Michael Shakelford: Own Your Wants. Own Your Future

The grueling honesty and intentional reflection required to dismantle and reassemble our lives is a task far too difficult for most of us to undertake. Michael does it daily—and today, he is sharing his blueprint. In this episode, Michael breaks down how our wants, choices, vision, and beliefs ultimately dictate our reality. If you are ready to stop living by default and start designing your life by choice, this raw and insightful conversation is for you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome back to University Personal. I'm your host, Greg Allen. Today we're stripping away the external noise and going deep into the engine room of human experience. Have you ever stopped to look at your current life, your relationships, your emotional state, your day-to-day reality, and wondered, how exactly did I get here? The truth might be more uncomfortable and yet more empowering than you think. Today we'll be hearing from Michael Shackelford, a successful entrepreneur and relentless truth seeker. He'll be unpacking a fundamental truth. You get what you want because what you currently have or feel is a direct reflection of your true desires. Michael moves seamlessly from discussing our wants to our choices to our vision and our beliefs about ourselves. He fought hard to learn this wisdom, and I appreciate him sharing his insights with us today. Universally personal.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

You get what you want in life. And because I wanted to be.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Universally personal.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

I think what I'm hearing is people or a lot of people say that I don't have a choice. I'm just a poor person, or I'm just this, I'm just I'm not lovable, I'm not this. And that's just not you, yeah, you are with that line of thing. If you think you are that, then you will be that. To be more content is to know that these are your choices and you're choosing whatever it is. So I read this book about Auschwitz, and the people that went into these camps, they didn't have any control. They got everything wiped away from their families taken away. They didn't have any choices at all. And people were going crazy. And they had electric fences, and they said, you know, you could run to the electric fence, grab it, and you would die. So the only choice he has is life or death. Do I die or do I live? And that's what got him through this whole experience. The only choice he has is life or death. Do I die or do I live? And that's what got him through this whole experience. To be more content is to know that these are your choices and you're choosing whatever it is. Yeah, I mean, think about that. That's a great example, is like all successful people come from really expensive schools. That's not true at all. Yeah. I mean, chances are if you have some kind of um uh hindrance in your life, you have a better chance of being successful. I looked at myself, I didn't have food most of the days, and lights were turned off when I was younger, and I didn't want that for my family, and I grew, you know, versus, yeah, this is just how I am. You know, and a lot of people just think that that's where they're supposed to be, and they stay in that environment that they don't have to. I mean, it's been proven over and over, you don't have to be in that. I mean, there's a lot of rich people that came from nothing. There's a lot of rich people that came from nothing. If you think you are that, then you will be that. But be more content is to know that these are your choices and you're choosing whatever it is. There's a lot of rich people that can do nothing. You have to know that these are your choices and you're choosing whatever it is. You're choosing whatever it is.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

It's easy to see how daily choices stack up to create our reality. But what drives those choices in the first place? Why do we choose comfort over growth or risk over safety? It all comes down to the source code of your subconscious. You cannot consistently make choices that contradict how you view yourself. Michael explains that your vision and belief about who you are ultimately dictate your final destiny. To change the destination, you have to change the driver. Universally personal.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

So there's many things. There's skill set, which is different than having um the vision. And I think the vision means that I think, for one, you dream, you dream of this thing, then you think, well, I can or can't have that. If I can have it, I start thinking of myself if is good enough for that. And and and that's fundamentally where people think, well, I'm not good enough for that. I won't ever get that. I won't. And so they don't even try. And so it if they can dream it, they will get to what they feel like they uh deserve. For one, you dream, you dream of this thing. If they can dream it, they will get to what they feel like they deserve. I see this with people that are are not healthy and they're like overweight. And you say, well, all you have to do is diet, you know, you don't even have to exercise, just diet, right? And this is the kind of foods that you eat. And they don't see themselves being someone like that, so they're not gonna put in the effort because that's a waste of time, because they can never be that. And so I feel like the people that are in like a bad situation that feels like this isn't who they are, they're they deserve anything that anybody else gets if they put in the work that whatever it is. And I mean, it's not that they're not that good, like anybody could be president or they could be rich, but do you want to sacrifice other parts of your life to get there? But no, so you don't really want to be rich. Like, you don't become a billionaire just by chance, you know. You have to you have to believe that you want to be a billionaire, that you deserve to have billions, and believe that you can do it, and then you're gonna have to sacrifice other parts of your it's hard to have a great family life, be really healthy, and be a billionaire. It's hard to have a great family life, be really healthy and be a billionaire. So, like back when I was a sales manager, people would come and I when I interviewed them, it's like, okay, so what are you looking to make? Well, I'm I want a hundred thousand dollars. Like, and okay, you want a hundred thousand dollars. So um this job is uh all commission, but you you'll you'll make way more than a hundred thousand dollars. Or I could put you on a base salary of fifty and you could probably make eighty thousand, they'll take the fifty thousand every time. Yeah, so it's somewhere in there is where they believe that they're worth this, like your self-worth, right? And so if if if I would pay them thirty thousand dollars and it was commissioned, they would make the fifty thousand, but the hundred, they wouldn't do the work to do that, and all they have to do is the work, but they didn't believe that they're worth it, and all they have to do is the work, but they didn't believe that they're worth it. For one, you dream, you dream of this thing, yeah. You have to believe that you can get that. You dream of this thing, then you think I can or can't have that. If I can have it, I start thinking to myself, is good enough for that.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

We covered a lot of ground today. I appreciate Michael as a friend and for providing us with so much to think about. Michael traced the thread from your deepest, sometimes hidden desires through the daily choices you make right down to the core identity that governs it all. If you want to change your life, you can't just change your actions. You have to shift your vision of who you are. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow us. You won't want to miss next week's episode. We'll be pulling back the curtain on a very challenging issue. Eyes that have spent so long trying to remain shut will be given the opportunity to be opened. Until next time, be fit, stay sharp, and listen closely.