Next Level University

The Unsexy Truth About Success… (2111)

• Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

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Success blooms where sacrifice grows. In today’s episode, Kevin and Alan reveal the raw, unfiltered truth about what it takes to win. From skipped meals and 13-hour days to tracking 10,000 hours of deep work, they share the sacrifices and systems that make high-level results possible. Whether you're chasing growth in business, fitness, or life, this episode will challenge you to rethink comfort, clarity, and commitment.

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📖 Next Level Dreamliner is a productivity journal designed to help break down dreams into goals, milestones, and daily habits. Grab your copy 👉  https://a.co/d/9fPpxEt
📘 Next Level Book Club - https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkcuiupjIqE9QlkptiKDQykRtKyFB5Jbhc

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/

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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:
(2:47) Sacrifices behind the scenes
(4:03) When the podcast comes first
(6:16) Priorities drive real progress
(10:42) Alan hits 10,000 hours
(13:21) Level up with NLU: Join our free virtual Monthly Meet-up event every first Thursday for powerful insights, real tools, and unstoppable growth. https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/K_0bBGWuTfKcnTh5B0pvBg#/registration
(17:08) Winning doesn't always feel good
(20:22) Success will always be a climb
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🎙️ 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 used to want to be the guy who motivated people to become successful, and now, if anything, I would rather be the guy who tells the truth. So much, in fact, that maybe you re-evaluate what success means to you, because I wish somebody did that for me earlier.

Alan Lazaros:

I've been saying to my clients a lot lately the science of success, the science of achievement, does not care about your feelings. I was in the gym earlier today and I look my best right now because I'm in a cut and I'm losing body fat. But I feel my worst Sometimes when you're winning. It feels terrible.

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

Kevin Palmieri:

Welcome to Next Level University completely free, but it probably is, because we'll be motivation, motivational and inspirational. But like it's going to be a heavy one, it's gonna be a heavy one, all right. Yesterday, 6. Am till seven 30. I think, 13 and a half hour day, 13 and a half hour day. I was on a podcast and I had a moment where it was like, ah, I understand now a little bit about why people think I'm crazy.

Kevin Palmieri:

I get it. It was one of those podcasts where it was just like all over the place, just a cool conversation, no direction. I love those. It's always fun. I'm talking about microsoft flight simulator. At one point I was like this is fucking awesome. Microsoft flight simulator is what we were talking about at one point from way back no, they made a new one in 20 2020 I used to play f22 lightning 2 this guy always streams it.

Kevin Palmieri:

He's a guy streaming on twitch. It's like dude, how, what a cool life, what a wild time to be alive. And we were talking about bodybuilding. He's like you like the six meal a day kind of guy and I was like no, I eat like one meal a day. And he's like how does that work?

Kevin Palmieri:

and I was like it's not ideal, it's not optimal at all. I know that. I said I worked out at six and at this time it was like 4 30. I said I probably won't eat until like eight o'clock tonight and I had a moment. I was like huh, so I worked out it. I worked out at 6 30, then I go work a 13 hour day and I don't eat anything until nighttime and I was like that's kind of fucked up a little bit. That's a little bit that's that's probably a little bit detrimental.

Alan Lazaros:

I'll never forget the first time I heard about the quote-unquote warrior diet and it's intermittent fasting, essentially, and you do 20 hours of fasting for four hours of eating, and I remember thinking that's a little crazy, and now I don't feel like that's crazy at all. Same, we've lost it, man. We've totally lost perspective on what we do.

Kevin Palmieri:

When we were doing the weigh-in last year for the 10 pound in 10 week challenge, I wanted to hit the goal early. I just didn't eat for two days. I'm just not going to eat because I don't. I literally I don't think it was two days, I think it was like a day and a half. I just didn't eat. And then I weighed in and I was like cool, done, I did a marathon.

Alan Lazaros:

He's in a marathon. I'm not saying clarify the half marathon. I did a half marathon and I finished the full marathon but I had to walk.

Kevin Palmieri:

He did it wasn't. It wasn't pretty, it was not pretty.

Alan Lazaros:

The half marathon was legit, though.

