how we distracted the cashier and I would have my friends steal the food. So I was, I was leading, but I was leading very negatively. We were doing very destructive things. And I was often the mastermind behind it of getting people together to go do bad things.

And then I had a mentor, a couple mentors: 24:03

Dr. Harrigan Smith, all these individuals, started to invest in me and told me the Sum of my friends dictate how my life will be. And like, a huge milestone fast forward - that was adolescence - huge milestone was when I I was in 2016 and I went through a really bad breakup and I was really disappointed in myself and I told my mom, I was like, 'mom, I'm not a good human being. Like I wouldn't want my nephew to embody, I wouldn't want my niece to date or marry a guy like me. And my mom listened, and that was one of the first times I cried with her and she was like, 'it's okay, it's okay. One step at a time, you're gonna be okay, you're gonna grow, you're gonna grow.' So she was super supportive in that. And in that moment, I was like, I need to lead myself better. I need to do better. I need to think better. I need to act better. So I became obsessed with learning and discovering what make great leaders great. It's how they communicate, it's how they navigate, it's how they address conflict in a cohesive way that can weigh both sides. Because I was very I was a very aggressive with my communication. I wasn't... I wasn't a safe space for a lot of people that I led. I wasn't a safe space for myself. So like as I started to learn more of these these things of what made a great leader great and what changed environments it started to change me first because we can't lead from a place that we haven't gone or the person that we're not so if I'm not loved I can't teach love. If I'm not transformation, I'm teaching transformation, I've had to first transform myself because leadership in my opinion... Leaders are Guides. So guides typically tell you where they've been. A lot of people, influencers and people nowadays are Tour Guides. They tell you about a place.'Hey, go visit Sweden, go visit America. I hear it's great.''What should I look for?' 'I don't know, but the locals know'. So leaders are those guides who have been there, who can take people where they want to be. So that transformed me. I like that differentiation between Guides and Tour Guides. will remember that, that's a one. You talk about "Clarity a lot, of course, you say it's the key that unlocks human potential. I wonder what first led you to that insight and how did you begin turning that into your mission as it is today? Yeah, so it was, was the concept and this idea was literally given by God as I'm hiking in the mountains of Colorado. But when I started to focus on like what keeps people limited, because intelligence, especially currently, we're no longer deprived of intelligence and knowledge. We have all of this AI that supports that. But yet people are still more confused, more overwhelmed, more reactive now than ever before. Because information overload doesn't take away from... navigating and filtering it. So I believe that Clarity is the gap that allows us to filter signal from noise. It becomes the gap from Confusion to Clarity, from Insecurity to Confidence, because it allows us to understand... Clarity allows us to understand 'Why this is happening?'.'What it is gonna impact?', Who is it gonna impact? How to navigate it? So it's understanding the intricacies and the details of how this is wired, how can I... implement this and who else can I help navigate it and what's the importance of this? What's the purpose of this? What's the path of this? What's the process of this? And once we can understand that it's like anything we build. If we're building a desk and we understand, okay, what are our tools that we have accessible to us? What's... What do we need to build it? We have everything we need. Now we have the instructions. Now we can build something effectively. But nowadays, in our current world, we're trying to build a desk with no instruction, with the wrong tools, and no reason for it. But we're just like a hustle culture. Let's just build it, and whoever builds it the fastest win. But the "Clarity is a gap to help human potential because we'll know why we're building it. So we'll build it effectively and it'll be sustainable. sustainable. Yeah. In your mind, how did we get there? I mean, how did we get into this hustle as you said? If earlier generations had Clarity, or did they? Why did we lose it? That's a good question. So the hustle culture is do more, do more, do more because we often associate our identity in our work. So if we do more and perform more, then we will 'appear' to be more worthy and ultimately we will be more loved and admired. So that's why it's taken, it's grown so... exponentially in the movement. But if people had Clarity earlier or why we don't move into it is largely because It's competitive and competition is good. So it's like whoever does it first can beat their chess and say, I'm the first one. But if we look at Apple with the iPhone, Apple iPhone wasn't the first smartphone. What Steve Jobs did was he took his time to focus on the user experience. His Blackberry