You Can’t Build REAL Success Without This (2153)

Systems win where motivation fails. In this episode, Kevin and Alan share the hard truth about success. From the early days of handwritten trackers to the digital tools they now use with clients, you'll learn how small, consistent actions lead to real results. Whether you're trying to get in shape, grow your business, or build better habits, this episode offers a practical path forward.

Episode references:
Goal Setting Isn’t Enough (2143) - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/goal-setting-isnt-enough-2143/id1221110027?i=1000719614646
A Deep Dive Into Goal Setting (2145) - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-deep-dive-into-goal-setting-2145/id1221110027?i=1000720002309
Goal Setting Made Simple (2146) - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/goal-setting-made-simple-2146/id1221110027?i=1000720199808 

Learn more about:
📔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

_____________________

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, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website 💻  http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

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:
(2:36) A genius system for client growth
(5:03) Kevin’s original success tracker
(9:02) The power of daily systems
(13:20) Why you must track something
(17:55) Meet your people. Chase your dreams. Level up your life with Next Level Group Coaching. https://www.nextleveluniverse.com/group-coaching/
(21:00) Kevin’s full fitness routine
(26:43) How 1% better changes everything
(33:02) Clarity comes at a cost
(35:37) 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

• 2:36 A genius system for client growth
• 5:03 Kevin’s original success tracker
• 9:02 The power of daily systems
• 13:20 Why you must track something
• 17:55 Meet your people. Chase your dreams. Level up your life with Next Level Group Coaching.
• 21:00 Kevin’s full fitness routine
• 26:43 How 1% better changes everything
• 33:02 Clarity comes at a cost
• 35:37 Outro

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) I have worked with a lot of people whose only strategy was luck, and I will tell you none of them are more successful than they were in the beginning. (0:09) All of my 23 clients know we never leave a call without improving the system by at least 1%. (0:15) Welcome to Next Level University.(0:18) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:20) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus. (0:23) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven but no-BS approach to holistic self-improvement for Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.(0:36) 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. (0:52) Self-improvement, in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free. (0:58) Welcome to Next Level University.(1:04) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2153. (1:09) You can't build real success without this. (1:14) I got a message on LinkedIn from somebody the other day.(1:16) I was on their podcast a while ago. (1:18) They said, Kev, long time no talk. (1:19) Alan is holding up many of his torn and tattered notebooks.(1:24) That is a tough sentence. (1:25) I was on this person's podcast. (1:27) They reached out and said, hey, I got something for you.(1:30) And in my mind, I immediately thought, I doubt it. (1:33) I very highly doubt it. (1:34) But let's see what you got.(1:38) And again, me and this person are like, we get along really well. (1:41) I do. (1:41) I have respect for this person.(1:42) They're good people. (1:43) They said, I developed software that will turn your podcast into a book. (1:50) Cool.(1:51) Pretty cool. (1:52) I would love for you to, I'd love to collaborate and see how we might be able to work together. (1:56) I said, I'm not your target market.(1:57) I'm stubborn as shit. (1:58) If I'm writing a book, I got to do it myself. (2:01) Same.(2:02) It's not, I could do it. (2:04) I can do it. (2:05) I took a week and I wrote four, three chapters.(2:07) Like I could do it. (2:08) It's not, it's not, this is not the issue. (2:10) I just don't want to do it.(2:11) And it's not time right now. (2:12) But I said, well, let's hop on a call and let's see what we can come up with. (2:15) Let's see.(2:17) And I had the fucking best idea. (2:21) I was like, how are you, how, what is the system? (2:23) What are you doing?(2:24) How are you going to get people? (2:25) This is your project, right? (2:26) You made this.(2:27) You said, yeah, I created it. (2:28) Awesome. (2:28) Good for you.(2:29) How are you going to get people to use it? (2:31) And she's like, right now, we're just kind of like reaching out to people on LinkedIn. (2:34) No, this is what you do.(2:36) Every time you have a podcast guest on your show, you send them a follow-up email. (2:40) Alan, thank you so very much for joining my podcast. (2:44) As a token of my appreciation, I turned our podcast episode into the first chapter of your book.(2:50) Totally free. (2:51) It's yours. (2:51) Take it.(2:52) That's brilliant. (2:53) It's fucking genius. (2:56) And that's the system.(2:58) As long as you're not expecting anything and you're actually doing it. (3:01) Yeah. (3:01) It's syntax matters.(3:03) Number one, you're doing it to add value for the other person as a thank you. (3:07) Sincerely. (3:08) Two is they might work with you.(3:10) Yes. (3:10) It has to be in that order. (3:11) Otherwise you're fucking everything up.(3:13) But if we think just from a system perspective, which you'll be able to explain way better than I, that every time you talk to someone, you can add value, you get feedback. (3:20) So you're getting feedback every time. (3:22) And who knows a percentage of those people are going to be like, you know what?(3:26) How, how hard was it for you to do that? (3:28) Oh, I just dropped it into our software. (3:29) I've been wanting to write a book for a while now.(3:31) I just don't have the time. (3:32) Oh yeah, we can help you. (3:33) And this is how much it is.(3:33) Are you interested? (3:34) A hundred percent. (3:35) Boom.(3:36) Off to the races. (3:36) There you go. (3:37) So that is an example of a system.(3:40) There is a quote from one of the greatest books I've ever read. (3:45) Atomic Habits by James Clear. (3:47) The quote is, you will not rise to the level of your goals.(3:51) You will fall to the level of your systems. (3:57) That's it. (3:58) And have a wonderful day.

