Now Is The Easiest Time To Be Successful (2262)

In today’s episode of Next Level University, hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros reveal why the modern world’s distraction crisis has created one of the greatest competitive advantages in decades for anyone willing to stay focused, work consistently, and build real skills. You’ll learn the psychology behind attention decline, why lowered barriers to entry increase failure rates, and how long-term discipline separates the few who rise from the many who fade.

If you’re serious about building a meaningful life, mastering your craft, and standing out in a world addicted to shortcuts, this conversation will reframe what’s possible for you.

Press play, study the fundamentals, and step into the version of you who refuses to get outpaced by the noise.

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Episode Reference:
TED Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_tjKYvEziI

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NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

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

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

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Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

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Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

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Show notes:
(3:55) The attention crisis and how distraction creates opportunity
(7:41) Focus as the new competitive advantage
(12:15) The failure of shortcuts and the truth about long-term success
(19:07) Daily habits, ripple effects, and building real skill
(26:04) How your twenties and thirties shape your forties and beyond
(33:32) Choosing deep work over shallow consumption
(37:15) 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

• 3:55 The attention crisis and how distraction creates opportunity
• 7:41 Focus as the new competitive advantage
• 12:15 The failure of shortcuts and the truth about long-term success
• 19:07 Daily habits, ripple effects, and building real skill
• 26:04 How your twenties and thirties shape your forties and beyond
• 33:32 Choosing deep work over shallow consumption
• 37:15 Outro

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) I know lately there's been a lot of doom and gloom over at NLU, and I think it's because we're just trying to be as truthful as as humanly possible. (0:08) More truthful than motivational, but today there is good news. (0:12) And it might seem negative, but we'll flip it to positive.

Alan Lazaros

(0:16) The good news is you might have a higher chance of success compared to the statistical norm than you ever imagined. (0:25) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:28) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:30) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus. (0:33) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven, but no-BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:39) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:46) 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

(1:02) Self-improvement in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free. (1:08) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:14) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2,262. (1:18) Now is the easiest time to be successful, or we could make it a question of, is now the easiest time to be successful? (1:26) What do you think?(1:27) Oh, we're going to get into that. (1:28) I got to tell a story first. (1:29) Also, Alan has some yard work going on.(1:32) So if you hear mowers or leaf blowers, we literally have waited an hour and a half to record this episode, and this is the best it's been. (1:38) So we're going to see what happens.

Alan Lazaros

(1:41) Shout out to my landscapers.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:43) Very grateful for that. (1:44) Shout out to the landscaping crew. (1:46) Okay.(1:47) I was watching, what the hell was I watching? (1:50) I was watching something weird on YouTube. (1:52) I like weird shit on YouTube.(1:53) I can't explain it. (1:55) I just like it. (1:55) And there was something along the lines of a production that Netflix was doing got sent back because it wasn't second screen enough.(2:06) And I was like, what the freak does that mean? (2:09) This is the first I ever heard of this, by the way. (2:11) This has evidently been a thing since like 2022, 2023.

Alan Lazaros

(2:14) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(2:15) So we're late to the party on this, but it makes sense. (2:17) Netflix now is making, and I don't know if this is movies and series, but they're making content with the understanding that most people are not actually going to pay attention. (2:30) So they're imagining that Netflix is the second screen you're watching.(2:35) And they're literally putting it into the script where the character says what they're doing out loud. (2:41) So you don't get lost while multitasking. (2:43) This is the most successful streaming platform on the planet with over 300 million monthly subscribers that is literally thinking to themselves.(2:55) Most people aren't actually paying attention to the content. (2:57) So we have to make it even easier for them to understand what's going on. (3:01) That to me is a suggestion that now is the easiest time to be because that means that people are not focused.(3:09) That means, and we can talk about AI and all that, but yeah, I would, I would argue that right now is the easiest time to be successful because I think a lot of people have just are starting to misunderstand how much work they're actually doing towards their goals. (3:24) And this is just to me, indicative of the fact that imagine if, okay, imagine this. (3:29) Imagine Alan and I get off this episode and I say, brother, too deep.(3:35) We didn't, we didn't make it simple enough in case somebody was watching Netflix while they're listening to the podcast. (3:42) If that's what we're playing with, if that's what we're competing against, you guys are way ahead of the curve. (3:48) If you listen to this podcast every day and you don't do anything else while you're listening to the podcast, congrats, you're already in the top X percentage of people.(3:55) So my thesis is yes.

