Next Level University

#1355 - Changing Your “Reality” Is Easier Than You Think

• Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

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Have you ever thought about how a simple decision can change your life? In this episode, hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros dive into the idea that transforming your life begins with one thing. By focusing on that, you have the ability to shift your reality and create the life you desire. We talk about the power of learning just a little bit every day and how it can lead to significant changes over time. We also discuss the concept of one-percent improvement and habit-tracking, emphasizing how small, consistent steps can accumulate into substantial progress.

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Show notes:
[3:01] Changing everything starts with one thing
[7:06] You can change your reality
[9:54] The power of learning a little bit every day
[13:17] Kim thanked Kevin for going above and beyond in helping launch the Peaceful Productivity podcast
[13:56] Awareness, responsibility, commitment
[16:57] One-percent improvement
[20:59] Habit-tracking
[25:08] Outro


Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

Speaker 1:

Just do one thing differently. That's it. Is it that simple? It it changes. It changes your identity, it changes your surroundings, it changes your expectations, it changes your opportunities, it changes your reality. It really does.

Speaker 2:

Whether it's books or going to exercise, or getting a coach or doing group coaching, whatever it is, the choices you make now are rippling into your future, whether you like it or not, and I'm telling you, the outcomes are big later on.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Next Level University. I am your host, Kevin Paul Mary.

Speaker 2:

And I am your co-host, alan Lazarus, at.

Speaker 1:

Next Level University. We believe in a heart driven but no BS approach to holistic self improvement for dream chasers.

Speaker 2:

We bring you seven episodes per week to help you level up your life, your love, your health and your wealth.

Speaker 1:

Self improvement in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, for free. Welcome to Next Level University, next Level Nation. Welcome back to another episode of Next Level University, where we teach you how to level up your life, your love, your health and your wealth. We hope you enjoyed our latest episode. It was episode number 1354. Can loneliness be a good thing Today? happy Friday for episode number 1355.

Speaker 1:

Changing your reality is easier than you think. Having a conversation on a podcast the other day And this just kind of came to me where I said, if you think about it, we don't have that many things going on in our life. I know it seems like we do, but say you have 15 things you're focusing on. You have your health, your wealth, your love, you have your family, you have your home, you have your pets, you have your job. you have all these things. Okay, if you change one of those things, you change your reality. I know it's overly simplistic, but here's my example. Here's my example. Taryn said to me the other day. she said, hey, i'm thinking of rearranging the living room. What are your thoughts? and I was like yeah, sure, whatever, whatever you want, i don't care. You know I'm. for me It doesn't really cool. I'm with it, do you?

Speaker 1:

want to do this weekend because we have some heavy furniture and we got to take the TV off the wall and mountain on the other wall. And She's like yeah, we'll see about this weekend, it's all right, cool, you and I recorded. On Monday I Walked out of the office, i walked down the hallway into the living room and the living room was rearranged. She moved the couch, she moved everything other than the TV, and she's like so I did something and I was like no, no, i definitely see that and I love it. It's awesome. It's awesome. So I get the drill and I say you want to? I'm guessing you want to Finish this. Right, it's been a long day, but that's okay, we'll get it done. So I take the TV off the wall and mount it on the other side. Awesome, we got new light bulbs that change colors. It's the best. So now the living room is set up in a different direction and That one thing has changed the entire reality of our home.

Speaker 1:

That one thing, simple, simple. I think our lives are very similar where, when, when you think I need to change everything, changing everything starts with changing one thing, and that one thing can be pretty simple This is my analogy if you Aren't a business owner and then you pay for a business license. You're now a business owner. Your reality has changed completely. you identify something different. People will look at you as something different. Your opportunities are different. What you do every day is a little bit different. But that was only based on one decision. That was really based on one small thing. That is my thought in this hyper conscious episode love it.

