Are Your Goals And Identity Aligned? (2241)

In this episode of Next Level University, hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros break down the real reason some people crush their goals while others stall out. From the psychology of self-belief to the habits that quietly define your future, they reveal how your choices, routines, and results all flow from who you think you are. It’s bold, practical, and a little uncomfortable, in the best way. You’ll question your comfort zone, rewire your standards, and finally see what it takes to become the kind of person who doesn’t just chase goals, but lives them.

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Show notes:
(3:05) How beliefs shape daily choices
(5:10) The link between identity and consistency
(8:20) Knowing what your goals really take
(10:16) When your tribe no longer fits your dreams
(15:03) What it means to be “Next Level”
(19:05) Seeing your future self now
(23:35) Small steps that create big change
(27:24) 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

• 3:05 How beliefs shape daily choices
• 5:10 The link between identity and consistency
• 8:20 Knowing what your goals really take
• 10:16 When your tribe no longer fits your dreams
• 15:03 What it means to be “Next Level”
• 19:05 Seeing your future self now
• 23:35 Small steps that create big change
• 27:24 Outro

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) I said this on a podcast the other day. (0:02) I said, if you smoke four cigarettes and you've only smoked four cigarettes in your life, you probably do not identify as a smoker, but if you're ripping a pack a day, you probably sit down at night and identify as a smoker.

Alan Lazaros

(0:14) I was thinking about choices earlier. (0:17) What determines your decisions? (0:19) What determines your choices?(0:21) I think it's your goals. (0:22) I think it's your level of belief in yourself. (0:25) And I think it's your identity.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:27) Welcome to Next Level University. (0:30) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:32) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus.(0:35) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven, but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:41) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:48) We bring you a new episode every single day on topics like confidence, self-belief, self-worth, self-awareness, relationships, boundaries, consistency, habits in defining your own unique version of success.

Alan Lazaros

(1:04) Self-improvement in your pocket every day from anywhere, completely free. (1:10) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:16) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2,241. (1:20) Are your goals and identity aligned? (1:23) I say that word very strangely.(1:25) I like to really enunciate it. (1:27) You wanted to do this episode. (1:28) So I'm just going to kick it to you and then we can have a back and forth.(1:31) We're aiming just for you out there. (1:33) We're aiming for a what? (1:34) 15 to 18 minute episode here.(1:36) So stick with us for 15 to 18 minutes.

Alan Lazaros

(1:40) All right. (1:41) So I was watching an interview my morning personal development with James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits. (1:51) If you have not read the book, it is one of the most practical, most useful, most valuable books ever written in my opinion.(1:59) I just want to give value to the world. (2:01) It's such an important book. (2:02) It will help you.(2:03) I'm certain. (2:04) No, I don't get any kickbacks. (2:06) No, I don't know James.(2:07) Just, it's just a great book. (2:08) But in the interview, they were talking about habits and I remember thinking I was cleaning the kitty litter while I was listening and I was like, hmm, I make very different choices than most people. (2:20) My next thought was why?(2:23) Why are my choices so different? (2:26) My camera's going nuts always. (2:28) And I remember thinking, well, it's gotta be my philosophy, my philosophy on life.(2:35) Okay, well, where did that come from? (2:36) I just started going down this rabbit hole in my own head as we all do when we're cleaning kitty litter. (2:42) But I remember thinking, okay, well, I believe differently than other people.(2:46) I believe in myself differently than other people. (2:48) I believe in computer programming, there's an if then statement. (2:53) So if I press the K button, then K will come out on the screen.(2:59) If I wake up in the morning, then I will attack my goals. (3:05) Okay. (3:05) What does attack your goals mean?(3:07) It means you have a high performance routine. (3:11) You go morning, afternoon, evening, getting out of the rabbit hole here for a second. (3:17) I believe differently about me than most people believe about themselves.(3:23) So this is called self expectation. (3:25) There's a lot of psychology around it. (3:26) I'm going to make this all land.(3:30) Kev identifies as a bodybuilder. (3:32) True or false. (3:34) Okay.(3:34) Okay. (3:35) What does that mean? (3:38) That depending on what that means to Kevin, that means he does certain things and doesn't do others.(3:43) One time he caught me in the gym doing glute kickbacks and he made fun of me. (3:46) He was being playful. (3:47) I was two weeks out from a show.(3:48) I know. (3:48) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:50) Look, you're out there. (3:50) You want to work up your glutes. (3:51) I'm all for it.(3:52) Two weeks out from a show. (3:53) What the fuck are we doing here? (3:54) A hundred percent.(3:54) And he was absolutely right.

