Next Level University

What Does It Really Mean To Live Your Purpose? (1870)

• Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

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Think living your purpose is all passion and ease? Think again. In this heartfelt episode, Kevin and Alan open up about their journeys with vulnerability, self-discovery, and courage. They discuss the balance between following a calling and the real-life challenges of building a sustainable business. Tune in to learn why purpose isn’t just about passion but about aligning with what truly fulfills you, even when it’s tough.

Link mentioned:
Next Level Nation - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700

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NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, please check out our website at the link below. 👇

Website 💻  http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

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Any of these communities or resources are FREE to join and consume
Next Level Nation - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700
Next Level 5 To Thrive (free course) - ​​https://bit.ly/3xffver
Next Level U Book Club - https://bit.ly/3BQBYDr
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We love connecting with you guys! Reach out on Instagram, Facebook, or via email. We’re here to support you in your personal and professional development journey.

Instagram 📷
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

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Email 💬
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn ✍
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

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Show notes:
(2:54) Vulnerability and purpose
(5:11) What it means to live your purpose authentically
(11:36) Float tank experience and reflections on self-improvement
(17:09) Connecting with others and fulfillment in helping
(18:34) Meet like-minded people and jumpstart your journey to achieving your dreams while optimizing your life. Join Next Level Group Coaching. https://bit.ly/3Up1FkG
(24:28) Aligning passion with business sustainability
(29:20) The role of money in living and sustaining purpose
(35:36) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Kevin

Even if by internal work. That means connecting with self. Maybe it doesn't mean all of it. It doesn't mean self-awareness, it doesn't mean self-belief, it doesn't mean self-worth. It doesn't mean inner child healing. It doesn't mean all that. It means just sitting with yourself and thinking about yourself and looking at the patterns from the past.

Alan

Whereas before it was all push almost no pull for maximum profitability, now it's in the beginning. It was push myself to stay in the pull, much more natural but much less profitability until you and I figured our shit out.

Kevin

Welcome to Next Level University. I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri.

Alan

And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus.

Kevin

At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers. Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your-belief, self-worth, self-awareness, relationships, boundaries, consistency, habits and defining your own unique version of success.

Alan

Self-improvement in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free.

Kevin

Welcome to Next Level University, next Level Nation. Welcome back to another episode of Next Level University, where we help you level up your life, your love, your health and your wealth. Today, for episode number 1,870. Some days it feels like we're making a ton of progress when it comes to episode numbers. Other days it feels like we've been doing the same episode just over and over and over. I feel like we've done 1,870, 1,870 times. What does it really mean to live your purpose? So I'm just going to throw this out there. It's seven o'clock on Monday. It's been a long day for Jeff one and Jeff two. We're going to power through, we're going to try to add some value in these episodes, but I might be a little bit giggly because that's what happens as we get closer to La Noche. Okay, 100%.

Kevin

I went on a podcast today. Sweet hat man. I appreciate that very much. It matches kind of the rest. I changed my hat. You'll be happy to know that I had a different color hat on and I said white shirt, white hat. Nice for you. I'm also desperately in need of haircut. It's bad same it's bad.

Alan

Okay, I keep going with it though going going in it with it.

Kevin

I love that. Emilia has been cutting my hair. What do you like? Shaving the back? Yeah, it's very scruff now. Yeah, taryn has not been doing the back of mine because I say, no, don't worry about it, I'm going to get a haircut and then somehow it's Friday.

Vulnerability and purpose

Alan

There goes that next week Not going to go get a haircut on the weekend. I can't do it.

Kevin

Okay, what does it really mean to live your purpose? I wanted a wonderful podcast. She's a therapist or a counselor. She's in the mental health field and we got to a point in the interview. So in the beginning she said is there anything off limits? Are you? You feel comfortable being vulnerable? I said I'm good, I'm an open book, let's go. Let's wherever you want to go. I'm happy to go. About 15 minutes into the interview she hits me with are you open to doing some inner child work, live? And I said uh, yeah, let's do it. I said anything.

Alan

Let's do it. Let's see what happens.

Kevin

And three minutes later I'm bawling my eyes out, just uh, oh God, I'm a bumbled mess of a man. And it was wonderful. Very happened. What'd she ask she? It was more like. So she said I want you to hug yourself, I want you to, I want so close your eyes, put your head down. I want you to go back to one of your first memories of kevin and I went through that process. And then she's like okay, what did he look like? What's he wearing? Through the whole thing? Nice.

