Never Quit Is Terrible Advice… (2185)

Is “never quit” always the right advice? In this straight-talk episode, Kevin and Alan reveal why a raise or fold mindset may be the real key to success. Learn how risk, focus, and conscientiousness shape achievement, and why knowing when to let go can move you further, faster. Don’t miss this episode, what you’ll discover could change the way you define success.

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Show notes:
(2:34) The raise or fold success mindset
(6:22) Obsession, focus, and achievement
(10:12) Finding your growth and flow zone
(13:18) If you want to start, grow, scale, or monetize your podcast? Join our "The Next Level Podcast Accelerator"  - https://www.nextleveluniverse.com/group-coaching/
(15:06) Conscientiousness: The trait behind success
(22:00) Bet on yourself and take risks
(25:17) 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

• 2:34 The raise or fold success mindset
• 6:22 Obsession, focus, and achievement
• 10:12 Finding your growth and flow zone
• 13:18 If you want to start, grow, scale, or monetize your podcast? Join our "The Next Level Podcast Accelerator"
• 15:06 Conscientiousness: The trait behind success
• 22:00 Bet on yourself and take risks
• 25:17 Outro

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) I was wrong. (0:02) I have a tattoo says never quit.

Alan Lazaros

(0:04) I was wrong. (0:06) If I had to pick one word nowadays that encapsulates success the most, I believe that that word is conscientiousness.

Kevin Palmieri

(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 dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:29) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(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.

Alan Lazaros

(0:51) Self-improvement, in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free. (0:58) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:04) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2185. (1:09) Never quit is terrible advice. (1:11) Sometimes.(1:12) Sometimes. (1:13) I was watching right before this, I was watching a video on a YouTube channel called Big Think. (1:19) And it's by a guy named Nate Silver, who is a statistician, poker player, and author.(1:24) And the video is called Why Risk Takers Win. (1:28) Great video. (1:30) And he goes through three things.(1:31) I'm not going to give away the whole video because I honestly think you should go watch it because it's super valuable. (1:34) But the third thing was they have a raise or fold attitude. (1:39) And essentially, all that means is you are taking control of the situation, and you are essentially saying either I am going to go even more all in on this, and I'm going to dedicate myself more to this, and I'm going to be more committed, and I'm going to take a risk, or I am out completely.(1:58) And he was talking about how I used to love Texas Hold'em, back when online poker was like a new thing. (2:04) I used to play all the time. (2:05) My mom was really good at Texas Hold'em.(2:08) Loved it. (2:08) Huge fan. (2:09) Same.(2:10) And that was kind of part of the bluff is I don't have anything, but I know if I just call, calling is essentially just saying, I'm good, I'd like to continue playing, and I don't have to pay anything to do it, so I'm going to stay in. (2:24) When you raise, that's you saying I got some hot shit over here, and anybody on this table should probably beware of what I'm about to do.

Alan Lazaros

(2:32) Unless I'm bluffing, in which case I actually don't have shit.

Kevin Palmieri

(2:35) And I'm going to lose my humble abode here. (2:39) That is a really good example in poker, but I think that's a really good example in life. (2:43) How many of us know someone out there who is always in the lukewarm middle of stuff?(2:50) It's like, well, you know, I'm going to get into it, but I'll get into it a little bit. (2:56) I feel like if you're into something a little bit, you're most likely going to end up out of that thing. (3:00) And according to this video, which is really good, this is one of the keys to being successful, being a high performer, winning more, whatever, whatever you want to label it as.(3:09) So yeah, it is having a, let me give the actual verbiage, raise or fold attitude is what we're talking about.