Alan Lazaros

(3:59) Thank you so much.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:00) No, I have all these flashcards. (4:02) I'm on YouTube. (4:04) And shout out.(4:05) Alan's on YouTube. (4:07) Shout out. (4:08) If you're on YouTube, check out the flashcards.(4:11) No, but I also have all these notebooks. (4:13) It's been a long week, man. (4:15) Straight up.(4:16) I'm going to need you to pull it together for me. (4:17) I'll lock it up. (4:17) Pull it together for me.(4:18) I'll lock it up. (4:19) All right. (4:19) So way back in the day, I had something I created called a system of success.(4:26) And these little notebooks had my purpose statement. (4:30) What you'll never learn in school, but desperately need to know. (4:33) Alan Lazarus LLC.(4:35) Before Kevin Palmieri came into the picture. (4:39) Hi, my name is Alan Lazarus. (4:40) If you find this journal, please return it as soon as possible.(4:46) If for some reason, I kid you not, ready? (4:48) If for some reason I don't answer, please leave a voicemail and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Alan Lazaros

(4:54) Oh God.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:55) Because I don't answer my phone. (4:56) Straight up. (4:57) Don't do it.(4:58) All right. (4:58) Don't call me. (4:59) I'm joking.(5:00) All right. (5:00) So daily system of success. (5:02) It's broken into three sections.(5:03) Look at this. (5:04) Look at this. (5:05) If you're on YouTube, you can see that I used to use mechanical pencil.(5:09) And I used to every single day, I would erase it, man. (5:12) Yeah, that thing's got some work in it for sure. (5:16) Yeah, yeah.(5:16) Yeah. (5:16) Every day. (5:19) So public speaking was one of the sections.(5:22) Purpose statement, purpose card, morning mindset, read, unfollows. (5:29) Got to clean up your social media. (5:32) You know what I'm saying?(5:33) All right. (5:33) Natural men's physique. (5:34) That was, I was a fitness model, fitness competitor, fitness coach.(5:39) Lock it up. (5:42) Oh God. (5:43) Kev, I'm going to need you to lock it up.(5:44) I'm locking. (5:44) I'm, it's, I'm, I'm cooked. (5:46) My eyes are falling out of my head for some reason.(5:49) God. (5:49) Okay, good. (5:49) It has been a while since we've thought about this stuff.(5:52) Yeah. (5:53) I kid you not, ready? (5:55) Power nap.(5:56) Oh, the good old days. (5:58) You had to take a power nap every day. (6:00) Don't, don't miss that one.(6:01) No. (6:02) Weight training slash cardio, vitamins and creatine. (6:06) Weigh in, macros, foam roll slash posing.(6:11) This was back when I used to do men's physique competitions. (6:14) I had to do posing practice. (6:16) I remember I used to go on the track and field.(6:18) So my alma mater, WPI, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, they have the nicest fucking gym. (6:23) And I used to go there. (6:24) I had, I had my ID still, my student ID and all my alumni are allowed to go.(6:32) I used to go down to the track and field on purpose, Kev, because I knew people would judge me. (6:38) And I, I knew that I needed to be prepared to be judged on stage. (6:42) So this is a little side tangent.(6:43) We'll get to systems in a second. (6:45) But I would purposely, there was a track and field practice going on during that time. (6:50) And I used to purposely go pose when the men's and women's track and field would be practicing because I would have to take my shirt off in the middle of the field, in the center of the track, and then do my poses in front of people.(7:05) And I would get so many dirty looks and some, some good looks too. (7:09) And, and all that, right? (7:10) This is back in my single days.(7:13) And I used to purposely want judgment so that I can learn how to have thicker skin. (7:18) Because when you're on stage in front of an audience, in a bathing suit, being literally judged by judges, you need to be, you know, present. (7:25) So anyway, it's just a little side tangent.(7:27) So fear chasing is what we call that exposure therapy is what the psychology calls that. (7:31) All right. (7:32) Social media influences the third one.(7:33) So the three sections are public speaking, natural men's physique and social media influence Instagram slash Facebook slash LinkedIn post Snapchat slash Instagram story, which by the way, if I wasn't doing that, Kevin and I might not have partnered up.

Alan Lazaros

(7:45) That's true.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:46) He saw me lifting weights, saw me eating Chipotle, saw me on the beach, saw me living the dream. (7:51) Saw some of my mindset stuff. (7:54) Podcast teaser.(7:56) So at this point, I think you and I were already partnered up at this point. (8:00) Whoa. (8:01) Was I using these when we were...(8:03) Seriously? (8:04) Yeah. (8:04) When you, when I first asked you to help me with habits, I was, I started on a flashcard.(8:11) Whoa. (8:12) I started on a flashcard. (8:13) Blast from the past right now.(8:14) Okay. (8:15) And then YouTube upload. (8:16) So obviously I was uploading YouTube videos back then.(8:20) What if podcast teaser was me back when I had conversations change lives?

Alan Lazaros

(8:27) Maybe.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:28) Because I used to post mindset stuff on my Instagram. (8:32) Maybe. (8:32) I don't remember using these black notebooks with you.(8:35) I thought I was at the flashcard by the time we partnered.

Alan Lazaros

(8:37) Maybe.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:37) Maybe. (8:38) I don't know.