Kevin

To a point where I was like I really hope this is valuable for the audience. I'm getting a lot out out of this. I hope everybody listening is getting a lot out of it too. And I don't know. I had this weird moment when she asked me if I was willing to do it, where I was like if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it. I'm not going to just put my head down and pretend I'm going to give everything I got for this. Whatever that means, whatever that means If I end up crying my eyes out, it is what it is.

Kevin

And I had a moment where I thought to myself this is what it really means to live. Your purpose. My purpose, I'm telling you, this is it. This is the way I think about it. My purpose is to be the type of person that I needed at my lowest point. That person would go on this interview and, even if he looks like a bumbling idiot, he would do exactly what I did.

Kevin

I think that's what it means to actually live your purpose.

Kevin

I know it sounds sexy and it sounds really good on a Hallmark card, but I think really living your purpose is doing the thing that scares you, even though you know it scares you, and you know it's going to be hard and you know it's going to challenge you, because you know that's what you would do.

Kevin

If that's what your purpose feels like, that's what my purpose feels like. To me, my purpose is to be the person that I needed and that's why I show up on this podcast the way I show up. That's why I show up on Coaching calls, on other podcasts everywhere the grocery store. That's my goal. I want to be that person, but that's my purpose. My purpose is different than Alan's purpose, than your purpose, whether you're watching or listening. So I thought it would make for an interesting episode, because I think that's one of the reasons I aspire to be as vulnerable as I do, because that's what the person that I needed would do, as vulnerable as I do because that's what the person that I needed would do, and that's something I always try to have in the top of my mind.

Alan

How do you always feel after those courageous moments, Like knowing that that's out there now Good. 5.45 billion people, billion, bajillion. I could. I feel good, Could, could search that Billion bajillion. I feel good Could search that Kevin crying.

Kevin

I mean, how many times have I cried?

Alan

I know, but it's interesting to me how that isn't. I don't know. You always seem totally fine after.

Kevin

I don't think it's that. That level of vulnerable is just not as vulnerable as it used to be. It's not hard. There was no part of me that was like, oh, don't cry. It was just go, just go, let it go and see what happens. Because that's what I want to be. I really, really, really want to be that. I don't want to be the guy who knows it all all the time and never makes a mistake and never has self-doubt. I don't want to be that. That's not what I. I wouldn't resonate with that. That wouldn't help me. That version of Kevin would not help. Seven-year-ago version of Kev. I would not like that version. So yeah, I don't know, I don't. I had a moment after I was like that was heavy and then I went to my next thing and thought about it and it was like, yeah, cool, that was good, I enjoyed that very much, and then that's kind of it purpose.

Alan

I poipus poipus. I went on a podcast earlier and he asked me about Purpose 2. I didn't know we were going to do that Episode today, by the way.

Alan

I've been literally and again, I don't want it to sound like we're complaining all the time. I've been on back to backs All day and my voice is a little shot and again, not complaining. Very grateful and it's been awesome and it's been a lot was on a two-hour interview. You were on that same show for three hours. I believe it's a great show. It was extraordinary, and one of the questions was how does someone actually figure out what their purpose actually is? How did you know that yours was to reach your true potential and help others do the same? And this was my answer, so hopefully that's helpful here.

Alan

It's something that you're always drawn to. That doesn't mean that you always want to do it. That doesn't mean that there aren want to do it. That doesn't mean that there aren't days where you're like I don't know if I have it today. It doesn't mean but, but you miss it when you're not doing it.

Alan

If you go away from it for too long, you miss it. And what would be a good example? So Emilia and I, we took a trip to South Carolina with her family and we were there for the week, and this was a while ago. I honestly don't know when, it was in 2024. I know that, and I would listen to my books. I would kind of run away and listen to my books, books. Rationality was a book that I was listening to by Steven Pinker, and I just can't. I don't want to get away from personal development for very long. I don't want to get away from fitness for very long. I don't want to get away from deep conversations very long, and I don't want to get away from coaching for very long. It doesn't mean that I don't get burnt out. It doesn't mean that I don't struggle to do nine back-to-backs a day on average, but I never I miss it. You miss it when you don't have it, even though you also kind of hate it when you have too much of it, in a way. So I think that's important to show both ends of that coin. Like you, with podcasting, you did 20 a week on other shows, plus the seven or eight, so 28 a week at one point, and you were burning to the ground. But if you didn't do any you'd miss it, and so that's how you know.