Alan Lazaros

(3:56) We're not going to get into it. (3:57) My point is I've been watching CrossFit motivational videos a lot lately and I actually think it's super motivating. (4:07) I think some of these are freak athletes and I absolutely love it.(4:09) However, I'm not a CrossFitter and I don't identify as a CrossFitter, but I love watching athletes do awesome shit. (4:19) But the whole crawling on your hands thing, I'm not interested. (4:22) Like there's certain things that I think are wildly impractical and not useful.(4:26) But I realized that if you are a CrossFitter quote unquote, you have similar knee sleeves, you usually are paleo, you crawl on your hands. (4:35) Again, for any CrossFitters out there, I'm not trying to offend you. (4:37) What I am trying to say is there's these certain things that you do as a CrossFitter.(4:43) There's certain things you do as a bodybuilder. (4:44) There's certain things you do as a swimmer. (4:46) There's certain things you do as a business owner.(4:48) So if you don't identify as a business owner, you're probably not going to listen to business growth university. (4:53) So my question is for all the listeners to ask themselves, if you have a goal, that means you have to orient your identity and what that identity means toward that goal in advance. (5:10) Otherwise you're never going to be consistent doing the things necessary to actually get the goal.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:15) Went away last weekend. (5:17) We went to Saratoga Springs, New York, and don't ask me what's there. (5:22) I don't know.(5:23) We just went. (5:24) I don't know if there was like a specific... (5:26) Kev had a wrestling match.(5:27) I did have a wrestling match. (5:28) Shout out to Tim. (5:28) Tim won.(5:29) Tim is, I wouldn't say he won. (5:32) We started, well, and again, you know me. (5:35) When I lose, I just say it.(5:36) I'm all, I'm fine with it. (5:37) We were just messing around and he's like, if we were going to wrestle, I'd put you in a headlock. (5:41) Then he put me in a headlock.(5:43) And I was like, so now I think we're wrestling. (5:45) So it's not like I, I didn't have a good opportunity to take the man down. (5:48) Very strong though.(5:49) Very strong individual. (5:50) So I'm losing, I missed a, I'm missing a piece of my face for now. (5:53) It'll grow back as it always does.(5:55) I, so we got there Friday afternoon and we ended up going to bed. (6:03) We were all exhausted. (6:04) So I think we, I think I went to bed at like 10.(6:07) No, I went to bed at 11, which is way later than I usually stay up. (6:10) But people were getting there late. (6:11) We were playing trivia on Roku and we were having a blast.(6:13) It was awesome. (6:15) And it was like 11 and I said, all right, I gotta go to bed. (6:18) And everybody's like, yeah, I'll probably get up pretty early.(6:20) I'll probably get up pretty early. (6:21) I'm going to sleep in a little bit. (6:22) And I was going to be up at five, five.(6:25) I said, yeah, five. (6:26) Doesn't matter. (6:27) It doesn't matter whether or not I want to.(6:29) I have to because I have work to do and I've already planned in advance to have four hours, five hours of time to myself to, to get work done. (6:38) And I know a lot of people don't want to live that life, quote unquote, but that to me, that is the identity of a high performing business owner who makes sure that things get done on time. (6:48) And I had a moment of sadness of like, nobody else even had to bring their laptop.(6:59) Real quick. (7:00) Yeah. (7:01) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(7:02) I had that. (7:03) I had that quick moment. (7:04) If you took away all your goals, I would also could do that.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:07) But I, but I had that moment of, I'm the only person, I don't think anybody else even has their laptop. (7:11) And first thing I do is I plug my laptop in. (7:14) I set up my external monitor on the, on the dining room table for the next morning.(7:18) Get it all set up. (7:19) I've seen you. (7:19) I've traveled with you.(7:20) And I like, always got to get the setup going. (7:22) There's a piece of me that likes that. (7:23) I'm going to New Jersey.(7:24) If you're listening to this episode, I'm in New Jersey. (7:27) I've actually, yeah, I'm on the roads in New Jersey if you're listening to this episode in the morning and it's going to be mayhem. (7:35) And when I stopped to charge my car, I'll be working.(7:37) If I stop at a rest stop, I'll be batching WhatsApp. (7:40) I'll be in my emails. (7:41) It's going to be mayhem for sure.(7:43) But that is aligned with my goals. (7:46) That identity of somebody who I don't consider myself a workaholic cause I don't think I'm addicted to it. (7:53) You know, I don't definitely not.(7:54) Yeah. (7:55) I don't want to work. (7:56) You're definitely not.(7:56) Okay. (7:58) So it's not like I wake up and like, Oh, I can't wait to work. (8:01) And Oh, someone's going to pull me away from my desk.(8:02) I work a lot because I have to because of, because of my goals. (8:07) Right. (8:07) So it's interesting.(8:09) I think it's a really hard thing because for a lot of us, we don't know what the goal is going to take. (8:15) Yes. (8:16) Yes.(8:16) And that means you don't necessarily know what identity you have to adopt. (8:20) And I think that's one of the harder things when it comes to success.

