How Do You Get More Comfortable Taking Risks (2233)

What if fear isn’t your enemy, but your compass? In this episode, Kevin and Alan break down how your relationship with risk determines your results. From facing fears head-on to mastering the mindset behind smart risk-taking, they reveal how to build confidence even when everything feels uncertain. If you’ve been stuck waiting for the “right time,” this one will shake your comfort zone in the best way possible. Don’t just play it safe, learn how to play it smart and win bigger than ever. Turn your fear into fuel, press play, and find your edge today.

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Show notes:
(2:34) The ice test: How certainty reduces fear
(4:08) The FERPA framework explained
(5:58) How fear and uncertainty limit success
(10:25) Reckless vs calculated risk
(15:21) Building comfort with risk through small steps
(20:22) Growth requires testing your limits
(25:00) The real cost of avoiding risk
(27:31) Increase certainty, then risk
(29:28) 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

• 0:00 The ice test: How certainty reduces fear
• 4:08 The FERPA framework explained
• 5:58 How fear and uncertainty limit success
• 10:25 Reckless Vs. Calculated risk
• 15:21 Building comfort with risk through small steps
• 20:22 Growth requires testing your limits
• 25:00 The real cost of avoiding risk
• 27:31 Increase certainty, then risk
• 29:28 Outro

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) If you've listened to this podcast, you know that I have slash had a massive fear of planes. (0:06) One of the ways I got more comfortable with flying is directly connected to how you can get more comfortable with taking risks.

Alan Lazaros

(0:13) How much are you consumed by fear? (0:15) How much are you consumed by uncertainty? (0:19) How much do you have risk aversion?(0:21) And then what is your pain avoidance tendency? (0:24) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:27) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:29) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus. (0:32) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:38) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:45) 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

(1:01) Self-improvement in your pocket every day from anywhere completely free. (1:07) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:13) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2,233. (1:17) How do you get more comfortable taking risks? (1:22) So we did an episode and we were talking about risk tolerance and all that happy jazz.(1:26) I think we should do a part two because we didn't really talk about how to get more comfortable taking risks. (1:31) Okay. (1:33) I am obsessed with watching videos about planes.(1:37) Gotta do it. (1:38) I see a video about a plane, gotta watch it. (1:40) Gotta.(1:42) Do I need to know anything about planes? (1:44) Not really. (1:45) That has been one of the best things ever for me in terms of feeling safe on a plane.(1:51) One of the ways, one of the best ways, in my humble, very humble opinion, to increase your ability to handle risk is to get more certain with what the risk actually means. (2:04) So you and I both have done some ice fishing, ice skating in our days. (2:09) People would always say, no, it's too thick, it's too thin.(2:12) You're going to fall through. (2:13) The ice is, my mom used to say all the time, make sure it's thick enough. (2:15) You're going to make sure.(2:16) First of all, do you know how much ice you need? (2:18) I do. (2:19) Three inches, you're good.(2:20) Get three inches of ice, you're going to be fine. (2:22) You're not going to drive a car on there, but you can walk on it. (2:24) No.(2:27) I think that's a little under for my liking. (2:30) Yeah, eight's a little bit, but six inches, you know. (2:34) I don't like that type of risk, hypothetically.(2:38) I may or may not have driven a car on the ice. (2:41) I do not think I've ever driven a car. (2:42) I've driven a four-wheeler.(2:43) That was really fun.

Alan Lazaros

(2:44) Snowmobiles.

Kevin Palmieri

(2:46) I've never driven a snowmobile. (2:48) Yeah, it's a good time. (2:50) Those things roll in, maybe.(2:52) Maybe you get your shit together and I'll be able to get one, you know? (2:55) I don't know.

Alan Lazaros

(2:59) Yeah, that'll be my new most important goal. (3:02) I appreciate that.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:03) I think that'll be helpful.

