Next Level University

A Master Skill Worth Developing (2085)

• Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

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Goals are just problems in disguise. In this episode, Kevin and Alan unpack the real power behind problem-solving and why it might be the most important skill you can build. From saying “yes” before you’re ready to reframing how you see challenges, this quick-hitting conversation is packed with insights on confidence, action, and growth. Whether you’re stuck, scaling, or starting something new, this episode will shift your mindset in just 15 minutes.

Learn more about:
Next Level Nation - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700
Big goals don’t happen by accident. Next Level Dreamliner helps you plan, track, and follow through. Grab your copy 👉  https://a.co/d/9fPpxEt

Free 30-minute Business Breakthrough Session with Alan -
https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-free-breakthrough-session?month=2025-04
Free 30-Minute Podcast Breakthrough Session with Kevin -
https://calendly.com/kevinpalmieri/free-30-minute-podcast-breakthrough-session-with-kevin

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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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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:
(1:57) Say yes and figure it out
(4:27) Hold your breath and learn
(6:01) Goals always come with problems
(9:06) At NLU, your success is our purpose. Join us every first Thursday for tools, insight, and the spark to move forward. https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/drNdstrXSt6d7q7NnHITgA
(11:23) The real goal behind the goal
(13:53) Self-belief starts with action
(16:17) What higher quality problems look like
(17:04) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

Kevin Palmieri:

I am convinced that people who are willing to smack their heads against the walls for longer are the people who learn the most. They develop skills, and especially they develop problem-solving skills.

Alan Lazaros:

Every time you set a goal, all of a sudden all these obstacles come up, all these bottlenecks. You want to get to the next level and you're not good enough yet, you're not smart enough yet, you don't have the skills yet. And if you hang through the adversity, you end up developing the skills and the awareness and the lessons. So the person who perseveres through that ends up the most developed.

Kevin Palmieri:

Welcome to Next Level University. I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri, and I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus. 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 today for episode number 2085. We're going to hit you with a quick one. This can be like a 15. This is probably a 14 minute episode. A master skill worth developing. I had somebody asked me to do something recently a client and I had no fucking clue how to do it. Nice, not an inkling. I didn't know where to start and then I proceeded to spend the next eight hours researching and chat, gpt and testing and retesting and seeing if it worked and seeing if it didn't work, and by the end of the day I had acquired a new skill. Eight hours it took me a long ass time.

Alan Lazaros:

That sucked. It was terrible. I want to get for anyone watching or listening. That is something that Kev will do. I've seen. You do remember 16 hours for one teaser clip. Dude, you gotta power.

Kevin Palmieri:

If you, if you have an outcome that you want, you gotta. One of the one of the good things about saying yes and then figuring it out is you have to figure it out. One of the bad things about saying yes and then trying to figure it out as if you don't figure it out, you're screwed. So I do really well with necessity like that, but it also sucks I'm not there. I have another one of those things like I have to do tomorrow. I have something I have to do tomorrow that I'm not entirely sure how to do, but I'll figure it out, because now I have enough reps and that's what we're talking about today is problem solving. Did you always feel that way?

Alan Lazaros:

That's what self-belief is.

Kevin Palmieri:

Look at how much self-belief it takes to stick with something for eight hours straight and then to say, yeah, I can do that, and then go figure it out. That's new, that's new, not like this year new. But no, I didn't have that, no way.

Alan Lazaros:

Eight years ago, Kev, would you have heard you say that and thought that that was arrogant or dumb or delusional.

Kevin Palmieri:

I don't think I would have thought it was arrogant. I think I probably would have said, hmm, I'd like to get to that place. I'd like to get to a place where I can do it. And I also understand, because here's the thing I understand. So this is why I'm really good at getting things started, because I'll just say yes and figure it out. But I also forget when I pass the ball to other people that they're not necessarily wired the same way. If I ever catch myself saying like why didn't we just do it this way, it's probably because I why aren't?

