Next Level University

Don’t Let Minutes Wreck Your Month (1941)

• Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

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In today’s episode, Kevin and Alan explain how to navigate challenging moments without losing sight of your goals. Discover the “Glass Ball” metaphor that helps you prioritize what matters most, learn how to shift into “coast mode” without guilt, and hear personal stories that highlight resilience in action. This episode will inspire you to keep moving forward, whether under the weather or feeling stuck.

Links mentioned:
Next Level Dreamliner: https://a.co/d/9fPpxEt
Free 30-minute Coaching Call with Alan - https://bit.ly/4f3MSUz

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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
Next Level Monthly Meet-up:  https://www.nextleveluniverse.com/monthly-meetups/

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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/

Facebook ✍
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

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:
(2:07) Defining the glass ball metaphor
(7:00) Golden, silver, and bronze priorities
(12:35) Next Level Dreamliner: the planner, agenda, journal, and habit tracker to rule them all. Get a copy: https://a.co/d/9fPpxEt
(14:29) Personal stories of resilience
(20:50) Practical tips for staying on track
(22:29) Quarterly priority-setting framework
(23:29) 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 Palmieri

I think it's very easy to get into a rut where you feel like nothing is going your way and, no matter what, you can't turn it around, when in reality it's like three days, it's literally going to be three or four days. It's not the end of the world, and if you are doing the other things better than you ever have in the past, you're actually still making progress. It just isn't the progress that you want.

Alan Lazaros

When you're sick, when you're down, throw it in coast mode. Coast mode is still going. You're still making progress. You're still headed in the right direction. You're still doing your golden glass ball, your silver glass ball and maybe a couple of your bronze ones, but you're not trying to change the world. You're trying to get well.

Kevin Palmieri

You're trying to change your world.

Alan Lazaros

Get well. First Take care of the juggler number two. Don't forget about your golden glass balls. Never drop those, and if you have to make sure you don't drop the golden, one.

Kevin Palmieri

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

Alan Lazaros

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

Kevin Palmieri

At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

We bring you a new episode every single day on topics like confidence, self-belief, self-worth, self-awareness, relationships, boundaries, consistency, habits and defining your own unique version of success.

Alan Lazaros

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

Kevin Palmieri

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, this is how Jeffed I am. I didn't even name the episode yet. Today, for episode number 1,941, I'm going to freestyle the name right now. Don't Let a Minute Wreck your Month. Can you remember that?

Alan Lazaros

Nice, don't Let a Minute Wreck your Month.

Defining the glass ball metaphor

Kevin Palmieri

Yes, all right, I'm going to name it after Don't let a minute wreck your month. So I'm under the weather and somehow worse than I was yesterday, I do. This is the thing too, though. I love podcasting. So, as much as I feel like shit and I feel terrible, I'm excited to be here. I am, I love podcasting, you can, but I had a moment where I woke up this morning and today, as of recording this episode, it's the 7th of January, so I've been sick for the 6th and the 7th, and it would be very easy for me to fall into the trap of assuming and emotionalizing the fact that I'm not at the gym. I went to the gym yesterday, but I didn't go today. I'm not making progress towards my physical goals. I'm eating kind of like crap, because anytime I get sick or I get injured, I just hammer calories. It always seems to help me.

Alan Lazaros

I don't know if there's any science behind that, but okay, cool.

Kevin Palmieri

Then I'm onto something.

Alan Lazaros

I've been onto something for a long time Preferably calories with nutrients, nutrients micronutrients, but I did have taco bell yesterday, as I as I told you, I had a, I had a 25 taco bell gift card.

Kevin Palmieri

I was like, look, I'm getting taco bell. Very rarely do I get to lie in bed on a monday? Very, I mean, that is an extremely rare thing. So alan and I recorded and we finished it like three and I laid in bed, I took nyquil and I passed out. But it would be really easy for me to fall into the trap of oh you know, I set these goals, I'm not making any momentum, I'm not making any progress, I'm down, everything is going to crap. And I think it's really easy to just relegate those goals for lack of a better phrasing, and I think that's why emotion is such a dangerous thing when it comes to stuff like this. So, okay, let's say this this illness that I'm dealing with, let's say it takes three days to recover, that is, three out of 365 days. What percentage is that? That's like a third of a percent, right? No three. I was looking up relegate, I didn't know if we were using.

