A Deep Dive Into Goal Setting (2145)

Are your goals actually working for you, or just taking up space on your to-do list? In this episode, Kevin interviews Alan about what most people get wrong about goal setting and how to fix it. They break down the difference between goals that ignite action and ones that quietly fade away, why time perspective matters more than you think, and how to reverse engineer your success, starting with what you're truly capable of. Whether you're stuck in the "wanting" phase or chasing something too vague to measure, this episode will help you think more clearly and act more confidently.

Episode reference:
Article: “Dreamlining” - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-streamline-your-dreams-alan-lazaros/

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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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Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

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Show notes:
(4:30) When goals don’t create necessity
(8:12) Too big Vs. Too small goals
(11:45) Why motivation feels so different
(14:40) At NLU, your success is our purpose. Join our Monthly Meet-up every first Thursday of the month for tools, insight, and the spark to move forward. https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NzwOxCMxTDyRJg4CLJS1qg#/registration
(17:25) The brain science behind goal setting
(19:01) Start with what you’re capable of
(25:28) You can’t build a house in a day
(27:53) Outro

🎙️ 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.

Chapters

• 4:30 When goals don’t create necessity
• 8:12 Too big Vs. Too small goals
• 11:45 Why motivation feels so different
• 14:40 At NLU, your success is our purpose. Join our Monthly Meet-up every first Thursday of the month for tools, insight, and the spark to move forward.
• 17:25 The brain science behind goal setting
• 19:01 Start with what you’re capable of
• 25:28 You can’t build a house in a day
• 27:53 Outro

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) I was just a guest on a podcast and this entire episode was all about goal setting. (0:05) And I had a moment in the beginning where I was like, there's really not that much. (0:09) How are we going to do an hour and a half on goal setting?(0:11) And by the end of it, I was thinking to myself, there is way more to goal setting than I thought, but I want to make sure that we touched on the fundamentals. (0:19) And that's what we're going to hope to do today.

Alan Lazaros

(0:22) In January of 2024, we did a monthly meetup on setting goals and setting yourself up for success in 2024. (0:31) I did research and found out that only 3% of people have clear written goals. (0:36) And that was very alarming.(0:37) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:40) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:41) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus. (0:44) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven, but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:51) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:58) 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

(1:13) Self-improvement in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free. (1:20) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:25) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2,145, a deep dive into goal setting. (1:33) So we did an episode, was it last week? (1:36) Was it Monday?(1:37) Tuesday. (1:38) Goal setting isn't enough, 2,143. (1:40) And Alan said, hey, can we do an episode where you interview me about goals?(1:43) And I was like, yeah. (1:45) And when we were getting ready to do today's episode, I wanted to do what's the difference between confidence and arrogance part two. (1:50) He used his veto power and said, hey, do this episode or you're fired.(1:54) I was like, all right, I guess we'll do that one. (1:56) We could do that one. (1:56) I didn't say that.(1:57) No, he didn't say that. (1:58) All right. (1:59) What is your intention with this episode?(2:01) As an interviewer, what do you want me to draw out of you? (2:05) I'm the interviewee. (2:06) I know.(2:07) As the interviewer, what do you want me to draw out of you? (2:10) Well, I'm the interviewer.

Alan Lazaros

(2:12) Yeah. (2:13) I want you to get from my, a lot of my mathematical thinking when it comes to goal setting and reverse engineering finish lines has become subconscious and unconscious competency. (2:26) I want you to try to get that out in a way that other people would understand.(2:30) And then when I say things that you know won't land, make the land.

Kevin Palmieri

(2:36) All right. (2:36) Now, whether you're watching or listening, I'm not saying this to, uh, I'm not connecting it to you. (2:43) So sit with me on the, on the analogy, the example, the context I use last weekend, there was a 14 year old that was at the cookout or wherever the hell you were.(2:56) You're sitting across the table from that 14 year old. (3:00) And he says, goals are stupid, man. (3:01) I don't, you know, all the kids I hang out with, we had this.(3:05) We're not, goals are dumb. (3:06) We don't, we're not into that. (3:08) Start there.(3:10) Why would, how would you explain to him at 14 years old, filled with ego, most likely as most of us are. (3:16) He wasn't, he was awesome. (3:17) But shout out to you that I know you're not listening, but if you are, shout out to you.(3:21) Imagine he was, how do we get that first layer to land? (3:25) Why are goals so important in the first place?