Speaker 2:

I'm going to say I do. I'm gonna say something that I believe is the most empowering Thought that any human can have. Bold statement, the most empowering thought, in my opinion, that I believe anyone can ever have. Are you ready? I'm ready. No matter how hard your past has been, you have a spotless future.

Speaker 1:

I haven't heard that one in a minute.

Speaker 2:

You have a spotless future. You can change it, you can mold it, you can shape it in Typical Jim Rohn fashion. He says the goose can only fly south. The goose can only fly south, kev. Well the problem.

Speaker 1:

I can fly north and the problem analogy is the goose does come home, so it has to fly north. So Jim was wrong.

Speaker 2:

The goose is programmed to fly south. But we all have a choice. We all have a choice. Emilia and I were joking, and Sometimes we are underneath all of the weight of our large goals. You may not have some big goals, and We, we were joking on the couch eating food and and she said do you ever do you think you chose your calling or do you think your Calling chose you? and I said I don't know, i think it's both. Sometimes it doesn't feel. It doesn't feel like a choice. You know, because every now and then I'll just have these weird moments of like You know, it'd be a lot easier if I just like worked for roaring and just like sold these things, you know, instead of bringing self-improvement to the masses. And And then I haven't my next thought, which is like I would never do that, i don't want to do anything else, you know, but anyways so, and we also did. We have something called the out here, jeff in club, because we're out here, jeff in, and It's basically the NLU team gets together and the only purpose of this meeting is to not have a purpose, which is to just connect. So I guess that's a purpose, but we all want to connect and so on.

Speaker 2:

The last one What was the question? it was something like if you oh, i asked Something that Emilia asked me. She said if you, if you weren't worried about profitability, if you weren't worried about your mission, if you weren't worried about serving anyone else Basically, the most impractical question ever of all time and you were in an alternate universe, at a different world, a different life What would you do like, what would you do for your career if you weren't worried about maximizing your potential at all? or a contribution? And I think, what did I say? I think I said Actor, something like that. I don't even know what did you say. You say math teacher. Oh, math teacher, math teacher, yeah, yeah, what did you say?

Speaker 1:

rapper.

Speaker 2:

Rapper. And then we had Jesse and Amy. What did they say? I think Amy said garden. I know Emilia said gardener. She wants to be like a gardener which is cool because, by the way, it's not a useless question. You can actually do that on the side. I think I easily teach math on the side.

Speaker 1:

Well, you do right, i do it in business coaching.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

I think that Jesse and Amy's were very deep. I don't remember exactly what they were, but they were pretty deep. I think Jesse's was yoga teacher, i think maybe I don't know Either way, what was my point of this Hold on, knows man?

Speaker 2:

Could be Hold on.

Speaker 1:

What's the name of this episode? again, who am I? Now, this episode is changing. Your reality is easier than you think.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we all have a choice. We all have a choice. And I Think that we forget that we're on the treadmill and the treadmill speeding up, kev, real talk, we're on the treadmill and the treadmills speeding up, it is. And we forget that we have a choice and I think that, yeah, the most empowering thought in the world is that you can change your reality anytime you choose. Anytime you choose, you can, you know, assuming you live in a free country, you can choose a different career, you can choose a different partner, you can choose a different home. You can, emilia and I, do this one simple thing where we'll randomly switch sides of the bed. She'll, she'll do that. I'd. I'd sleep on the same side of the bed forever, if I. You know. Whatever she's like, i think we should switch back. It's like okay, sweetheart, like whatever you want, she likes variety more than I do. Um, and I said now, tariel will knock your stuff off the bedside table, thinking that it's mine. My cat knocks my stuff.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, brother choice Knock your stuff. I was listening, i was reviewing the latest episode or one of the latest episodes, and how you just say knock my stuff, she does.

Speaker 2:

She's not lately, she's not upset because you're dead.