Alan

Podcasting is part of your purpose, and so, number one with purpose, it has to be something that's greater than you. Number two it's an infinite game. So it's a. The only point of the game is to keep playing the game. Kevin and I reached a point in our business where we needed to make money to sustain this, and that's the epitome of an infinite game, which is turn your passion of self-improvement into purpose through podcasting, which is the vehicle. And hey, we got to build a business underneath this thing, otherwise we can't keep playing the game. So number one is you're called to it, you feel like you're supposed to do it, and let me reframe that too. I was trying to make a metaphor for when you're a kid. When you're a kid, there's a lot of things you're supposed to do. You're supposed to do the dishes, you're supposed to take out the trash, whatever Insert chore here. I'm supposed to do good in school. That was one of mine. I'm supposed to do well in school. Well, not good.

Float tank experience and reflections on self-improvement

Alan

Apparently they didn't do so well in English. But I'm supposed to get straight A's Supp. But I'm supposed to get straight a's supposed to, supposed to. It's almost like that. But but your highest self telling you our parents are trying to tell us what they believe is best and it turns out they didn't freaking know right some of our parents more than others but the things you're supposed to do, as a kid quote unquote you kind of rebel against at least I did and then certain things I did do.

Alan

Picture your highest self, the best version of you. This is your true potential. This is, this is the version of you that's extraordinary. It's the best freaking version of you. That's the idealized version. Okay, what is that person telling you you should be doing? Not from a conditioning toxic place, but from a. You're supposed to do this, you're supposed to. When I got in my car accident at 26, I had that. I had that highest self saying you're better than this, you're so much better than this. Apparently my highest self is aggressive, but the point is, is you're so much freaking better than this? You're supposed to be more than this? Don't forget who you and we did float tanks together Not together, but at the same place, same time.

Kevin

For a half hour I sat on top of Alan, I floated on top of him and then he floated on top of me.

Alan

for the second half it was wonderful, and I think that's when you for those of you who don't know what a float tank is, I think most people probably do but ultimately you are in this dark room room, dark tub thing- brutal.

Kevin

You're in a pod. You're in a pod, it's the best way to put it.

Alan

Yeah, and it's filled with salt. The water's more dense than your body mass, so you're floating. You have your plugs in.

Kevin

There's some calming and and the water is body temperature, so you're not supposed to feel it. You're essentially just supposed to feel like you're floating in nothingness and it's dark yeah, and there's no feedback thank you for saving me for that.

Alan

It's like a room.

Alan

It's like a room with darkness and some music it's known as sensory deprivation, nice, and it's supposed to help you tap in, you know, check out, so you can check in with your highest self. And for me, both times I did it. I did it once, you know, with kev, not with kev, but at the same time as kev, and then once with emilia, not with emilia, but the same time as emilia, and both times was the same thing. It's kind kind of anticlimactic. By the way, let's be honest, maybe you're supposed to do drugs before you go in there.

Kevin

Yes, definitely.

Alan

Definitely we did not. I did not. However, what I did get was highest self saying Alan. And this is just mine. So it said Alan, all that's ever mattered and all that ever will matter is self-improvement.

Kevin

I can imagine yours said, alan, all that's ever mattered and all that ever will matter is self-improvement. I can imagine yours said, alan, get the hell out of here, open the door and get the hell out of here.

Alan

What are you doing? And the interesting thing is the second the first time it said personal development, way back when you myself and Isabella Picard went, was she with us? She was with us that day, or she was supposed to go, and then didn't come or something she's supposed to. I think it was just me and you, yeah. And then the second time was self-improvement, so the label changed, but the idea is the same self-improvement, personal development, personal growth, they're all very similar.

Kevin

I don't feel like I got anything I didn't get any of that. I enjoyed it like I would love to do it again, but I think I put too much pressure on myself to facilitate an experience.