Alan Lazaros

(3:58) We talk a lot lately. (4:00) We've been talking a lot lately. (4:02) I think two or three episodes ago, we talked about three traits that you attribute to the highest probability of statistical success and three that I do.(4:12) Mine was focus. (4:14) Yours was sustainability. (4:15) Do you remember that?(4:17) It was last week. (4:17) I don't know. (4:19) Anyway, my, one of mine was your ability to stay focused.(4:23) We also talked recently. (4:24) I know I referenced the fact that we're losing our ability to stay focused. (4:28) I watched a Ted talk on today's Monday, yesterday morning.(4:36) It was, she's a great scientist and the content was unbelievable. (4:43) I will reference the Ted talk in the show notes, but one of the worst speakers I've ever seen in my entire life. (4:49) And a lot of, a lot of the researchers and scientists are not very strong speakers, unfortunately.(4:54) So they need to figure that out for sure. (4:57) But neurogenesis basically talks about how you actually can regrow neurons. (5:05) And in the past, people used to think when you lose brain cells, you lose them forever.(5:11) And there's this idea of you can't teach an old dog tricks, all that stuff. (5:15) So there's a list of things in this Ted talk. (5:19) Again, we'll reference it in the show notes where these are good things for neurogenesis.(5:23) These are bad things for neurogenesis. (5:25) Now, neurogenesis is basically a fancy term for, I'm just going to simplify it here. (5:31) Your brain is getting better, not worse.(5:34) Your ability to focus is getting better, not worse. (5:36) Your ability to concentrate is getting better, not worse. (5:38) Your ability to make connections and learn is getting better, not worse.(5:43) And there's this huge list of to-do's and to-don'ts that she gives. (5:46) One of the to-don'ts is drinking alcohol. (5:48) One of the to-do's is getting great sleep, for example.(5:50) Again, link in the show notes, Kevin and I are not affiliated. (5:53) I just want to promote great work in the world. (5:55) At the end of the day, the reason I'm mentioning this is because the to-don't list, getting distracted constantly, having multiple screens up simultaneously, it all affects your ability to focus and your ability to concentrate and your ability to think deeply.(6:14) And I think that in now, the 21st century, with all of our devices and all of our distractions, I just downloaded something called RoboKiller, I think is what it's called. (6:25) RoboBlocker, I think. (6:26) RoboBlocker.(6:28) It is. (6:29) It's called RoboKiller.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:30) It's called RoboKiller.