Speaker 1:

You've been waking her up. I have. I had a really powerful client call today. Shout out to Billy If you're listening, Billy, I think you listen. And I said I know it seems like you're in the crap right now Cause you kind of are right, You're a couple of years in trying to turn this into a business. I know you're in the crap. I said two things. One, you will look back at this in a couple of years If you continue, and you will say, wow, those are some of the best years ever, A hundred percent. And I said here's the thing You need one client, one one client that will give you any amount of money and you just change your reality. Now you're a coach, You're everything is different, Everything is different. I'm in this weird phase where that's like that's all I'm trying to help people with. Just do one thing differently, That's it. It's. Yeah, That it's. Is it that changes your identity? It it changes. It changes your identity. It changes your surroundings. It changes your expectations. It changes your opportunities. It changes your reality. It really does.

Speaker 2:

Kev.

Speaker 1:

Alan, i'm in a very, very good mood. If you listened to the latest episode, i was not feeling well. I was physically ill. I slept for like 10 hours. I don't know if I have slept that long in years.

Speaker 2:

Best thing I've ever been. I'm ready to roll Sleep score 89. You said was really good.

Speaker 1:

I agree Workout today. I'm all hooked up on caffeine. I'm ready to do it.

Speaker 2:

Let's go, let's go. I'm ready for my next caffeine fix. Okay, question for you. We've been in business six years together, you and I. Yes, and you have arguably transformed more in the last six years than anyone I've ever seen in that timeframe. Appreciate that, of course, and part of that is because you were just lost when we first met.

Speaker 1:

Backhanded compliment. No, no, yes and no. But what were the biggest choices that?

Speaker 2:

made the biggest difference, i guess, that our listeners could implement, because it always, over time, it comes down to the simple stuff. Man, it really does. I said this recently the power of learning a little bit every day.

Speaker 1:

It could be a little bit of a challenge, but the power of learning a little bit every day, it creates a level of certainty in you. Tara and I were talking about finances recently and I was like I know exactly what to do. I know, i know the answer. I know the answer to this question in my heart of hearts, based on practicing it every day for the last six years. I know the answer. I just know what's right. I know what's optimal. That was weird. It was a weird feeling for me to have?

Speaker 2:

What did it used to feel like? Is that and again, just bringing the listeners behind the scenes? that's how I used to sound to Kevin at the beginning Definitely Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And you didn't understand, like which is why I've had a lot of empathy for my wife.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, i understand.

Speaker 1:

Oh, when I tell you I mean we're the most financially free we've ever been and I'm grateful for that, But when I tell you it's going to get like weird, and I just say, trust me, obviously that's not going to work because that's what you used to do.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And it never. It never only ended for me. So I understand it's a wild that you trusted me anyway.

Speaker 1:

Thank goodness. Well, she's trusted me too, so it's it's very interesting. I would just You can only make as optimal a decision as your awareness, so I would try to make a decision based on what I knew, but it was usually on emotion, like what feels best.

Speaker 2:

Does the chess thing that I used to say land now for you The grandmaster Oh no, no, no.

Speaker 1:

As you know all the pieces.

Speaker 2:

You're, you're, you're. Memory of my sayings are alarming. So I used to say this all the time and I now realize, as a better communicator, how, how bad I would used to be, honestly, cause no one knew what I was talking about, and I understand now why that is. But anyways, if I used to say this, i used to say trying to go out into the economy and succeed when you don't know anything about money or anything about the economy is like trying to win against the greatest chess master in the world when you don't know what the pieces do.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, And now I go ahead. Most people don't know chess, So it's like I understand what you're saying. I don't know what grandmasters know. If you said, if you said, trying to fight a mixed martial arts champion as somebody who has never trained, that would land for me.

Speaker 2:

Oh right, Cause you're. Yeah, I don't know chess.

Speaker 1:

I used to. I used to play chess with my boys.

Speaker 2:

Back in middle school days I used to mess around and play some chess. Yep. But chess is a great game man, i have a client shout out to you, dave, if you're, if you're watching he plays chess for R and R. I'm like dude, i don't think that's R and R.