Alan Lazaros

(8:38) And then Twitter...

Kevin Palmieri

(8:39) I remember seeing them. (8:40) Twitter meme was one of them as well. (8:42) I used to tweet, now it's X.(8:45) And then I would screenshot it. (8:46) You still do this. (8:48) You take screenshots of quotes.(8:49) Oh.

Alan Lazaros

(8:49) Yeah. (8:50) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:50) I have a canvas slide. (8:51) I don't think I used... (8:51) I know I didn't use Canva back then.(8:53) Wild blast from the past. (8:55) And then, so it went from these little black notebooks. (8:56) My point for all the listeners, rather than talking about me and my past, is these little black notebooks always had them with me.(9:02) It was my system of success. (9:06) Repeatable, systematic success. (9:07) And then eventually I was like, okay, I'm not carrying these around.(9:10) I started tracking everything on these flashcards. (9:12) I did one per day. (9:13) And then eventually it was, I got to save the trees.(9:16) So I started digitizing everything. (9:20) And Google Sheets is what we use now. (9:21) It's free.(9:22) It's on the cloud. (9:23) It's shareable. (9:24) The whole team has peak performance tracking.(9:26) I can send you one. (9:28) You got to reach out to me though. (9:29) Instagram DM is the best place.(9:31) If you DM me on Instagram, that's me. (9:32) It's not my assistant. (9:33) It's not an AI bot.(9:34) It's me. (9:35) Reach out and say, hey, I want to get a peak performance tracker. (9:38) We have one.(9:39) And it's three metrics, nine habits. (9:41) I can make it one metric, three habits if you want to start smaller. (9:45) But just reach out.(9:46) The point of this episode though is back to that quote. (9:50) Yeah, you set a goal. (9:51) Do you know what episodes were the goal setting ones?(9:54) I could find out. (9:56) Kevin and I, we did three episodes back to back where he semi-interviewed me and partially berated me about goal setting and how to set short, mid-range, and long-term goals that are effective in alignment with your goals and dreams. (10:15) And quite frankly, what I've come to understand as an engineer is that most of what I say doesn't make any fucking sense.(10:22) And Kevin was trying to get it to land. (10:25) So if you haven't listened to those episodes, Kev's going to get you those now. (10:28) We're going to put a link to those episodes in the show notes.(10:30) Go ahead. (10:33) 2143, 2145, 46. (10:36) Those are the three.(10:38) So 2043, 2045, 2046. (10:40) Okay, all three of those will be in the show notes. (10:43) You have to set goals before you create a system.(10:46) That's why I'm saying that. (10:47) So if you don't have clear written goals with a timeline and they're measurable, you have to go back and listen to those episodes and try to set goals. (10:56) The other thing Kevin and I talked about off air is we aren't going to be able to help you create a system of success on a podcast.(11:03) This is where coaching comes in. (11:05) This is what I do for a living. (11:06) This is what all 23 of my clients have a system of success.(11:09) And yes, Claire, you do too. (11:10) It's just very small. (11:12) The point that I'm making here though is once you have a goal, now you have to create a system to achieve it.(11:19) It's like a recipe. (11:20) You want to make Thanksgiving dinner. (11:23) You have a bunch of different systems, a bunch of different recipes, and then you have a system in the kitchen.(11:27) You have to go buy the ingredients. (11:29) I don't know shit about cooking, so that's a bad metaphor for me. (11:31) But everything has a system.(11:34) Google has a system for how it does paid advertising. (11:37) Facebook has a system for how it does its ads. (11:40) Every company in the world has a specific system that helps the team members consistently and sustainably achieve their goals quarterly, yearly, over time.(11:55) And there's a book called Measure What Matters with one of the consultants early at Google 30 years ago. (12:00) And it's called OKRs, Objectives and Key Results. (12:02) I don't think the book is that great.(12:04) I do think it's a good start. (12:06) Kev, you've read the book. (12:07) You said it's kind of redundant.(12:08) But ultimately, we've been doing metrics from the get. (12:10) So it's a good start if you don't do metrics. (12:14) I think this is one of the reasons planes are so safe, because they have a pre-flight checklist that they do every single time, every single time, every single time.(12:21) They have a system. (12:22) They do the system every time, every single time. (12:25) And if something is wrong with the system, they don't fly the plane.(12:29) And then when they fix it, they do the same system every single time. (12:32) We actually have several clients that are pilots, that are commercial pilots. (12:36) I also have a client.(12:38) I remember hearing that. (12:40) And I was like, how is that? (12:40) What are the odds of that?(12:43) She said a chief pilot, I think. (12:45) I think at one point she was a leader of like 30 pilots or something like that. (12:49) We don't coach her anymore.(12:50) Emilia does.

Alan Lazaros

(12:51) Nice.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:52) Shout out.