Alan Lazaros

(3:28) Well, the first thing I would share is if you don't set goals, your future will most likely not be bright. (3:41) That's layer one.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:42) Okay, perfect. (3:43) Okay.

Alan Lazaros

(3:44) Okay.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:47) What does, what from your experience of working with so many people, what is the number one misbelief about goals?

Alan Lazaros

(4:03) My clients are a subset. (4:05) You don't get a coach unless you have goals. (4:07) So my clients are a subset of a subset of a subset of a subset of a subset.(4:10) So it's not a good sample. (4:12) Okay. (4:14) But what a better question would have been, sorry.(4:17) What a better question would have been is, I'm in a Walmart and I go up to some random person.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:22) But you don't ever go out of the fucking house.

Alan Lazaros

(4:24) I go to Walmart. (4:26) Okay.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:27) Let me ask a better question.

Alan Lazaros

(4:28) Amelia wants a plant. (4:29) They have really nice plants.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:30) They have plants at Walmart? (4:31) Let me ask you a different question. (4:35) You reconnected with a friend from your past last year.(4:40) Nice. (4:40) And you were very surprised at how little has changed in this person's life. (4:45) Mm-hmm.(4:46) What were the lessons from that in terms of goal setting?

Alan Lazaros

(4:52) Well, he said that he hated his job or didn't like his job. (4:56) He said he didn't like his job seven years prior to that. (4:59) And this was way more than a year ago, by the way, Caleb, but whatever.(5:02) Well, no worries. (5:03) A year's good. (5:05) And he was still there at that same company.(5:08) And they just keep promoting him and giving him more money. (5:11) And he doesn't need the money. (5:13) And again, no one really needs the money.(5:15) I don't want to say no one, but I digress. (5:17) He doesn't need the money. (5:19) So in my head, it's your goal was to leave that company.(5:23) Why are you still there? (5:24) The truth is he didn't have an actual goal that required him to leave the company. (5:28) So hopefully that's another layer.(5:30) Okay. (5:30) You need to have a goal that creates necessity to do things you don't want to do. (5:35) Have to.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:37) Is there such thing as too small of a goal? (5:39) And is there a such thing as too big of a goal? (5:41) Absolutely.(5:42) This is good. (5:43) Okay. (5:43) How do I know when it's too small?(5:45) And how do I know when it's too big?

Alan Lazaros

(5:47) It's too big. (5:49) We've done this with you. (5:50) So I'll unpack the math very briefly, and then I'll answer the question.(5:55) Kevin and I have calculated that in order to grow our company by 30% year over year, which is the goal, we have to grow it by 7% on average per quarter. (6:08) So we had Kevin go back and calculate how much his departments grossed in Q2, and then increase that by more than 7%. (6:19) Because what we found out is that when I say 50 years from now, X, Y, Z, that doesn't help you.(6:24) It doesn't pull you. (6:25) It doesn't ignite you. (6:26) It doesn't motivate you.(6:29) How much a goal can motivate you and inspire you and create necessity is predicated on your ability to your time perspective. (6:40) So there's a lot of research around this, but basically the bigger and more powerful your prefrontal cortex is, the more you can project into the future. (6:50) So when does it get blurry for you?

Kevin Palmieri

(6:56) Even a year is blurry. (6:59) I know it'll be... (7:00) I was talking to Taryn about something and I was like, babe, in two years, this, this, this are going to be different.(7:06) But I couldn't tell you to what level they're going to be different. (7:07) I just know they're going to be different based on trajectory. (7:09) So what do you see?(7:13) Not, not very clear. (7:16) Not, but you, you, you have some concepts, new home. (7:19) Yeah.(7:21) Based on the numbers. (7:23) Yeah. (7:23) But like there, I am totally dependent on the numbers.(7:27) I'm, it's very hard to imagine myself as the numbers.