Alan Lazaros

(3:19) When it comes to being very successful, this principle definitely applies. (3:25) And I think there's pros and cons to everything. (3:28) And Kevin and I like to give the pros and the cons to everything.(3:31) So I posted this on my Facebook when Facebook was brand new. (3:39) I think I said something along the lines of my least favorite words are ordinary, average, mediocre, normal. (3:53) And I said extreme lifestyles for extreme people, something like that.(3:58) And I realize now that out of context, that would come off very arrogant and or pretentious and or be triggering. (4:08) And there's someone you'll know, I'll use first names only. (4:11) His name was Chris and it's Chris.(4:14) He was good at basketball. (4:16) He was one of the most popular kids in our school. (4:20) And he, it was the only time he ever commented on anything I've ever posted.(4:24) And he said, fuck yeah, man, extreme lifestyles for extreme people. (4:29) He loved it. (4:30) And I remember thinking, well, you are extreme as fuck, sir.(4:32) I've seen this dude do a double backflip off a diving board wasted. (4:38) And I found that fascinating that that's the only thing he's ever commented on. (4:44) Now here's the deal.(4:45) Being extreme is also extremely dangerous. (4:47) It's also reckless. (4:49) And we've talked in the past about high confidence with low competence is very dangerous.(4:57) And I will say too, that there's a level of recklessness that's somewhat required in order to do something really big in the world. (5:08) And I don't want to shirk away from that. (5:12) And I think that when I was younger, I had a very extreme personality.(5:16) I went, I either play Halo 2 every single day and become the best in the world, or I don't play at all. (5:22) And I remember I had a lot of friends who didn't understand why I did that. (5:26) They're like, well, why don't we play this other game?(5:28) It's like, no, that, no, I'm all in on this. (5:32) And if you want to play that game, that's fine. (5:33) You go do you.(5:34) But this is the most popular game on planet earth right now. (5:36) And I'm going to be the best at this. (5:39) And Super Smash Brothers for the gamers out there, Super Smash Brothers was big.(5:43) That was one of them. (5:44) Starcraft was big. (5:45) Starcraft 2 was really big.(5:47) Diablo 2, Halo 2, Halo 1. (5:49) Those were really big games. (5:50) Halo 3, kinda.(5:52) But my point is, is I either did something a lot and tried to get better at it, or I didn't do it at all. (5:58) And I think that there's something to this. (6:00) So one thing I will share is that if I was talking about only success, not about well-roundedness, not about whether or not someone gets divorced, but if I was betting on someone's level of achievement in a given area, I would bet on the person who has the most focus and the most obsession.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:22) Yeah. (6:23) I would also bet that they're going to end up single and out of shape, probably. (6:28) Same.

Alan Lazaros

(6:29) Statistically. (6:29) And I think there's very few exceptions to that.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:32) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(6:33) And I think that you and I are trying really hard to be the exception to that.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:36) It's hard.

Alan Lazaros

(6:36) I am, for sure.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:37) Same, but it's hard as shit. (6:39) I had a moment, I was in the gym today. (6:42) And this is a good example, again, but this is also potentially reckless.(6:44) That's, this is why it's a fine line. (6:46) And I think this is why self-awareness is so freaking important. (6:48) I have been eating more.(6:51) So when you eat more, you usually get stronger, right? (6:53) Because if you're lifting correctly. (6:55) And I felt good.(6:57) I got a good night's sleep. (6:59) I said, all right, I'm going to give, I'm going to push chest a little bit. (7:01) Let me see.(7:02) Let me see. (7:03) Let's find the line, baby. (7:04) Let's find the line.(7:04) Let's see if this fucking rubber band snaps. (7:06) Let's see what happens. (7:08) So I get it.(7:09) True or false. (7:09) Did you have a little reckless? (7:10) Well, we're going to talk about that.(7:11) I, I always warm up. (7:13) I warm up with 30 pound dumbbells, 30 pound dumbbells for a set of 30. (7:17) Boom, boom, boom.(7:18) Just getting warm. (7:19) 30. (7:20) Sometimes I'll do two of those sets.(7:22) Yeah. (7:23) Then I got up to a 40 for 30. (7:27) Then I go to 50 for 20 or 25.(7:30) Then from there, it depends on how I feel. (7:32) Jesus Christ, man. (7:33) Depends on how I feel.(7:34) For you. (7:34) I appreciate it. (7:35) I appreciate it.