Alan Lazaros

(3:04) Yeah, get in a snowmobile.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:05) I appreciate that. (3:05) It's Friday when we're recording this. (3:07) It's been one hell of a day already.(3:09) Weird moods, great moods, but weird moods and overwhelmed. (3:13) So yeah, I think that's a piece of it is, if you don't know how much of a risk you're actually taking, then you're probably going to overswing and then just not take any risk at all. (3:27) Dip your foot in the water.(3:29) Take a pole and put it in the pool to see how fucking deep it is before you convince yourself you can't jump in, baby.

Alan Lazaros

(3:35) I just noticed this. (3:37) For everyone on YouTube, Kevin doesn't have both of his sides of his collar up.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:42) I think that's been bothering me all morning. (3:46) You should have told me. (3:47) Dude, I just threw this thing on this morning.

Alan Lazaros

(3:48) I didn't know where I am right now.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:49) I just didn't know what. (3:51) I, this, the funny thing about this thing is I don't want the collar up, but it doesn't, you can't put it down. (3:57) So what is a man to do?(3:59) It's good for the winter.

Alan Lazaros

(4:01) Wind resistance, you know?

Kevin Palmieri

(4:01) Yeah, but I feel like an Abercrombie deep. (4:06) You know what I mean?

Alan Lazaros

(4:07) Yeah. (4:08) Anyways, yeah, FERPA. (4:11) Fear, uncertainty, risk, and pain avoidance.(4:16) Last episode, we described those and talked about a FERPA score. (4:23) What is your FERPA score?

Kevin Palmieri

(4:26) Oh my goodness. (4:27) Yeah, I don't even know what the parameters are. (4:29) High is bad.

Alan Lazaros

(4:30) Yes. (4:31) Higher your FERPA score, the less likely you will be successful because we all know this, right? (4:36) So think of someone who avoids pain, pain avoidance, who is constantly afraid, playing not to lose instead of playing to win, who's risk avoidant, and who has a ton of uncertainty.(4:48) I, on the last episode, we talked about anxiety attacks. (4:52) And I asked Emilia why she thinks I've never had them. (4:54) And she said, Raoul wouldn't let you.(4:56) Raoul is her, what she calls my engineering brain. (5:00) I think that you watching videos of planes to learn about planes is the way that I coped with uncertainty growing up. (5:09) So whenever I was really uncertain, I think that my brain, I just researched and figured out, oh, we're okay.(5:16) We're good. (5:17) Like one shark death per year out of 350 million Americans. (5:20) I'm not as concerned.(5:22) I'm still concerned, but I'm not as concerned in the water as I was. (5:25) So for me, stats help me tremendously. (5:29) In an uncertain world, the stats help.(5:34) Like what are the chances that someone breaks into your house? (5:37) What are the chances that someone mugs you? (5:39) What are the chances that, like, I think statistics and probability have helped me tremendously.(5:44) But if you have a low FERPA score or a high FERPA score, and you're risk avoidant, and you have tons of uncertainty, it's going to be very hard for you to move forward confidently.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:58) I don't, the hard thing is I am afraid of a lot of the stuff I do. (6:02) I just do it anyway. (6:03) So I guess it's not necessarily in control, but I'm still afraid of stuff.(6:08) You know, less so than I haven't, I've been in the past, but I still am not certain things I do that are not like easy. (6:18) I get nervous before I overthink before. (6:22) So I don't know.(6:23) I don't know where that puts me on it. (6:25) Okay.

Alan Lazaros

(6:25) It's not super high. (6:26) Fear. (6:27) Do you, where do you think you fall out of, out of a hundred people?(6:30) Do a bell curve. (6:31) So out of a hundred random people on planet Earth, you're one of the 100. (6:36) What percentile are you in, in terms of fear consuming you?(6:40) Do you spend a lot of your life in fear?

Kevin Palmieri

(6:42) Pretty low. (6:44) I don't feel like I let, if I do spend time in fear, I don't let it control me for long. (6:49) So it's probably low.(6:50) I would say in the lower 5%, probably. (6:54) I'd have to imagine.