Alan Lazaros

(7:32) That is why longer goals didn't ignite you. (7:36) Yes. (7:38) Because you're not as connected to them.(7:41) Yeah. (7:42) So everyone think about what you're getting for dinner tonight. (7:44) That's a goal.(7:45) Emilia is cooking. (7:46) It's going to be great. (7:47) We already talked about it.(7:48) That's a goal that ignites me. (7:50) I'm excited. (7:51) We all know what it's like to not look forward to dinner.(7:53) It's terrible. (7:54) It's like, oh, tonight we're eating, you know, meatloaf. (7:57) It's going to suck.(7:58) I actually like meatloaf, but whatever. (8:00) That's, we all have goals. (8:01) The question is, we're not designed, we don't have the right goals.(8:04) We don't have the right size goals and we don't measure. (8:08) And so I digress here. (8:10) Yes, you can have too big or too small.(8:12) Too small. (8:13) Dude, 7% for me this quarter, I feel like it doesn't ignite me. (8:18) I want to reach for something that's almost impossible.(8:23) We have a goal this year to do something that's nearly impossible. (8:28) I want to gross a half million this year in our company. (8:31) And based on the current run rate, that's nearly impossible.(8:36) It's almost certainly not going to happen, but I want to try. (8:39) Because I love, I live for doing something that feels impossible. (8:43) That's like, that's why I did a marathon in three days notice.(8:45) I wanted to see if I could do something impossible. (8:49) Glad I survived it.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:51) Well, you're another, you're six days out from another one.

Alan Lazaros

(8:54) So, no, no, I'm only two pounds out. (8:56) We're good. (8:56) I'm only two pounds.(8:57) Yeah, yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:57) I weighed it.

Alan Lazaros

(8:58) Yeah, I'm 10 pounds. (9:00) So I'm eight pounds down and I have eight days to lose two more pounds, which is going to be fine because I'm just going to cut water and eat freaking kale salad tonight, which I'm semi pumped about. (9:09) We'll see.(9:10) Go back to too small, too big. (9:13) How does someone know if it's too small or too big? (9:15) How much does it motivate you?(9:16) If a goal isn't motivating you, it's the wrong fucking goal. (9:19) Straight up. (9:21) Is it that simple?(9:23) Kinda, but here's the problem. (9:25) How does someone who is, this is the real challenge. (9:29) I've never been able to fucking articulate this.(9:32) Kevin wakes up in the morning and he has Kevin's experience. (9:35) You have no idea what it's like for me. (9:38) I might be 10 times more motivated than you and you don't even know it.(9:41) How do you remember? (9:42) Okay. (9:43) So now that you've gotten good sleep for a few years, now in hindsight, you can realize the detriment of four hours of sleep.(9:49) Like you used to do. (9:50) Slept like shit again last night, three nights in a row. (9:52) I'm not good.(9:52) All right. (9:53) It's a bad time for this fucking example. (9:55) But the point is, is zero to 10.(9:58) Everyone out there watching or listening zero to 10. (9:59) How healthy do you feel right now? (10:02) Right now you probably say a seven.(10:03) What if your seven is my two? (10:06) Right, right. (10:08) When I used to drink, I would be like, oh, I'm so fucking hungover.(10:12) I feel like shit. (10:13) What if me hungover is actually still pretty competent compared to other people just waking up in the morning? (10:20) And so it's, it's, everything's relative.(10:23) That's what Einstein was trying to say with his theory of relativity. (10:25) Everything's relative. (10:26) I was just on earlier with a potential client.(10:29) Shout out to you if you're listening. (10:31) She, I think she's going to work with me. (10:32) She said, email me.(10:33) I don't want to do it. (10:34) I've got to do it. (10:35) Let's rock and roll.(10:36) I said, great. (10:37) She makes a quarter million dollars a year. (10:39) And she just gave that up to go all in on her business.(10:41) I'm proud of her. (10:42) But also to her, that's not even that much money. (10:45) I could see it all over.(10:47) It's like, she doesn't think she gave that much up. (10:48) I said, did you, I said this to her. (10:50) I said, do you know what a quarter million dollars per year US is globally?(10:55) Statistically, what percentile? (10:56) She said, ah, probably top 10%. (10:57) I said, you need to look this up.(11:02) $105,000 is top 2% globally in the US. (11:07) I said, you need perspective. (11:09) But in New York City, New Jersey, like that area, it's actually, I mean, if you don't make a quarter million, you're basically a loser.(11:15) I'm joking. (11:15) That's not the case. (11:16) But the point is everything's relative.(11:18) It's like people who think they're in shape until they get around really in shape. (11:21) People, people who think they're athletic until they step on the court at the all-star game and they realize, oh, okay, I'm not an athlete at all. (11:29) Everything is relative.(11:30) So my point of that is you set a goal that motivates you. (11:36) But if you've never been super motivated, you don't actually know whether it's the right goal or not because you have nothing to benchmark it against.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:45) Isn't it about long-term motivation though? (11:47) What if it motivates you in the moment, but a week later, it doesn't anymore? (11:51) How do you work on that?(11:54) Or the size of it is like, oh my goodness, this is such a big goal, it scares me. (11:57) What happens a week later when you feel like you haven't made any progress? (12:01) How do you know if it's actually still motivating you?(12:05) When you wake up in the morning, and again, you, a client, whatever, you don't have to use you, how much are you actually thinking about the goal, the specific goal on a day-to-day basis?