Speaker 1:

What is, what is? it's like intellect. Yeah, Good for you, good for you.

Speaker 2:

Next level, which we don't use enough. We used to use next level all the time.

Speaker 1:

It's like he's super next level. I say it seven times a week on this bad Larry Intro and outro man. I can't say it anymore than I did.

Speaker 2:

All right. So now you know what the piece is to. So now you feel empowered, And so it's awareness learning. I think it's awareness. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Most of us. What else, honestly, ownership Ownership of every mistake I've ever made I made. That's not somebody else's fault, it's my fault, right? And when I say fault, it doesn't have to be a bad thing, you don't have to beat yourself up for it, but it's important to understand Responsibility. Yeah, yeah That.

Speaker 3:

Hey, Kevin Kim here Just wanted to send you a video to say thank you so much for your help on creating the Peaceful Productivity Podcast. You know I couldn't have done it without you. I knew you'd be lots of great help with the technical aspects of getting the podcast going, but you went well above and beyond that. You helped me with the strategy and you gave me all kinds of really great support. You know, I think the key to success in business is a great attitude and you have that in spades. You really walk the walk. So thanks again, Take care, I'll talk to you soon.

Speaker 1:

We had a mentor who said Awareness, responsibility, commitment, awareness, responsibility, commitment You're aware of something, it becomes your responsibility, and then you find somebody to help you stay committed to it. Those three things really. I think those are really really powerful. The awareness piece is everything I am, the hyper-conscious podcast That's. I created a podcast that I needed. That's why this whole thing really started.

Speaker 1:

The responsibility aspect was when you start to believe in yourself more and you start to understand your level of self-belief and your level of self-worth, i think you're able to own stuff at a deeper level. And when you're able to own stuff, it's almost like people respect you more When you say hey, man, that's my bad. You asked me yesterday. You said you've been reviewing the podcast And I was like yeah, definitely. And you said all of it. And I was like no, no, sometimes half quarter, sometimes all of it. And you said are you giving yourself full credit on your PPT? I said definitely, absolutely. And you said you can't give yourself full credit if you don't listen to the whole thing And I was like that's my bad. That was it. That was the end of the conversation.

Speaker 2:

I messed up. I mean you, can you just probably you know I messed up. It's red, yellow, green man. You only get green when you finish the episode.

Speaker 1:

In fairness, when I started tracking that my and I'm not even kidding, i'm not making an excuse my assumption was it's review some of the episode, not the whole thing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, i know, it was just a different interpretation of the same thing.

Speaker 1:

I realized that, so I'm not lying.

Speaker 2:

We would benefit if you listened to the whole thing. I said definitely, i listened to the whole thing today. Nice, check it off, check it off. Look at that One small change. That's it, my reality is different You could change the show forever.

Speaker 1:

That could, that could. In that I think it's awareness, responsibility, commitment. I think those three things are are very, very important, and I I always have a soft spot for reflection. I think reflection is such an important thing because, again, we don't really we don't always see contrast unless we go look for it. You gotta look for contrast.

Speaker 2:

I just moved the mic arm. again, you moved the mic arm. I still have an order.

Speaker 1:

It's on my to-do list. I'll look. I'm not gonna look today. I'm back to back all day.

Speaker 2:

All good. You and I have to go soon. I think I think that's true.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, i have 12 minutes until I'm on another show.

Speaker 2:

Okay, cool. So, I was listening to a book early.

Speaker 1:

You're gonna burn me right to the ground you know, work me right to the top of the hour.

Speaker 2:

It's your responsibility, sir. This is your department. This podcast is your department. So I was listening to a book earlier and he said his name is Dan Dan Sullivan. He said people, often people rarely redesign their future without first understanding their past, and I think it was something along those lines. One of the things that I think is interesting is you look back often, so I think so that you believe in yourself more, because if you see how far you've come, you'll be able to kinda predict where you're headed. I guess. is that true? Okay, All right. When it comes to choices, when it comes to changing your reality in hindsight, what do you think made the biggest difference? What choice made the biggest difference in hindsight? What commitment, what new idea, what new philosophy, what new?