Alan

Yeah, probably what I think it would tell you, I think your highest self would tell you is be the person you needed. Don't try to be perfect, just try to be better. And that's what I think, in many ways, your highest self is telling you, and what I've been trying to tell you for the last eight years. I'm kidding.

Kevin

You ain't tell me nothing I do.

Alan

I asked a client earlier. I'll get off my monologue here in a second, but I asked a client earlier. I said, true or false, you're the most fulfilled you've ever been. I could see it all over. She's on fire. Super fulfilled, I can tell. I don't know what that is. Is that a me thing? I can tell when someone's fulfilled. I think so. You're on the very ever been, honestly me. And one of the reasons is you're actually in the freaking gym again I'm dying right now, so you're fulfilled, though I'm fulfilled with pain and overwhelm.

Kevin

No, I am. Yeah and I'm. I will talk about that after. When you finish up this 15 minute monologue of little to no value, I'll bring us back I appreciate it.

Alan

And she said I said zero to ten, how fulfilled are you? I think she said nine and I said if ten is the most fulfilled you've ever been, she said well, I can't think of a time when I've been more fulfilled than this. I said well, then, that's a ten. But the cool thing is is. And then we went through why? So that we can double down on it, and all that but the cool thing is I can just tell you're super aligned.

Alan

Alignment with core values, and your highest self equals fulfillment. You had a lot of external success. You had, you know, model girlfriend, dream car, dream body, dream job. But it wasn't aligned with that purpose of being the person you needed. You were buying shots at the bar for too many people. You were drifting around wandering. I saw someone in a truck similar to the one you used to drive and I remember thinking like that must have sucked. I know some of it was fun and I know some of it was great, but I was driving home from A mountain we climbed yesterday and I was looked at a truck. It looked similar to the work truck you used to drive. I remember thinking like, imagine if kev was still driving around in that truck.

Alan

Yeah, so that's purpose and, uh, you know when you're in it, because fulfillment is the tell if you're super fulfilled, you're in it, if you're not, it means you're outside of alignment with something I believe that you have to do the internal work to actually find your purpose.

Kevin

That's one of the reasons I think internal work is so important. And even if by internal work that means connecting with self, maybe it doesn't mean all of it. It doesn't mean self-awareness, it doesn't mean self-belief, it doesn't mean self-worth. It doesn't mean inner child healing. It doesn't mean all that. It means just sitting with yourself and thinking about yourself and looking at the patterns from the past. I don't know if you get purpose from just doing external thing after external thing after external thing. I think it would be really hard to do that. So that's one thought. The other thought is yes, I am, I would say I am the most fulfilled I've ever been, and I think one of the reasons is I'm talking to so many people now, not just on podcasts.

Kevin

I'm in my DMs all day. I'm in WhatsApp all day. I love it. It's mayhem. I must have walked a mile today around the house. When I'm sending an audio message, I walk. I just walk around the house. When I'm sending an audio message, I walk, I just walk around the house. I love it. Nice, but there's that. I like that. It's chaotic, but in a good way, I enjoy that. I love being on podcasts, but I'd rather be on eight podcasts in one day and then be able to send messages for the rest of the week. I enjoy that. That's the but I didn't. It's so easy to fall out of.

Alan

When you say you enjoy that, I need to interject you can interject.

Meet like-minded people and jumpstart your journey to achieving your dreams while optimizing your life. Join Next Level Group Coaching.

Kevin

Sometimes it sucks. Next level nation. What is happening? If you've thought to yourself I want to try coaching, but you don't really know where to start, group coaching would be a wonderful place for you. That's really why we created it in the first place. We start a new round every 90 days. So if you're hearing this, go to the website nextleveluniversecom and we have the landing page where you can actually hold your spot right now. Even if there's a group going on right now, you can still lock your spot for the next one. The biggest thing that we've seen is, as we get closer and closer to the date, unfortunately, some people end up missing. The group fills up and they can't do it, and then they end up regretting that. So please head over to the website.

Alan

The link will be in the show notes and we would love to see you there you know that whole quote of if you love what you do, you never work another day in your life that's not real.