Alan Lazaros

(12:17) I'll break it down. (12:18) So my mind goes to the end. (12:25) But do you suggest that for somebody else?(12:29) No, but my end is just longer. (12:31) So yes, but no. (12:33) I'll explain.(12:34) So I intend, and this sounds a little nuts, so just bear with me, please, okay? (12:40) I intend on living to 120. (12:42) That's what I've decided in advance to shoot for.(12:45) I realize life happens and I'm not in control of everything, okay? (12:48) A meteor could strike us all, like, I get it, okay? (12:51) The point is, is based on the statistics, I do believe that's possible, and I am now in the present optimizing for that.(12:59) So I go to the very end of my life and I look from there and I reverse engineer everything backwards. (13:06) This is why anyone who's thinking short-term thinks I'm out of my mind, because they don't, what I'm doing won't make any sense until I'm 120, basically, because I'm optimizing for something no one can see yet. (13:22) Where we're going to live is predicated on climate change, genuinely.(13:26) We already have it all mapped out. (13:28) I have the exact amount I need in my account by exact times all throughout our entire roadmap.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:36) Smaller, smaller though, smaller. (13:37) These are too big.

Alan Lazaros

(13:38) So you go from end of life, the average life expectancy is 78 for men, 79 for women, or 80 for women now, and it's going up over time because of medical technology, all stuff. (13:52) So you can, and that's the average. (13:55) You can shoot for above average.(13:56) You should shoot for above average. (13:59) I really do believe that. (14:00) If you're shooting for average, that's probably not going to ignite you.(14:05) I don't know. (14:06) No one wakes up in the morning going, I'm really hoping to have an average.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:08) Yeah, but nobody's thinking of, I want to live to 85. (14:11) That's so wrong. (14:12) I need smaller, smaller, quarter.(14:16) The goals that ignite me are the quarterly goals. (14:19) Well, the quarterly goals are supposed to be predicated on the life you want. (14:22) I know, but let's imagine if you were not in the corner, if you weren't in my corner, I wouldn't know necessarily what the life I wanted was.(14:29) Think back to Kev, however many years ago, I wanted to be rich and jacked. (14:33) And I wasn't going to be rich. (14:35) I was going to be jacked.(14:38) Smaller.

Alan Lazaros

(14:41) NLU listener, what is happening? (14:43) 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. (14:52) You can connect with like-minded people and become a bigger part of this amazing global community.(14:57) The link to register will be in the show notes.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:01) Let's say you want to lose you right now. (15:05) You're like, you know what? (15:05) I've been fucking up in the gym.(15:07) I need a goal, 10 pounds in 10 weeks. (15:09) Hypothetically, how do I stay motivated for that?

Alan Lazaros

(15:13) The truth is you won't be motivated for that. (15:16) If it doesn't connect to what you value long-term, this is mostly unconscious. (15:21) Okay.(15:22) Most influence is unconscious. (15:23) One of the reasons you're not as motivated now is because you don't have a bachelor party coming up. (15:26) No, I am now because I've set my strength goals, mother bitch.(15:29) Okay. (15:29) All right. (15:31) But you remember when you did fitness show?(15:37) A fitness show. (15:38) Oh yeah. (15:39) You just, you were more motivated.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:42) You were more ignited.