Alan Lazaros

(8:22) Well, I asked you one time, I said, you want to be athletic, but you don't identify as an athlete.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:27) I am athletic.

Alan Lazaros

(8:29) Do you want to be a peak performer, but you don't identify as a peak performer? (8:33) That that was, no, you want to be. (8:35) Yeah.(8:35) What was the other one? (8:36) You want to be a high achiever. (8:37) It was achiever.(8:38) Yeah. (8:39) You want to be, you want to achieve a ton. (8:41) Your goals are a lot of achievement, but you don't identify as an achiever.(8:45) And my thesis was, wouldn't you benefit from identifying as an achiever?

Kevin Palmieri

(8:51) It takes time though. (8:52) Yeah, for sure. (8:53) I'm not, I've never been the person who pretends like, I don't fake it until I am it.(8:57) I have to do it for a long enough period of time to actually think I am. (9:01) And that was just the Delta. (9:03) I'm sorry.(9:04) No, you're good.

Alan Lazaros

(9:05) I identify as the type of person that interrupts Kevin occasionally as you by occasionally, I mean at least once or three times every episode. (9:11) Yes. (9:13) There's a book I'm reading called tribal leadership and it talks about what it means to be a part of a tribe.(9:22) So what does it mean to be an American? (9:25) What does it mean to be a husband? (9:28) What does it mean to be an athlete?(9:30) What does it mean to be in a relationship? (9:33) What does it mean to be Facebook official? (9:34) Quote, unquote, see these meanings are just deciding our behavior.(9:41) So my camera's going nuts again. (9:44) What does it mean to be a podcaster? (9:46) What does it mean to be a business owner?(9:50) What does it mean to be an actor or an actress? (9:54) I wonder if this is what I would, I would say, if you are not doing the things that you believe you need to do that are in alignment with your goals, most likely there's an identity mismatch in there. (10:12) There's some form of an identity mismatch.(10:16) So if you are out there watching or listening and you do have goals, you probably do because you're listening to this show. (10:21) Otherwise we'd be useless to you, but we still want to have more. (10:25) What'd you say?(10:26) We still may be useless to you, but thanks for tuning in. (10:31) I don't agree with that, but I think what we say is of tremendous value, depending on if you have goals, I guess assess what tribes you're a part of. (10:44) One of the things that I will share that I'm probably uncomfortable sharing is I don't think I've ever really fully belonged in any particular tribe.(10:52) Like engineer, yeah, but I'm not like engineers. (10:57) Athlete, yeah, but I'm not fully like an athlete. (11:01) A lot of athletes are not engineers, obviously.(11:05) There's no really, I don't think there's ever been one tribe that I fully identify with.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:10) I think for everybody out there though, the value is you have to figure out who you actually want to be because all it is is, okay, in the beginning I thought I was going to be like Alan. (11:21) So I'm going to do things like Alan does. (11:24) And there's a lot of benefits, right?(11:25) I have a good morning routine. (11:27) I was getting up early because you were getting up early. (11:30) There was a lot of benefits to that.(11:32) That was the main two. (11:33) Those are like the ones I remember the most.