Kevin Palmieri:

Yes, I did a video last night that that this is the inspiration for this episode. I did a video last night where I was talking about how so many people ask how did you guys do it? How do you guys do an episode every day? Blah, blah, blah All the questions, and I appreciate those questions. I'm not blah, blah, blah in that way, and my new answer is this it is just the number one priority, even ahead of alan and myself. That's the answer. It is the number one priority ahead of everything else, except for my wife and except for alan's family. That is the truth. If I'm on a podcast after this and we don't have enough time, we cancel the podcast. Doesn't matter Too bad. I'm sorry. This has to take precedent, just has to.

Kevin Palmieri:

There was a death in our family last year and I went and supported the family and I had to leave and come home at like nine o'clock at night and you and I recorded however many episodes. I'm going to Vermont in two weeks. I already pre-planned all of our episodes. It's gonna suck. I'm going to south carolina the next week. We've already pre-planned all our episodes. It's gonna suck. We're in south carolina, myrtle beach, baby nice going golfing for a bachelor party.

Alan Lazaros:

Fan of that state, I gotta say. If anyone's from south carolina, I apologize. Not a fan, I've never been. It's I don't know, it's not for me, I've no, yeah, I'll let you know.

Kevin Palmieri:

I've never been. Yeah, I don't really care. Really, you know where we're god, whatever it is, you're better I do, I really do I don't know man, you know me, I like to get a little wild on the beach, I think it'll be fun to visit.

Alan Lazaros:

I was there for a week. Too long, yeah, too long, too long. I think a few days is fine.

Kevin Palmieri:

That's the theme in today's episode. The theme in today's episode is the thing that you are the most successful in is going to be the thing that you prioritize above everything else, and that is the simplest fundamental of success. Alan and I are very hungry because we're dieting. I, alan and I, are very hungry because we're dieting. I am prioritizing my fitness goals over my desire to eat good food, over social events, potentially and or eating at social events, and that is the reason we're getting results. That that it is that simple.

Alan Lazaros:

Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri:

It is that unsexy, unfortunately, and I just don't think people are willing to admit that, because I think there's two types of people. People are willing to admit that because I think there's two types of people. There's somebody who takes massive pride in how easy it was and there's people who take massive pride in how challenging it was, and I think, unfortunately, are we. We are the second one, for sure, but because I don't care if somebody, somebody looks at me and says, oh, oh, you guys are business owners and you the business doesn't run itself yet and blah like that's all bullshit. Anyway, I don't care about that, whatever. No, that's never gonna happen, it is what it is.

Alan Lazaros:

So, yeah, that's my, that's my thesis in today's episode the paradox is, the only way that happens is if we don't believe it yet. Okay, so I want to share this. And again, kevin and I are more successful than we've ever been by a significant margin, and the reason I'm saying that is not to brag, it's to make this point land. The only reason why we're more successful than we've ever been, the main reason I would say 90% of it, at least 80% of it is because of this. So last night, emilia and I have had conversations recently where I'm working way too late. We have a keystone habit. A keystone habit is the one thing that changes everything. It's the. When there's an arc, it's the main keystone in the center that holds the whole arc up, essentially. And we have a keystone habit with a streak on the whiteboard downstairs there's a zero there, zero days straight for that 1,121 days of exercise, zero days of keystone habit of cutting by eight o'clock.

Alan Lazaros:

so cutting at eight o'clock is the keystone habit. If we cut at eight, her and I, then we have some r and r, we eat, we get to bed on time, we wake up on time, we go to the gym. It cas cascades, everything cascades. You know how you start slipping in one thing Everything starts rolling down the hill.

Alan Lazaros:

You were talking about the dishes recently. Okay. So Emilia is very focused. She said can I storm the keep? Can I? Me and Tucker and Tilly and Tao are going to barge in there at 8.15 if you're not out of the fucking office and we're gonna all come in and snuggle you. Cute. They did that last night after we were done recording and it wasn't 8 15. So we finished recording last night at. We finished at 7 30. You had a coaching call last night. Oh, for fuck's sake. Okay. So I finished my coaching call at 8 30. Yep, 8 30. I finished my coaching call. Then I still had to close out, close the store. Bunch of different stuff. Z out the register. You got to last night 7 37 pm.