Alan Lazaros

(15:42) So much necessity. (15:44) So much necessity. (15:47) We're digressing here, but what I do want to land is that all goals need to tie to meaning.(15:54) I am convinced that the human condition is oriented around meaning dude. (15:59) Okay. (16:01) This would never happen.(16:02) And this is hypothetical, but if I said you have to optimize your life and reverse engineer, living to 100 and you have to, no matter what, have a net worth of a hundred million dollars by the time you're on a hundred, 100, otherwise something bad happens to Taryn tomorrow. (16:20) You would do it. (16:22) But the problem is that's motivate.(16:25) I mean, that's motivation. (16:28) Most motivation is unfortunately, if you have small time perspective and you can't project in the future. (16:34) So let me go back to the neuroscience real quick.(16:36) The prefrontal cortex has the ability to project your dog. (16:40) Doesn't plan a month out. (16:43) It can't, it doesn't have the fucking capability to plan a month out.(16:47) There's no calendar. (16:49) What Tucker isn't sitting there going, dad, I'm really hoping to go to the dog park in three and a half months. (16:54) What are we going to be doing on, you know, fucking August 17th.(16:58) That's not three and a half months away, but you know what I'm saying? (17:02) Mammals kind of can. (17:03) Dolphins can plan.(17:04) They can strategically hunt together. (17:06) They have prefrontal cortexes. (17:08) They can say, Hey, I'm going to conserve my energy now because three weeks from now, there's going to be more salmon or whatever.(17:14) I don't know dolphin shit, but you know what I'm saying? (17:17) So human beings have the best capability to project into the future and make decisions now based on that. (17:25) That's what goal setting is.(17:26) Goal setting is I want this outcome by this date and therefore what I do in this moment has to mathematically be different. (17:35) I told Amelia, I said, I need to know the number. (17:38) I need to know the number I need to hit by the day.(17:41) Otherwise I have no idea what to do tomorrow. (17:44) Like, what am I going to do? (17:46) I don't even have any idea how other people make decisions.(17:48) I have no clue. (17:50) It's like, well, how do you know what to do and what not to do if you don't have a reverse engineered outcome? (17:54) Emotion, emotion, emotion.(17:56) The goal is to feel good.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:57) That's dangerous. (17:59) Well, that's, I think that's the thing is how do you get, we have to, the hard part is you have to take you out of it. (18:04) You're not coaching this person that's listening.(18:06) So how do they?

Alan Lazaros

(18:09) Well, let's start with that. (18:10) Go to when, how long do you want to optimize to live? (18:14) That's too much.(18:15) Do you want to? (18:16) It is. (18:16) Oh yeah.(18:17) But the average life expectancy is 80. (18:19) So you should shoot for that depending on what country you're in.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:21) But it's, remember it takes such an insane amount of self-belief to set a goal. (18:25) That's 50 years from today. (18:27) Even as a reference.

Alan Lazaros

(18:29) Okay. (18:29) Let's do this. (18:30) What's the farthest out you can think you set a year?(18:33) So let's set an annual goal and then let's reverse. (18:36) I think that's, I think that's a really good start. (18:38) Okay.(18:38) So what do you want in July of 2026? (18:45) See, this is why math is so important. (18:47) Give me December, December 2026.(18:49) It just landed for me. (18:51) What do you want is like, well, I want a fucking, you know. (18:55) Well, that's, that's so interesting.(18:57) It's not really what you want. (18:58) Let me give you a better question. (18:59) What are you capable of?(19:00) What are you capable of achieving? (19:02) Yes. (19:04) In the next year.(19:05) That just broke my brain.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:07) That is the difference.

Alan Lazaros

(19:07) When I say, what do you want? (19:09) People actually tell me what they want. (19:11) Yes.(19:13) That's how most of us have been taught to set goals. (19:16) Based on what you want? (19:18) Yes.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:18) I want to be in the NBA. (19:20) That's the dumbest shit ever. (19:22) Well, that's, well, that wouldn't be the goal, but yeah, it's yes.(19:24) That's of course, it's what people want. (19:27) That's why new year's resolutions don't ever work. (19:29) It's not, it's, it's literally based on what you want, not what you're capable of.(19:33) That's the dumbest shit ever. (19:35) Well, that's why it's Jeffed. (19:36) That's so unfair to everybody.(19:38) We're going to have to do a part three of this. (19:39) I'm certain, but we, it needs to be, we need to do if. (19:45) The problem is the prompt.(19:47) It can't be Jesus based on your current trend and your current level of self-belief. (19:56) What do you think would be an accurate result that you could arrive at a year from today? (20:03) That is where I would start.(20:05) That's good.

Alan Lazaros

(20:06) Okay.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:06) And then we take a year from today, one, 172 pounds of muscle, steel, and sex appeal. (20:19) For sure. (20:21) What are you now?(20:22) What are you now? (20:23) Once I was 176 today, I had Chinese food. (20:26) So I'm probably like 174 realistically.