and Nokia were smartphones at that time too. So it was just like.'Why are we building this? What are we trying to solve? How are we trying to give users an experience? Steve Jobs is an embodiment of Clarity in how he built this product that has stood the test of time so far. And granted, Apple doesn't own the entire market share, yet they're a billion dollar, trillion dollar company. So they had Clarity of what they're building of the ecosystem of Apple versus Samsung owns the market, but their ecosystem don't always interconnect. They've probably made some advancements since then. So that's, I believe, why we move into that host hustle culture. But I believe that we're going to get to a place where we're going to move into the Clarity error. And in that, we're going to understand why we're building it, where we're going and who and we're going to slow it down because Clarity is found in in the pace of the process. Versis the hurriness of getting there. Wow, interesting. Thank You have created some frameworks and tools to help other people to find Clarity. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, some of the frameworks, I call it the C5 model and the C5 model because there's one thing to say, okay, I need "Clarity in and how do I know I'm in Clarity? So five things first. So the first C is Capacity. Do you have the bandwidth? Do you have the ability, the space in your life to learn something? And oftentimes we're deprived of space mentally, emotionally. So increasing our capacity means increasing our ability and the space for us to do what we aspire to do. And the second C is Competency. So do we have the skillset in order to do the thing we aspire to do? Or are we willing to build those skillsets? And then the third C is Courage. Are we practicing taking faith in spite of fear? And courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of faith. And the fourth C is Connection. Who are we connected to? What are we connected to that moves us forward in the direction that we wanna be, the life by design. And then the last C is Curiosity. Are we staying curious about the things around us? Are we exploring? Are we... questioning things with a healthy level of question and are we understanding things...because I believe that life is about learning and unlearning. We learn things in one season and maybe in the next season it doesn't doesn't help us, So we have to unlearn it to learn something else to get us to that next place. So if we start embodying the 5C Model reflecting and assessing our Capacity, our Competency, our Courage, our Connection and our Curiosity, I believe we'll start designing a life of Clarity. Thank you. We'll come back to the 5C model a little bit later. But first going to take a short break, maybe 30 seconds, and continue after that. We'll be right back. Okay. Hi there, just taking a quick pause. If something in this conversation is resonating with you. Maybe you are in a season of transition, or you starting to ask deeper questions about purpose and direction. I want you to know you are not alone. If you would like to explore what coaching could look like, or just take the next step toward clarity and impact, you're warmly invited to visit lifeleadshipconnected.com. And while you're there, grab your free copy of my brand new ebook, the "Identity to Impact Starter a Guide". It's full of practical reflections to help you reconnect with who you are and where you are going. of this is waiting for you at lifeleadshipconnected.com. Now back to the episode. Hello and welcome back to the Life and leadership Connect Podcast and today I have a conversation with David Prosper. David Prosper. Okay, let's continue David. I have another question David. Tell us a bit what gives you life energy in the work you do today and how do you keep your energy levels hi day by day David? That's a great question. I would say what give my life energy and purpose is creating impact. And we all want to be important and we all want to be significant. Some people get significance and importance by doing something reckless and now people know about them. The significance that I want, that I aspire to is how many people can I positively impact? And I wanna be important. And by that aspiration, that means I have to serve, I get to serve. I get to serve people and I tell this to my clients all the time. Thank you for the opportunity for letting me serve you. And I was just like, no, thank you. I was like, no, like my vision is to help a billion people live life by design, by living with Clarity. So when I serve people, seeing that transformation, it feeds my soul because it's a reminder of I'm using God's gift to do what I'm created to do and it has meaning like it means something and we can we can build buildings. We can build a lot of products and those things are great, but building relationships That's legacy and that's important to me. Wow, thank you. Thank you for sharing that. That's really good. And I wonder, mean, you help people move from living by default and living by design. We spoke about that earlier. What would you say is the first mindset shift that someone needs to make to begin that journey? Yeah, that's a great question. I would say the biggest mindset