Alan Lazaros

(12:52) Shout out to that.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:53) I do believe she listens, though. (12:56) I remember I was on a podcast today. (12:58) We were talking about getting outside your comfort zone.(13:01) We were talking about courage. (13:02) It was good. (13:02) It was a really good podcast.(13:03) And I said, when I went to my business partner and asked for a system, one of the things I had on there was fear chasing. (13:09) And every single day I would try to do something outside of my comfort zone that scared me. (13:13) And that was based on the fact that I did not have enough courage.(13:17) And I didn't feel like I had any confidence. (13:19) And I was afraid of everything. (13:20) All a system is, to Alan's point, is a recipe designed to get you a specific result based in a department that you don't have results in yet.(13:29) You do not want to get lucky and get success. (13:34) We know somebody that we were really close with who went viral with their content in the beginning. (13:42) And Alan asked, what are you measuring?(13:44) And how are your numbers? (13:45) What are your numbers looking like? (13:46) And this person had no idea.(13:48) They're like, I don't even know. (13:48) I don't even know where to look at. (13:49) I don't even look at my numbers.(13:51) They would have been fucked. (13:52) They would have been. (13:53) They just they got lucky and they would not have been able to capitalize on it.(13:57) You do not want to get lucky. (13:58) You do not want to win the proverbial lottery in this example, because if you don't know how to build it, you don't know how to sustain it in anything. (14:07) What's the what is the relation?(14:09) What is the system in your relationship? (14:10) Well, when I do this, I get this result. (14:12) Cool.(14:13) This is what my partner values. (14:14) This is what I value. (14:15) Cool.(14:15) Those become the habits. (14:16) What is my system and fitness? (14:18) Well, I don't like this, but I really enjoy this.(14:20) OK, like I don't really enjoy working out in the morning. (14:23) I actually like doing it at night. (14:24) OK, cool.(14:25) Boom, boom. (14:25) That's my habit. (14:26) And then when it comes to money, what's the system?(14:28) Make more money, spend less money, invest money, whatever. (14:31) What is the system? (14:32) Health, wealth and love.(14:33) If you have a system for each, you are more likely to be way more successful than you without those things. (14:40) I have something I'm doing with business coaching clients called the Next Level Sales System. (14:47) I have the Next Level Wealth Builder.(14:48) We have a bunch of things that we teach that are all based on principles. (14:54) I was on a training earlier. (14:56) Shout out to everyone who came to the meetup.(15:00) I did the top 10 reasons people aren't more successful. (15:04) The 10th one was you don't have a system of success. (15:09) And actually, the reason we're doing this episode, I want to share this.(15:12) Shout out to Amy, Amy on the team. (15:14) Her and I, after the meetup, it's a hardcore training. (15:19) Kind of want to call them trainings, but meetup.(15:22) We do a post call, most important win, most important improvement. (15:25) That's a system. (15:27) Every time after a training or a meetup or a group coaching, we all meet and we do what's the most important win?(15:31) What's the most important improvement from each of us? (15:33) Every group coaching, Kevin and I and Amy, we have a three person call on WhatsApp and we say what was the most important win? (15:40) What was the most important improvement?(15:41) What was the for each of us? (15:43) Why? (15:44) Because and then everything's a system though.(15:47) Group coaching is 12 weeks. (15:49) Every other week is a live coaching session in Canva with presentation. (15:54) Every other session is a connection session.(15:55) Everything in our company is a system. (15:59) So back to the meetup, what we did essentially is I had everyone, I opened it up with this. (16:05) I said, everyone have a journal in front of you if you're driving, don't, but otherwise keep your kids out of the room, I'm going to swear a little bit.(16:10) Number two, it's going to be hardcore as fuck. (16:14) Number three, I want everyone to leave here with green, yellow, red for all 10 of these. (16:18) And if you want them, by the way, reach out.(16:22) Everyone by the end had green, yellow, or red for each of the top 10 reasons why people aren't more successful. (16:28) One of them was entitlement. (16:29) One of them was low work ethic.(16:30) One of them was associating with the wrong people. (16:32) One of them is low self-belief, right? (16:33) You get it.(16:34) Okay. (16:34) Now, what Amy told me, she said, you weren't in the chat. (16:39) I'm not in the chat.(16:40) I'm live. (16:41) She's the chat master. (16:42) And she said in the chat, everybody, not everybody, but statistically most people were red for goals and systems.(16:50) One of them was not having clear goals. (16:53) The other one was number 10 was not having a system of success. (16:57) And I was sitting there thinking, I told Kevin before we hit record, isn't that interesting?(17:02) If you don't have clear goals, you're not going to have a system. (17:06) No one wakes up in the morning and says, I want to create a system of success today. (17:12) It's not a thing.

Alan Lazaros

(17:13) No, no.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:13) But they do wake up and go, I want to be healthier. (17:18) So number one, I want to be healthier. (17:20) Great.(17:21) Okay. (17:21) Now what's a goal in the future that would make you healthier? (17:26) Okay.(17:26) 10 pounds in 10 week challenge. (17:28) Tonight's the weigh-in. (17:29) Okay.(17:29) Yesterday, if you're listening to this, okay, now what's the system? (17:33) I could ask Kevin right now. (17:34) Kevin's in great shape.(17:36) Statistically. (17:36) I could ask you right now.