Alan Lazaros

(6:55) And listen, I want you answering too. (6:58) If you want. (7:02) Next is uncertainty.(7:04) How much uncertainty do you live in? (7:05) Now, this is a weird one because it is based on where you live. (7:09) It's based on your goals.(7:10) It's based on.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:13) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(7:14) Less than ever. (7:15) You know, what's interesting is you and I have more uncertainty. (7:19) So we work with right now, 117 podcasters and business owners.(7:24) I have 22 clients on my roster currently. (7:26) That's a lot of uncertainty, but I have a lot more certainty. (7:32) In my personal life than I used to.(7:35) Like being with Amelia, for example, that gives me tremendous certainty. (7:42) Whereas when you're single, you're very uncertain. (7:45) You're much more uncertain.(7:46) You don't know who your person is. (7:47) You don't know. (7:49) I love the fact that I'm in a long-term committed, mature.(7:55) Relationship where we, that good. (7:57) Don't, don't check the box. (7:59) Like you're done.(8:00) You keep dating your partner, but yeah, but it's where that's the plan. (8:04) So it's almost like in order to achieve big goals, you have to have certainty. (8:10) In these other areas.(8:11) Like, for example, if, if we were worried about our health right now, it would be very hard for us to do a good episode.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:20) Right now. (8:21) I have probably the least uncertainty I ever have, not ever, but since we started this. (8:26) In the beginning, it was fucking brutal.(8:29) Just brutal. (8:31) The worst, the fucking worst. (8:33) I don't, it literally like, I don't know how I'm going to pay for food tonight.(8:39) It's like, I shouldn't spend money on food because I don't have any money. (8:42) Okay. (8:42) Let me go record this episode.(8:44) Let me go interview this millionaire about how they became a millionaire.

Alan Lazaros

(8:46) Yeah. (8:46) That's a trip. (8:47) Fucking brutal.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:48) But now, no, I'm, I feel like in things that I value, even when I have uncertainty, I try to find answers and things that I don't care about. (9:02) I just don't waste my time. (9:06) So low, I would say probably a bottom 10% on that one.

Alan Lazaros

(9:11) Okay.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:11) Then you've got risk. (9:13) What's your risk tolerance? (9:15) Probably pretty high.(9:18) Yeah, for sure. (9:20) I like to do some reckless stuff. (9:23) Yep.(9:24) I like to do some reckless stuff. (9:25) Risk. (9:26) I told a story on a podcast the other day about how in, I remember in high school, we used to take the big thumb tacks and stick them in our arms.(9:34) And how it makes us, when it pierces the skin, it makes a popping sound. (9:38) And I was like, I probably didn't have to say that. (9:39) I probably didn't have to say that on the podcast.(9:41) I think they probably, they probably get the point. (9:44) But we were talking about how I, I don't know.

Alan Lazaros

(9:47) It's like, I can just, I like- I realized, I realized that this one doesn't work. (9:54) Because if you have a high risk tolerance, you'd give it, you see how I screwed up? (9:58) It's, yeah.(9:59) So again, everyone, all the listeners, viewers, work hooks, figure this out for yourself. (10:05) Obviously, the more fear, uncertainty, and risk aversion, and pain avoidance. (10:11) It should be F-U-R-A-P-A.(10:16) Fear, uncertainty, risk avoidance, pain avoidance. (10:25) But if you're someone who, real quick, success podcast, real quick. (10:29) If you're someone who handles fear well, and doesn't have a lot of it, is very certain, and confident, and competent, and is okay with taking risks, and is not avoidant of pain, you're just gonna be, you're just gonna be more.

Kevin Palmieri

(10:45) Can you compartmentalize it though? (10:46) Like, I feel like outside of, I'm not that risk averse outside of this. (10:53) Like, I don't speed.(10:55) I stop at every stop sign all the time. (10:57) You are a rule follower in certain things. (10:59) I'm definitely a rule follower.(11:01) But when it comes to this type of stuff, I think there's like compartments. (11:06) Agreed. (11:06) I don't think it's, I'm not naturally risk averse.(11:10) I'm not naturally somebody who does well with uncertainty. (11:14) I think I've just, in this, I've had to learn how to be. (11:18) So that's a piece of it too, I think.

