A Recipe For Failure We Need To Avoid (2188)

What if success wasn’t about talent, luck, or even confidence but about avoiding one critical mistake? In this episode, Kevin and Alan expose the hidden formula that guarantees failure and reveal how flipping it can completely change your results. From false expectations to the myth of an “easy” life, they share personal stories and hard truths that challenge everything you’ve been told about success. Whether you’re building a business, chasing health goals, or trying to level up your life, this conversation will shift how you think about growth, time, and resilience. Start listening and see why.

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

Website 💻  http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

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Show notes:
(2:18) Kevin’s eBay story gone wrong
(5:31) Why the right timeline matters
(8:23) Easy life versus meaningful life
(17:05) The real formula for success
(21:01) Coaching as the shortcut to growth
(25:11) 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

• 2:18 Kevin’s eBay story gone wrong
• 5:31 Why the right timeline matters
• 8:23 Easy life versus meaningful life
• 17:05 The real formula for success
• 21:01 Coaching as the shortcut to growth
• 25:11 Outro

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) Success isn't that hard in the grand scheme of things. (0:04) You just have to get the code right. (0:05) You have to get the lock code right.(0:07) And once you do that, you can be successful. (0:09) But if you have one piece of that combination off, it's not going to crack.

Alan Lazaros

(0:13) Kev created a formula to guarantee failure. (0:17) And the flip side of that formula can guarantee success if you work hard. (0:23) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:26) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:27) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus. (0:31) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven but no-BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dreamchasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:37) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:44) 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

(1:00) Self-improvement, in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:06) Welcome to Next Level University. (1:12) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2,188. (1:16) A recipe for failure we need to avoid.(1:19) The reason I created this framework, for lack of a better phrasing, let me get in the center of the freaking screen here so you can see all of me. (1:27) I was victim to most of these. (1:31) And I don't think I ever really was going to be successful.(1:34) I've told this story before. (1:36) I think I had some entrepreneurial roots earlier in my life that I probably gave credit for. (1:43) There was a time where I was like, you know, I like to get a little extra money on the side.(1:49) So I was going to buy some phone cases from, what was it, Alibaba.com, right? (1:58) Alibaba. (1:59) And I'm going to sell them, flip them, for a profit.(2:02) Easy. (2:04) I bought a box, I think, of like 250. (2:09) How many did you sell?(2:11) I didn't sell any. (2:12) Zero. (2:13) Yeah, zero.(2:13) I probably did like- Zero of them.

Alan Lazaros

(2:16) Zero of the 250.

Kevin Palmieri

(2:18) Let me tell the story. (2:20) I'm going to make an eBay store. (2:22) Nothing.(2:23) That's nothing. (2:24) This is going to be fine. (2:24) I'm going to do it.(2:25) I probably- I don't even think I got the eBay store up before I called it quits. (2:29) I was like, fuck this. (2:30) This is too much work.(2:30) I'm not going to do this. (2:31) No way. (2:32) No way.(2:33) I'm going to do this. (2:34) I'm going to get a dollar off of each of these. (2:35) There's no way.(2:36) This is a giant waste of time. (2:38) I had- The combination was off. (2:41) Somebody out there has a successful store on eBay where they buy- I guarantee if you go on eBay right now, there is somebody who buys phone cases from China or Japan or wherever.(2:51) I looked it up. (2:52) Steve Stevenson.

Alan Lazaros

(2:54) Jeff Jefferson. (2:55) From Jefferson. (2:56) Yeah, he's actually brothers with Jeff Jefferson.(2:58) Of course, as they would be. (3:00) Except they have different last names. (3:00) Upstate New York.(3:01) Okay.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:02) And they're both on eBay. (3:03) Yeah, you can buy phone cases. (3:04) We're joking.(3:05) Phone cases cheap is the name of it. (3:07) Somebody on there did it. (3:08) And do you know why?(3:09) Because they had the recipe. (3:10) They had the combination far better than I did. (3:13) So this is the recipe for failure.(3:15) Guaranteed failure, unfortunately. (3:17) Guaranteed. (3:18) And I'm talking from experience.

Alan Lazaros

(3:19) Okay.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:20) One. (3:21) Listen up. (3:22) This is good.(3:22) This is important. (3:23) If you want to guarantee failure, this is it right here.