Alan Lazaros

(6:30) Yeah, it is. (6:31) Yeah, you told me RoboBlocker and RoboKiller came up when I did it. (6:35) But essentially what it does is it takes all spam phone calls and eliminates them.(6:41) All spam texts, eliminates them. (6:42) It doesn't do emails, I don't think, but I just set it up. (6:45) But the reason I'm doing that is because I don't want to constantly be distracted.(6:50) And the reason why is because I have important work to do in the world. (6:52) And I think that human beings know this intuitively, but I think we've lost sight of it a bit. (6:59) All of us have watched Netflix for four or five hours in the middle of the day and just felt horrible about ourselves.(7:04) Like there's no one who hasn't had that experience to some extent. (7:07) We've all done day drinking before and then realized we accomplished nothing. (7:10) To me, I think the morning is about learning and journaling and setting up a high performance routine.(7:17) The afternoon is for work, meaningful work in the world that contributes to yourself and others and makes money. (7:25) And then the evening can be for family and quality time and intentional recovery. (7:30) That's how I set up my life.(7:31) But in the 21st century, with the world of the distracted, it's the most important skill on planet earth is focus. (7:41) So if you focus even for three hours a day, if you really could... (7:47) Now, this is actually challenging, so I want to say that.(7:49) If you could focus on important work for three hours a day... (7:56) Let's crunch some numbers here. (7:59) Three times seven is only 21 hours.(8:02) If you could really focus on deep, important work for three hours a day, undistracted... (8:08) I call them 90-minute jam sessions. (8:10) This would be two 90-minute jam sessions per day.(8:13) You're going to get ahead of 90% of people right there. (8:17) Just by doing that. (8:19) So Sunday is my non-front-facing day.(8:23) And Emilia and I went and saw Wicked 2, which was wicked awesome, pun intended. (8:29) And we saw it on IMAX. (8:30) And I still...(8:31) I work every day. (8:32) I know a lot of people don't like that. (8:33) I work every day.(8:34) I'm not encouraging you to be a workaholic. (8:36) What I'm saying is I move the needle every day and it's important. (8:38) And I think everyone should do this, at least to some extent.(8:41) So especially business owners. (8:44) I knew I wasn't going to get a ton done because we were going to be at IMAX and it was at one o'clock, the showing. (8:50) So I woke up in the morning, I got my jam session in, and then I had one more in the evening.(8:54) And if I don't do that, my week goes off the rails. (8:58) I know that that's a competitive advantage. (9:00) I know that I will be more successful than most people because I focus a little more, a lot more than most people.(9:12) And anyone has that available to them. (9:15) And I think that as the world gets more and more and more distracting and more and more and more people succumb to the distraction, it actually becomes easier and easier and easier to stand out.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:27) I want to say a statement and then you can say true, false, whatever. (9:32) True, false, semi-true? (9:34) Yeah, if that's what vibes with you.(9:38) As the barrier to entry decreases, the failure rate increases. (9:43) Yeah, true. (9:45) Do you think the failure rate increases faster than the success rate?(9:51) Definitely. (9:52) I don't know how to parse that out. (9:54) No, that was good.(9:55) Netflix wouldn't like it, but it's good. (9:57) My thought process is, I say this to podcasters all the time, as podcasting gets easier, more people are going to try. (10:05) And a lot of those people just aren't that committed because it's not hard to start a podcast anymore.(10:10) So people will dip their toes in it maybe more than they would have in the past. (10:14) And I think success is easier than ever in terms of, oh, you can have AI write your emails. (10:22) It will write your emails.(10:23) It will write your blogs. (10:24) It will write your work. (10:27) So my thought process is there's a lot of people that are going to start things that are going to realize, okay, well, there's still a lot of stuff I have to do behind the scenes.(10:37) And because of that, your likelihood of succeeding is probably going to increase over time, is my thought.

Alan Lazaros

(10:46) Well, you and I talk about pod fade. (10:50) And I'm pretty sure the stat is 5 million approximately podcasts have ever been produced and less than 5% have an episode produced within the last 90 days. (11:00) I actually think the last 30 days.(11:02) So the staying power piece is a huge competitive advantage. (11:07) You and I haven't talked a lot about competitive advantage. (11:10) I do think this is probably important.(11:12) Competitive advantage is something people talk about in business all the time, but it applies to real life too. (11:16) Because whether you like it or not, whatever your job is, whatever your career is, you are competing with other people for that job. (11:24) Apple doesn't just hire anybody and they shouldn't.(11:28) People don't like this, but your value is in the marketplace is completely predicated on how skilled you are, how focused you are, how capable you are. (11:37) Companies can't just give jobs to random people.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:40) On the value you add. (11:41) Your value is predicated on the value you add.

Alan Lazaros

(11:44) Yeah. (11:44) Right?

Kevin Palmieri

(11:46) Should we talk about competitive advantage? (11:48) Yeah. (11:49) I feel like that's very appropriate for this episode.

Alan Lazaros

(11:53) So the Netflix thing. (11:59) They are saying, hey, people are distracted more. (12:02) So we have to do a better job keeping them involved or engaged with our content.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:09) We know people are going to be distracted. (12:11) We have to do a better job of catering our content to a distracted person.