Alan Lazaros

(7:37) Some people are out there going 50 for 25. (7:40) I don't know, man.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:41) Well, that's, I'm good at the lift, right? (7:43) I'm good at the lift. (7:44) That's, that's, this is one of my press.(7:46) Dumbbell bench. (7:47) This incline press, incline press, which for some people is even more impressive. (7:52) For me, shoulders are, my shoulders are really strong.(7:54) So my shoulders help. (7:55) So then I went like 60, I went 70, I hit 80 and I got like a, I think I got a set of 50 and an 80 and I was like, Oh, interesting. (8:05) That felt pretty good.(8:06) I feel like it, I didn't expect to get 15. (8:09) I was aiming eight to 12. (8:10) I got 15.(8:11) And then I saw the nineties and I was like, Hmm, I haven't done these in a minute. (8:16) I think I did probably them last year. (8:18) And I said, ah, fuck it.(8:20) What's the worst that can, am I going to tear something? (8:22) No, I know my body. (8:23) I know how, how the eighties felt.(8:25) Let me give it a shot. (8:27) Nice. (8:27) Heavier than expected.(8:29) Heavier than expected. (8:29) I think I got him for eight. (8:32) Clean, safe, no injuries, but it was very much, I'm having a really good workout.(8:37) Either that is as good as it's going to get, or I'm going to, and I'm going to be done or I'm going to try to push it. (8:42) And I tried to push it and I'm, I'm very, very grateful. (8:44) I did.(8:44) And I've also done the opposite where I've pushed it and hurt myself. (8:48) So I'm not saying this is always the thing, but there is always the, I do want to move in that direction. (8:55) I always want to move in that direction.(8:57) So I think that's a good example. (8:59) It doesn't have to be as extreme as that. (9:03) But I think at all times, we are either getting more committed or less committed to things.(9:10) And if you find yourself out there really leaning into something. (9:14) So I don't even know where my fucking PlayStation is anymore. (9:18) I have no idea where it is.(9:19) It's somewhere in the house. (9:20) I have no clue where it is. (9:21) I haven't, I haven't played it in a long time.(9:22) I may never play it again. (9:23) I don't know. (9:25) I'm away from that.(9:28) I'm was, I'm less committed and less committed and less committed. (9:31) Essentially, I've quit. (9:32) I'm done with that.(9:32) Nice. (9:34) And it took me longer than I probably would have liked. (9:38) But I think this is a skill that you can develop over time and you get better at it.