Alan Lazaros

(20:28) Okay.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:28) So you're going to lose two pounds in a year. (20:30) That's confusing to people who don't know. (20:32) A hundred percent.(20:32) I'm going to gain 10 pounds and then re-lose 10 pounds. (20:35) And my body composition should be different. (20:37) Yeah.(20:37) More muscle, less fat. (20:39) More muscle, less fat. (20:39) That's the goal.(20:41) Debt-free completely. (20:43) A hundred percent. (20:44) Comfortable home.(20:46) Yep. (20:47) Same car. (20:48) Same car.(20:48) I said it. (20:49) I said it first. (20:50) I said it first.(20:52) This full-size version of this Mercedes-Benz AMG GTR. (20:55) No, same car. (20:57) And then I don't have a really, a great measurable one for love.(21:06) I don't have a great measurable one in terms of X amount of dates. (21:10) What the dates look like. (21:11) I don't have that yet.

Alan Lazaros

(21:12) Mm-hmm. (21:13) Yeah, I'm getting it. (21:14) This is good.(21:15) This is good for me. (21:16) I know we got to jump. (21:17) We have three minutes.(21:19) I never once have said what I actually want. (21:21) I say what I intend to do.

Kevin Palmieri

(21:25) Well, there's, because that's belief and math.

Alan Lazaros

(21:29) A hundred percent. (21:31) All right. (21:32) Before we hit record the second time, I screwed up the cold open of a different one.(21:39) And I opened with this math video that I sent to the NLU team and to all of my coaching clients. (21:46) And I basically said something along the lines of this in WhatsApp. (21:50) Hey, this video explains all of theoretical and applied mathematics in basically one 30-minute video.(21:58) And it's a map of all the different modality, constraint theory, chaos theory, everything. (22:02) Geometry, trigonometry, all of it. (22:05) And I said, there's nothing on this map that I wasn't pretty aware of.(22:10) I mean, it's not Einstein level, each of them, but there's nothing that was, oh, I can't, I hadn't thought of that. (22:18) I hadn't heard that before. (22:19) I hadn't, I know what they all mean and I know how they all interconnect.(22:23) And when Amelia and I first met, she said, math and memory. (22:25) You have a photographic memory and you have mathematics like I've never seen before. (22:33) And because that happens to be a strength of mine, I have no idea what it's like to make a decision that isn't based on a future outcome I want.(22:45) And not just want, I have to change my verbiage, but a future outcome I intend to achieve. (22:51) So when I said I wanted to win a fitness competition, I wasn't just saying like, I want to win a fitness competition. (22:58) What I was really saying is I will win a fitness competition.(23:02) And it took me longer than I wanted, but I still did it. (23:07) And everything that I've ever said that I wanted to do, what I really should have said is I intend to do X, Y, and Z. (23:14) One thing that I have been off on is the percent error.(23:17) So whenever you do a math, applied mathematics is based on statistical probability. (23:25) So this has taken way longer. (23:26) Kevin's pumped about where we've ended up.(23:28) That's great. (23:28) I appreciate it. (23:29) This is wildly unsuccessful in my opinion.(23:32) But again, that's predicated on what I know is possible and what I thought would be by now. (23:39) So I thought I'd be more successful at 36 than I am right now. (23:42) I'm still grateful we're coming up on $100,000 a month, half a million a year.(23:46) I get it. (23:46) I'm still grateful. (23:47) I'm not trying to be a dick here.(23:48) But what the hell? (23:50) We are so much more capable than this. (23:53) And I know that.(23:53) I know that. (23:54) I'm certain of that. (23:55) I mean, look at how many mistakes we made.(23:57) We made it. (23:58) Like, dude, yeah, for sure. (24:00) Obviously, in hindsight, we could have done way better than this.(24:03) What are we thinking, right? (24:04) And I can see why that might feel belittling to people who are struggling to achieve their goals. (24:10) I understand that now.(24:11) My point of this whole thing wrapping up is what is the goal that you intend on? (24:20) And you're guessing at the timeline. (24:23) I can build a million dollar company.(24:26) I know how to do it. (24:27) I know exactly how to do it, actually. (24:29) But I can't do it tomorrow.(24:32) Just like you can build a house, but you can't build a house in a day. (24:38) So everything that you want in life within reason is mathematically doable. (24:46) But you can't have it next week.(24:49) When I said I wanted the Iron Man house metaphorically, which I still intend on, I already have the numbers in New Zealand. (24:56) I am not planning on that tomorrow. (25:00) I'm planning on that in 15 years from today.(25:03) And I'm already making today's decisions based on that. (25:08) And I just think that everyone's doing that, maybe at a smaller scale.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:11) We're gonna have to do a part three. (25:14) We're gonna have to do part three, because in my mind, step one is what do you currently think you're capable of? (25:21) Like, what do you think you could do?(25:23) Let's start there. (25:24) What do you think you could do? (25:25) And then, when do you think you could do it by?(25:28) Let's start there. (25:29) And then from there, it's about, well, are your expectations off? (25:32) Or is the approach off?(25:33) Is your time perspective off? (25:34) Do you need somebody in your corner? (25:36) Is that your ego?(25:38) Is that your insecurity? (25:39) I just feel like there's more depth that we gotta get into. (25:41) Okay.(25:42) We're gonna have to do a 45-minute episode on this, for sure.