Alan Lazaros

(12:15) Yeah. (12:15) And I don't think you and I are going to do that. (12:17) You and I talked a little bit offline about Wicked 2, for example.(12:20) If you haven't seen it, I don't think it's doing that. (12:24) It's much more meaningful. (12:25) It's a deeper film.(12:26) It's not making sure it's shock value. (12:29) I mean, obviously there's great costumes and stuff like that. (12:31) They're doing some of it, but it's not.(12:34) Emilia and I, when we watch films, we always say that was really well paced. (12:38) What I mean is it's not like blah, blah, blah, blah. (12:41) It's not a fucking, I just can't with that stuff.(12:44) It's too much. (12:46) And if you watch older movies, so let's say you watch a movie from 2004, the opening credits are so long and that would not fly nowadays, right? (12:58) Now they do all the credits at the end only.(13:00) If you don't get people hooked right away, they don't stick around. (13:03) That's the statistics. (13:04) And I think that's good and bad.(13:06) I get it. (13:07) But my point of this is Next Level University, this podcast, if you don't like deep, meaningful content that's of substance and value, and you just want the top five ways to be successful tomorrow with very little effort, we're not here to, some YouTube channels are very entertaining, but I think they're really stupid. (13:30) And if you want a deeply meaningful life of actual substance and value, you have to be able to focus.(13:37) And so if you can give us your attention for 30 minutes a day, I can make you a promise. (13:42) I promise you it's going to be more valuable for your real life in the real world than almost any other single thing you can create, you can focus on. (13:52) And why can I make that promise?(13:56) Because in the world of the silly and the mundane and the entertaining and the fluffy and the caricature-y bullshit, it's deep, meaningful value. (14:05) I'm reading a book called Good to Great, I know I keep talking about that. (14:08) It's not entertaining at all.(14:12) Jim Collins reads it.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:14) I enjoy it today, but I think it probably would have been boring as shit 10 years ago, probably, yeah. (14:21) Okay, can you go deeper on that? (14:23) Because you like business now?(14:24) Because I like business, and honestly, the thing I like is they're all real world examples. (14:29) Same. (14:29) It's not like, I think, no, it's based in this company did really well, these are the things that we found, and this company did really well, and this is how they connect, and these are the companies that didn't do really well.

Alan Lazaros

(14:40) So Jim Collins' books, Good to Great, Great by Choice, Built to Last, I've talked about Kevin and Christina, the chief officers, we're reading all those books. (14:49) The reason why is they're not anecdotal. (14:51) They're extremely well researched.(14:53) The research for Good to Great, I think, was a 10-year endeavor. (14:57) So none of it is their opinion. (14:59) Right.(14:59) It's all based on actual numbers. (15:01) So you used to play MLB while listening to books. (15:06) Yeah, big fan.(15:07) And you used to be the type of man, so my timer just went off, and that means it's time for everyone to stop everything they're doing. (15:17) I can't even, I'm joking. (15:19) We have a master class.(15:21) It is on the first Thursday of every month, the top five fundamentals of business you must understand to be successful long-term. (15:29) Here's the deal. (15:30) These master classes are free.(15:31) These master classes are private. (15:33) It's a small, intimate group, typically anywhere from 10 to 30 people. (15:37) It's going to be me on my remarkable teaching you real things on how to grow and scale a multi-six-figure business like we have.(15:44) I'm not going to tell you or teach you anything that we haven't done, tried, executed against, and been successful at. (15:50) And at the end of the day, we've been in business for coming up on nine years in March of next year, and we've built a company that is extremely successful, statistically speaking, and I can help you do the same. (16:02) If you want to start your own company, even if it's going to be small, I can teach you how to make a six-figure company plus, not overnight, not in a month, but over time.(16:13) And it really can be done, assuming you actually work and are self-improvement oriented and have humility enough to learn. (16:19) So the link will be in the show notes. (16:20) I would like it to be done in two hours.(16:24) Oh, the business? (16:26) Success. (16:27) All of it.(16:27) Nope.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:28) Can't help you. (16:29) Well, fuck you. (16:30) I'll go somewhere else.

Alan Lazaros

(16:30) How many hours a week will you give me? (16:34) One quarter of one hour, 15 minutes total. (16:36) You cannot be successful under any circumstances, unless are you willing to lie, steal, cheat?(16:41) Absolutely. (16:42) I thought that was part... (16:42) I thought that's what we had to do.(16:43) Well, in that case, you can have whatever you want.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:45) I thought that was... (16:45) Well, I didn't tell you that one of my relatives was very wealthy, and I already have $10 million. (16:50) Oh, got it.(16:51) Yeah, yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(16:51) You should be fine. (16:52) Oh, okay. (16:52) Cool.(16:53) For the first five years until you go bankrupt. (16:55) Thank you. (16:55) Okay.(16:56) And squander all that capital. (16:58) I love it. (16:58) This is my favorite.(16:59) I'm so glad we do this. (17:01) I'm glad that we're on this side of it. (17:03) Good for us.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:04) Okay.

Alan Lazaros

(17:05) What I was going to say, though, is you used to be the distracted type of person that Netflix was talking about with this second screen stat. (17:11) So talk to the people about the boring ass books you read now. (17:15) And more importantly, why did you shift?