Alan

Yeah, it's not real. You don't know you love someone or something because you always want to do it. You know you love someone or something because you miss them when they're gone, or you miss it when it's gone, or you're always glad you did. So it's a crude analogy or metaphor, but for anyone who has ever slept with someone without being with them and not being in love, anyone who's ever slept with anyone when you weren't in love, I have okay, full disclosure prior to ever meeting emilia. It's. It's yeah, it can be enjoyable but not fulfilling, and when you're in love, you may not always want to, but you're always glad you did. And I think it's a good metaphor because it's fulfilling.

Alan

There's a big difference between waking up next to someone in regret and waking up next to someone feeling deeply fulfilled, and I think that that's a good metaphor for your career. In your career, who do you want to wake up next to metaphorically, versus something that's fun once, like, oh, I gave a rock star speech and it was so great, but do you really want to travel for, like, do you want to wake up next to that career every day? Yeah, I think that's a cool metaphor. I've never used it publicly. I don't even know if I've ever told you about it, but I think about it all the time no, you've told me that, I've heard you, yeah, well shit no, I've never heard that before in my life.

Alan

That was awesome in my life, with no spaces in between those words I think one of the reasons yes, it's your point, yeah's it?

Kevin

I don't always want to do it, but it's I don't know. It's you know, you know, I don't know how else to explain it there could be. I could have a list of people that say Kev, why are you like? Why are you coaching people in your DMS? Like, you have a, you have a business. You, you have a podcast business that makes money doing that.

Kevin

I don't care, you can F right off, I don't care, this is what I want to do. I don't care, this is what it was in the beginning. I don't want it to get to a place where I don't do any of the stuff I did in the beginning. If I do that, this is a failure. This is for nothing. I don't want that. Sure, I want to be able to do things differently and I want to have different opportunities to impact and all that. But that's the basis of how this started and that is what Kevin would do. Kevin would send somebody a video. He just would. I don't ever want that to stop and I think there's a piece of me that's afraid it's going to. I think there's a piece of me.

Alan

I think we know enough about business now to realize that that never has to stop. Now we do, but not the last season we went through it was.

Kevin

I think one of the reasons I was so unfulfilled is because I forgot. I forgot a lot of stuff that I used to do and I forgot how much it fulfilled me Well, you were.

Alan

I think we had a season, quite a few seasons, where we were kind of being what well, you have what you need to be to achieve your goals. You have what you want to be and then who you really are, and I think that you and I were kind of trying to be each other for a time. I want to be behind the scenes, tracking metrics. I want to be building the business. I want to be in this office. I don't actually always want to send an audio or a video, or being in my DMs don't actually always want to send an audio or a video, or being in my dms it's not. I'll do it and there's a place for that. But what fulfills you and what fulfills me is different and we need to have complementary fulfillments for what the business needs it just takes time to figure that out, yeah, yeah.

Kevin

And then it takes time to figure out how do you sustainably do it? Because that's, the thing is five years ago. I couldn't just DM people all day Four years ago, especially when we started turning this into a business.

Kevin

It's like well, at some point, you guys do have to make some money and I want you to keep adding value and do that stuff forever. I want to do that forever, but you can also go out of business just doing the thing that fulfills you. That's the whole other, the whole other thing, just like the. Do what you love and people will recognize it, and then you'll be successful. Nah, I don't know about that. I don't think so. There's got to be some strategy.

Alan

Well, there's a couple ifs. There's a lot of branding, marketing and sales is on point if you have your business infrastructure on point.

Kevin

If you say do and think if you're good at what you do yeah, if you're, there's a lot of ifs there's a lot and we're going to talk about that on the next episode we are. Oh yeah, you want to turn?

Alan

your purpose into a business. The next step purpose into anything. Purpose into any, anything sustainable. Let's let's say that because I know not a lot of people identify as business owners. But if you want to turn your passion into purpose for a profit and you want to sustain that long term, you need to align the next five things in the next episode. How dare you Tease it? You got to. How dare you?

Kevin

tease it. Why is that? How dare you? I'm confused, I don't know. I'm in a weird mood, you know.

Alan

Just vibing, isn't that?

Kevin

great. It's a good thing. I think it's a good thing. Strong to set me strong, I would say Nice.

Alan

Anything else, I'm very grateful that you approve.

Aligning passion with business sustainability

Kevin

I do approve. Yeah well, I'm going to keep this tonight. I have Kevin's approval today. Do you have anything you'd like to add on purpose, sir?