shift that someone needs to make to make that pivot is start addressing their state. So our state is usually our how our well-being is like it's our emotions what emotions we're in and then the next step is our story. The stories we tell ourselves become the narration of if we live an empowered life or we live a disempowered life. And then the last step is our systems because we don't fall to the level of our aspiration. We fall level to our systems. So addressing our systems to getting our like what rhythms like journaling, walking, exercising, having great conversations, what rhythms get us in a state of mind so we can continue to move forward. So if we address our state, how is our mindset, how is our emotion, then we address our stories, what narration is happening, and then if we address our systems, how can we create the implementation process like a business so that we can be consistent. Okay, great. you. Thank you. More practically, what does it look like for someone to begin cultivating Clarity? You talked about how you can start with the mindset, it always starts there. But then after that, how do you continue to move towards Clarity? What are the next steps, would you say? Again, questioning the story, because stories are always playing and, Hmm. it's like a VCR is like a movie constantly. It's always in our head and we often don't question it enough. And in our systems, like what are our tools, our frameworks? And like I talk about it in the book, finding Clarity, what are the frameworks we're using to make decisions? Because if we treated our lives like we treated business, because business has metrics, it's like there's a filtering process, why an executive or a leader makes decision. And when they hire, there's an onboarding process when they fire, there's a fire. So we have systems in place day in and day out, we don't have to necessarily think about how we're gonna do something. We have a system, we just has to execute it. So if we do the same thing in our lives, like, okay, so when I am triggered in an emotion, what's the first thing I do? So for me, I have a rubber band and I tell this to my clients, everybody needs to have a rubber band. And this rubber band snaps me out of it. Triggered, I snap this and I'm like, okay, how do I need to respond? And then I get to feel how am I feeling? And how am I choosing to respond? Okay, I'm feeling triggered, I feel emotional, I want to respond in love. So how do I do that? So that's my first thing. And then that's my system. So if I don't have this on, I feel naked. And I'm like, okay, I need to go get my rubber band somewhere. And I have my clients do the same thing. Thank you. you. Let's go back to this 5C module and, you know, capacity, competency, courage and connection and curiosity. If you want to develop that, is there like a... a path to do that? Can you develop them in any order you like? Or is one dependent on the other? Or do you see what I mean? If you want to a journey to develop that, first, how do do that? Where do you start, so to speak? Yeah, that's a great question. I believe it's all complimentary and it's not step one through five. This is what you do like a recipe. It's almost like seasonal and where you feel most pulled to. And I would always encourage wherever you're lacking in, if courage is a thing, if someone... starts there, typically wherever they are lacking in they start it starts filling in the other buckets because I see them all as buckets. So if someone starts at courage and they they want to take initiative and they want to step out of their comfort zone, them stepping out of their comfort zone is naturally going to increase their capacity, so they're going to be stretched in ways that they have the ability to retain and hold other things and then if they have the ability to retain other things then their skill set are going to grow so their competency is going to grow. and then when their competencies grow, then they're going to be more proficient and then people are going to... people sirens are going to go on and like who's that guy, and then their connections are going to naturally build from that, and then from their connections are building then they're just like hold on if I'm doing this and I'm getting this, what else can I get then their curiosity is naturally going to be enticed, so wherever the individual feels the weakest I would encourage start there, and then from there it starts to fill in the other buckets. That's good, that's good advice. Thank you. Thank ou. Often we move from one phase or one season in life to another. We all have these kinds of transitions. It can be career, it can be identity, it can be calling. And I wonder, what does it look like to find Clarity in those moments of uncertainty you move one phase of our life to another? Because you all have them. Can you share some of inside information there or how you do it? Yeah, that's a good question. We're all going through transitions, whether from primary school, secondary school, relationship, marriage, divorce, or kids leaving. There's all of these transitions and what it comes down to, like how the question you're asking, how does one still find Clarity in the process? And And there is a myth