Alan Lazaros

(9:43) Emily and I were listening to a book on the way to the lake this weekend called The Art of Impossible by Stephen Kotler. (9:49) It's one of my favorite books of all time. (9:51) Top five.(9:52) We interviewed Stephen Kotler in the 600s. (9:54) I forget exactly when. (9:55) If you type in Next Level University Stephen Kotler, it will come up on YouTube.(10:00) You remember when we had a conversation with him? (10:03) And he's one of the, yeah, top researchers, authors on the peak performance and flow. (10:12) Love that fucking book.(10:14) Love it. (10:16) And he said, it sounds to me, Alan and Kevin, like Kevin needs to be three to four percent outside his comfort zone in order to get into flow. (10:25) And it sounds to me like Alan, you need 30 or 40 percent.(10:29) To get outside of your comfort zone. (10:31) Emily and I were having a conversation on the way to the lake yesterday. (10:34) She said, I didn't realize.(10:36) So she just got a bow. (10:38) I know that's not what you expected. (10:40) Like a.(10:41) Yeah, yeah, yeah. (10:42) Yeah. (10:43) So she, when we first got together, she's like, I archery, like I'm pretty good.(10:48) This is behind the scenes conversations. (10:50) And I was like, sweetheart, I've had a bow since I was a little kid. (10:53) It's not gonna be a problem.(10:54) It's just like axe throwing. (10:55) She still tells me she let me win first day. (10:58) I'm not sure we're playful and competitive in the best way.(11:03) And. (11:05) When we were stringing the bow, there's a certain weight. (11:09) And I was telling the guy, I said, listen, she dumbbell rose like 60s easily.(11:14) So you don't have to go easy on her. (11:15) She's going to be fine. (11:16) She's going to be able to pull this fucking thing back.(11:17) It's not a composite bow. (11:18) It's what's called a recurve. (11:20) Whatever.(11:21) We're not going to get into bow science. (11:22) But the point is, is Emilia is reckless as fuck. (11:26) We did a hike one time.(11:28) It's a five and a half hour hike to the top of the Catskill Mountains. (11:33) We did it in an hour and a half in the dark. (11:36) And her toes were bruised for six months.(11:39) And she didn't even mention it. (11:41) I'm talking on the hike. (11:42) She didn't even mention her toes hurt.(11:44) Not once. (11:45) She's out of her mind sick. (11:46) I love it now because of that.(11:50) And we went paddleboarding basically in a thunderstorm last night, too. (11:52) It was fucking awesome. (11:54) So freezing cold.(11:56) Oh, love it. (11:57) There's a reckless part of our nature that we usually hide. (12:01) For any long-term listeners, I'm done hiding it.(12:04) I'm kind of out of my fucking mind in the best way, I think. (12:07) Okay. (12:08) Stephen Kotler in that interview back then recognized that when I was in my growth zone and I got into flow, you were in anxiety.(12:16) And when I fail, I get ignited. (12:19) You get shut down. (12:20) Mm-hmm.(12:21) And I think what it is basically is you literally are like, ah, I was a little reckless with the 90s. (12:26) Dude, it's not that reckless. (12:28) You did it.(12:28) He's for 15.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:30) I know in my head, though, the direction is reckless. (12:39) Why? (12:41) So here's the thing.(12:42) This is the best way to explain it. (12:44) I think self-awareness dictates whether or not it's actually reckless. (12:47) Now, of course, accidents can happen.(12:49) Can Alan slip on a banana peel at the top of the mountain? (12:51) Yes, absolutely. (12:52) Don't be eating bananas at the top of the mountain.(12:54) Problem solved. (12:55) You could trip and fall. (12:57) I could lift it the wrong way and an anomaly could happen.(13:02) But I am thinking to myself, what are the odds? (13:06) What are the odds? (13:08) That.(13:08) I'm just trying to predict what the odds are. (13:10) So I think without proper self-awareness, it could be reckless. (13:14) I think that's an important facet of it.(13:19) Next Level Nation, what is happening? (13:21) 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. (13:29) That's really why we created it in the first place.(13:32) We start a new round every 90 days. (13:35) So if you're hearing this, go to the website, nextleveluniverse.com, and we have the landing page where you can actually hold your spot right now. (13:43) Even if there's a group going on right now, you can still lock your spot for the next one.(13:47) The biggest thing that we've seen is as we get closer and closer to the date, unfortunately, some people end up missing. (13:54) The group fills up and they can't do it, and then they end up regretting that. (13:57) So please head over to the website.(13:59) The link will be in the show notes, and we would love to see you there.