Alan Lazaros

(11:21) Yeah. (11:22) Well, you have like a global risk tolerance. (11:25) I don't mean global as in the earth.(11:27) I mean, you as a human, and then you have my risk tolerance in fitness. (11:32) My risk tolerance in fitness is much higher than my risk tolerance in rollerblading. (11:36) Right?(11:37) Right. (11:37) When I was a kid, I was rollerblading and that was, I remember that was, I had a high risk tolerance there for sure. (11:44) But I wonder too, can you be successful without being a little bit reckless?(11:51) I'm wondering, I mean, you can traditionally, right? (11:53) I mean, you can. (11:54) Well, it depends on what level of success.(11:55) Exactly.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:57) That's always the question is. (11:59) The next level of success, Kevin. (12:03) Something's going to have to change.(12:05) I don't know if it's that. (12:06) I don't know what it is. (12:07) Something will have to change.(12:08) Something will have to shift. (12:09) Something will have to evolve. (12:10) You have to let go of something or grab onto something.(12:12) Yeah. (12:12) Something. (12:13) I just don't know what it is.(12:13) Yeah. (12:14) The aversion to change.

Alan Lazaros

(12:16) People who have an aversion to change and uncertainty. (12:20) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:22) I know too many people that had too big, too little of a risk tolerance. (12:26) Agreed.

Alan Lazaros

(12:28) And that didn't serve. (12:29) Yeah. (12:29) I have a friend I'm thinking of growing up with.(12:31) He was stud, stud, smart as hell. (12:34) Just so fearful. (12:37) Cowardly.(12:38) Love him. (12:38) Great guy.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:40) Just brother. (12:42) I mean, on the other end too, though. (12:44) Like some people that weren't afraid of anything.(12:46) It's like, well, you should. (12:47) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(12:47) You mentioned that in the last episode. (12:48) You said there were some people in our high school that were not risk averse. (12:52) They showed up.(12:54) Tell this story. (12:54) I was in high school. (12:55) We threw a party at a different town.(12:57) And this group of guys were known as the badasses and I guess earned in a way. (13:04) I kid you not. (13:08) The other town kids wanted to fight them and they said, we'll be right back.(13:14) And they got more people and they showed back up with bats. (13:17) And I was like, yo, you guys got to go. (13:20) This is, we can't, we can't do this.(13:22) Like this is supposed to be a party. (13:24) It's supposed to be fun. (13:25) And I remember thinking you guys are out of your fucking minds.(13:29) You have a lot, like you get one concussion that ruins your life.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:35) Or you knock somebody out and they crack their head. (13:37) I went, I had a friend, I think I told the story, but it's the most reckless thing ever of all time. (13:43) I get in the car and we're supposed to hang out.(13:46) And he's like, hey, we're going to pick somebody up. (13:47) I was like, who are we going to pick up? (13:49) And it was one of the most badass dudes in our school.(13:52) And I was like, why? (13:54) He's like, we're going to a fight. (13:55) And I was like, I'm not going, I don't want to go.(13:58) I didn't sign up for this shit. (13:59) We roll up to a parking lot. (14:01) There's a couple of kids waiting and I don't even remember what happened.(14:04) I think I just like disassociated completely. (14:06) Did you fight? (14:06) But yeah.(14:08) No, no, I'm not fighting. (14:09) I'm not fighting these people.

Alan Lazaros

(14:11) I don't know.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:11) Yeah. (14:12) I think one of the reasons I trained so much in fighting is because I was so afraid of fighting. (14:16) For sure.(14:17) I don't want to fight. (14:18) I want to know how, but I don't want to. (14:20) That stuff is reckless.(14:22) You got to, there's two. (14:25) So that, to me, that's like, I don't know. (14:29) I know a lot of people in high school had way higher risk tolerance than I did that are not doing well.(14:33) I know that is true. (14:35) So that's not, that's, it's gotta be an optimal.