Alan Lazaros:

they wired that way. What are they missing?

Kevin Palmieri:

I don't necessarily know that it's a missing thing, I think it's just a. I'd say it's grit. No, no, no, it's not, it's. Sometimes it's just the vision piece. I was on with christina today. Christina's our coo and head graphic designer. She's many things, she does many things, wears many hats and wears them all very well. And I said full permission to just mess up and figure it out, because that's what I would do. But she's like well, what should I do it in a certain way? No, just do it and see what happens. And if you need me, let me know and I'll keep an eye on it. No worries, we're going to be fine, it's totally fine. That's my mindset because I know the client and I know the work we've been doing. It's, I think I just have more awareness to the standards and the momentum and I don't know, I think that's a big piece of it. I don't think it's necessarily grit. I do think the more gritty you are, the more problem solving skills you develop.

Kevin Palmieri:

And here's, here's my last example, and I'll kick it to Alan Cause again in shorter episodes, I don't want to just do an Epic monologue. When I was describing it to Alan, I said you've got to hold your breath for longer. That's going to be my takeaway for this episode. All I mean by that is, if you hold your breath and the second you start to doubt whether or not you're going to figure it out, you put your hand up and somebody pulls you out of the water. You're missing all the opportunity to learn. There's a lot of opportunity that you left on the table by just tapping out. There are times where I don't want to Google it. I want to try to figure it out myself first, and if I can't figure it out, I'll Google it. Stay in there longer because you're. The more you spend time with the problem, the higher the opportunity for you to become a problem solver. To that problem is my early next level lesson.

Alan Lazaros:

I actually think life, a big part of your level you reach in life pun intended next level you is predicated on your ability to identify patterns, which is identifying a problem, identifying the root cause of the problem and then creating a creative solution. What would be a good example of this? So many things. Everything is this. There's a quote life has to be more than just solving problems, meaning you have to create a meaning for yourself. That's bigger than just I'm going to get up today and I'm going to solve problems. That's what I do as a CEO. That's what I do as a coach.

Alan Lazaros:

What do you think my whole fucking day is? It's how are you? How's it going? Ah, I'm really having trouble getting this result. Okay, Well, why is that? Identify the root cause, find a strategy that works, go back to the drawing board. Go back to the drawing board. Go back to the drawing board. So and here's the thing People always say well then, what's the point? What is life just going to be? Identify problems and create solutions, and then those solutions create new problems, and then you get to a new level and you have bigger problems. What you're missing is that your new walking pace, your new relaxy taxi, is going to be your old all out sprint when you. It was so good for us to do that episode of the 10 most embarrassing moments which dropped yesterday in this case, that was yesterday.

Alan Lazaros:

Yes, yeah, so for the listener, not for us, but yeah, so it dropped yesterday. Check that out if you haven't. But that was eight years, our top 10 most embarrassing moments. It was so big for me to see and hear and to go back to those moments, for me to realize that those that would be child's play for us now. You know, dude, when we our last event okay, this conference room is not going to work how quickly we went into solving all those problems. I mean, when we hosted our last virtual event, the moment I got there there was at least 15 problems that needed to be solved, big and small, and we just figured it out and we did.

Alan Lazaros:

I don't know if I know how to develop problem solving skills. I do know that. Anyone who is super into mathematics and loved math growing up, one of the things I loved about it most is that there was an actual answer. But the way you got to the answer could be any way you want. So as long as you get the right answer in math, you win. It's fucking awesome. It doesn't matter how you get there, dude. Half the time I didn't get there the way the teacher wanted me to. It's fucking awesome, it doesn't matter how you get there, dude, half the time I didn't get there the way the teacher wanted me to.