Alan Lazaros

I used that word too. I want to make sure I use it right. You did Consign or dismiss to an inferior rank or position. Relegate meaning yeah, you used it right.

Kevin Palmieri

Nice. What percentage? A three out of 365? It's 1%.

Alan Lazaros

Less than that 0.75?, 0.77 or something.

Kevin Palmieri

So okay. So let's just say less than 1% of my year will be Jeffed because of these three days, but it would be really easy to fall off track. 0.82%, 0.82%, not a lot, I was close. 0.82%, not a lot, not a big number. So that's one thought. The other thought is we've talked about this a lot, but clarity is such a privilege because, although I am living in bed, so I get out of bed to record this. After we record this, I'm going right back into bed and then we have group coaching tonight, so I want to make sure I'm rested for group coaching. Shout out to group 17. But I woke up, I batched my WhatsApp, I made sure everything was good and then I was able to R&R. So we have something called. It started off as the glass balls and then it was the golden glass balls, because Alan always likes to take things up.

Kevin Palmieri

Yeah, you can do it.

Alan Lazaros

I don't know. Have I done it on the podcast yet?

Kevin Palmieri

I don't entirely—I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about what you're going to say.

Alan Lazaros

I've said this to the team. I've said this to many, many clients. I think it's one of the best metaphors. I didn't come up with it. It's one of the best metaphors. I didn't come up with it. It's been curated. Whatever, it's one of the best metaphors I think. Super useful. It helps me not lose my mind. All right, so it starts out where we're all jugglers. So you listener or viewer, kevin and myself, we are all jugglers.

Kevin Palmieri

Okay, step one yeah, there you go kevin's on youtube. He's j juggling.

Alan Lazaros

You know how to juggle, yes. Not well, I do okay. So we're all jugglers. And the first thing, first principle don't forget about the juggler. If the juggler goes down, all the balls fall. Everybody's fucked, pardon my French. Everybody's fucked, pardon my French, everybody's effed. That's number one. Number two you're juggling 12 balls. I don't know why it's 12. I just picked 12.

Kevin Palmieri

Okay, 12.

Golden, silver, and bronze priorities

Alan Lazaros

12 balls. Nine of those bad boys are rubber. The rubber balls bounce. You can drop them, pick them back up later. Not a big deal, they don't break. They're there, it's all good. Three of those bad Larry's are glass. And if you drop those bad Larry's they shatter, makes a mess. Pets step on it, kids blood. Terrible. Can't do it, don't drop the glass balls.

Kevin Palmieri

Why are we going so dark there?

Alan Lazaros

Because you don't drop the glass balls.

Kevin Palmieri

Okay, don't drop the glass balls. Your pets will be rolling in them and it's bad, Bad news.

Alan Lazaros

I'm definitely an overprotective pet dad. Same, the closet was open earlier and I saw this accident waiting to happen, where the cats were in the closets and there's light bulbs that are ready to small, fall and smash, okay, so that's what made me think of that juggler. Don't forget about the juggler. Boom, awesome. 12 balls. Nine of them are rubber, three of them are glass awesome. So second principle first principle don't forget about the juggler. Take care of yourself like someone you love. Don't take it too far, but take care of yourself like someone you love. Number two don't drop the glass balls. Okay, it goes farther. Of the three glass balls, one of those bad Larry's, is gold, the other one's silver, the last one's bronze.

Alan Lazaros

Yesterday, full Monday, back-to-backs, from 11 to 7, yes, one of my clients canceled. There was a spot open. One of my other clients took it. When I saw the opening I went ooh, good, okay, onboarding, group coaching, nice. And I went, and then one of my clients booked day of same day and I said oh, group coaching is. So I do coaching, training, speaking. So my golden glass ball is one-on-one coaching, my silver glass ball is training, which is group coaching, monthly meetups, book club, anything one to several. And then my silver bronze glass ball ball. I'm sorry, is podcasting.

Alan Lazaros

If you have to drop a glass ball, make sure you drop the bronze one and pick up a golden one. That's what I did yesterday. The bronze one would be on board group coaching early. Make sure all that gets done. The golden glass ball is take care of my one-on-one client and that's just prioritization in a nutshell. It's a really cool metaphor and so if you're going to drop a glass ball, do not drop the golden glass ball. That is the metaphor. Number one don't forget about the juggler. Take care of the juggler like someone you love. Number two don't drop the glass balls. Number three if, for whatever reason, you have to have to have to have to have to drop a glass ball, do not ever drop the golden one. And on the nlu team we have it oriented where each of us have our golden glass ball and we have permission in advance to kind of suck at anything that isn't one of our three glass balls. I had a another realization. I think I said balls 8,000 times on that. I'm sorry. You said glass.