Alan Lazaros

(17:38) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:39) What's your system? (17:40) And really unpack it. (17:41) Do not, dude, actually unpack every piece of what you do to stay in shape.(17:45) This is going to be ridiculous for everyone out there watching. (17:48) It is ridiculous how much of a full-time job it is to be in shape. (17:51) I can't wait.(17:52) I want you to unpack fucking all of it. (17:56) Next Level Nation. (17:57) What is happening?(17:59) If you've thought to yourself, I want to try coaching, but you don't really know where to start, group coaching would be a wonderful place for you. (18:06) That's really why we created it in the first place. (18:08) We start a new round every 90 days.(18:11) So if you're hearing this, go to the website, nextleveluniverse.com. (18:16) And we have the landing page where you can actually hold your spot right now. (18:20) Even if there's a group going on right now, you can still lock your spot for the next one.(18:24) The biggest thing that we've seen is as we get closer and closer to the date, unfortunately, some people end up missing. (18:31) The group fills up and they can't do it. (18:33) And then they end up regretting that.(18:34) So please head over to the website. (18:36) The link will be in the show notes. (18:37) And we would love to see you there.(18:40) I wake up at six. (18:42) First thing I do is pee and jump on the scale every morning. (18:46) Whether I'm dieting or not.(18:48) It was 174.4 this morning. (18:50) Right now I'm in a... (18:52) It's called main gain where you gain weight, but very slowly because you don't want to gain a lot of fat.(18:58) Then I walk into the kitchen. (19:00) I make my pre-workout. (19:01) I take my creatine.(19:03) I take my pre-workout. (19:04) I take nitric oxide powder, shake it up, drink it. (19:10) And then I drive to the gym.(19:12) And I work out. (19:13) I weight train. (19:14) What do you listen to in the car?(19:16) I listen to the self-made billionaire effect today. (19:19) I listen to books on the way because it's just easier to... (19:23) It's like a six minute ride.(19:24) So I listen to and from the gym. (19:26) Go to the gym, walk in the locker room, put my headphones on, go warm up for whatever I'm doing. (19:31) I weight train six times a week.(19:32) I do a different body part every day. (19:34) I don't do mobility because... (19:36) Go through the body parts real quick.(19:37) Okay, what's the splits? (19:40) Monday is chest. (19:41) Tuesday is back.(19:42) Wednesday is shoulders. (19:45) Thursday is arms. (19:47) Friday is supposed to be legs.(19:52) But I usually do legs on Sunday. (19:54) So I usually go back and hit whatever I didn't hit really hard during the week. (20:00) I usually take Saturday off so I can wake up and just work.(20:04) But yeah, every week I hit my muscle groups at least once. (20:07) And then one gets hit twice every week. (20:10) Keep going.

Alan Lazaros

(20:10) Okay. (20:11) Usually back.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:11) There's your splits. (20:12) Those are my splits. (20:14) What else do you do to stay in shape?(20:17) I track calories. (20:19) I track macros. (20:20) I drink, I don't know, four of these a day.(20:24) Probably close to 100 ounces of water a day. (20:27) I take... (20:28) What are those?(20:28) 32 ounces? (20:29) Yeah. (20:30) No, I think it's 24 is at this mark.(20:33) But I fill it up to the top. (20:34) So it's probably another... (20:35) It's probably 32.(20:36) Yeah. (20:36) So I drink at least three of these a day. (20:38) 120 plus ounces per day.(20:40) Yeah. (20:41) Nice. (20:42) What else do I...(20:42) Make sure I try to get eight hours of sleep every night. (20:44) I go to bed no later than 10. (20:47) Almost ever at this point.(20:49) Exclusively ever. (20:50) My wife and I literally have separate fucking beds. (20:52) So we can both get as much sleep as possible.(20:54) They're the same bedroom, but separate beds. (20:57) Yes. (20:57) Same bedroom, separate adjustable beds.(21:00) The heat, the AC is on 67 every single night. (21:03) I have a fan blowing on me. (21:05) I wear a face mask, a nose strip, and earplugs.(21:10) And we have a sound machine. (21:14) Eh, what else do I do? (21:15) Well, okay.(21:16) Ready? (21:16) So you went through a lot. (21:17) Sleep.(21:17) And I appreciate it. (21:18) Sleep, hydration. (21:19) You talked about sleep.(21:20) You talked about hydration. (21:21) Yeah. (21:21) Nutrition.(21:22) I track my macros and my calories every day. (21:24) Yeah. (21:25) Do you want to go deeper on what you eat?(21:27) No, because I don't think it's good for anybody to do. (21:30) I mean, I had pizza today. (21:32) Tarantino pizza for lunch.(21:33) Sleep, hydration, nutrition, training. (21:35) Most of the time I have protein, carb, and I don't know. (21:40) I tend to be lower fat.(21:41) Protein, carb, lower fat, and vegetables. (21:44) I usually eat one meal. (21:46) One big meal a day is usually how I do it.(21:48) Yeah. (21:49) Protein shake after the gym. (21:50) Sleep, hydration, nutrition, training, mobility, breathwork, and supplementation.(21:53) So the only thing you didn't talk about is how you breathe in the gym. (21:58) You push the breath out while you're, yeah. (22:01) Go ahead.(22:02) Inhale on the down, exhale on the up. (22:05) That's always the phrase when you're squatting. (22:08) You brace yourself when you're squatting so the breath's a little bit different.(22:11) I don't do, so here's the thing. (22:14) Don't do this. (22:14) I don't do mobility like I used to.(22:17) I used to be just dial. (22:19) I mean, it was, I was dialed in with mobility. (22:22) And then I looked at the research and it said when you do long form mobility before you weight train, you have a higher likelihood of tearing something.(22:29) And I was like, I don't want that to happen. (22:31) We're trying to do it at night. (22:32) It's fucking brutal.(22:34) It's not easy to keep up with. (22:35) Yeah, I can't imagine a world. (22:37) I know.(22:38) Where I work out in the morning and then before bed, I do mobility. (22:41) I also have not seen any downsides. (22:43) So, I mean, it hasn't been that long, but I do.(22:47) I mean, I warm up. (22:47) What about next level Hope Foundation? (22:48) We were shooting the ball and all that.(22:50) My right knee was tweaked a little. (22:52) I went to the gym. (22:53) I hadn't squatted in a month.(22:55) I squatted 315 for reps. (22:56) I felt great. (22:58) I do mobility at the gym.(23:00) Like I have my band that I warm up with before every, so it's not like I'm not doing anything. (23:05) I'm just not doing. (23:06) What about stretching between sets?(23:08) What about your calves? (23:10) All that kind of stuff. (23:11) No, no, no.(23:13) All right. (23:14) So the point of that, rather than just talking about Kevin, there's a system. (23:18) Kevin is not just in shape.(23:20) That works when you're fucking 18. (23:22) Well, that's why I said I don't necessarily want to give what I eat because I don't want you to think I got stuffed crust pizza, stuffed crust pizza. (23:30) I know.(23:31) Yeah, Dom's. (23:31) I know what's in that. (23:33) And when I get to the end of the night, I'll figure out like where was I in the grand scheme of things.(23:37) How do I adjust my it's always it's always on my mind. (23:41) It's always an intentional thing. (23:43) Like I know where I'm at right now.(23:45) I know how much I've eaten. (23:45) I know what I have left to a degree. (23:47) You know?