Alan Lazaros

(3:25) This is how to do it.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:26) You came to the right place. (3:27) And just do the opposite if you want to be successful. (3:28) All right.(3:29) Wrong expectations. (3:30) I expected that I was going to get these. (3:32) It would be really easy to do.(3:34) I would just throw them up and then people would buy them. (3:37) I just thought that was the way it works. (3:39) My expectations was this was going to be really easy.(3:43) And I have a really good idea. (3:44) And other people just don't have the idea. (3:46) That's why they haven't done it yet.(3:48) Expectations. (3:48) Off. (3:49) Terrible.(3:50) Wrong expectations. (3:51) Real quick. (3:52) Yeah.(3:53) You thought no one else had that idea. (3:55) I thought it was. (3:56) I thought I was ahead of the curve.

Alan Lazaros

(3:57) You thought it was novel. (3:58) You thought that was a novel idea.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:00) I think so. (4:02) What do you think now? (4:04) Everybody can do it.(4:05) Anybody can do it. (4:06) Anybody can do that. (4:07) Almost anyone.

Alan Lazaros

(4:08) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:08) Almost anybody. (4:08) Yeah. (4:09) Nice.(4:09) But I didn't know because I had the wrong expectations. (4:12) Second piece. (4:13) Wrong approach.(4:15) My approach was off. (4:16) So in this example, I had no business doing any of that. (4:20) Why the hell am I starting a phone case company?(4:23) I don't know. (4:23) What the hell are we doing? (4:24) Why am I doing that of all things?(4:25) Why don't I do something else? (4:26) I should have became a personal trainer earlier in life probably. (4:29) At this point, I had already been a personal trainer and I fucking hated it.(4:33) But my approach was off. (4:35) This was not the right strategy for me. (4:38) Right.(4:38) I shouldn't even been in that market. (4:40) I should have done something else. (4:41) Nice.(4:42) Can you go deeper on that? (4:44) Why shouldn't you have been in that market?

Alan Lazaros

(4:45) Oh yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:46) Because the only reason I was in that market is because I thought it was fucking easy, baby. (4:51) That's it. (4:52) All right.(4:52) A.K.A. I'm not passionate about cell phone cases. (4:55) There you go.

Alan Lazaros

(4:56) Nice. (4:56) That. (4:57) Product market fit.(4:59) And also if you're not passionate about what you do in business, you're in some trouble because you're competing with people who are. (5:06) Well, I thought flip a few and boom.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:09) Forbes.

Alan Lazaros

(5:10) Little did I know you could. (5:11) Yes.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:12) But little did I know you could just pay like $500 to be in Forbes. (5:15) You want to be in Forbes? (5:15) You can.(5:16) I got it. (5:16) I got a person. (5:17) They send me emails all the time.(5:18) I'll send them on over 500 bucks. (5:20) You're in. (5:20) Don't even worry about it.(5:21) You don't have to have even accomplished anything. (5:23) Believe it or not. (5:24) So that's that.(5:26) And then the last one is and I definitely had this one probably more than the first two. (5:31) Wrong time perspective. (5:33) I thought it was going to happen right away.(5:35) I thought it's going to be easy. (5:38) No, no, I thought it was going to happen quickly. (5:40) No, that's not the way it works.(5:41) And I think that's that's probably the one. (5:43) I think that's the one for a lot of people. (5:46) Because again, we said this in group coaching the other day.(5:50) We said there's a lot of people out there on social media telling you that, yeah, you know, it might be hard. (5:58) Sometimes when you start a business, it's you're going to have days where it could be challenging. (6:02) It's like, no, I think it's the opposite.(6:04) You want to start a business. (6:05) You're going to have some days that might be easy. (6:06) Eventually, the vast majority of them, though, are going to be hard.(6:10) Of course, they're going to be hard. (6:12) Why do you think nine out of ten businesses go out of business? (6:15) Because it's easy?(6:16) No, it would be the opposite. (6:18) If it was easy, you'd be like ninety nine percent of businesses succeed. (6:23) And there's this one percent who just can't get their shit together, who just know it's the opposite because it's really, really, really challenging.(6:31) And I think one of the reasons is because we're sold this lie that, oh, you don't like your job, quit your job and start a business. (6:39) Terrible advice. (6:41) Terrible advice.(6:42) What often makes for the best story is the worst advice. (6:46) That's the reason the fucking story is good, because it's statistically rare. (6:51) Go ahead, sir.