Speaker 1:

1% improvement.

Speaker 2:

Yeah 1%.

Speaker 1:

Get a little bit better every day. Try to do a little bit more. That 1% improvement paired with playing the long game. I told a client this recently. I said if you're around in six years, it'll be successful. I'm certain of it, because what you'll have to do to be around in six years will make sure you're successful.

Speaker 2:

I know.

Speaker 1:

It's very but-.

Speaker 2:

You sound like I used to. I know it's getting weird for me.

Speaker 1:

But I never understood that.

Speaker 2:

What did it sound like to you back then?

Speaker 1:

Because all of that's obvious It sounded like blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah success. That's all I heard.

Speaker 2:

Seriously, what did you actually think? Because I used to say that to us, yeah, but we didn't have any results.

Speaker 1:

So it was like dude, i don't know what the hell you're talking-. What are you basing this off of? Like, did you read this in a book? Is this something you just know? Like, was this a coach? How do you know Success?

Speaker 2:

See, I had tons of results, man.

Speaker 1:

I know, but I didn't know what they were.

Speaker 2:

Oh.

Speaker 1:

Couldn't see them.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a fair assessment. Couldn't see them.

Speaker 1:

Because I was driving in 2004.

Speaker 2:

Is that why, yeah, that was part of it.

Speaker 1:

Well, I said that to a client today. I said I can tell you with fairly high certainty that what I'm saying is truthful, based on the hundreds of podcasters I've worked with and us. I just have a lot of data now. Yeah, i can just sift through and say, well, okay.

Speaker 2:

What if I had a lot of data? I wasn't just saying stuff, i know that I just don't know what the data was. Yeah, i know, and I didn't explain it.

Speaker 1:

It's a good point. I can't tell you it was an intuitive download. It was a download intuitively. I was like, okay, sure, What numbers should I play for the lottery, sir?

Speaker 2:

Download them sir, 13, 34, 65. So Boss.

Speaker 1:

Boss, you asked a question before we went off the rails.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, it was the one thing that made the biggest difference, which is the 1% improvement.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, 1% improvement Very powerful Very powerful.

Speaker 2:

Setting yourself up for the long game, yep, long term thinking. I was on the phone with a client earlier today actually, and I said what did I say? Oh, 80% of the results come in the last 20% of the journey, and she's playing a very, very, very, very long game. So what's unfortunate about that is that now I realize that people need to see results, particularly in this industry, before they'll trust you. And so and they're in the same industry we are And I said you got to do a better job than I did at that part, because for me, if 80% of the results are coming in the last, so I'll give the listeners a tangible example So we've had 80% more success in the last year than the previous five years. Or let me actually mathematically do this correctly So if you take the success, quote, unquote that Kevin and I have had over the last six years and you combine it all into one pie Kevin and I 80% of it would be this year, 2023. Well, technically, may 30th of 2022 to today. But what's unfortunate about that is that apparently other people presupposed we were failures before Not everyone, but like I don't think people really can see that, they can't see that equation, i guess, right, Correct. And so what I was telling this client is make sure that you're showing things that would indicate to other people that that's going to happen, because otherwise you're basically just delaying gratification at an exponential rate. That isn't effective for lack of better phrasing, but for the listeners. Back to changing your reality. These things that you do, these choices that you make, they ripple out into your future. So, for example and this is what I wanted to share originally, kevin we get a jump.

Speaker 2:

When I first started personal development and like really consciously choosing personal development, working on me instead of achieving goals. So before 26, it was mostly focused on achievement And then, after 26, my car accident it was pretty much focused on growing me, contributing to others, and I essentially tracked my habits back then and I looked at my habits, everything I do on a day to day basis, and I broke it down, i wrote it on a list shower, i wrote out everything And I remember doing the same thing over a year later and almost none of the habits were the same. Obviously, i still brushed my teeth, i still showered, but other than that it was all different, because I never read personal development books before 26. After 26, i've read probably thousands at this stage. You know those things change everything, even though they never feel like it's changing anything.