Alan Lazaros

(23:47) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(23:48) And when when you say. (23:51) Zero to 10, Kev, how certain are you you could lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks if you wanted 10 out of 10. (23:57) Okay.(23:58) That sounds cocky to someone who struggles with this. (24:01) That's fair. (24:01) But what they don't see is the 16 years or whatever.(24:05) When did you start? (24:05) 16. (24:06) Yeah, 20 years.(24:08) You're going to be 36 tomorrow. (24:10) Today. (24:10) Happy birthday.(24:12) Oh, yeah. (24:12) Today for the people listening. (24:14) Yeah.(24:14) So 36 years old.

Alan Lazaros

(24:16) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:18) And. (24:21) It's always been a system. (24:23) 20 years ago.(24:24) 20 years ago. (24:24) Yeah. (24:25) 20 years ago.(24:26) It's wild. (24:27) And you iterated on that system for 20 years. (24:30) Okay.(24:30) Of those 20 years, how long were you doing it? (24:32) Terrible. (24:37) How long were you not really running a conscious system?(24:39) Probably until I started bodybuilding. (24:41) So until probably like 2015. (24:44) And you got a coach, Justin.(24:47) 19, uh, nine of the years, I would say I was doing dog shit. (24:52) Essentially. (24:52) I was, I mean, I was still, I was still doing it, but it was not as intentional as.(24:57) Yeah. (24:57) So for the last 11 years, you've been. (25:00) On and off.(25:00) Yeah. (25:01) Minus after COVID, you took like six months and just. (25:04) Just got fat.(25:04) Got it up. (25:05) Yeah, I guess I got a little chunky. (25:06) And again, this is my standard.(25:08) I'm not saying you are out there with you're watching to listen and let me live my fucking life. (25:11) Thank you. (25:11) A hundred percent.(25:12) I appreciate it. (25:13) All right. (25:13) And if we're not going to bore you with mine, if you were to unpack everything I do for my fitness goals, it would be.(25:19) You do more than as long as long, as long or longer every day, every day. (25:29) You'll never catch me without water ever. (25:32) I, my caffeine today had 20 grams of protein in it.(25:37) No carbs, a hundred cows. (25:39) I mean, everything's calculated everything. (25:42) Folks, fucking everything.(25:44) I am calculating everything 24, seven, three 65. (25:48) Now you don't have to do that, but I use something. (25:52) You got to calculate something.(25:53) You don't have to calculate everything, but you have to calculate something. (25:56) And if you're not, if you don't know how to start, what goal, what to measure, what system of success. (26:01) I have a guy, I shouted him out in the training, the meetup and I showed his peak performance tracker and I blurred out the finances.(26:12) Cause he told me I could share whatever I want, except for the finances and the finances are great. (26:16) So it should be something to celebrate, but whatever you know who you are, brother. (26:20) The point is I worked with him a year ago, July of 2024.(26:29) We started working together. (26:31) He started off with three metrics and I think six habits and we've expanded and contracted and expanded and contracted and improve. (26:41) And I never, and I opened with this.(26:43) I never, ever let a client leave a session without getting them to improve the system by 1%. (26:51) In my head in real time, there's one client who I actually haven't been doing that, but she's, I've been coaching her for six years. (26:57) She knows how to improve her own fucking system.(26:59) But the point I'm making is I almost never let a client leave without improving themselves by 1% their system by 1% and then their execution of the system by 1%. (27:10) That's 3% per time. (27:12) You meet with me.(27:14) It's unbelievable what can happen over time. (27:16) I've been working with one guy, shout out to you brother for 17 days and he got in the session today. (27:22) He's frustrated and I get it.(27:24) Frustration is a byproduct of being an achiever. (27:26) If you're an achiever and you have big goals, the moment you set a goal, that's hard to hit, you will be frustrated. (27:31) Do not.(27:32) It is, it is inevitable. (27:33) Now, what you do with that frustration, let it motivate you. (27:36) Let it inspire you.(27:37) Let it fascinate you. (27:38) Root cause analysis, target the constraint. (27:40) You got this.(27:42) He was frustrated earlier. (27:43) He said, brother, I'm just going through it. (27:44) I'm struggling.(27:44) I feel like nothing's working. (27:45) It's like, brother, it's been 17 days. (27:48) You've made like 22 grand since we started working together.(27:52) He's like, yeah, but I get it. (27:54) I love high standards, perceived progress. (27:57) When you have a system of success, which he does, he went from not tracking any metrics and habits to tracking 12 habits and three metrics.(28:05) I think it's like six metrics now. (28:07) Of course you're frustrated. (28:09) Of course.(28:10) No one gets all that done every day. (28:13) I feel like a failure constantly on the micro, on the day to day. (28:18) You feel like it's a grind.