Alan Lazaros

(11:35) More success.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:36) Yeah, yeah, yeah. (11:37) I'm saying in the beginning there was not. (11:38) In the beginning there was none of that.(11:40) Yeah. (11:40) No success. (11:41) It's hard to sell when it's the whole first couple of years are brutal.(11:45) Brutal. (11:45) Yeah. (11:46) It's like a, we'll build you a house.(11:49) Nice house. (11:50) Best house. (11:50) It's going to be a great house.(11:52) Unbelievable. (11:52) It's going to take 15 years though, probably. (11:55) And in the meantime, I mean, you can live in it, but we're going to be hammering away 24, seven, you know, we'll probably bust the pipe over your bedroom.(12:03) You'll have to, it's going to be terrible. (12:05) 15 years from today, you're going to have the nicest house on the block.

Alan Lazaros

(12:12) However, in this metaphor, yeah. (12:14) In this metaphor, the house gets nicer and nicer and nicer until it's the nicest house on the block. (12:20) And I think that that's better than having a nice house that gets taken from you because the bank repos it.(12:27) I would assume you doing your shit.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:29) My, my whole point is you have to have one of these identified. (12:35) So you either have to know, I guess you can't really say identity, your identity identified. (12:39) You have to have clarity on one of these.(12:41) What do you want your goals to be? (12:42) Do you know? (12:42) Okay.(12:43) Who is the type of person that accomplishes accomplishes those goals? (12:46) And then do you value family time? (12:48) Do you value movement?(12:49) Do you value freedom? (12:50) What do you actually want out of life? (12:51) Because they are going to most likely contradict.(12:55) And if you think you want to be a family person and your identity is, I am not a family person because I work so much, that's going to be an issue. (13:04) Just like on the opposite end, it can be an issue. (13:07) And I don't know, do you ever get to the place where it's fully aligned?

Alan Lazaros

(13:11) Uh, I think you get closer and closer and closer. (13:13) It's the old asymptote. (13:14) Get there.(13:15) The old asymptote. (13:16) Nice job. (13:16) Wow.(13:17) What does it mean to be next level? (13:18) Oh, we should have we should do an, I think you, we should do an episode on what it means to be next level. (13:26) I think we think differently about this.(13:28) I think that's good.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:29) We should, I'm afraid just keep the line in the sand. (13:31) That might hit that 2242 episodes. (13:35) We didn't make it.

Alan Lazaros

(13:35) I seriously doubt it. (13:36) You want to do a full episode on it? (13:39) If that episode breaks us, breaks us up, we'll delete it.(13:42) We probably should break up. (13:45) I would, we'll just delete it and pretend it never happened. (13:47) We can do that.(13:48) No, but I actually think that that's, joking aside, we fuck around. (13:52) I, I don't know if we've ever fully defined it, but I do know it's the unwritten rules of the tribe. (13:59) The unwritten rules of our tribe is you're consistent, which by the way, for the feminine routine, they don't like consistency.(14:09) They like routine.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:09) Okay.