Alan Lazaros

(14:03) This is why I mentioned conscientiousness at the beginning of the episode. (14:06) I'm glad we're doing this. (14:08) Conscientiousness is someone who is very attuned and aware of themselves, others, and the world.(14:13) Like if you think of a parent, I think about the way I grew up, and Emily and I, we've been reading books on parenting and preparing to be parents. (14:21) She's not pregnant yet. (14:22) We're just long-term thinkers.(14:26) Conscientiousness is what I think is a great parent. (14:29) She asked me, what do you think is the most important quality of a father? (14:32) I said conscientiousness.(14:33) And she said, well, what do you mean? (14:35) A father who's aware of the implications of their actions. (14:40) Now, I think that I have a hard time with this because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I also want to tell the truth and push people to grow.(14:49) So how am I... (14:51) I think she's concerned a little bit that I'm going to push our kids too hard. (14:58) Because Tucker, for example, is a little chihuahua dog, and he is amazing if you push him.(15:04) But he wants to quit, like halfway through the walk. (15:07) And I think she babies him a little, and I think he can handle it. (15:11) He's a little Spartan.(15:12) And he's gotten in such better shape because I've been pushing him to do a little bit more. (15:17) First, it was 20 minutes, then it was 25, then it was 30, then it was 35, then it was 40. (15:21) He's in such better shape now.(15:23) And this is just a metaphor, obviously. (15:25) But I think I push you too, Kevin. (15:29) I'm not comparing you to my chihuahua, obviously.(15:32) You have to push yourself. (15:34) I think everyone, in my honest opinion, could push it more. (15:40) There's very few people who I think are actually reckless.(15:43) That person I talked about earlier on my Facebook, he was fucking reckless. (15:47) No one else is that reckless. (15:49) Most of this stuff is not that dangerous.(15:52) And if someone were to come to me and say, hey, I've been lifting weights for 20 years and I've never been injured, I would say, whoa, you obviously are not fucking pushing it. (16:01) Are you fucking kidding me? (16:02) Push yourself.(16:03) You're going to make a mistake every now and then. (16:06) Now, on the other end of that is you're injured all the time. (16:08) There was someone I used to lift with.(16:10) He was injured all the time, and I called him out. (16:11) I said, dude, why the fuck are you getting injured all the time? (16:14) And he's like, dude, do you seriously think I'm trying to get injured?(16:16) No, but obviously there's a problem. (16:19) Stop fucking... (16:20) You shouldn't be benching 350, dude.(16:22) What the fuck are we doing here? (16:24) And he wouldn't handle it because he was a little Aryan, in my opinion. (16:28) But ultimately, it's like he's out of the gym every other week because he's injured.(16:31) It's like, brother, you don't have to squat every day. (16:35) So there's a spectrum here. (16:38) And I think that if you pair conscientiousness, which is hyperconsciousness, awareness, centeredness, maturity...(16:47) I looked up conscientiousness. (16:48) I'll give it to you right now. (16:50) Strong sense of responsibility and duty, attention to detail and thoroughness, good at setting and achieving long-term goals, strong self-discipline and impulse control, preference of structure, order, and routines, reliability, and dependability.(17:02) So that's conscientiousness. (17:03) So if you want to be a father, a great father, great mother, great podcaster, great business owner, you have to be conscientious. (17:10) You can't be reckless.(17:11) But you also can't be scared all the time and shirk away from the fire. (17:19) I had a mentor one time who said, Alan, you want to find people who walk toward the fire, not run from it. (17:24) And I said, yeah.(17:25) And I surrounded myself with people like that. (17:27) And you play it down, I think, because I play it up. (17:30) And I don't play it up.(17:30) I'm just being honest. (17:31) But you are reckless as fuck in the best way. (17:35) Yeah, I think so.(17:35) And what I want to share with our listeners is like, if you don't care about success, you can ignore everything we've said. (17:45) If you want to be successful, you better get this and get it good. (17:49) You have to fucking take risks.(17:52) You have to. (17:53) Dude, most of what got us here was us risking the current level to get to the next level. (17:58) And you got to do it with humility and conscientiousness.(18:01) But you also have to fucking risk it. (18:03) We easily could have not gotten to the top that night of the mountain, but we both were a little reckless. (18:09) We're like, let's fucking get this done.(18:10) And we'll have that memory forever. (18:12) We got to the top, beautiful. (18:13) And then it was like, hey, we got to run fucking down because it is dusk.(18:16) I can't see anything. (18:19) I'm joking. (18:19) We had flashlights and stuff.(18:20) We were fine. (18:21) Honestly, we were fine. (18:22) At the end of the day, I think that recklessness with immaturity is dangerous.(18:27) I think recklessness with conscientiousness is necessary for achievement.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:32) I would say that's fair. (18:33) To your point, I think most people could lean more in that direction. (18:39) I think most people probably, statistically speaking, I'm not calling you out if you're out there, but most people are on the side of playing it safe for sure.

Alan Lazaros

(18:49) Our brain is wired that way.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:50) Yeah. (18:51) Our brain is wired for safety. (18:52) Just like anything else, you dip your toes in.(18:55) You dip your toes. (18:56) You got to see what you're capable of. (18:58) You got to see what you're capable of.(19:01) When last thing before we get out of here, we lived in Florida for a month and we did some unique stuff while we were down there. (19:09) One of the things we did, we went to this gym that was run by former Marines. (19:14) I guess you're always technically a Marine, so by Marines.(19:17) There was the sled challenge. (19:19) You had to push the sled. (19:21) I was definitely overconfident for sure.(19:23) And I was under-informed. (19:25) I was like, just there and back? (19:27) I didn't think it was that far.