(28:19) You feel like you're struggling on the day to day. (28:21) I guarantee you Kev feels like he's struggling in business, but on the macro future, long-term success, watch out world. (28:30) And that's what I think is so fucking awesome about system of success.(28:33) I think it's awesome. (28:34) I do. (28:35) Of course I'm biased.(28:36) It's the fucking best. (28:37) If you don't have a system, reach up. (28:39) Well, imagine waking up every day and knowing exactly what you're supposed to do.(28:42) That's what I say. (28:43) Oh, it's great. (28:44) Is there a stress and pressure that might come with that?(28:46) Yeah, but it's way better than the stress and pressure of not knowing what the fuck to do. (28:51) A hundred percent. (28:52) When's the last time I woke up and said, I don't know what to do.(28:55) It's been a long, long, long time. (28:56) Yesterday. (28:57) It was actually today.(28:58) No, I'm kidding. (28:58) But that there's, that's something, but you pay for that. (29:03) That's a, it's a privilege to have that level of clarity.(29:05) You got to pay for that. (29:06) When was the last time you went and won it a bit? (29:09) Cause you went to Myrtle beach.(29:10) Did you wing it there a little bit? (29:12) I woke up at 6am every day and bashed my WhatsApp and bashed my emails. (29:16) And we had two launches going on for clients.(29:18) I won it with food and drink for sure. (29:21) Okay. (29:22) Not with money.(29:22) Good example. (29:23) Even with money. (29:24) I was like very, I was trying to be so cautious of.(29:27) I'm not going to be the asshole who buys everybody drinks all the time. (29:31) Like, what do I, I can't be that guy here. (29:33) I can't be that guy.(29:34) So I have a, you know who you are. (29:36) She listens every day. (29:37) I have a client.(29:37) I've been coaching for six years and I don't, I'm going to keep it anonymous always with all clients because I don't want anyone to think I'm going to arrow any of their stuff. (29:45) What I do want to say though, is I said this to her. (29:50) I said, I dare you to go two weeks without tracking anything and not have a full on panic attack.(29:58) I was being playful, obviously, because she's been doing this for so long. (30:03) Her system is dialed in. (30:06) She is dialed in.(30:08) Seven days a week. (30:09) Boom, boom. (30:10) Unbelievable.(30:11) Winning to a six figures. (30:14) Unbelievable. (30:15) But her day to day blows.(30:18) And so you got to choose. (30:19) You got to choose goals or quality of life. (30:21) And I'm not saying you can't have a quality of life, but syntax matters.(30:24) Do you care more about your goals or do you care more about your quality of life? (30:27) And remember, once you achieve your goals, your quality of life raises. (30:32) So goals raise your quality of life on the macro, not on the day to day.(30:37) And if she went back to winging it, she would have a really, really hard time. (30:42) And I don't want to go back to winging it. (30:44) I know you don't.(30:45) She doesn't. (30:46) And over time, it really, it compounds. (30:48) It's unbelievable what people are capable of.(30:51) It seems fun to do it for a short period and then you're like, this is fucking terrible. (30:55) It's just like anything else. (30:56) You got to sell it, not me, because you're the one who didn't want to do it.(30:59) I still don't want to do it.

Alan Lazaros

(31:00) No, I do.

Kevin Palmieri

(31:01) I love it now. (31:02) Yeah. (31:03) All it is, is that imagine waking up tomorrow and knowing exactly what to do to move yourself closer to your goals.(31:10) It's like you have, is it ever going to be as good as a one on one coach? (31:13) No. (31:14) But you have, it's like you have a reminder coach there every day.(31:17) It's like you look at the system. (31:18) The system is going to tell you exactly what to do. (31:20) It's not going to make you do it.(31:22) But if a year from today, you didn't get any fucking results, you'll know why. (31:26) Look back at the data. (31:26) Oh yeah, I was getting 50% days.(31:29) That okay. (31:30) In the beginning, 50% is awesome. (31:32) Get 50% all day, all day.(31:34) Then eventually that goes to 60 and then it's 75. (31:36) Then you're starting to get 100% days and then you make the system harder. (31:39) You know, the goal is not to get 100.(31:41) The goal is to grow. (31:42) I was guilty of that. (31:43) I got 100% for like four months straight and I was like, I'm the fucking man.(31:47) And I was like, dude, you're not growing at all. (31:48) It's like, shit, nevermind. (31:50) But I also think I needed that from like a confidence.(31:53) You said at one point, I may never miss again, baby.

Alan Lazaros

(31:56) I know. (31:56) I can't. (31:57) I couldn't tell you.

Kevin Palmieri

(31:58) Confidence goes to arrogance. (31:59) I couldn't tell you the last time I get 100%. (32:01) I'm 75%.(32:02) I may never get 100% again. (32:05) I've swung from, I may never get less. (32:07) I may never get 100% again.(32:08) I'm not judging, man. (32:09) I don't get 100%.