Alan Lazaros:

Alan says to emilia in whatsapp tonight is jeff tunney, so sorry, see you as soon as I can. Exclamation point with a heart ready, watch this. This morning I wake up, I text Kevin, I seriously need our start time to be 1030 and can barely make that. Can we do tomorrow morning too to make up for it? Take whatever slot you fucking need, son. I added that last part. It was just take whatever slot you need, and we did. But I just want to give a behind the scenes, because the truth of the matter is is from the outside in. It does. I think we do, and again, I think we do a better job of this than most, because we always talk about how much we're struggling and we're honest about that. But I do think if you weren't really paying attention or listening to the show, we might make it look easy.

Alan Lazaros:

I was looking at our YouTube yesterday. Dude, the amount of content we've created is mind-blowing. It's a lot of episodes. It's a lot of episodes. It's mind-blowing. I tracked this yesterday. I finally caught up my calendar. I've been extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely focused on calendar hygiene for the last many, many, many years, and I used to have these flashcards that I would do when we were on the road, where I would track everything. You remember I'd flash cards that I would do when we were on the road, where I would track everything. You remember we'd I'd be doing them at the hotel rooms and motels and we couldn't afford much back then. So shitty motel sixes, and you remember that one. That place sucked man.

Alan Lazaros:

I had to nap yeah, yeah, I remember, yeah, that was brutal you were like oh, this is nothing, man, I was on the road for years that was quite.

Kevin Palmieri:

I mean there's no. There was no hypodermic needles and blood on the walls, so that was yeah, that was nothing. That was totally fine.

Alan Lazaros:

This is all relative. This is totally fine. This is clean as shit. This might as well be hilton baby, all right. So I used to track in these little black notebooks. Then I had these flash cards that I would do every single day. I have piles of them. I actually did a training recently on this and then eventually I digitized it. I put it all in on Google Sheets. I track everything.

Alan Lazaros:

I have something I call my 10,000 hour tracker and I've been working on this for literally 10 years. I'm not kidding. And I was talking to Amelia on our walk last night. I said I did it and she said what do you mean? I said I finally passed 10,000 hours and I already did a while ago and I knew it, but I needed certainty. So 10,776 coaching sessions, trainings and podcasts.

Alan Lazaros:

Now, coaching sessions is anything one-to-one. Trainings is anything one-to-several. Podcasts is obviously podcast episodes. So this Business Growth University, conscious Couples Podcast any other podcast that I guest on and 10,766 hours probably more than that, cause I usually go over, as you know, but then some episodes are smaller than others, so it probably averages out. But there's a 10,000 hour rule in deep practice. If you study the research, malcolm Gladwell talks about how, once you reach 10,000 hours, you're basically world-class, and so I started tracking that 10 years ago. Speeches count as trainings. You understand, it's my own system.

Alan Lazaros:

But I had a moment where it was like I was working on that for 10 years and I surpassed it by a significant margin. I'm going to keep going. I'm still going to call it my 10,000 hour tracker. Eventually it'll be 20,000, 30,000, 40,000. But I was thinking to myself no wonder why, when we look back at old content, we think it sucks. And Emilia said yeah, I feel very seen right now because in the conscious couples podcast she, she probably is at like 2000 or 3000 hours and sometimes I'll be like sweetheart, I need you to bring it, come on, let's do, let's do this Right. And she's. She said I think you're losing sight of how far ahead. You were, like you and Kevin already had 700 episodes when I started my show or something like that. Maybe 300, 400, something like that. And the reps they do, they pay off.

Alan Lazaros:

So what's my point of all this? 90% of our success comes down to that one metric 10,766 hours. And Kev, early on, he said how did you know we'd be successful? And I I said simply, you can't add that much value to that many people for that long and improve that much without eventually being successful. It's, it's a math equation now. Did I fucking think it would take that long for this? Are you kidding? The equation was off a little.

Alan Lazaros:

Oh my goodness, apparently there's some other things that matter branding, marketing, sales perception, marketing, sales perception, status, all the stuff. And when you look like a fucking Ken doll, that does not help in business, but a lot of it comes down to that for sure. Just repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. You're not going to play baseball for 10 years and still suck if you're focused on improving and have coaches and yeah, 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.