Alan Lazaros

(19:29) In a way, real talk, and again, even if they were listening, I would be fine with this. (19:33) They did not communicate how hard this was.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:36) Well, I also think maybe I didn't listen. (19:39) In fairness, I don't know if I would. (19:40) I thought I was the shit.(19:41) I think they were looking forward to us getting humbled. (19:44) Well, probably.

Alan Lazaros

(19:45) Probably. (19:45) I think people like seeing other people fail. (19:48) I think it's a weird thing.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:49) It bothers me a lot. (19:50) They had a good opportunity for me to fail. (19:53) So I came out of the gate.(19:54) How far of a push was this? (19:56) I think 400 meters. (19:58) I'm not sure.(19:59) 400 meters, I think. (20:00) It was a lot. (20:02) And it was hot as shit.(20:03) This was my anxiety time where I had anxiety and I thought it was asthma and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't breathe. (20:08) So it was not a good mix of times for me. (20:10) It might only be 400 feet.(20:12) No, no, no. (20:12) It was not 400 feet.

Alan Lazaros

(20:13) That I'm certain.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:13) You don't think so? (20:14) No, no. (20:14) That's to the end.(20:15) That's a fucking baseball stadium. (20:15) It was on tar. (20:17) That was the problem.(20:17) It was on fucking tar in southern Florida. (20:20) It was there and back. (20:22) This was the whole thing.(20:24) So I come out hot, thinking like, this isn't going to be that bad. (20:28) I'm in shape. (20:30) I get halfway the first way.(20:33) So you got to go there and back. (20:34) I get halfway there and I'm like, ah, fuck. (20:36) We are in trouble here.(20:37) This is not good. (20:39) Keep pushing. (20:40) Keep pushing.(20:41) I made it to the end and I'm turning to come back and I was like, there's no way. (20:45) There's no possibility I'm going to finish this. (20:47) There's no possibility.(20:49) Again, I did my best to keep pushing. (20:50) Kept pushing. (20:51) Got to the point where I was throwing up on myself.(20:54) And continuing to go. (20:56) Because I was like, I got to- You're a fucking sicko. (20:58) I love what I do.(20:59) I think that's a good example. (21:02) I'm not saying that's what you have to do.

Alan Lazaros

(21:04) Could you have gotten here without that level? (21:06) I mean, dude, it was reckless in hindsight with the credit cards. (21:10) I think so.(21:11) I think there needs to be a little bit of crazy. (21:13) Just channel it right. (21:16) Don't get killed or anything.(21:18) But you got to channel it. (21:20) I think you're a little reckless and I think it's good. (21:22) I think we both are.

Kevin Palmieri

(21:23) I agree. (21:23) I think we just have to be conscientious in tandem with that. (21:25) I agree.(21:26) I agree. (21:26) I think we could all move more in that direction. (21:29) Maybe it's not- Maybe the label isn't reckless.(21:31) I like it. (21:31) I like the razor fold. (21:35) I like that.(21:35) I think that's a really good way to look at it. (21:38) Calling is like, yeah, I'm good. (21:39) I'm good here.(21:40) I don't want to be good here. (21:41) I want to go. (21:42) I want to go to the next level.(21:43) And there are certain things that I don't want to go to the next level on. (21:47) So I have to get rid of them. (21:49) I don't want to be a professional gamer.(21:52) That's a good- Yeah, yeah. (21:54) Real quick. (21:54) Good question.(21:55) Is this going to be in my life in five years? (21:57) That's a good question.