Alan Lazaros

(14:10) Yeah. (14:11) For the females listening, let me know. (14:13) Reach out.(14:13) Let me know if that's true. (14:14) Amelia said, Alan, for the feminine energy, consistency and discipline isn't the words. (14:21) And I was like, well, what do you mean?(14:23) She's like, they like routine. (14:26) Every female I know, this is her words, not mine, has a routine, but they don't think they're consistent. (14:31) We did an episode on it on relationship talks, coaching, uh, the conscious couples podcast, because we're coaching a male and a female and the female identifies as inconsistent.(14:41) But Amelia helped her see that she's actually very consistent on a 28 day cycle. (14:46) Men have a 24 hour hormonal cycle. (14:49) Women have a 28 day.(14:50) And that's about as far as I know about it. (14:52) But we did an episode where I interviewed Amelia about it. (14:54) It was, it was fucking awesome.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:55) I would say that's way more than most men.

Alan Lazaros

(14:57) So shout out, shout out. (14:58) Thank you, brother. (14:59) So, but ultimately for anyone out there, what does it mean to be next level?(15:03) It means to be consistent. (15:04) It means to have goals. (15:06) It means to be character driven.(15:09) It means to have work ethic and humility. (15:12) It means to believe in yourself. (15:13) It means to aim at the greater good, at least some extent.(15:17) It means reaching your full potential to some extent. (15:19) Like it's probably you and I as core values mesh together.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:25) I it's, this is hard because again, I don't know when this crossed the chasm. (15:33) I remember I went away on vacation with one of my friends. (15:37) I don't know.(15:38) We were probably like, it's probably 2019 maybe. (15:41) And my thought was, how do I get what I need to get done as fast as possible so I can hang up and go out on the boat?

Alan Lazaros

(15:49) I don't think I've ever asked myself that question once.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:52) So I can go hang out many times. (15:54) Yeah. (15:55) That my identity was I'm a business owner.(15:58) I got to get shit done. (16:00) I got to get the biz shit done. (16:02) I got to run the biz now, but your business doesn't run itself now.(16:06) Nope. (16:07) I know. (16:07) I know there's so much you could teach me.(16:09) You must be a loser. (16:10) I am a loser. (16:11) I do have to work.(16:12) My business just doesn't, it doesn't print money 24 seven. (16:15) It does. (16:16) Unfortunately.(16:16) Nope. (16:17) Oh man. (16:17) Nope.(16:18) You must be doing it wrong. (16:19) I work more than four hours a week. (16:21) Believe it or not.(16:22) Believe it or not. (16:24) Now when I go away, I expect to be the only or the working. (16:33) I don't expect other people to that because that's not necessarily their goals and their identity and it's not, it doesn't have to be that way for them.

Alan Lazaros

(16:43) I know we got to go, but do they know?

Kevin Palmieri

(16:45) Oh, here we go.

Alan Lazaros

(16:46) Do they know that they won't achieve their goals without what you're doing? (16:51) I wonder sometimes if people actually know. (16:54) I don't think they're giving up.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:56) I don't think that they won't necessarily achieve their goals based on the size of their goals.

Alan Lazaros

(17:00) Yeah. (17:01) I have a client, shout out to you brother, who has 220 whatever thousand dollars invested. (17:09) He's an investor.(17:10) He's awesome. (17:11) Love you brother. (17:12) You're the man.(17:12) No one has any idea that he's going to be wealthy. (17:15) He's just building it behind the scenes and I'm proud of him and he works. (17:18) He's a workhorse.(17:19) Good for you, man. (17:20) Six days a week, baby. (17:21) Let's go.(17:22) I actually think that's awesome. (17:24) But here's the thing. (17:26) When he buys a home, which he's gonna, and it's going to be fucking epic.(17:31) Everyone's gonna be like, Oh, well, do you know what I mean?