Kevin Palmieri:

It's unsexy. And again it will be in the show notes. It's unsexy, and again it might not be the most motivational, inspirational thing. But I do think the thing that remains, the priority, is the thing that you will be the best at. If you're hyper-focused on being a great parent, you literally reverse engineer everything to make sure that you can spend time with your kids. That's awesome. I love that. When your kids are sick, you call out of work. When your kids are sick, maybe you don't go to the gym. When your kids are sick, you don't go see your friends. That's the priority. Yeah, what's the must? Love it, and I and I love that. That's one of the reasons I do not have children and I am not planning on having children, because I don't necessarily want that to be the priority, necessarily want that to be the priority, and I know it has to be. I feel like it would be selfish of me to to bring a child into the world knowing that it's it's not as big a priority for me now. Will that happen at some point?

Alan Lazaros:

I don't know, maybe I find that so paradoxical. You and taryn, I think, would be great parents, statistically speaking and ironically, oh I know. Seriously, though, right, it's certainly on the higher end of maturity and that's the goal. Yeah, you work on yourselves and each other and all that, and you guys aren't gonna have kids we might adopt at some point.

Alan Lazaros:

Yeah, I don't think that will probably end up happening I don't know we'll see, there are certain people that I'm certain of that I, I know that I am certain should not For sure. They're adult children having children and it's rut row and I find that really paradoxical. It's the person mature enough to admit that they shouldn't, because it would be selfish, is the person who actually fucking should.

Kevin Palmieri:

Here's the other thing too. Everybody I've asked asked like amazing having kids? Huh, they're like nah, kind of kind of fucking sucks. Yeah, I we talked to somebody at a birthday party recently and they're like no, it's terrible. We love them and they're amazing and they're sweet, but it's absolutely terrible. And I was like I know, and I appreciate you telling me I know they're the greatest the greatest gift ever.

Kevin Palmieri:

Yes, I understand. Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. This podcast is also like the greatest gift ever. Yes, I understand. Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. This podcast is also like the greatest gift ever for me, and it also is terrible. Two things can be simultaneously true at the same time, isn't that?

Alan Lazaros:

the whole thing Pretty much. That's got to be the key lesson. Everything has pros and cons. Everything.

Kevin Palmieri:

And the bigger the pros, the bigger the cons.

Alan Lazaros:

Facts Absolute facts. Right, I was a like I always joke about. I was a prepubescent loser back in the day. Short didn't hit puberty. You think I look young now? Imagine me at 14, right, but I never had to. I just kind of didn't have to deal with any bullshit because I was overlooked.

Alan Lazaros:

And this guy in the gym I told the story on yesterday's podcast about him stepping to me. He was in the gym and he gave me the nod, you know, the honor nod of like. I see you, I know I know we're good, we're good man, but that shit never used to happen. Now that I'm the top dog quote unquote at the gym and it's not hard, at my gym it's a tiny gym, but you have to deal with a bunch of shit. You didn't realize and again, trust me, I'd rather be this than the way I felt about myself back then. For sure, high school was not fun for me, but there's pros and cons with everything and you and I have become more successful. We've achieved a lot of our dreams and and I don't want you not to do it Cuz it is better, it's so much better, but it's not what you think. Yes, definitely not. It's, it's not like.

Kevin Palmieri:

It's like you have to double and triple and quadruple down on the priority. We we logged on to record yesterday and we just had a laughing fit. We would, you and I were just laughing our asses off sometimes. That's what happens when we're going through it we just have a good giggle sesh. It was like we've never been more successful, we've never had more opportunity, and it just feels worse than it ever has somehow, but but in a good place and in a good direction. And it's not. It's not as catastrophic as it once was, but it's definitely not if there is a land of unicorns, rainbows and just golden arches. I don't. I've never seen it.

Alan Lazaros:

No and I don't believe it exists. I don't think it exists, all right, what's your next lesson? Yeah, the last, last, last story. I wanted to say this what was it? Oh, this is, I think, a good metaphor.

Alan Lazaros:

I was in the gym today and I am doing the 10 pound in 10 week challenge. Shout out to any next levelers out there doing that with us. If you want in on the next level fitness group, we just had someone join, kj, jk, jk, and if you want in, dm kevin or myself, because when we put the link in the show notes we got bots and shit. So, but anyways, so I'm probably four pounds, five pounds down and I feel I didn't eat last night much and I didn't eat this morning and I went to the gym and I don't have any carbs in me right now. I can feel depleted and that's part for the course. I need to do that, unfortunately, and I'm sitting there and I'm looking in the mirror and I'm going.