Alan Lazaros

(21:58) Yeah, it is. (21:59) Good. (22:00) Last question.(22:00) I sent you a clip earlier for the listeners that have been with us the last couple weeks. (22:07) I said recently, I feel like I'm in my comfort zone and I got to fucking make a new bet. (22:12) I got to bet on us.(22:13) I got to bet on myself. (22:13) I got to bet on the company. (22:15) And I playfully said we have too much money.(22:18) That's not what I meant. (22:19) There's no such thing as too much money. (22:20) But there is such thing as too much abundance.(22:23) I want to put myself back against the fucking wall. (22:26) And I want to get some necessity back. (22:28) And you and I reinvested a bunch of money back in the company.(22:33) How do you feel? (22:35) I feel back in the fucking sweet spot. (22:37) Like, I feel good.(22:38) I feel like probably the same. (22:42) That really doesn't do it for you. (22:45) I sent you a video earlier about Amazon in 1999.(22:50) I haven't watched it yet.

Kevin Palmieri

(22:51) No, I haven't watched it yet.

Alan Lazaros

(22:52) I've been working. (22:52) Hey, I've been working. (22:53) You know?(22:53) Yeah, yeah. (22:54) That's important.

Kevin Palmieri

(22:54) That's important.

Alan Lazaros

(22:55) I was sending you clips. (22:58) At the end of the day, bet on yourself. (23:00) You got to take a bet on yourself.(23:02) And you got to take a risk. (23:04) And then you got to rise to the occasion. (23:06) And I think people don't bet on themselves because they don't believe in their ability to rise to the occasion.(23:11) You might be surprised with what you're capable of. (23:14) We were in some dark fucking spots that we climbed out of. (23:17) And I'm not interested in never being in a dark spot again.(23:20) Like, I'll never be in that same dark spot. (23:23) But it's time for us to up the ante again and again and again and again. (23:26) That's the point of life, in my opinion.(23:28) To do all you can with all you have. (23:30) This is Next Level You, Next Level University. (23:32) Do all you can with all you have.(23:33) And the moment you start getting really comfortable and complacent, you got to be fucking scared. (23:39) Do not get comfortable and complacent. (23:41) You got to fucking...(23:45) And I think meaning comes from growth and seeing what you're capable of.

Kevin Palmieri

(23:53) There's another level, Mother Goose. (23:55) I believe is one of the books for kids out there. (23:58) I seriously doubt it.(24:00) Next Level Goose? (24:01) Interesting. (24:02) Maybe that's the future for me.(24:04) A little kid's line of Next Level books. (24:07) Interesting. (24:07) I should probably write a book on podcasting first.(24:09) But we'll get there. (24:10) We'll get there. (24:10) All right.(24:11) If you are getting or focused on getting to the next level as a podcaster and you want to learn how to grow, scale, monetize your podcast, all of that happy jazz. (24:19) You want to get to be a really good interviewer. (24:21) You want to know the ins and outs.(24:22) Whatever. (24:22) We have the Next Level Podcast Accelerator starting shortly. (24:25) We'll have the link in the show notes below.(24:27) With the discount code NLULISTENER. (24:29) All one word. (24:30) It ends up being like $24 per call.(24:33) I can promise you, you will not find a more affordable coaching program that goes as deep as we do. (24:40) I will bet my... (24:41) I won't say my life because that's a heavy bet.(24:43) But I'll bet a lot on that.

Alan Lazaros

(24:45) I'm gonna go out on a limb. (24:46) If you are a podcaster out there and you don't believe in yourself and what you're doing enough to invest $24 per session with the promo code, you ain't all in. (24:57) Kevin and I went all in and we invested a hell of a lot more than that.(25:01) We had coaches and mentors and courses and we went to Florida. (25:04) We lived there. (25:05) Like, you have to make a bet on yourself.(25:08) There's no fucking way you don't get that much value. (25:11) You will get way more value than what you invest. (25:13) This program is affordable on purpose.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:16) Challenge accepted if you're out there. (25:17) All right. (25:17) As always, we love you.(25:18) We appreciate you. (25:19) Grateful for each and every one of you. (25:20) And if you are as committed, if you are as focused as you say you are to getting to the next level, make sure you tune in tomorrow because we will be here every single day to help you get there.(25:30) Keep reaching for your full potential. (25:33) Next Level Nation. (25:36) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University.(25:40) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(25:42) We mean it when we say family. (25:44) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (25:47) Everything you need to get a hold of us is in the show notes.(25:51) Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.