that I want to debunk. Clarity is not having everything figured out. One of my favorite quotes by Martin Luther King says, "Faith is taking the first step, not seeing the staircase". So Clarity is understanding your next right step. So given everything in my transition, what is my next right step? And if I can figure out my next right step, then that next right step leads to the next right step and it becomes a compound effect. So I don't have to understand the entire masterpiece. I just have to know my next right step. As I take steps towards that direction, then I find Clarity. It's like cleaning your home and you're looking for your keys. You won't find your keys if you're sitting on the couch and saying, I'm just going to wait till I remember where it's at. You're to start moving some things around. You're going to be like, where was the last place I was at? And as you move things around, you're like, oh, there's my keys. And that's just like Clarity. It's like, OK, what do I need to do? I need to move this around. I need to clear this out, clear this out, clear this out. oh That's what I need to do. So if someone is going through transition, I would first say start clearing out the things that are non-essential, no longer essential. It's clearing the clutter once we clear the clutter now we can have greater capacity and focus to focus on our next right step. That's good, thank you. want to bring up your book was published last year. And you say that Clarity brings peace, purpose and prosperity. And I wonder what does it look like when someone fully embraces this way of life? is the outcome people achieve if they follow through with this Clarity?

Yeah, I was talking to my client yesterday and she was like: 42:52

"Hold on, like, so what you're talking about is surrender. And Clarity gives us the permission to surrender the outcomes. Because a lot of us are hyper attached to how things are supposed to be. Clarity allows us to accept what is and take our next right step. So if we focus on the process more than we focus on the outcome, whatever outcome is supposed to be will be, but we'll focus on the process. And we'll eventually get there so when we're living in Clarity that means we're living a life of pursuing understanding, and if we're pursuing understanding, what happens is peace becomes a byproduct because peace is understanding when people are mean to us or they project on us. That's a form of them projecting and we don't internalize it as our own, and we accept what is versus trying to change what isn't. And then purpose, as we're living in Clarity, we're understand pursuing a life of understanding pursuing a life of understanding. Then we understand how are we wired? Who we're supposed to serve? What are our gifts, and and and what do we love doing it? How can we make money doing it or not make money doing it, do it for a nonprofit, and then as we live a life of Clarity we then start unlocking prosperity and prosperity is not just tied to finance financial wealth, it's tied to relational health, mental health, spiritual health, and all these things. So Clarity gives us the framework and the tools and the understanding and the next right step to have better relationships, better finances, better ecosystems. And then we live a life of peace, purpose, and prosperity. That's good, thank you. You said somewhere Clarity is like a muscle something you can train in daily life. You also spoke about the "Compound effect" earlier. Tell us a about how can you train this Clarity muscle over time. Please share. my mother would always say a hard head leads to a soft bottom. She she will beat us if we didn't listen. That takeaway from that is, when we do foolish things, foolish things compound, we do more foolish things. So Clarity is a muscle, we work on it like we would exercise and if we were running for the first time or if we were lifting weights for the first time, we're not going to grow immediately. We're going to often be sore. So when someone is pursuing Clarity, it often feels like discomfort because it becomes a mirror to help us to look at ourselves and say, what do I need to work on? Cause it's easy to pinpoint what other people need to do, but Clarity first becomes sore just like lifting weights. and say, what do I need to work on? And then as I learn more about me, then I understand more about humanity. And that goes to leadership. If I can't lead myself first and I can't lead others. So when we exercise that muscle of Clarity, what happens is again, we get more Clarity. We're like, I started doing this podcast and I wanted to pursue this. And I was like, that inspired. And that was the inspiration for my book. I started a podcast called"Clarity with David Prosper" and that's all I was doing. And then I was like, what if... what if I did a book based off this this podcast, and then I created the book and I was like what if I did a software that will help leaders and founders find Clarity and I was like, okay. What if I created a journal. So literally, it became like I'm stacking weights because I've I've been working out this thing called Clarity. So if we exercise it and we do it consistently enough, we'll start finding greater Clarity in everything around us.