Kevin Palmieri

(17:20) I didn't understand the importance of knowledge, man. (17:24) I didn't know you could get smarter. (17:26) I genuinely didn't understand that.(17:28) I didn't like school. (17:29) I didn't enjoy school. (17:30) I did school to just get through it.(17:31) I didn't go to college because I was like, there's no way I'm doing another four years of this shit. (17:35) So I didn't really understand the importance of... (17:38) What if, this is what I would have told Kev, because this is going to make sense to all of you.(17:43) Nice. (17:43) What if all of the stuff you know is just all of the stuff that you remembered from all of the stuff that you heard? (17:53) Wouldn't you guess that if you heard more stuff and then remembered more stuff, you'd get smarter?(17:58) And then I'd probably be like, that is interesting. (18:00) Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense.

Alan Lazaros

(18:02) Why does it matter to learn from your perspective?

Kevin Palmieri

(18:05) Because it expands your understanding, it expands your skillset, and that expands your opportunity for success. (18:13) If you know more about something than somebody else, you're able to deploy that knowledge and then you're able to practice things. (18:20) If I know more about podcasting than somebody else, I can help somebody at a deeper level and I will get paid in proportion to the amount of value I add and I can be successful.(18:28) Boom. (18:29) That.

Alan Lazaros

(18:30) Yeah. (18:30) If you know how to make podcasters successful and you know how to build successful podcasts and you know how to build successful businesses, you now have a skill and knowledge that people can pay you for. (18:44) You're in more control.(18:46) You're in way more control of the outcomes. (18:48) I do think that, and this is probably a better way to describe it, at least from what I've done in the past, is what if I told everyone out there that you actually are in very much control of your success in life, but you are only in control of... (19:07) We were in book club and shout out to you, Bonnie.(19:10) She said, I think people struggle with cause and effect. (19:13) We get that if I drink this latte, then I'm going to have some caffeine in my system and be more focused. (19:20) We get that.(19:21) So cause and effect we get. (19:23) And then I said, oh, what we don't get is cause and ripple effect. (19:29) The ripple effect of one...(19:31) It's not about one book. (19:33) It's not about one podcast episode. (19:35) It's not about one workout.(19:38) There's no... (19:39) One book, one podcast episode, and one workout won't do a fucking thing for you. (19:44) But podcasting or listening to a podcast every day, exercising every day, and reading a book every day will change your entire goddamn life.(19:54) Emilia and I, we've been coaching couples for five years. (19:56) I should thank every one of our clients. (19:58) I know more about relationships at 37 than I knew in the entire previous...(20:04) From zero years old to 30 years old. (20:08) I know more in the last seven years. (20:11) I've learned more about intimate relationships and women than I've learned in the first 30 years of my life.(20:16) And now I can help so many more people. (20:21) We have clients that were on the brink of divorce and we helped them understand why. (20:28) And now they're buying houses and it's unreal.(20:32) But you just have to understand. (20:34) I think it's not just knowledge. (20:35) It's understanding.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:36) I would concur for sure. (20:38) Let me, okay, let me, let me part two of this. (20:40) The other reason I wanted to do this episode, I've been doing a lot of research on YouTube for clients that are YouTube clients, not podcasting, quote unquote.(20:49) And I've been on a very big creator. (20:51) Oh, I can say it because I'm not talking too much trash. (20:54) I was on Lewis House's YouTube page.(20:57) And the thing I really enjoy about YouTube is you can see the stats. (21:00) I can go look at how many views and that type of thing. (21:03) And so many of the top viewed videos are ones that are like how to manifest anything you want in the next seven days or how to...(21:12) One of the ones I can't fucking stand right now. (21:14) One of the things that people, one of the titles that's going viral is how to make money so fast it feels illegal. (21:19) It's like, that is such a dumb fucking thing.(21:21) That's not real. (21:22) Brutal. (21:23) It's not real.(21:24) But I'll tell you what gets clicked on, that. (21:29) So this is the other thing. (21:33) Now, I won't say more than ever, but we are really, really, really being sold the shortcuts.(21:40) And again, if you're listening to this podcast every day, you're not looking for the shortcut, shout out to you. (21:44) But... (21:44) Yeah.(21:44) And good for you. (21:45) Don't ever fall for that shit. (21:46) The beautiful piece is, I'm not going to watch a video on how to manifest your dream life in seven days.(21:51) I know that's not real. (21:54) And you most likely know that's...