Alan Lazaros:

I don't care, you got to show your work though you do, but I still got the right answer. So I still get a hundred? Okay, right, how dare you? But to me there's a thousand ways to get to the root cause of a problem and to solve it. And to me that's what math is. It's solving problems, it's solving equations, it's solving and, okay, at one point, railroading, getting shipments across the country was really hard. Okay, railroads solution. Steam engine solution. Okay, internet solution. Phones solution. Okay, smartphones solution. Okay, starlink. Now, every business is built on identifying and solving problems based on human needs, the quality of our lives. If we could go back 200 years right now, the quality of life would be terrible. There'd be no laptops, there'd be no electricity, there'd be no phones, there'd be no airplanes, there'd be no vita coca water there'd be. I mean, there would still probably be that today's sponsor, today's sponsor.

Alan Lazaros:

But I wonder and again, I'm always thinking about this stuff nlu listener what is happening? I just wanted to jump in here and let you know. If you want to get to the next level faster, we have a free virtual monthly meetup at the first thursday of every month. You can connect with like-minded people and become a bigger part of this amazing global community. The link to register will be in the show notes.

Alan Lazaros:

How many things do you and I enjoy today? There'd be no stream yard, there'd be no podcasting, there'd be no microphones, there'd be no cameras. How many things do we take for granted every single day that were, at one point, someone saying you know how do we film something? What if we could capture a memory? Probably everything we enjoy, everything we enjoy, was at one point, a goal and that goal created a problem. Goals are just problems in disguise. You have a goal to make a million dollars Awesome. Now you have a fucking million problems. Okay, let's solve it. Okay. Well, you have to do this. That's one of the reasons why I keep saying the science of achievement doesn't care about your feelings, because when it comes to your next level in life, you and I are talking about and we were strategizing before about Kevin's going to be potentially getting a home in the next year, two years, three years, five years. Okay, we just strategized about exactly what to do and what not to do about that and how to plan for that and the numbers. I had someone yesterday. She said I, I've been putting this on the principle, I've been adding this to my mortgage and and I'm can you look at these numbers? I was in spreadsheets, I looked for anomalies and we found them. I said you got to call them because something's off here. I'm certain my whole life is helping people identify and solve problems and the problems are predicated on goals. What is a goal? A goal is I have something I want that I don't know how to get yet. Okay, I want warm showers. Okay, well, your plumbing better work. Okay, plumbing's out All right. Well, now you have a problem. So again, people always ask me you know what's the point of all this? Why achieve so much? It's the goal of the goal of the goal, last piece, I promise. No, I take that back. I I gotta stop saying that, because then there's end up being other stuff.

Alan Lazaros:

The goal of the goal of the goal Okay, we're doing the 10 pound in 10 week challenge, super pumped, gonna be awesome, great. Now you want to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. You got a big fucking problem you eat too much and you don't exercise enough. Same, by the way, not making it wrong, I'm not picking on anybody. Well, that's why we're doing it. That's why we're doing it.

Alan Lazaros:

But what's the goal of the goal? The goal of the goal is to lead people. The goal of the goal is to inspire others. The goal of the goal is to live a healthier life. The goal of the goal is to get self-respect and self-esteem. The goal of the goal is growth. The goal of the goal is self-discipline. The goal of the goal is growth. The goal of the goal is self-discipline. The goal of the goal is to track and to be in better shape and to live a longer life and be more athletic and look better and feel better and have better sex and everything. Okay, I don't know why I threw that in there.

Alan Lazaros:

The point is, the goal of the goal is so much different than the actual goal. 10 pounds in 10 weeks doesn't matter at all. That's the goal, where there's a thousand other things that get better as a byproduct. And then you want to know the goal of the goal of the goal Fulfillment. You want to know the goal of the goal of the goal of the goal Self-worth and self-belief. Everyone who does the 10 pound in 10 week challenge, if you set a current weight and a goal weight and in 70 days from when we marked it, you lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks, you will build self-belief, you will build self-worth.