Alan Lazaros

(25:44) I would appreciate it. (25:45) I mean, I love the topic. (25:46) It's just very challenging to explain.(25:49) I think we gotta stop using you as an example. (25:53) I know. (25:54) But my experience is...(25:55) I know, I know, I know, I know. (25:57) The way I think is through my own experience. (26:01) Yeah, understandable.(26:02) I think everybody's is, right?

Kevin Palmieri

(26:04) Yeah, of course, of course. (26:05) It's very challenging to... (26:06) But we gotta make it smaller.(26:07) That's the challenge. (26:07) Make it smaller, make it smaller, make it smaller. (26:09) I love it.(26:10) Yeah, let's do it. (26:11) You dig it? (26:12) Yeah, I appreciate it.(26:12) All right, cool. (26:13) Thanks for sharing that with me. (26:14) Of course, of course.(26:15) I love it. (26:15) This is good. (26:16) I get to interview.(26:16) I don't interview anymore. (26:17) So these are always fun. (26:18) I enjoy these.(26:19) If you're looking for a group of like-minded people who are trying to get to the next level a little bit every single day, we have a private Facebook group. (26:25) We have a link in that, as always.

Alan Lazaros

(26:27) We have a Next Level Dreamliner that will help you reverse engineer your goals and dreams. (26:33) And there's an article to go with it that I'm going to send to the production team to throw in the show notes. (26:37) It's a LinkedIn article that just helps you.(26:40) It's called Dreamlining. (26:41) It helps you reverse engineer your dreams and goals. (26:43) And it will definitely help you get all of this stuff that we talked about on today's episode onto paper.(26:50) I actually send it to my clients when they onboard. (26:53) And I say, this is a good start before our first session, because that's really what I'm doing with my clients. (26:57) I can help you achieve whatever goals within reason you want if you give me enough time, effort, and humility.(27:07) A lot of the goals that I've told you you could achieve, you've achieved.

Kevin Palmieri

(27:11) But I don't know how I would have accomplished them without you by my side doing it. (27:15) That's the goal. (27:16) That's what everyone can have.

Alan Lazaros

(27:18) Yes. (27:18) Everyone can have that if you want that. (27:20) I can't guarantee you're going to be Oprah Winfrey or Michael Phelps, but I can guarantee you that you will be way more successful with me.(27:28) Assuming you want to work hard and actually more humble. (27:31) Right? (27:31) For sure.

Kevin Palmieri

(27:32) All right. (27:33) Cool. (27:33) It's a deep episode.(27:34) I'm excited to do part three. (27:36) I don't know if we've ever done a part three of anything. (27:39) All right.

Alan Lazaros

(27:40) Technically, that would be part two, technically, right? (27:42) No, this is part two. (27:44) But we didn't talk about goal setting.(27:46) Yeah, but it was like, it's part three. (27:50) Okay. (27:51) Sounds good.

Kevin Palmieri

(27:52) All right. (27:53) All right. (27:53) Cool.(27:53) As always, we love you. (27:54) We appreciate you. (27:55) Grateful for each and every one of you.(27:56) And if you want to get a little bit better tomorrow than you were today, you know we were going to be here helping you get to the next level. (28:03) Keep it next level. (28:04) Next Level Nation.(28:07) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (28:11) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(28:14) We mean it when we say family. (28:16) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (28:19) Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes.(28:23) Thank you again, and we will talk to you tomorrow.