Alan Lazaros

(32:10) I know, I know.

Kevin Palmieri

(32:11) 90% plus is green. (32:13) 80 to 90 is yellow on the latest one. (32:15) I haven't done this with you yet, Kev.(32:16) And then anything below 80 is red. (32:19) So it's green, yellow, red. (32:20) We've simplified everything.(32:21) It's exciting. (32:21) We used to have an app. (32:22) We're going to have an app again in the future.(32:24) But right now, just reach out if you want help. (32:26) All right, wrapping a bow, one minute bow here. (32:28) We're 13 minutes past your deadline.(32:31) Oh, yeah. (32:31) Next level lesson is the only wrong answer is to have no goals and no system. (32:37) You've got to start somewhere.(32:40) A goal is a target in the future. (32:42) And then the system is going to get you closer and closer and closer to that target. (32:47) Michael Phelps had a coach before he won all those Olympic gold medals in 2008.(32:52) And I playfully joked on the training earlier. (32:54) I said, what if Michael Phelps' coach was like, yeah, man, just jump in, swim around. (32:59) It's impossible to win.(33:02) That's a losing strategy. (33:04) Swimming for fun is great, but it's not going to get you to your dreams. (33:07) And that's a fucking fact.(33:09) So mine would be, yeah, you got to pay for the privilege of clarity and progress. (33:19) And the way you do that is through a system that is measured, that is meticulous, and that is consistent. (33:26) Nice.(33:27) That. (33:27) You and I don't talk about clarity anymore. (33:30) I was on a coaching session recently, and I forget.(33:32) We need to talk about clarity, man. (33:34) Let's do it. (33:35) We'll talk about it tomorrow.(33:36) We used to talk about that all the time.

Alan Lazaros

(33:38) We'll talk about it tomorrow.

Kevin Palmieri

(33:38) Clarity, growing pains, consistency.

Alan Lazaros

(33:40) I'm sold.

Kevin Palmieri

(33:40) We have lost it, man. (33:41) I'm sold. (33:42) Well, that's because you want to talk about systems and fucking goals and the global economy and fucking exponential numbers.(33:48) Are you trying to do an episode on the global economy? (33:49) I don't think I could add a shred of value. (33:52) I could talk about supply and demand, maybe.(33:54) Outside of that, I don't know what else I'd bring. (33:59) I think you'd probably have more than you think. (34:01) I can make people laugh.(34:02) I could try to make people laugh. (34:04) If you need a little comedy in between, it could get dry. (34:07) You know, any dialogue about the global.

Alan Lazaros

(34:09) It is dry.

Kevin Palmieri

(34:09) Yeah. (34:11) Some of the most valuable things are, right? (34:13) That's fundamentals are not sexy.(34:15) I literally read a book called Basic Economics before bed. (34:19) You need to read a book on speaking. (34:22) I'm going to write one.(34:23) I am. (34:24) I'm going to write one. (34:25) And it's going to be me writing it too.(34:27) Old fashioned. (34:28) Kevin and Alan writing by hand. (34:30) No, no.(34:30) Everyone else is just turning their... (34:32) You write by hand? (34:34) I used to.(34:35) Am I remarkable? (34:35) Yeah. (34:36) No, I'm going to type it.(34:37) I'm probably going to type it.

Alan Lazaros

(34:37) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(34:38) I did for a long time. (34:39) I have many iterations of many chapters of potential books. (34:45) I'm on it.(34:46) I dig it. (34:46) I'm on it. (34:47) It's the next phase right now.

Alan Lazaros

(34:48) I feel you. (34:49) Yeah, I know.

Kevin Palmieri

(34:49) It's not part of the... (34:50) It's not time yet. (34:51) Thank you.

Alan Lazaros

(34:51) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(34:51) But Basic Economics behind me, most boring shit ever. (34:55) Put you right to sleep. (34:56) There you go.(34:57) A little night glue. (34:58) And you get a little smarter too. (35:00) A little smarter.(35:00) Get a little smarter and put you right to sleep. (35:02) Perfect. (35:03) All right.(35:03) Cool. (35:03) All right. (35:03) As Alan mentioned, he does one-on-one coaching.(35:05) He still has some slots available. (35:06) If you are looking to reverse engineer your goals and break them down into daily habits that you can actually do, reach out to Alan. (35:15) He will help you do that.(35:16) And you will have somebody there to help keep you accountable. (35:18) There's nothing like getting ready for a coaching call and then being like, fuck, I haven't done any of the things I was supposed to do. (35:23) It's a really good motivator.(35:24) Also, if you are looking for maybe your own little self-pacing from a journaling perspective, we have the Next Level Dreamliner. (35:31) It will help keep you accountable because you'll look at that thing every day and you don't want to let yourself down. (35:35) So I'll have the link in the show notes for that as well.(35:37) As always, we love you. (35:38) We appreciate you. (35:39) Grateful for each and every one of you.(35:41) And if you are as dedicated to getting to the next level as you say you are, make sure you tune in tomorrow because we will be here every single fucking day to help you get there. (35:53) Keep reaching for your potential, Next Level Nation. (35:58) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University.(36:02) We love connecting with the Next Level family. (36:05) We mean it when we say family. (36:07) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly.(36:10) Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes. (36:14) Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.