Alan Lazaros:

That is the goal of the goal of the goal of the goal, and that's what really matters. That's all anyone actually wants. That's what's underneath, underneath, underneath, underneath Everyone who's out there watching and scrolling and seeing people that have these amazing lives, including Kevin and I. What you really want is self-belief. What you really want is self-confidence. What you really want is self-esteem. What you really want is self-respect. What you really want is self-worth, which, by the way, only comes from achievement. It comes from growth and contribution and getting better every day. You and I have the life cheat code. We built an entire business around getting better, which is what everyone actually wants.

Kevin Palmieri:

The best and the worst. The best and the worst at the same time.

Alan Lazaros:

I think it's the best. Of course I do. I do too. I do too, but at the end of the day, you wanted to do an episode about problem solving, and I wonder if every opportunity comes with a problem and every problem comes with an opportunity. And I think that, if nothing else, change your attitude around problems. I have a thousand problems, but they're way better than the problems I had growing up.

Kevin Palmieri:

Yeah, I think you only really get. The problems that you try to solve are probably connected to how much you believe in yourself and your ability to solve them. Everybody out there right now you can think of something that used to be a problem that you know how to do, with no problems. Now, if we said yes more often and again say yes to the level of your belief, I think we'd know way more. So much of what I know is because I said yes and I didn't know how to do it, and then I had the ability to figure it out. That's, that's it. That's it at the end of the day. So that would be, that would be my next level lesson is next time you have an opportunity to say yes to something that you don't know if you can do and again, don't make this like a massive thing Say yes and see if you can figure it out.

Kevin Palmieri:

Next time you're at work and somebody says, hey, do you know how to do this? Say yeah, I'm not really sure, but maybe I. Maybe I know more than I'm more familiar with with it than you are, so let me give it a shot. Who knows? And I think when you do that long enough, you do have the you, you build the belief, and then you have the proof that last time I said yes to this, I wasn't really sure how to do it and actually went better than I expected. Cool, let me try it again. And then eventually you know a ton of stuff and then you're more willing to do the stuff that you don't know how to do yet, and I think that, to your point, is kind of a cheat code.

Alan Lazaros:

And haven't you been doing that kind of your whole life Same?

Kevin Palmieri:

Yeah, yeah, I would say so, not to the degree or maybe the level I am now, or not, with the understanding that that's what I'm doing. But I say yes all the time and then I say I'll figure it out. That's, we'll just figure it out, like that's what Saturday's for, that's the figure it out day, nice.

Alan Lazaros:

So far, so good, all right. What's your next level lesson? No one I've ever coached or ever met who doesn't have a series of problems, and if they don't have any problems they do have. They create goals, and those goals create problems. So change your relationship with problems. Problems are what we problems are what help us grow and become more, and we just get to create higher and higher and higher quality problems. A real problem is not being able to eat. A real problem is not having clean water. Those my problems are not real problems. I do know that, and some days blow, but it doesn't matter because I have that perspective.

Kevin Palmieri:

All right, cool, all right. Next Level Nation. If one of the problems you're struggling with right now is feeling lonely on this weird-ass growth journey, we have a private Facebook group called Next Level Nation. We would love to have you in there. There's posts every day. It's an awesome community. There's engagement. Yeah, it's a great place.

Alan Lazaros:

So if you're somebody who is struggling to be productive, I know a lot of early entrepreneurs I was talking about yesterday who really has a hard time not being distracted. I remember when I got out of corporate and it was like, oh, I'm my own boss and my own boss's boss and my own boss's boss's boss. I'm not as productive as I thought. So the Next Level Dreamliner is designed to make you far more productive. I promise you it will make you more productive. It makes me more productive and I notice when I don't do it.

Kevin Palmieri:

So the link will be in the show notes as always, we love you, we appreciate you, grateful for each and every one of you and at NLU we do not have fans, we have family. We will talk to you all tomorrow keep it Next Level, Next Level Nation.

Alan Lazaros:

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level Nation.

Kevin Palmieri:

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

Alan Lazaros:

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