Alan Lazaros

(21:55) You and I will never listen to that. (21:56) Yeah. (21:57) Never going to listen to it.

Kevin Palmieri

(21:58) And then you're never going to...

Alan Lazaros

(21:58) We're over here listening to good to great that basically says, hey, minimum of a decade to turn a company into a great company. (22:04) Million mile march. (22:04) Minimum of a decade.

Kevin Palmieri

(22:05) Yeah. (22:06) And I like that because I know most people don't want to do that, but that's where you, whether you're watching or listening can set yourself apart. (22:12) A lot of people are looking for the shortcut.(22:15) They're looking for it. (22:17) And those are the videos.

Alan Lazaros

(22:18) How do we stop that? (22:18) How do we help them stop that? (22:20) Because there was a time, I think it was when I first found the compound effect.(22:24) I'll be brief about this, but I remember the opening page of the compound effect. (22:27) It's a book by Darren Hardy. (22:29) It says there is no magic bullet.(22:30) There is no quick fix. (22:31) There is no, you know, take 20 years off your life with a cream. (22:35) All of that shit.(22:36) I'm paraphrasing. (22:38) It's not exact, but I remember thinking, I don't know when it was. (22:42) It was probably right after my car accident.(22:44) When I just said, Alan, you're playing the long game. (22:46) You're never again falling for a single quick fix in any regard. (22:50) Just do the fundamentals for the rest of your life.(22:53) So how do we help people? (22:56) Because my life has gotten, I mean, if health, wealth, and love is the goal, healthier, wealthier, and more in love. (23:02) I mean, fuck yeah.(23:04) Me at 26 versus me at 37. (23:06) It's not even remotely close in those three arenas. (23:14) It's not.(23:15) It's unbelievable. (23:16) Quality of life too.

Kevin Palmieri

(23:18) So we got to sell it. (23:21) I think this comes back to awareness. (23:23) If you don't know how it works, I think our natural tendency as humans is to go with the thing that seems the best, the fastest.(23:34) I think that, I think you have to get some, study the thing that you're trying. (23:39) This is what I would say. (23:41) Study the journeys of many people who have done what you're trying to do and just get data.(23:47) Because some of them will be the people that went viral and it happened quick too. (23:53) But if you try to find the journeys of 20 people, you're going to get patterns. (24:01) And I think as you get patterns, you realize what is bullshit and what isn't.(24:06) I think we talk about the fitness stuff all the time. (24:08) You're not going to sell me a supplement and I'm going to expect it's going to do a certain thing. (24:13) You're not going to pull the wool over my eyes when it comes to that.(24:16) I've been doing this long enough. (24:18) Podcasting, same thing. (24:19) But if I go to the mechanic, people get ripped off.(24:25) You know why people get ripped off all the time at the mechanics? (24:27) Because they don't know what the fuck's happening. (24:28) Understand that.(24:30) I think it's like that with everything else. (24:32) So if you're just dipping your toe into success, this is what I would say. (24:36) Don't go for the flashy thing.(24:38) Don't go for the entertaining thing. (24:40) Go for the thing that's boring as shit. (24:41) Because most likely the thing that's boring as shit is going to be the most valuable.(24:44) That is the principle right there.

Alan Lazaros

(24:46) The more mundane and boring the content, the more likely it's true. (24:56) That TED talk that I put in the show notes is atrociously bad. (25:00) It is so bad, like she should be embarrassed with how bad her speaking is.(25:05) But I knew it was unbelievably valuable. (25:07) The value is 10. (25:08) That TED talk in the show notes, the value is a 10 out of 10.(25:12) The entertainment factor is a fucking zero. (25:16) That's what I go for. (25:17) That's why I typed in TED talk instead of dumb ass video.(25:21) Like I can't even with, it's not helpful. (25:25) That was about neurogenesis. (25:26) Who the fuck wants to learn about neurogenesis?(25:28) I do. (25:29) Because I want to have a better brain and I want to have a better life and I want to get a better sleep and I want to have a memory when I'm 80. (25:35) When I'm 80, I want to have a fucking great memory.(25:38) I want to be sharp as a goddamn tack. (25:40) But the only way I could do that is by watching that TED talk in the morning instead of some dumb fucking Netflix show. (25:46) And that's the truth.(25:47) And the truth will set you up for success.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:50) Well, I think now is the time because there's a lot, a lot of people are going to get distracted. (25:55) A lot of people are going to try to take the path of least resistance. (25:57) A lot of people are going to try to take shortcuts.(25:59) And if you just strap in and you try to get a little bit better every day, I'm telling you now, will it happen quickly? (26:04) No, it's not going to happen quickly. (26:06) But I told, I said this to Alan a couple of years ago.(26:12) I said, and Alan knows this, but it's just something I had my finger on. (26:17) I said, when we get in the mid thirties and we start moving to like closer to 40, the drasticness, yeah, the contrast is going to be drastic, but it's going to continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. (26:32) Because when you turn 40, what you did in your thirties really starts to show.