Alan Lazaros:

I look better than I have in a long time. This is, I'm looking good, but I feel fucking terrible. I feel I don't and again, I know it's not that bad. You're like dude, I've been dying for 20 weeks. I, I'm telling you right now. I had a moment of. It makes sense. I look my best when I feel my worst. There's something about that. From the outside in, I look the most successful in fitness that I have in a long time and I'm telling you, from the inside out, I don't feel good. I don't feel good at all. Actually, I couldn't get in flow. Today was a terrible workout, so I think that's a good metaphor. When you're winning, when your future is winning, sometimes your present self feels like it's losing, and I think that that's a fucking law.

Alan Lazaros:

You're the most in shape you've been in a long time and you feel worse, terrible, yeah, terrible, that pretty terrible there's, there's a fucking correlation with that, I'm telling you, and I'm the most overwhelmed I've ever been. You are too for sure in business, but we're also more successful than we've ever been. So can you have one without the other? I don't think you can.

Kevin Palmieri:

And I'm done pretending that you can because it's not helping. I think you can when you're like 30 years in. I think, eventually you just have so much momentum that maybe you're not becoming more successful, but you're successful enough where it's like you can just kind of ride the coattails of the success that you built. I'm convinced of that. Not in fitness, though. In fitness that doesn't exist, because fitness is a yeah, it gets worse, it is a deteriorating, it just deteriorates forever and again. 30 years is a long ass time, right so, but yeah, for for 99.99999 percent of people it's that only works.

Alan Lazaros:

Kev if you stop going to the next level, like you can coast if you want to stay at a certain level that's what I mean, if you're trying to get to the next level, it's always going to feel like a fucking yes, yeah, it has to.

Kevin Palmieri:

It has to yeah by definition.

Alan Lazaros:

You're going to try to go up.

Kevin Palmieri:

It's going to feel like a climb and that's why we're so big on it, because it's not, this is next level. There's always a next level, always, always, always, always. I was talking, you and I were talking yesterday. I was like, dude, I, I am struggling with a diet and struggling with exercise and alan is like you gotta stop. It's maybe we just maybe we call it. And I said, no, dude, I'm not, no yeah, fuck no, I've come too far.

Kevin Palmieri:

I've come too far and it's not that bad. It sucks, but it's not. It's not the end of the world. It's not the end of the road. It's not that detrimental. My sleep is great, my workouts are terrible, but it is what it is. What are we gonna do? It's a priority and I'm making a lot of progress and that's important and I want to make sure I keep that progress. So that is my next level lesson priorities create progress. Progress creates opportunity. Opportunities create more opportunities for priorities. A little triangle right there, baby that was like six things, man that was three things it's five three priorities creates progress.

Kevin Palmieri:

Progress creates man. That was three things, it's five. Three priorities creates progress. Progress creates priorities. That's two things. And then progress priorities create progress. Progress creates priorities. Priorities create new opportunities for priorities. I don't fucking know, don't worry here's the problem.

Alan Lazaros:

I know we're gonna go with. Progress makes things more complex. Yeah, it creates opportunities. The need for more priority, need for more priority yeah, there you go. All right, nice, thank you I appreciate that all right opportunities.

Kevin Palmieri:

They make everything harder they do and some things they make everything harder and better. Nice, but also worse, but also better. If you are struggling with prioritization and you need help with that, we have the next level dreamliner. You can literally write out the top main three things you're focused on every single day and that level of clarity hopefully will be a little mario kart booster, so we'll have the link in the show notes for that if you want to join book club, you need more necessity to read, like I do.

Alan Lazaros:

Willpower, roy Baumeister, john Tierney I just lied to everybody. I don't need more necessity to read. No, you read all the time. Yeah, I do need more necessity to read hard copy books. I'm an audible guy, so this is hard copy book Everyurday, 12 30 pm eastern standard time. We had 15 to 18 people on the last one and usually the first chapter of the book is always the highest hitter. It's summer. A lot of people are off the rails. I know that that's okay. Stay on the rails with book club. Show up 12 30 pm eastern Time. The only point of that book club is to help you reach your potential. That is it.

Kevin Palmieri:

Boom, 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.

Alan Lazaros:

Keep it Next Level, next Level Nation.

Kevin Palmieri:

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.

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Alan Lazaros

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Kevin Palmieri

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