Kevin Palmieri

(17:38) I do. (17:39) And if he does a video or writes a fucking blog, a blog or what are the five, a sonnet, hypothetically, if he wants to write a sonnet, a haiku, a haiku. (17:52) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(17:53) I worked one time, six days a week and on my dime, I have thy house.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:02) Perfect. (18:03) I just don't know that people actually say what it takes.

Alan Lazaros

(18:07) Okay. (18:08) When you're the one working this weekend, and this is an actual question, I'm not trying to be pretentious. (18:14) Do they know how much better your future will be?

Kevin Palmieri

(18:19) No, because I don't think it's what they want. (18:27) Of course they do. (18:28) Hold on.(18:29) No, when you're financially free, hold on. (18:31) Oh, pump the brakes. (18:31) You asked me a question.(18:32) Then you fucking interrupt me. (18:34) Give me a second. (18:34) They want the result.(18:35) They don't want the process. (18:36) The process continues forever in purpose. (18:42) Nice.(18:43) We're on point today, baby.

Alan Lazaros

(18:45) Perpetuity.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:46) I can't say that fucking word. (18:46) Wait, what did you say? (18:47) Purpuity?(18:48) Purpuity. (18:49) That will be in the NLU blooper dictionary 2027. (18:56) It's not just about getting it.

Alan Lazaros

(18:58) You have to maintain it and it gets harder to maintain it. (19:02) This is it. (19:03) They're not making a choice unless they know what they're giving up.(19:05) It's not a real choice. (19:06) It's not a conscious choice. (19:07) That's fair.(19:08) That's fair. (19:08) What if, and again, this is hypothetical. (19:10) What if we could jump in a time machine and then 10 years from now, we all go together.(19:14) Imagine I'm in that place with all them, Saratoga. (19:16) All right. (19:17) And we jump into time machine 10 years later and you get to watch the difference in life, like your lifestyle, your life.(19:25) And then say, Oh shit. (19:28) Wait a minute. (19:29) Interesting.(19:29) They might work. (19:31) That's my, they might not still. (19:33) And that's your thesis.(19:34) Obviously they still might be like, Nope, not worth it. (19:36) But some of them would choose differently. (19:38) I am certain of that.(19:39) Some people would choose differently. (19:41) Even if it's a little differently.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:43) Exactly.

Alan Lazaros

(19:44) That is what I wish I could do. (19:46) And that's what I do with my clients. (19:47) I literally, I say, this is what is possible for you.(19:53) This is what is probable. (19:54) If you do not change, let's fucking change. (19:59) Because I quit drinking six, almost seven years ago, dude, I, there's no way I could look like this if I was still drinking.(20:07) No way. (20:09) So, but, but you don't get to go into the future and see the outcome in advance. (20:14) That's an executive function part of the brain that some people actually do that.(20:20) They actually can go in and see themselves 20 years from now. (20:22) And then they come back to the present and then get their shit together because future self is saying, Hey man, like, and that's why I want to ask you this last question. (20:30) I know we got to go.(20:32) If I had known how much my past tribe was holding me back, I would have left it immediately. (20:41) I just didn't really understand the full. (20:45) I knew it was holding me back.(20:46) Don't get me wrong. (20:46) I'm not stupid, but I didn't know the extent of it, dude. (20:50) I didn't understand.(20:51) It was holding me back so much more than I could have imagined. (20:54) And 36 year old Alan, almost 37 would go back and say, Alan, listen, I know you don't know, and that's okay. (20:59) You're only 22.(21:00) I get it. (21:01) But dude, what the fuck are you doing? (21:04) You need to leave those people.(21:06) You have to, your dreams are on the line and you don't know it. (21:10) I feel like that is what all of us need. (21:13) We need like a future version of ourselves to float down and say, Hey Kev, Kev, Kev, cut the shit with XYZ, double down on ABC.(21:23) Your future is going to be super bright. (21:26) Add this tribe, add this tribe, get rid of this tribe, your identity. (21:30) You know, if you identify as an achiever, X happens.(21:33) If you had, I wish we could go into the future. (21:35) We're watching Dr. Strange. (21:36) I don't know if you've ever seen it, but it's all based on time and all kinds of stuff, multiverse stuff.(21:40) For the Marvel fans, you know what I'm talking about, but it's got me thinking a lot about, I go into the future all the time and I come back to the present and I make decisions based on a future outcome. (21:50) And I want to help other people do that more because you will benefit tremendously because when life increases in quality, you get healthier and wealthier and more in love. (22:00) Like who the fuck doesn't want that?(22:01) That's the best. (22:02) I just don't know that everybody wants to do what it takes to continue it.