Alan Lazaros

(14:39) There's too much, too little, too much, too little, too much, too little. (14:41) So some people are too risk averse and they never ask a girl out. (14:45) Like my friend, it's brother.(14:47) You're a stud. (14:47) You're a stud. (14:48) She's going to say, yes, I guarantee it.(14:50) You just got to ask, right? (14:52) She's not going to come to you. (14:54) And he didn't.(14:55) And then you've got someone who is just reckless, just, just pure reckless wrecking ball. (15:03) And that's just dangerous.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:10) How do you, how, from your perspective, I have my answer, what's worked for me, but how do you suggest somebody builds, gets more comfortable taking risks?

Alan Lazaros

(15:21) First, you have to identify which end you're on. (15:24) So in this question, I'm presupposing this person is risk averse. (15:28) Yeah, well, now you take calculated risks.(15:31) That's one thing that I think, when I say conscientious, it's my favorite word for success other than self-belief. (15:40) Conscientious. (15:40) It means you, you take calculated risks.(15:47) So what's a good example of this? (15:53) Sending an email. (15:54) I have an email I'm going to send later.(15:56) It's a calculated risk. (15:58) This person might be upset, but I don't think they will be. (16:02) I think there's a 90% chance that they are excited and willing to move forward.(16:09) There's a 10% chance. (16:10) They say, fuck you. (16:11) I'm out.(16:12) And most likely there's some in between there, obviously, but I'm going to, I'm going to do it because it's a calculated risk. (16:20) But I think that most of us are afraid of something. (16:22) So for me, I'm afraid of being too intense or coming off as arrogant and all that kind of stuff.(16:30) And the last episode, the last couple episodes, I was less conscientious. (16:34) I was more in flow and I was more in my warrior and I was way more intense. (16:40) And right now I'm more conscientious.(16:42) So I'm taking more calculated risks. (16:46) I think that's what you do. (16:47) But I wonder, and this is me projecting, I don't think other people are calculating probabilities as much as me.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:57) That's fair.

Alan Lazaros

(16:59) I saw a man when I was younger, it was a dark winter night, as all good stories start. (17:08) And I kid you not, this dude's ripping across, this made me think of it earlier. (17:12) We're talking about ice.(17:13) You were talking about the ice. (17:15) This dude was ripping across the pond on a snowmobile doing at least 90, ripping. (17:22) And when you go off the ice onto the land, there's a lip.(17:26) And there's trees to the right. (17:28) And my house basically to the left. (17:31) And he caught up root.(17:34) And he was, I'm telling you an inch away from death. (17:39) And I remember thinking like, what a fucking idiot. (17:42) And I grew up with people like that for sure.(17:46) My stepdad, my mom, they were around a lot of reckless people. (17:50) And I remember thinking like, I'm not going to do that now. (17:53) I'm not, I want to make this clear.(17:55) I also was kind of reckless too, I think. (17:59) But it was always calculated. (18:01) When we went and brought the car on the ice, we actually did the math.(18:05) We did the, okay, how many pounds is the car? (18:08) We looked it up, Google. (18:10) We actually had a pen and paper out doing it.(18:13) And we got in a lot of fucking trouble for that, by the way. (18:17) But it's like, well, that's not normal. (18:20) Someone drew a car on the ice.(18:21) Yeah, that was us. (18:22) That was us. (18:23) We calculated it.(18:25) No one trusts that. (18:27) And so I would say I was in the high end of risk, tolerant. (18:31) However, it was always calculated.(18:33) So that's my answer is calculate the probability of catastrophic failure. (18:42) How do you do that?