Alan Lazaros

(26:37) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(26:37) And what you did in your twenties in terms of like setting yourself up or not setting yourself up, that really starts to show too. (26:45) And I think as technology makes things more available, chat GPT is like 20 bucks a month. (26:54) Yeah.(26:55) You can do a lot of shit, but not everybody, but many people now have access to the same tool. (27:03) The reason certain construction companies are more successful than the other is not because they have different tools. (27:08) They have hammer and they have nails and they have screws and they have drills.(27:12) It's the same thing. (27:13) What makes them more successful is their ability to focus and their ability to strategize. (27:17) So that I, the, the playing field I think is getting more and more level.(27:23) And as it does.

Alan Lazaros

(27:24) You can't have chat GPT doing your thinking for you. (27:26) No, but, and a lot of people are. (27:28) And a lot of people are.(27:29) The world is making it easier and easier not to think and to still have your basic needs met. (27:34) Yeah. (27:34) I didn't mean to interrupt you, Kev, but I think this story is going to be of tremendous value.(27:38) I, I remember I was in my early twenties. (27:42) I think I just turned 20 and I worked for a company called iRobot. (27:47) Most people know them as the Roomba.(27:50) The Roomba is a product. (27:51) They have a Roomba scuba. (27:52) They've got a gutter cleaner, all kinds of stuff.(27:53) And I was on the global product management team and the head of global product management team at the time, his name was Jerry G E R R R Y. (28:01) I'll leave it there. (28:02) He used to work for Pitney Bowes, all kinds of stuff.(28:04) And I remember this was sort of, you, you go into a new world and you realize like, Oh, this is bigger. (28:14) This is bigger than where I've been. (28:15) This is cool.(28:16) This is like a billion dollar robotics company. (28:18) Let's do this. (28:19) They had just crossed a billion valuation.(28:21) And I know it's confusing to what that means exactly, but it's, it's a big robotics company. (28:27) Okay. (28:27) So I get there and we're, I'm on a global product management team.(28:32) Everyone, I'm the youngest person there in the whole freaking company, basically. (28:35) I mean, I'm, I'm an intern at this point, very young. (28:38) And so I'm in a whole new world of, Oh my goodness, this is fucking awesome.(28:43) Jerry went to MIT, got his PhD. (28:46) And I remember going into his office. (28:48) He was my boss.(28:51) And I remember thinking like, this is different. (28:53) He's different than the other people I know. (28:55) The people I grew up with, he's different.(28:58) And I remember thinking, okay, well, he's, he's my mom's age. (29:01) And I remember thinking to myself, and I saw pictures of his kids and I met with them and we talked deep behind the scenes. (29:08) I've had many mentors.(29:09) But my point of this is I remember going home saying, Oh, interesting. (29:14) The way that people I knew growing up spent their twenties is very different than the way he did. (29:21) In his twenties, he was in school and he was a broke student.(29:26) Now that he's in his forties, late forties at the time, now he's in his late fifties. (29:31) Now his life's a little different. (29:34) The contrast that you're talking about, I saw viscerally and vividly.(29:39) And I remember I went home and I remember thinking like, okay, there's a way to do it. (29:44) There is a way to make sure that life gets better, not worse. (29:47) And it all depends on how you invest your twenties and thirties.(29:51) It does. (29:53) Whether or not you out there watching or listening are going to be wealthy or not depends on what you start doing right now. (29:59) What you start building right now, what you start reading right now, what you start listening to right now.(30:04) That is if he, he lived so differently than anyone I grew up with and anyone you grew up with. (30:13) And people think, well, I can't go to MIT. (30:15) It's not about that.(30:17) It's not about that. (30:18) He invested the now for a bigger, better, brighter future. (30:24) And I'm telling you that paid off in dividends.(30:26) And now his life looks extremely good compared to most. (30:31) And that is possible at a unique next level for everybody, for everyone that is available to all of us. (30:38) There's no one out there who can't get a little better and, and read a little more and listen to this podcast and implement some new things and get a little healthier and a little wealthier and a little more in love.(30:47) All of us can get a little more healthy, wealthy, and love every single day. (30:50) And that's why we're here every day. (30:52) And I remember I went home that day and I was like, this, that I'm gonna do that.(30:58) And obviously I've done that and not, and things have pivoted. (31:01) But I remember thinking like, you're different than anyone I knew growing up. (31:06) And a lot of people don't have access to people like that.(31:08) So for me, that was necessary.