Alan Lazaros

(6:51) Every time we do this over the thousands of episodes that we've done, there have been a few episodes, I don't know which, where I've brought this up. (7:04) For those of you in your thirties and early forties, you will definitely remember this. (7:08) The old Banjo Minnow.(7:09) No, no, no. (7:10) I'm not bringing up the Banjo Minnow. (7:11) I thought you were.(7:12) How fucking dare you? (7:13) Sorry, sorry, sorry. (7:14) Don't bring up bad times.(7:16) No, so every time Kev shares any sort of anecdote about business and how hard it is to actually start a business, and he says, quit your job and start a business. (7:28) No, don't do it. (7:29) All I can think about, do you know what I'm going to say?(7:32) In Billy Madison, when he's in high school. (7:35) So in Billy Madison, a film from the nineties? (7:40) Yeah.(7:40) Late nineties.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:41) I think so.

Alan Lazaros

(7:42) Early two thousands, late nineties. (7:44) He goes from middle school to high school and he's talking to one of his middle school friends and he's like, stay as long as you can. (7:51) For God's sakes, cherish it.(7:53) That's how I feel about starting a business. (7:58) If you have a job and a steady paycheck, stay as long as you can.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:02) Cherish it.

Alan Lazaros

(8:02) For God's sakes, cherish it. (8:04) Cherish it. (8:05) Hunters and farmers, it's every business's biggest challenge is you don't have a huge brand and no one, Coca-Cola and Sam's Cola, everyone buys Coca-Cola because no one knows who Sam is.(8:20) And in the beginning, everyone is Sam's Cola. (8:23) Okay. (8:23) And you're competing with Coca-Cola.(8:25) Terrible idea. (8:26) Yeah. (8:26) Unless you are deeply passionate and love risk and love failure.(8:32) Okay. (8:33) Back to the formula. (8:35) So you just told everyone how to fail.(8:36) Yes. (8:37) Strong work. (8:38) End of the episode.(8:39) Yes. (8:39) Have a great day. (8:40) Thank you so much.(8:40) Good luck. (8:41) You got this. (8:43) No.(8:43) So the opposite of that is obviously you want the first one, you want the right expectations. (8:51) So what is the right expectations for someone going into achieving a goal?

Kevin Palmieri

(8:56) I would say the opposite of what everybody's telling you. (9:00) So I would rather you be surprised that it's easier than you thought than surprised that it's harder than you thought. (9:06) So just assume it's going to be harder than you think because if you've never done it before, you don't know.(9:11) And this is the other part of it that I say, when your desires become your expectations, you're in a lot of trouble. (9:20) So if my desire is, all right, this is going to be easy and it's not going to take that effort. (9:24) If that becomes the expectation, in what world is that almost ever the case?(9:29) I don't know if I've ever thought that.

Alan Lazaros

(9:31) But wait a minute. (9:33) It seems like I have. (9:35) On my first fitness show, I thought I'd win.(9:38) Just the way you said it.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:40) I don't think I've ever thought of that. (9:42) But wait a minute.

Alan Lazaros

(9:43) I have. (9:44) No, no, no. (9:45) It seems like I have.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:47) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(9:49) Yeah. (9:52) That's it. (9:55) When you set a goal, why do people think it's going to be easy?

Kevin Palmieri

(10:01) Because they want it to be. (10:04) Because I think when your desire for something, when you think about it.

Alan Lazaros

(10:09) Let's go into that. (10:10) Why do people want it to be easy? (10:13) All right.(10:14) I'm going to share this briefly. (10:15) I know we got a crank. (10:17) My mom for my whole life always said she was so jealous of my grandma.(10:22) My grandma grew up in a very wealthy family. (10:24) They had a butler and maids and all kinds of stuff. (10:27) I don't know what happened, but none of that wealth came into my family whatsoever.(10:31) We have no generational wealth whatsoever, which is fine. (10:34) I actually think that's a good thing. (10:37) My mom was always like, oh, my grandma only worked two years of her life.(10:41) She worked at a bank as a secretary for two years. (10:45) And of her whole life, she only worked two years. (10:47) And my mom was always, she would always say, wow, that must be nice.(10:53) And I'm jealous of grandma. (10:55) Like, that must be so nice. (10:56) Like, I wish my life was that easy.(10:59) And I remember thinking, no, that's not the point. (11:04) Can you imagine just coast? (11:05) Like, that sounds stupid to me.(11:07) I don't want to be unkind, but I need to share this. (11:11) Why would an easy life be the goal?