Kevin Palmieri

(18:47) There's a, I think for most people, there's like, I need proof. (18:50) I was squatting the other day and I was like, I probably should. (18:54) I don't know.(18:55) Yeah, my back's a little tight. (18:56) I literally got to the gym and I was like, I can't do legs today. (18:59) My back's a little tight.(19:00) And then I get under it and I was like, ah, we're fine. (19:02) And then I just kept going. (19:03) And then I literally, the thing I said to myself was I've done this many times.(19:07) I've never hurt myself. (19:08) The odds are just pretty low.

Alan Lazaros

(19:09) I'm gonna be fine. (19:10) Okay. (19:10) So that's exactly what we're talking about.(19:17) I, in the gym, there's always that moment. (19:20) I think this is the best metaphor of this is a risk.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:25) This is a risk, but it's worth it.

Alan Lazaros

(19:27) But would you know, if you haven't, if you hadn't gone to the gym for however long you've gone to the gym for what was it like in the beginning, it was the same principle, but different, but you had to test the bar first and then, you know, so, but by that rationale, you, you never pushed beyond your current. (19:44) So I, in the gym the other day, I got four PRS, one of the best workouts I've ever had. (19:51) And I have to specify this PRS in my thirties.(19:55) Oh shit. (19:56) Yeah. (19:57) Okay.(19:58) I was literally going to say, how do you, how, what do you PRS in my thirties? (20:01) Yeah. (20:02) If you look at my thirties, it's not that hard in my twenties.(20:06) What the hell, man? (20:08) Damn. (20:09) But anyway, so I reset based on each decade.(20:12) I'm going to do that in my forties too. (20:13) Probably we'll see, but four PRS. (20:16) Awesome.(20:16) Great. (20:18) You cannot grow unless you go beyond your current capabilities. (20:22) But if you go beyond your current capabilities, you might get injured.(20:25) And I think that that is a principle that we all have to do. (20:29) Like no matter what you have to go beyond what you've ever done. (20:38) Otherwise you'll only do what you've ever done forever.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:42) Mom, so I'm on the opposite. (20:43) I think you should undershoot less until you hit maximum capacity. (20:50) You never hit maximum capacity, maximum current capacity.(20:56) Okay. (20:57) And then, you know, because again, you get under the bar again, we're talking fitness cause that's like the only thing we do. (21:06) It's either fitness or golf.(21:07) And Alan doesn't play golf. (21:08) So I can't fucking talk about it. (21:09) You can, you get under the bar and if it's the first time you've tried it and it's too heavy, I mean, it could be devastating and people have died quite literally have died from trying to lift too much weight and the weight falling on them.(21:22) That happens all the time. (21:23) That is probably fairly common. (21:26) I don't, I never on that.(21:29) When you say probably more common, it's probably not that. (21:33) Let's I mean, you're most likely never going to see it, right? (21:37) You're most likely never going to see it, but you also never going to see somebody scratch the winning lottery ticket in front of you.(21:42) Like that's not going to happen either. (21:42) Most likely you searching.

Alan Lazaros

(21:47) I'm curious. (21:48) This is a US based podcast, but I also know there's people all over the world. (21:51) I'm just doing the stat in the US because I know how many people are in the US.(21:56) There's 350 million people in the US. (21:57) How many people per year die? (21:59) And the US I do think is the biggest bodybuilding nation.(22:03) I do believe that's true. (22:05) California mostly. (22:06) How many people per year die in the US from catastrophic weightlifting failures?(22:12) So weightlifting accidents. (22:16) We'll see what we got. (22:18) What do you think, Kev?(22:19) I'm thinking 25. (22:23) No, it's got to be higher than that. (22:26) All right.(22:27) 1,000. (22:27) I'm going to call it 1,000. (22:28) I didn't look.(22:29) Three a day? (22:31) Two and a half a day? (22:32) No.(22:32) 114. (22:34) I was literally going to say 150. (22:36) I went to, what did I say?(22:38) 25. (22:39) And then I was like, ah, it's got to be more than that. (22:40) I jumped to 1,000.(22:41) So 100. (22:42) 114. (22:43) How many people win the lottery each year?(22:45) Wait a minute. (22:48) I don't know. (22:49) I can look it up.(22:50) Given the 114 death figure over 17 years, it's actually 6.7. Yeah, it's low. (22:55) It's low. (22:56) OK.(22:57) All right, so that's deaths. (23:00) Injuries is going to be crazy. (23:02) Yeah, but this is good.