Kevin Palmieri

You said a lot of yeah, a lot of balls A lot of glass balls.

Alan Lazaros

I also said bad Larry several times.

Kevin Palmieri

You said bad Larry many times. I've also realized that I don't like being taken care of. I'm not a fan of being taken care of me. I don't know. I like being in. I don't know. I like to be self-sufficient. I feel like I'm just taking advantage of a condition if I ask for stuff I wouldn't normally ask. I don't know. I feel the same way whenever I'm sick.

Alan Lazaros

You mean, it takes me really good care of me and I feel very, yeah, there's a self-reliance thing I think it comes from For me. Anyways, when other people would give to me, it wouldn't always be, it would always. Sometimes it would be with the desire to, yeah, control me on some level and or like sort of horse trading, so to speak. It's transactional, it's not unconditional. Giving it's conditional yeah, that's the best way to put it. So sometimes it's hard to receive because you are afraid of the conditions that come with said receiving. And so someone gives you a gift but they expect a thank you card or that kind of stuff bothers me, it really does understandable.

Kevin Palmieri

I was, I think for me it's because I am just so used to just taking care of myself. I remember so alan and I grew up in the same town and there was a place called the puddle, the town park, and it was right up the street from where I used to live and we would go up there and we would play hockey. There was two ponds, there was a pond down near the parking lot and then, if you go through the woods, there was another pond and everybody near the parking lot on that pond you'd shovel it off. The house that lived right next to it would bring out light. Sometimes You'd flood it and you'd make a rink and it was awesome. It was the best.

Kevin Palmieri

I used to play a lot of hockey up there. It was awesome. One time I was playing goalie and my skate got caught and I fell and I thought I broke my ankle. I was like there's no way my ankle is not broken. Number one, it doesn't bend that way and number two, it hurts absolutely terribly. So I went home and I told my mom I was like I don't know, I think I might have broke my ankle.

Kevin Palmieri

I didn't have health insurance. So it's like, well, whatever, you're going to have to figure this out on your own. So I was dating someone at the time and I was talking to them and they were planning on coming over that night and I said I just need you to bring me like a bunch of snacks.

Next Level Dreamliner: the planner, agenda, journal, and habit tracker to rule them all. Get a copy:

Alan Lazaros

I got to heal up. This is the way I'm wired. Hello, hello, hello. Nlu listener. Thank you, as always, for listening to Next Level University Real quick. I just want to jump in and let you know about the Next Level Dreamliner. This is a journal that I use every single day. Achieve your dreams 90 days at a time. It breaks down your dreams into goals, milestones and daily habits. We hope you enjoy it. The link will be in the show notes.

Kevin Palmieri

So she brought me a bunch of snacks and I was like, all right, cool, On my way to healing. A couple days later I went back to work I've told you this story before and this was the job. This was the weatherization job.

Alan Lazaros

He's over here dragging his ankle. I swear to you.

Kevin Palmieri

I swear to you, I was walking down the hallway dragging what I thought was my broken ankle behind me, and when I would climb up the ladder I would literally like hop up with one foot at a time. And I was so nervous that my boss was gonna be there that day, cuz I was like, if he's there, he's gonna. He's gonna be like have you can't. You can't work, you're holding everybody back, but I don't he.

Alan Lazaros

Luckily he wasn't what was your concern to that?

Kevin Palmieri

just less money because you couldn't get the hours, or I, I try, I tried to never say no to work yeah, I tried to, because if I don't, if I'm not working, I'm not. I mean, there's no sick time, there's no paid time off, there's no vacation time. If you don't work, you don't get paid yeah.

Alan Lazaros

Yeah, that makes sense.

Kevin Palmieri

That's what I asked is yeah, you're worried about not being paid.

Alan Lazaros

Yeah, yeah and well, now I know where your work ethic developed.

Kevin Palmieri

That's a piece of it, and if you're making 60 bucks an hour, if you miss a day six times eight's 40, losing 500 dollars. Yeah, I'm gonna. I'll suck it up for 500 bucks you could grab crutches, man.