Kevin Palmieri

(22:06) Cause you can't just stop. (22:08) That's the thing. (22:09) If you're, what is it?(22:09) If you're in, in for a pound or in for a penny or in for a pound or whatever, whatever the fucking saying is, that's, that's what this is. (22:15) You're not, you don't just like wake up one day and say, that's enough. (22:19) I'm good.

Alan Lazaros

(22:20) No, of course not.

Kevin Palmieri

(22:21) And then just turn it off completely.

Alan Lazaros

(22:23) Do you think it's worth it? (22:24) An hour a day in the gym? (22:25) You think it's worth it to be healthy?(22:26) Yeah, for sure. (22:28) Okay. (22:28) Don't you think that's true for everyone?

Kevin Palmieri

(22:29) So much to the point where I don't do it. (22:31) I don't do an hour a day every day, but I do think it's, yeah, I don't do it.

Alan Lazaros

(22:37) But if you thought it was worth it, why wouldn't you do it? (22:40) Cause of the business. (22:41) All right.(22:41) But mostly, yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(22:43) Isn't it by that rationale? (22:44) Isn't it like, I don't think the upside is enough and it's like how much of a difference, what if you're underestimating the upside? (22:52) Well, I think it's, everybody is either underestimating or overestimating.(22:56) Agreed. (22:56) And I think what I'm trying to help us with. (22:58) Most of us try to underestimate and hope.(23:01) I think that's the thing. (23:02) Like I'll give, I don't know. (23:06) What if 30% effort is a hundred percent effort?(23:09) Let me give that a shot. (23:10) Not, not what if 150% effort actually is 70% effort. (23:14) I think most of us are on, again, I'm talking about myself.

Alan Lazaros

(23:17) Do you think most people underestimate or overestimate the future potential?

Kevin Palmieri

(23:24) Oh, both. (23:25) Yeah. (23:25) How dare you?(23:26) Yeah, I have to. (23:27) I, I think they overestimate what will happen just naturally. (23:33) Like as the result of becoming a human.(23:35) Yeah. (23:36) And they underestimate how much that would change if they just focused on a little bit, becoming a little bit of a better human every day.

Alan Lazaros

(23:42) Yeah. (23:42) Has that blown your mind? (23:43) How much different your life has become just from like one a day, one episode a day?

Kevin Palmieri

(23:49) I mean, think about how ignorant we were compared to now. (23:52) Isn't that fucking crazy? (23:53) Somebody asked me the other day, it was the, the whole premise of the podcast was like, what's a miracle that you've witnessed?(23:58) And I said, this, I don't have a better one. (24:00) This, this, this whole fucking thing is, I don't, it doesn't make any sense. (24:04) So wild to me.(24:05) It doesn't make any sense. (24:06) I never know what you're talking about when you say that. (24:07) You just, it doesn't make any sense?(24:08) Well, that's because you, you're the, you're the architect. (24:12) I don't know. (24:12) I didn't, it's weird.(24:13) It's weird to have 2,200 some odd episodes. (24:16) It's weird to have clients. (24:18) It's, it's weird.

Alan Lazaros

(24:21) You ever think you'd have 117 podcasters and business owners that work with 116?