Kevin Palmieri

(23:03) I'm glad we're doing this. (23:04) I can't even imagine how many people win the lottery in the US.

Alan Lazaros

(23:10) It's got to be way higher, right? (23:11) It's got to be. (23:13) I don't know.(23:14) One thing I will say, I went on an AI podcast pre-chat earlier, and he asked me how I use AI. (23:19) I said, quite frankly, we use it for other things, but for the most part, it's just like I treat it like my own personal researcher. (23:27) I think it's awesome.(23:28) He said something really powerful. (23:30) Maybe we'll do an episode on this at some point. (23:32) He said, some people use AI to offload thinking.(23:36) Other people use it to amplify their thinking. (23:39) And he said, you're the second one. (23:40) I said, thank you.(23:41) In 2023, US players spent about $103 billion on state lotteries, and prize payouts were about $69 billion. (23:48) I wonder who's winning in that equation. (23:50) Where I was going to stop.

Kevin Palmieri

(23:51) There you go. (23:51) There's your business model right there.

Alan Lazaros

(23:53) I wasn't able to locate a clear number for how many individual people win the lottery in a year across all prize levels. (24:00) If I win the lottery, you mean the jackpot winners? (24:05) Yeah.(24:06) How many jackpot winners? (24:07) Yep. (24:09) If you like, I can take yes, please do.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:12) So most likely, you have a better chance of dying in the gym. (24:15) I'm sorry, winning the lottery than dying in the gym. (24:17) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(24:18) It's my guess, right? (24:20) 2025? (24:22) Five.(24:23) So far. (24:24) Okay.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:24) Five so far.

Alan Lazaros

(24:25) You have a better chance of winning the lottery. (24:25) Eight winners in 2024 out of 350 million people in the US. (24:29) And I'm rounding up.(24:30) I think it's 340 something. (24:32) Interesting. (24:33) Okay.(24:34) So back, what's the point of all this? (24:36) Risk. (24:38) So when you buy a dollar lottery ticket, there's very low risk.(24:40) And there's potential huge reward. (24:42) I think that's why people do it. (24:44) I think it's stupid, intellectually, mathematically.(24:47) I do. (24:48) But everything in life is a risk. (24:53) Social risk, economic risk, physical risk.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:58) Remember the movie, Along Came Polly? (25:00) Oh yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(25:00) The instiller of Jennifer Aniston?

Kevin Palmieri

(25:01) Wasn't he a, wasn't he a ice man? (25:05) Wasn't he a risk? (25:07) That's what he did for a living.(25:08) And it was all based on that number.

Alan Lazaros

(25:09) Never told you this, but we had a risk chair at our fraternity. (25:15) And the social chair, their job was to make the parties ragers. (25:20) And I was best friends with the social chair and we were kind of co-doing it.(25:24) And then the risk manager was supposed to mitigate. (25:27) But me and Greg were far more persuasive than the risk manager.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:34) I would have definitely been the risk manager.

Alan Lazaros

(25:36) I don't know, man. (25:37) Sure. (25:37) If you were, that would have been a great time because there was one party where you have a different shot in every room and there's like, it's called around the world.(25:48) And we had a good time.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:51) I would have, I don't think I would have survived college. (25:53) I think it's really good that I didn't go.

Alan Lazaros

(25:54) Honestly, I think it's. (25:56) We would literally hire, I think it's really good. (25:59) The police to ensure everything was sound outside.