Alan Lazaros

I know you couldn't, because then they would yeah, they'd know ask you not to work. I remember I had so many Like the walking dead down the hall Pretty much.

Kevin Palmieri

I had so many wrist braces and ankle braces, because any time I injured myself, I would just throw it on under the boot and go to work and hope for the best. So that's another interesting piece of it. There's something about being under the weather that puts so much into perspective. We take so much and again, when I say we, I'm talking about me I take so much for granted.

Alan Lazaros

Oh yeah, we all do man.

Kevin Palmieri

So much, it's so easy to take it for granted, but none of that is the point of this episode. My thought on this episode was I think it's very easy to get into a rut where you feel like nothing is going your way and, no matter what, you can't turn it around, when in reality it's like three days, it's literally going to be three or four days. It's not the end of the world and if you are doing the other things better than you ever have in the past, you're actually still making progress. It just isn't the progress that you want. I could be tracking my macros and tracking my calories and I could still make fitness progress if I wanted.

Kevin Palmieri

I'm not because it doesn't matter that much to me right now, but I told Alan this I was lying in bed last night or lying in bed yesterday, and we got a new client. I saw it come through Cool, it's going to be like a potential, potential $10,000 a year client. And I told Taryn and she said finally, you finally got a client when you were lying in bed doing nothing and I said right, that's what I thought entrepreneurship was. Finally.

Alan Lazaros

It only took me eight years, eight years.

Kevin Palmieri

But when I woke up this morning, I made sure to connect to that client. Make. When I woke up this morning, I made sure to connect to that client. Make sure everything's good. Schedule a call. Cool. Make sure WhatsApp is as good as it can be. Cool. Make sure nobody needs anything from me. Awesome. Tell the team I'm under the weather. Reschedule this. It was very much.

Kevin Palmieri

Let me make sure that, although I'm not going to be able to make the amount of progress I want, let me do what I can to make sure I'm making some progress and let me make sure I'm setting myself up to make progress over the next couple days. And I just think it's a hard thing to juggle because you feel like you're especially at the beginning of the year. This is why New Year's resolutions are so challenging, because imagine if I had a New Year's resolution of I'm going to go to the gym 30 times this month. I would be Jeffed and I would say, well, this isn't going to work, I'm the worst. And then you'd can it, then I'd can it. So, instead of going to the gym, 27 times Better luck next year.

Kevin Palmieri

Yeah, I'll remember this next year. So, yeah, that's why I thought this episode would be timely, based on what I'm dealing with.

Alan Lazaros

Well, your glass balls are Next Level Podcast Solutions, next Level University Podcast and Podcast Growth University Podcast.

Kevin Palmieri

Yes, sir.

Alan Lazaros

So Kevin down and out for lack of better phrasing on his way back to well-being, as we would say just needs to make sure that he makes progress in those three areas. Yeah, and everything else can go into coast mode. Well, I'm here, I'm here, I mean this was one of the Next level university baby.

Kevin Palmieri

This was one of the things that couldn't get rescheduled. It's non-negotiable Group coaching tonight. That's something that can't get rescheduled. I'll be there for that Other stuff. I had a call with someone today. It was this was fun. He's a doctor. So I emailed him and said, hey, his name is Julius. I said hey, julius, I'm really looking forward to connecting. Unfortunately, I think I have the flu. Are you able to reschedule for the same time, friday? And he said oh, kev, I'm so sorry to hear that. Water, water, water. Make sure you get enough rest, make sure you get enough sleep, get enough nutrients, doctor's orders and yes, we can connect on Friday. So that was fun. I appreciated the fact that he understood that.

Alan Lazaros

Nice, of course Of course, All right.

Kevin Palmieri

what's your lesson here?

Alan Lazaros

We've got seven minutes here and I know Jumping all over the place. My lesson number one is just that metaphor. My lesson number one is just that metaphor Don't forget about the juggler, because if the juggler goes down, it all goes down. So you've got to take care of the juggler. You probably shouldn't be hobbling on your ankle up ladders.

Kevin Palmieri

Look, I'm not going to tell anybody else how to live their life.

Alan Lazaros

Some of those things serve you. I'm just saying it's not optimal. If you rested your ankle you'd be back to work in full swing. So I got sick two times in the last nine years. I'm very, very grateful. I've Taken very good hair, very good care of I can't speak I've taken very good care of my health.