Kevin Palmieri

(11:15) Because life is already hard. (11:16) You don't want it to get harder. (11:20) I think it's the opposite.(11:22) Yeah. (11:22) If your life is really hard, the last thing you want is harder. (11:25) You want it to be easier.(11:26) But I had it really hard. (11:28) I'm grateful it got hard when my stepdad left because then I learned how to be. (11:33) Yeah, but you're a very unique case.(11:36) I didn't, I wanted my life to be easier for sure. (11:38) 100 percent. (11:39) 100 percent.(11:39) Okay. (11:40) In hindsight, though, you don't. (11:43) In hindsight, now that I understand the layers.(11:46) Yeah, that. (11:47) Let's go to the layers.

Alan Lazaros

(11:48) Because the truth is you had a hard childhood and so did I. (11:52) And that has become one of our favorite things about us. (11:57) That's a, that's a really good long-term win.(11:59) So by that rationale, we wouldn't go back and make it easier. (12:06) I would certainly get fucking better and I would definitely focus on different things and I would escape it less and I would get a therapist sooner. (12:14) But I wouldn't want it to be easier necessarily.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:19) Well, one, you made it. (12:21) So it's easier to say that, I think. (12:22) Fair.(12:23) Again, I know you used it as. (12:25) Yeah, but I felt this way even when I had definitely not made it.

Alan Lazaros

(12:29) Well, again, you're, I think you're very unique in that. (12:34) What do you, talk about you, not me. (12:36) Because why am I unique in that?(12:38) You also agree. (12:39) What's the, what's the best way to frame the question? (12:45) My mom would always say, oh, that must be so nice.(12:47) I'm so, I'm so jealous. (12:49) My grandma had it. (12:50) So my mom, her mom, my grandma had it so good.(12:54) And I remember thinking, no, she didn't like grandma didn't seem that fulfilled to me.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:58) Well, that's, I think that because most people are not optimizing for fulfillment. (13:03) I was not opt. (13:04) I didn't even know what fulfillment was.(13:05) You can't optimize for something you don't know exists. (13:08) I thought it was about you get an easy job that pays really well. (13:12) You have time to yourself.(13:14) You have weekends where you can do whatever you want that. (13:16) I thought that's what it was like, what life was about. (13:19) A hundred percent.(13:20) And I wanted easy. (13:22) I wanted an easy job. (13:25) I wanted an easy relationship.(13:27) I did. (13:28) I wanted, I didn't want the things that forced me to grow. (13:31) I wanted things that were easy to sustain very honestly.

Alan Lazaros

(13:37) Okay, we'll move on. (13:39) But I think challenge is what makes life meaningful. (13:43) I agree.(13:44) Imagine if everyone just woke up with a six pack tomorrow.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:46) But I think there goes all the meaning. (13:47) So many people are already, they already feel like they're challenged beyond where they want to be challenged. (13:53) So instead of running towards the more of a challenge, I think it, it makes natural sense to run to want to run away.(13:59) And again, I'm guilty of that. (14:01) I ran away for a long time and then had my pivotal moment at 26 or 27.

Alan Lazaros

(14:07) However old I was. (14:08) Have you flipped that now? (14:09) Do you want, and again, I want to make it as clear as possible.(14:11) I've had moments in my life that were infinitely more difficult than I wanted. (14:14) Like horrible things that I, that I genuinely didn't want. (14:18) And I was in dark spots.(14:20) So I'm not, I'm not taking away from that, but I never had the, I wish it was easier. (14:25) Like I wish everything was easier. (14:27) I just want an easy life.(14:28) That was never my goal. (14:29) My goal was never to have an easy life. (14:31) So I'm actually asking.(14:33) You've been on both ends of this, so you can explain it better.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:37) Do I want an easy life? (14:38) I would like some circumstances to be easier. (14:42) But not, uh, I don't know.(14:47) I'm looking forward to when my wife and I can have someone come help us clean. (14:53) Like that type of stuff. (14:55) Not, I don't expect this to get any easier.(14:57) I don't expect fitness to get any easier. (14:59) If anything, fitness is going to get harder.