Speaker 2:

I was reading John Maxwell's book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth in PrEP on a treadmill in Worcester Anytime Fitness And I'll never forget it. I remember being so miserable And I remember thinking like this sucks so bad. It's Saturday night, i have no friends and everyone else is having fun right now and I'm on a treadmill reading a book about maximizing your potential. But I remember having that second thought of this sucks is thought number one. Thought number two was I'm getting ahead right now. My future is going to be brighter because of this And I still think about that. I still think about how much that book changed my life back then, changed my thinking back then, changed everything, and hopefully this podcast is doing the same. But whether it's books or going to exercise or getting a coach or doing group coaching, whatever it is, the choices you make now are rippling into your future, whether you like it or not, and I'm telling you the outcomes are big.

Speaker 1:

Later on The last thing before we go. You talked a lot about Amy being consistent with fitness and Brandon being consistent with Miles for a mindset When that first started. Here's the interesting thing Yes, their reality is different now because they're 200 in some odd and 300 in some odd days respectively in their journey, but the day they started, their reality changed. You're just on a different trajectory. You're paying attention to different things. You're talking about yourself in a different way. Yeah, i started this thing where I'm going to try to run a mile every day or I'm going to try to exercise for 30 minutes a day. That's a different reality. Everything's different because of that.

Speaker 1:

So, again, a very hyper conscious episode. I was very excited to do this because I think I do believe we over complicate things as human beings and we over complicate progress and we over complicate results, and sometimes you just got to look and say I got a new job, my reality is different. I'm making $2 more an hour. My reality is different. Whatever it is, whatever it may be, i read a new book. My reality is different. That I wanted to make sure I connected that at the end.

Speaker 1:

Love this episode, brother. Strong work, same, same. I appreciate it. I appreciate it very much. If you're listening to this today, the day you're listening to this today. If you're listening to it because it's today, but if you're listening to this the day it launched, it is Friday. We recorded a new free course yesterday how to level up your self belief and your self worth, and I believe those are the two biggest things holding people back. Myself and Alan included in various ways throughout our journey. So keep an eye out on the website. We will talk about that. when it ends up in its final form. It's going to be completely free. We want to add value. We understand not everybody can afford coaching or whatever it may be, so keep an eye and an ear out.

Speaker 2:

Also in 42 days. Six hours, three minutes and three seconds. Group 11 of group coaching next level group coaching will be opening This July 11th 2023 at 6pm Eastern Standard Time. The group runs for three months. If you've been considering group coaching, it is a super affordable way to dip your toe into being. In Kevin and I's corner There's an assistant coach. There's a private WhatsApp group. It is an extremely well polished product. At this point, it is supposed to be the Mario Kart Booster to get you into your next level life. There's a three month plan. It's $138 per month. If you reach out to Kevin or myself, email us, alan at nextleveluniversecom, kevin at nextleveluniversecom say hey, i want to be a part of group coaching. I'm a listener of this show. Please give me the promo code. We're going to give you a promo code for 30% off, which brings it to $96 a month for three months, which is super affordable and way, way more affordable than one-on-one coaching, and you'll have a group of people around you to help you stay accountable.

Speaker 1:

Tomorrow for episode number 1356, a little NLU on a Saturday morning, a simple way to start valuing yourself more. I know that's something that many of us struggle with, so we will talk about that. As always, we love you, we appreciate you, grateful for each and every one of you and an NLU. We do not have fans, we have family. We will talk to you all tomorrow. Change that reality.

Speaker 2:

Next level nation.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. We love connecting with the next level family.

Speaker 2:

We mean it when we say family. If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes.

Speaker 1:

Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.

People on this episode

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Alan Lazaros

Host
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Kevin Palmieri

Host