Alan Lazaros

After my car accident, 26, I wasn't taking my health seriously. I was drinking too much and too often I wasn't going to the gym. I was really disappointed. I wasn't reaching my potential. A lot of people have heard that story and seriously, my goodness. And after that I was like you know what, I'm not wasting another day. I want to reach my potential. I want to self-improve every single day and I and I did.

Alan Lazaros

I went on a fitness Spree, a self-improvement spree, and it was like one of those movie montages, but like way more boring, basically, and way longer. It's like after the, the guy gets broken up with with the girl and sulks for a few weeks on the couch and then he's just like on the treadmill. You see him starting a new thing and all that stuff. It was like that, but for an extended period of time and way more boring, and so for the last nine years I've only gotten sick two times, both times in 2024, which was a very challenging year, and I think it's because of burnout for sure. But I was telling kev the moment that I start to feel.

Alan Lazaros

I was on a coaching session with my man, cole, and the first thing he said to me ah man, it sounds like you're getting sick. I was like, oh no, sirree, son pop nyquil, that night, 92 sleep score, back at it, baby. No, but I do. I try to any sign. I immediately try to go into bubble boy mode. There's a movie way back in the day. You remember bubble?

Practical tips for staying on track

Alan Lazaros

boy, I do, I do yeah and I try to go into bubble boy mode to really you go to the minimums. That's really what it is. You go to coast mode. The the tesla emilia and I have it has sport mode which hammers, and it has it's too much, honestly it's too much. And and then coast mode and I only use sport mode coming out of the 146 gym because it's a highway that you need to hammer, otherwise you're going to get hit, and it's in coast mode most of the time. So when you're sick, when you're down, throw it in coast mode most of the time. So when you're sick, when you're down, throw it in coast mode.

Alan Lazaros

Coast mode is still going. You're still making progress. You're still headed in the right direction. You're still doing your golden glass ball, your silver glass ball and maybe a couple of your bronze ones. But you're not trying to change the world. You're trying to get well, trying to change your world. Trying to change your world, get well. First, take care of the juggler. Number two, don't forget about your golden glass balls. Never drop those and if you have to, if you really have to make sure you don't drop the golden one. That's my takeaway.

Kevin Palmieri

The golden goose.

Alan Lazaros

Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

Anything else. I think that's a fire metaphor man. I'm having a lot of trouble regulating my temperature right now. I'm like super hot and super cold, and now I'm sweating profusely.

Alan Lazaros

We have a new electric blanket and it was on five last night that thing. I woke up sweating. I got a terrible squag at 64 or something.

Kevin Palmieri

Oh, that's rough.

Alan Lazaros

It wasn't great, but one last thing For everyone out there, if anyone does. Because one last thing For everyone out there, if anyone does because this is what I do with coaching is every quarter we figure out what your glass balls are. Priority one, priority two, priority three AKA, we all do a lot of shit, we all wear a lot of hats. We're all busy adults, adulting, we have responsibilities, all of us Health, wealth, love, family, household, pets, children, career. If you need help figuring out what your top three priorities are, here's the deal. Every quarter, every client, including myself, including Kevin, including every team member, has P1, p2, p3. Priority one, priority two, priority three.

Alan Lazaros

And the idea here is you still do other stuff. You're just not going to pour intentional time and effort into anything but those three. The categories need to be wide enough to where they matter. Let me give an example. My client shout out to Jenna it's personal growth is her number one p1 and fitness falls underneath that. So make sure the category is wide enough to where it encapsulates a lot of what you want to achieve, but specific enough to where it's actually meaningful. And I know that that's a an art and a science. So if anyone wants help book a free call, because I love to do this reach out to your boy also.

Outro

Kevin Palmieri

If you do not have your dreamliner for Q1 of 2025, we'll have the link in the show notes. Mine is on its way. I am devastated because I got to the end and I didn't order the other one fast enough, because I'm out here jeffing, but, super excited, the version 3 will be coming some point, hopefully soon. I'm supposed to be working on that, but right now I am physically ill so I'm I'm not working on it. All right, cool 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 stay focused next level nation thanks for joining us for another episode of next level university.

Kevin Palmieri

We love connecting with the Next.

Alan Lazaros

Level family. 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 Palmieri

Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.

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Alan Lazaros

Host
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Kevin Palmieri

Host