I'm getting a picture: 46:49

If you walk with a flashlight, you only see one area of brightness in front of you. And as you go, brightness moves and you see more and more where you're going. And I guess that's what you're describing. You get some Clarity where you are right now. And as you move ahead, your Clarity area will grow. And you know where to take the steps. Thank you for sharing that. And now I wonder, David, what gives you purpose and meaning in life? What is your why behind the work you do today? The why is the conversation my mom had with me in 2016. She said, "I wish I did enough. I wish I did enough" on her deathbed. And she was crying. So for me, it's that. Then secondarily is like, I don't want to live a life that I say I wish I did enough.

So my why is: 47:38

I am afraid of living an unfulfilled life. I am afraid of when I get to heaven and God says, what did you do with the tools and the gifts that I've given you? How did you make humanity better? How did you impact your community?" I am afraid to say, I don't know or better yet, I chose not to. So that's my driving force and my friends and family, they understand that. I work like a madman and I'm crazy with it. Heck, like it's 5 a.m. in Utah and I'm doing this podcast. So for me, it's like there's this level of urgency. I need to get this done and we need to get this done. Yeah, thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Thank I agree it's important work hard, but you cannot work hard constantly. You need to find some time, places or times when you can restore the energy also. And how do you do that? Where do you find space to restore the energy? And what do you do then? How do you find this life balance? Yeah, I don't necessarily, I don't necessarily believe in balance because balance, balance makes it seem like there's things that is better than the other. I believe in boundaries. So, so for me, boundaries is like yesterday, I had a busy day of uh working with clients and doing brand content, and I got my work done in the beginning of the day and then my my girlfriend and her daughter and her boyfriend we all went to watch a basketball game. So while I was there, my phone is off, my notifications are off, and I am completely where my feet is. So I've built my schedule, my calendar to block out things. So no one can't schedule anything. And that hour, 90 minutes is uninterrupted with whatever I'm doing. So for me, I've created boundaries in my life by mastering my calendar so that wherever I am I'm presently there. Yeah, I agree. Boundaries is a better word than balance. that's true. That's really good. Yeah, thank you. If someone listening feels overwhelmed, or maybe directionless, what would you say is one thing you'd want them to hear today? This is gonna be so philosophical. They're gonna be like, my goodness, my mind is blown. You said something I've never heard. It's often the very thing our parents have told us. Clean your room. Clean your room. Watch. Watch what happens when you clean your room and then better yet, clean your house. You're like, huh? That's a... Once you can physically change the environment in which you're in, it can change, it will change the environment in your mind. So physically clean your space, whether it's your car, whether it's your room, whether it's your desk, just clean it and watch how much capacity you have for your next right thing and not feel overwhelmed. That's great. David, where can people find you if they want to hear more of you and where can they contact you and find your resources and so on? Yeah, so first my website is theclaritybrand.ai. That's my site, but I'm on all social media platforms, but I live on Instagram at theclarityguy underscore, theclarityguy underscore. There is where I live the most, but I'm on all social media platforms at theclarityguy underscore. Okay, great, thank you. So it's been really nice to listen to David and hear your things, what would you say and how you do I mean, your story and your frameworks, they are a gift. And I know that listeners will walk away with more than just insight, and maybe hopefully live with hope and stronger insight of the path forward. So thank you for today, David. And also I speak to your listeners and viewers. Thank you for being here today. I hope you find something valuable. subscribe to the channel. Subscribe so you don't miss when the next podcast episode comes out. So thank you for today and see you soon. Bye bye. Thank you David. Bye bye. Mmm.