Alan

Pull versus push. Pull is it takes. It's almost like you were supposed to do it and there's a big part of you that wants to do it and when the opportunity presents itself, it takes courage and I always say I have to push myself to stay in the pole. So the pole is I'm going to use. This will be the end I I'm going to use it.

Alan

When I was in corporate I pushed myself to sell industrial automation equipment and I was damn good at it, but it was such a push it wasn't fulfilling. I had to push myself to keep doing it, which is probably why I was playing COD, sometimes on the side, to try to fill that empty hole. I'm being playful. I'm being playful but also some truth to that, whereas now I'm pulled already to this work and I have to push myself to stay in that pole. Whereas before it was all push almost no pole for maximum profitability. Now it's in the beginning. It was push myself to stay in the pole much more natural but much less less profitability until you and I figured our shit out.

Kevin

Let me ask you a question, weird question.

Alan

You ready for this? Yes, sir.

Kevin

If you didn't have to make money as a business owner, would you want to?

Alan

yeah, but only because money helps you, help more people and and helps you. I care about passion, I care about my potential and other people's potential. Money is necessary to maximize that. Yeah, but money is not the goal at all. Money is the gas in the tank toward the infinite game we're playing, and that's a whole freaking episode in and of itself that'll be a business growth university.

Kevin

What about you?

Alan

man, yeah, because you like stuff. Yeah, fun stuff and all that. Yeah, I again, I the tesla's a good metaphor I. It drove me to mount monadnock yesterday, like it's awesome, I. I love that because it's expensive for a, but it frees up my consciousness to listen to the book and eat my egg sammy From Jumbo. Oh yeah, man, portuguese roll. This time it's bomb, love it. They crush. The girls at Jumbo's were like your car has a camera on it. You know that I was trying not to be a pretentious butthead, but they're like I said, it drives itself too. They're like I was trying not to be pretentious butthead, uh, but they're like I said, it drives itself too. And they're like what I'm like, oh my goodness.

Kevin

You guys want to come for a hike? Bring the.

Alan

McMuffin Is the self-driving car thing Not like people know that right, that was a little surprising for me.

Kevin

Uh, yeah, I think the. Uh, I don't know, I'm a car guy, so I don't know. I don't know, I'm a car guy, so I don't know, I don't know what.

Alan

Yeah, I'm a technology guy, somebody who doesn't really care about cars, but anyways, the metaphor is money is necessary to have that extraordinary experience we had yesterday. Yeah, and it costs. Yeah, adventures and experiences cost money. So I do really appreciate the growth that comes from having money too.

Kevin

yeah, yeah, same I'm, you know me, I like, I like things. Yeah, I like certainty.

Alan

I want to make sure everything's taken care of time, effort and money are your three resources, and money is one of them, despite the fact that I think there was a time in my life where I wished that it wasn't. It is and it's. It may not be the most important one, but it's certainly not seventh on the list, it's third.

Kevin

It's third on the list If you want to be able to, if you want to be able to do your purpose, you've got to find a way to make money doing it. Have to have to, or you won't be able to help as many people, you won't be able to get as good at it, you won't be able to practice it as much it just that's an unfortunate. I don't really think of it as unfortunate, but that's an unfortunate truth.

Alan

One more tiny thing, tiny promise, yeah, sure, I told you, I got all night, I know.

Kevin

I do this all night, I'm ready.

Alan

You're in your purpose, your poi piss. I don't know why I always do that is I got it. I got it all right. So I was thinking about this professional athletes get paid more so that they can practice more. I don't know if people think about this, but if they have to like, go work a day job while they, like olympic athletes, get paid and sponsored because they need all day, every day, to work on their craft to be the best.

Alan

So when you, when you go from college athlete to professional athlete, you make money so that you can invest in the trainers and the food and the. It's not just you make money just to make money. I mean, I know they make it seem like that, maybe, but some athletes, but the real reason why professional athletes are paid, what they're paid, is so that the market, the people in the stand, the fans in the stands get to just enjoy them, so that they can get better at what they do. Whereas imagine if every professional athlete only made enough to where they had to go get a side job, okay, well, now all of them are going to be worse at that sport, right? So I think that's an interesting way to look at it. I wonder if that's unique to me or if everyone knows that. Maybe I don't know.