Kevin Palmieri

(24:27) I said to Tara the other day, I said, isn't it, isn't it crazy that I ran $12,000, $12,000 worth of invoices today? (24:35) Like that's, that was just one day. (24:38) Like that was, that's more than the first year.(24:42) That's the same. (24:43) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(24:43) It's more than the first year. (24:44) That's mind boggling. (24:46) It's just crazy to me in a really good way.(24:49) And again, I don't want this to come off as a flex. (24:51) I know we got to go. (24:51) I was in the car with Amelia and sometimes you forget and you have pinch me moments and we had been grinding and we were working late and we were about to go to the gym again at late and then we're going to get to bed late as whole thing.(25:05) And I was like, well, I know we don't celebrate our wins very much, but I did make 12 grand today. (25:12) Right. (25:13) And it's like, she's like, oh, cool.(25:15) And then we went right about our day. (25:18) And I just think there are, but here's the thing that is actually normal for some people. (25:24) I know people who make way more than that.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:26) Well, and then it's, it's becoming more normal. (25:29) But the thing is, then we have to do all of what it took to get that to happen, to increase it. (25:34) And that's a whole fucking thing.(25:35) Yeah. (25:36) I'm not driving down to New Jersey cause I want to, we have a client who needs help and I volunteer to help.

Alan Lazaros

(25:41) That's what's up. (25:42) And I love it. (25:42) But I think more, this is, I think more people would double down on their personal development, social development and professional development if they knew how big the upside was long-term.(25:53) I think that's the problem. (25:54) There's this chasm in the middle. (25:56) Dude, I've been exercising for 3.7 years every single day. (26:00) I haven't missed a day in 3.7 years. (26:02) Okay. (26:03) The whole first year and a half, I was like, oh my God, this like isn't working.(26:07) And you felt the same way. (26:09) I could tell, I could see it on your face. (26:11) But now it's like, whoa, okay.(26:14) There's some serious transformation happening in my physique. (26:17) It's like, awesome. (26:18) I'm getting strong again.(26:19) It's really good. (26:20) But no one's going to wait 3.7 years. (26:22) Of course.(26:22) But I'm telling you there are little minutes and moments where I'm like, oh wow, the compound effect is crazy. (26:29) Is that me? (26:31) What the fuck?(26:32) Let's go baby. (26:33) But the majority of the time, it's just like, is this working?

Kevin Palmieri

(26:38) It's a big ask.

Alan Lazaros

(26:39) Yeah, it is.

Kevin Palmieri

(26:39) It's a big ask. (26:40) I think if they knew it would be worth it connected to what they value. (26:45) That's all.(26:47) Well, if you grind today, you're going to be able to spend more time with your family. (26:51) That's different than if you grind today, you're going to have so many clients and opportunities that you're just not going to be able to see your family ever. (26:56) It's like, well, I don't really want that.(26:57) Well, let's do better at that.

Alan Lazaros

(26:59) With our listeners, like connect your goals to what you value. (27:02) You don't have to play like we play. (27:04) No, you do not have to.

Kevin Palmieri

(27:05) All right, we got to go. (27:06) We got to, we got to bop on over to the next one. (27:08) All right.(27:09) Book club every single Saturday, 1230 Eastern time. (27:11) Next Level Nation, a private Facebook group filled with amazing individuals like you trying to get to the next level. (27:16) Nextleveluniverse.com has everything you need. (27:18) All of that happy jazz, master classes, everything. (27:22) Got a bunch of stuff going on at NLU. (27:24) As always, we love you.(27:25) We appreciate you. (27:25) Grateful for each and every one of you. (27:27) 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.(27:33) Keep reaching for your full potential.

Alan Lazaros

(27:36) Next Level Nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(27:38) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (27:42) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(27:45) We mean it when we say family. (27:47) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (27:50) Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes.(27:54) Thank you again, and we will talk to you tomorrow.