Kevin Palmieri

(26:04) I went, I went to one college party, UMass Dartmouth. (26:07) Nice. (26:08) Okay.(26:09) With one of my buddies. (26:10) Okay. (26:11) Speaking of risk, I was, I got so drunk at the pregame.(26:15) I remember saying like, dude, you better keep up. (26:17) And he's like, brother, this is a pregame. (26:18) We're not going, we're not going out for like six hours.(26:20) I was like, oh my God. (26:21) Yeah, this is mad. (26:22) Oh my God, I've messed up.(26:23) Terrible. (26:24) We go. (26:26) And again, this is, this is the reckless piece.(26:28) We go to a bar and I bump into, and this is not an exaggeration at the point, this point, he was, it was the strongest kid in UMass Dartmouth history. (26:38) The strongest, he was giant, giant. (26:41) I bumped into him and I was very drunk and I was like, what are we going to do?(26:45) What are we going to fucking do? (26:47) And then luckily Matt, my buddy came over and saved me because he, this, I would have probably got killed. (26:52) And I think that's why he didn't do anything because he was like, dude, get off my, get off my foot.(27:00) So sometime risk is not a good thing.

Alan Lazaros

(27:02) All right. (27:02) Well, we got to jump here. (27:04) Everyone, if you live in fear, uncertainty, have risk avoidance and pain avoidance, you're not going to be able to, and Jim Rohn has a great quote.(27:13) He's a personal development speaker. (27:14) He says, if you think investing is risky, wait till you get the bill for not investing. (27:21) If you think getting married is risky, wait till you get the bill for not getting married or falling in love.(27:26) In this case, he said, well then fine, go huddle in a corner. (27:30) We'll throw a blanket over you and give you three meals a day. (27:33) He said, life is risky.(27:34) It's all risky. (27:35) You might as well live fully. (27:36) I like it.(27:37) I think it's good. (27:37) And I do agree. (27:38) And I'm glad we took the risk to start this company.(27:41) I'm glad, 100%. (27:43) Half the things I say on this podcast that I don't want to share are risks. (27:47) I'm expecting some message.(27:49) I got a message. (27:50) Shout out to you, Phil. (27:51) I did get a listener who reached out about the homeschool thing and it wasn't, he was super kind.(27:56) I appreciate it. (27:57) I literally said to him, thank you so much. (27:59) As a fellow podcaster, you know how much I appreciate you made this very clear.(28:02) It was not an attack because when you're a podcaster, people think that they can just kind of reach out and say, hey, you said something dumb on the podcast and I'm going to attack you for it. (28:12) And it's like, listen, I literally said on the show that I don't homeschool and I don't have kids and I don't know the stats and please reach out kindly. (28:19) So Phil was super respectful.(28:20) But at the end of the day, everything you do is for success is going to be a risk and you can't be reckless, but you have to, you have to put yourself out there.

Kevin Palmieri

(28:31) My takeaway is get certainty and then increase risk over time. (28:37) That's it. (28:38) You don't learn a snowboard on the biggest mountain.(28:41) You learn to snowboard on the bunny hill and then you work up to whatever it is, green diamond or green, whatever. (28:47) I don't even know the things anymore. (28:49) I haven't been in many years, but then eventually you get to the place where you feel comfortable going up a little bit.(28:55) And I think it's just like, it's like everything else in life. (28:57) You get rejected by something that doesn't matter that much. (29:00) You get a failure that isn't the end of the world.(29:02) Why are you smiling like a weirdo? (29:04) Oh my God, he's frozen. (29:06) All right.(29:06) So Alan's laptop has died. (29:09) So Alan is not with us at this very second, but I'm going to get us out of here as I do, because we're not going to miss. (29:15) If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you join Next Level Nation, our private Facebook group that is all about getting to the next level.(29:21) We have book club every single Saturday, 1230 Eastern time. (29:24) And all the other happy jazz that we have is at nextleveluniverse.com. (29:28) As always, I love you because Alan's not here.(29:31) I appreciate you. (29:32) Grateful for each and every one of you. (29:33) 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, both of us, not just me, will be here to help you get there.(29:43) Boom. (29:45) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (29:49) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(29:52) We mean it when we say family. (29:54) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (29:57) Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes.(30:00) Thank you again, and we will talk to you tomorrow.