Kevin

I don't really think I thought about it that way, but I mean it makes sense, but I way, but I mean it makes sense, but I don't know if I've ever thought about it that way, especially because a lot of the sports like mixed martial arts, a lot of the people do have side jobs especially they have to in the beginning because they're not good enough yet, but the market's gotten bigger, yeah it's still not, as they're still not that big.

Kevin

A lot of people that are like top 15 fighters on the planet who don't have work side gigs seriously, yeah that's very surprising to me.

Alan

What's this again? That's another conversation we'll have off air. But that's surprising. I mean honestly. I mean if you're top 100 in the world, you, if the market's big enough, you should do nothing else but that thing.

Kevin

And again, should I agree that's a business conversation. Yeah, we'll save that for Business Growth University. Second episode Sounds good. I'll be tuning in. All right, next Level Nation. How to wrap this up?

Kevin

I think it's easy to talk about purpose, but it's far harder to live it, because oftentimes you're doing things that maybe feel uncomfortable and are vulnerable and are scary and require courage. But that's how you get more into your purpose. I, I don't know. Now it's easier for me to have vulnerable moments like that on podcasts, where I don't really think about it that much. But how many times have I done that to get to that point where I had that moment of, oh man, I don't, I don't want to cry right now. Yeah, just whatever, just do it and eventually, just that's what. That's what I would do. It's just that's what.

Kevin

If you, if you have a favorite tv show or a favorite movie or a favorite sitcom, you know how. You always know what the character would do. It's like, oh, that is something Joey from Friends would do, or that is somethingachel from friends would do. That's what it's like to live in your purpose, because you know what their purpose is to play a character on a tv show in that situation. That's joey's purpose is to be like joey. That is his purpose.

Alan

It's the only reason he's on the show is to be that character that's a very powerful metaphor because I studied acting for a time and you have to know the character's fears and motivations and their identity and we're going to get into that in the next episode. But that's imagine you're a character on a show who plays a podcaster. Now what would that person's motivations be? That's what actors actually do. They aren't pretending, they're actually getting into character, so they're creating the fears and the anxieties and the motivations of the actual characters and they're doing the backstory of their character work and all that kind of stuff. It was really fascinating. I learned a lot about human beings through studying acting. I believe it, I love to act.

Alan

A little piece of me.

Kevin

Maybe one day you will A little piece of me. The problem is, I feel like, the roles I would like to play wouldn't be great for the brand that we've created.

Alan

What are you going to play the?

Kevin

funny vote Graphic comedians probably. I feel like that's kind of where I would live.

Alan

We'll see. We'll see where it takes us, maybe.

Kevin

I can't imagine being the upbeat positive guy.

Kevin

No, I mean oh no no, not if I'm acting All right. Next level nation. If you have not yet gotten your version 2.0 NLU Dreamliner and you are interested in being consistent with habit tracking and journaling and gratitudes and most important tasks and most important win, most important improvement, next level lesson a question every single day. We'll have the link in the show notes again. I love this question today. Let's see here for so we're recording this on 10, 28, 65 days left in the year what part of your life makes you feel the best right now.

Alan

Nice, yeah, you want to share what you got.

Kevin

I had a simple answer. I would say progress in finances Nice. I feel really good, really on purpose, really intentional in finances, and that hasn't always been that way.

Alan

Mine will be funny. Well, at least I think it is what is the most important thing that you did. It hasn't always been that way. Mine will be funny. Well, at least I think it is what is the most important thing that you did or could do for yourself today. Clean up and shave. So if you see me on YouTube, I've decided to ignore my own advice. It also says Romwod and learning, so I chose that instead. So I did some stretching earlier.

Alan

It's better than nothing nothing, I don't know if I'm gonna shave, it's definitely outside my normalcy to have this huge beard going man that is not a huge beard, it's huge for me. Yeah, yeah, this is by far I mean context is important.

Kevin

Yeah, somebody's gonna tune into youtube for the first time. Be like I must have missed the episode.

Alan

It must be a different episode.

Outro

Kevin

All right, as always. We love you, we appreciate you, grateful for each and every one of you, and at NLU we don't have fans, we have family. We will talk to you all tomorrow. Please reach out. Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan

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

Kevin

Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.

Head Shot

Alan Lazaros

Host
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Kevin Palmieri

Host