Alan Lazaros

(15:00) Yeah, for sure. (15:02) I don't expect. (15:02) You want things to get easier.(15:04) It's almost like you're going to set yourself up for failure. (15:07) I don't think so. (15:08) Because I think success actually makes life harder in some ways.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:11) Some of the most fulfilling days I have. (15:14) As a married man are the days where we have disagreements. (15:18) Because after the disagreement, it's like, oh my goodness, I'm so grateful.(15:21) We were able to have that together. (15:25) That. (15:25) But if I best example of this, I was in a situation ship.(15:29) I've talked about this openly many, many times. (15:32) And I think this was a situation ship that so many I'll speak men would have enjoyed. (15:39) I could just show up.(15:41) I didn't have to be anything. (15:43) There was no growth. (15:45) There was no challenge.(15:46) There was no resistance. (15:47) There was no, none of that. (15:49) I got all my needs met and it was easy.(15:52) And I had a moment where I said, this is not going to help me grow. (15:57) There's no, I don't have to grow. (15:59) I don't have to grow.(16:00) And by definition, that's a dangerous place for me.

Alan Lazaros

(16:02) Matter of fact, you have to not grow.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:03) Yeah, yeah, probably right. (16:05) I have to, I have to stay the same. (16:07) I have to stay the same.(16:08) And I have to, it has to be this like, well, that podcast is cute. (16:10) Like, this is a cute thing you're doing. (16:12) It's like, no, I understand.(16:13) You don't get it. (16:13) And again, Frick, I didn't even know what the hell I was doing at the time. (16:17) So it's understandable, right?(16:18) My behavior did not suggest I was going to have a successful podcast. (16:22) I'll tell you that much behavior at the time, trajectory behavior at the time.

Alan Lazaros

(16:25) Yeah. (16:25) Trajectory. (16:26) Yes.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:26) Yes. (16:27) But the behavior was questionable.

Alan Lazaros

(16:30) It's questionable. (16:31) Okay. (16:31) So formula for success, right?(16:33) Expectations, accurate expectations, accurate approach, accurate time perspective. (16:44) The accurate expectation is this is going to be challenging. (16:48) And sometimes maybe it'll be easy.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:52) Yeah. (16:52) Sometimes the wind will be at your back and give you a little extra push. (16:55) It'll get a little bit easier, but the wind is not always going to be at your back.(16:58) Definitely not. (16:59) Never.

Alan Lazaros

(17:00) Winter's always coming. (17:05) Accurate approach. (17:07) If I work hard, learn, keep an open mind, constantly go back to the drawing board and constantly try to figure out a better and better and better and better and better and better and better approach, then over enough time, bring to the third one, accurate time perspective, I will be successful.(17:30) And here's the cool part. (17:31) I really hope people hear this. (17:34) And this, if it comes off brash, that's not my goal, but maybe it needs to, to, to trigger something and unlock something in you.(17:39) Unleash, unlock something. (17:42) Here's the cool part. (17:43) I used to say this in corporate.(17:44) Now, keep in mind, I was in my early twenties and this was behind the scenes. (17:48) I used to say, it's not that hard to swim when everyone is swimming with one fin. (17:52) It's not that hard to be the fastest fish when everyone else has a broken fin.(17:55) Corporate felt really easy to me. (17:58) Everyone else is lazy. (17:59) This is going to be fine.(18:01) They want easy. (18:02) They want easy. (18:03) Yeah, that's my point.(18:04) So, so if you are out there and you actually do have work ethic, it's not that hard to stand out. (18:09) Do you know how easy it would be for you to work? (18:12) If you work even remotely 40 hours a week, actually 40 and really stay focused, I'm going to notice when everyone in the world of the lazy, the hardworking person is king or queen.(18:26) I think that it was so easy for me to stand out in corporate because I just actually work. (18:33) And in a world where most people are hanging out and not focused and not disciplined and not tracking and not consistent. (18:39) I was in sales.(18:40) So all you have to do is look at the leaderboard. (18:43) I was playing Call of Duty in between calls and I was still at the top. (18:47) It's, it's really not that hard.(18:51) And this is the good news. (18:53) When most people quit, if you have staying power, you have a huge advantage. (18:59) And so I think that's exciting.(19:01) You know, it would be a lot harder if everyone was elite. (19:05) It would be a lot worse if everyone was hardworking and everyone was dialed in and everyone was tracking and everyone didn't care about quality of life. (19:11) And everyone, like if we all had six packs and we're all freaks of nature, it would be a lot harder to be in shape.(19:16) It's easy to be in shape compared to the statistical norm. (19:19) When the majority of people are getting more and more out of shape. (19:21) That's a metaphor.(19:22) That's the metaphor.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:23) So well, and that's factually correct. (19:26) Also. (19:26) Yeah.(19:27) I mean, it's not easier. (19:28) It's easier to, it's not necessarily easier to physically stand out. (19:32) And in the economy, standing out is how you win.(19:34) Yeah. (19:35) Big Sean. (19:35) I haven't talked about Big Sean in a long time.(19:37) Has a quote. (19:39) Says, uh, essentially a lot of people are trying to figure out how to get into the game. (19:43) I'm trying to figure out how to get to the rafters.(19:45) I don't want to just get in the game. (19:46) I don't want to play the game. (19:47) I want to be the greatest of all time.(19:48) I want them to hang my jersey up. (19:49) I don't want to just play the game. (19:51) I want to be the best who's ever done it.(19:53) Big Sean. (19:54) Is he still going? (19:55) Still going.(19:56) Still cranking. (19:57) Still going. (19:57) He gets a lot of hate.(19:58) People don't like, I don't know, for some reason, people don't like Big Sean. (20:01) Why? (20:02) Because he raps about positive stuff a lot.(20:04) People don't like that. (20:06) Yeah, it's like you can't, you know, you can't be too conscious of a rapper for some reason. (20:09) I don't know.(20:10) I like it. (20:11) I'm a huge fan of Big Sean.

Alan Lazaros

(20:12) Yeah. (20:12) I like Nefex. (20:14) He's very conscious in his raps.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:18) People don't like that. (20:19) Why? (20:20) I don't know.(20:20) I think it's because it, it, it goes away from the, well, I think one, because people like music as an escape. (20:26) So some people don't want to think while they're listening to their music, right? (20:30) It's like throw on, throw on a dumb movie or a dumb sitcom.(20:33) I don't really want to have to think. (20:34) I can understand that. (20:36) I can understand that.(20:37) But as a lyricist, somebody who likes to write music myself, I like to, I want there to be a story. (20:41) I want there to be some. (20:44) You want to spit one?(20:45) No, I got nothing to spit. (20:46) I'm so rusty. (20:47) It's not even funny.(20:50) You know, I always, when I get put on the spot, I forget all the things I've written. (20:54) Speaking of forgetting. (20:56) Yeah.(20:56) So if, look, I had somebody reach out to me the other day. (20:59) I did a podcast.

Alan Lazaros

(21:00) Did you just remember just now?

Kevin Palmieri

(21:01) No, no. (21:02) I had a podcast breakthrough session with somebody recently. (21:05) Shout out to you if you're listening.(21:07) And it was awesome. (21:08) And he left and he was like, wow, man, there's, there's a lot of stuff to work on. (21:10) I said, there's always a lot of stuff to work on.(21:11) I got you. (21:12) This is, these are the things before I talk to you next, do these things and then reach out when you're done. (21:16) We'll figure out what next steps are.(21:17) And he reached out and he said, I just went to a mastermind, a meetup thing. (21:23) I paid $5,000 to get advice from this business guy. (21:25) And you gave me more than a half hour than I got in that entire trip.(21:28) Nice. (21:28) What does it, what does it look like to work with you? (21:30) What does it look like to work with you and Alan?(21:31) Love it. (21:32) We'll set that up. (21:34) All you're doing when you're getting coached is you are working with somebody who has these, a more accurate understanding of these.(21:41) If you go to a coach and you say, this is my idea, this is what I'm doing. (21:44) It's not working. (21:45) They might say, your expectations off.(21:47) It's going to take a little bit longer than you think. (21:49) Your approach is off. (21:50) That doesn't work anymore.(21:51) And your time perspective is off. (21:53) You said it's not working. (21:53) You haven't been doing it for three months.(21:55) Let's stick with it. (21:56) Let's change these things. (21:57) I'll help you keep you accountable.(21:59) So if you're looking for that next level podcast accelerator starting on October 7th, if you're a podcaster who is looking to grow, scale, monetize your podcast, if you really want to impact a lot of people and you'd like to make money doing it through conscious effort and fulfillment, that's what we will help you do. (22:16) So we'll have the link in the show notes with the discount code NLU listener. (22:19) It ends up taking 30% off.(22:21) So it's like $24 per call. (22:23) There's 12 calls. (22:25) It's the best.

Alan Lazaros

(22:26) If you have ever heard someone say you have to spend money to make money, what I wish they would say and unpack the layers of that is you have to invest first before you get results second. (22:36) We're going to talk about that in a couple episodes. (22:39) Standards come first, results come second.(22:42) When we were on group coaching, I was talking about this concept in business that I see is very overlooked, but it applies to everyone's career. (22:49) If you want to earn $100,000, you might have to invest 80,000 in order to earn 100,000. (22:54) In order to earn 200,000, you might have to invest.(22:57) It's hard to explain without a whiteboard in front of me, but essentially, this will be a better example. (23:06) Google invests 10% of its revenue back into R&D, research and development. (23:11) Apple does the same.(23:12) And again, don't quote me on the numbers. (23:13) Sometimes it's 20%. (23:14) Sometimes it's 30%.(23:15) Sometimes it's 15%. (23:16) It changes, okay? (23:17) Don't get hung up on the numbers.(23:19) But if Apple wants to have the best products and services, they have to reinvest in research and development. (23:25) If Google wants to have the best products and services, they have to reinvest in research and development. (23:29) The same is true for you as a human being.(23:31) You have to reinvest in your own R&D, books, courses, coaches, you name it. (23:36) I've taken a bunch of courses. (23:38) I've had dozens of mentors and coaches.(23:40) So I looked this up with Kev earlier. (23:43) Executives with strong coaching often out earn their non-coached peers by hundreds of thousands to several millions of dollars over their careers. (23:51) Largely from faster promotion, higher salaries, and compounding returns on leadership performance.(23:56) So if you want to invest in a coach, I can promise you not overnight success, not sudden millionaire. (24:02) That is not what I'm promising. (24:04) I promise your trajectory will go up and you'll earn far more over your career than you do in the investment.(24:11) So you got to take a risk. (24:12) You got to invest in yourself. (24:13) I'm not saying to hire a coach for $10,000 who doesn't know what they're talking about.(24:17) What I am saying is reach out to me. (24:19) I will put you on a path for success and we will be measurable and we will have achievable results in consistent amounts of time. (24:26) And I've done this now for eight years, basically 10 years mentoring, eight years coaching.(24:32) And if you have work ethic and coachability and humility, I can get you results that are far greater than you're currently getting. (24:39) And I will say that time and time again. (24:42) Till the cows come home, some would say.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:44) You know it. (24:44) Till you're blue in the face.

Alan Lazaros

(24:45) How confident are you? (24:46) If someone works hard and is coachable.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:49) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(24:50) That I can get them their goals if they give me enough time.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:53) I would say I'm a shining example as somebody who did not. (24:56) I had work ethic and I said, tell me what to do. (24:58) But I didn't have the strategy.(25:00) I didn't have the awareness. (25:01) I didn't have the time perspective. (25:02) I didn't have the right expectations.(25:04) I thought this was going to be a lot easier than it was. (25:07) So yes, 10 out of 10. (25:08) 10 out of 10.(25:08) Appreciate it, man. (25:09) Of course. (25:10) Of course.(25:11) All right, cool. (25:11) As always, we love you. (25:12) We appreciate you.(25:13) Grateful for each and every one of you. (25:14) And if you are as committed 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. (25:23) Keep reaching for your full potential.

Alan Lazaros

(25:25) Next Level Nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:28) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (25:32) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(25:35) We mean it when we say family. (25:37) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (25:40) Everything you need to get a hold of us is in the show notes.(25:43) Thank you again, and we will talk to you tomorrow.