Kevin Palmieri

(31:10) I don't, don't feel like I did. (31:12) I didn't necessarily have any scholars around me.

Alan Lazaros

(31:16) No, no PhDs from MIT.

Kevin Palmieri

(31:18) I don't even know what PhD stands for. (31:21) Post something doctorate post. (31:22) I don't know if I do either.(31:24) It means a doctorate. (31:25) Yeah. (31:25) I don't even know what that.(31:26) We should look it up. (31:27) I have several clients at NLPS that have PhDs and I've just never asked them. (31:32) I probably should.(31:33) What does PhD stand for? (31:34) I think it's post-humoral doctorate is my guess. (31:38) What do we got?(31:39) Doctor of philosophy.

Alan Lazaros

(31:41) What is the PhD stand for? (31:44) P P D is. (31:46) D is for doctor.(31:47) And I think the pH is philosophy. (31:49) Yeah. (31:50) According to chat GPD.

Kevin Palmieri

(31:51) The philosophy of something. (31:55) Doctor of philosophy. (31:56) It should be DPH, but apparently.(31:58) Yeah. (31:58) But isn't it like, don't you get like a PhD in something? (32:01) So you get a doctor in philosophy of blank.

Alan Lazaros

(32:04) Yes, exactly.

Kevin Palmieri

(32:05) Which makes sense.

Alan Lazaros

(32:06) That's why there's a thesis paper. (32:08) Because you basically become an expert in that unique area. (32:13) You're acting as if I knew there was a thesis paper.(32:15) Well, I do intend on getting my PhD. (32:18) In what? (32:18) I usually don't say neuroscience.(32:20) What should I get mine in? (32:21) And neurotechnology. (32:23) I usually don't say that because I want to be clear now.(32:26) I mean, within my lifetime. (32:29) This is not this year. (32:30) This is not this decade.(32:31) I'm talking forties or fifties, but I will be getting my PhD in neuroscience and neurotechnology eventually. (32:36) And by the way, I may change that, but that's the current vision. (32:41) I will not be.(32:42) And I will not change that. (32:44) Emilia is talking about her side D, which is. (32:47) Psychology.(32:48) Psychology. (32:48) Yeah. (32:49) We have a client named Yvette that has her side D.(32:52) We put her in touch with Emilia.

Kevin Palmieri

(32:54) No longer a client.

Alan Lazaros

(32:56) No. (32:57) Hasn't been for a minute. (32:58) I coached her for a time.

Kevin Palmieri

(32:59) Yeah. (32:59) Yeah. (32:59) Well, I gotta be, I gotta be accurate.

Alan Lazaros

(33:00) Of course you gotta. (33:02) And then she said, Alan, I don't want to work as much as you do. (33:06) Understandable.(33:06) Well, then I can't help.

Kevin Palmieri

(33:07) All right. (33:08) What do we, how do we, how do we wrap up here? (33:09) We have one minute.

Alan Lazaros

(33:13) The world is getting increasingly more shiny object oriented. (33:21) And if you can stay true to the fundamentals of deep focus and deep work, you're going to, you're going to crush it. (33:29) Do you really think that, uh, this is a good example.(33:32) So, so Netflix, you think the executives at Netflix are watching Netflix? (33:37) Uh, no. (33:37) It's a good thing to think about.(33:38) The truth is they're too busy doing deep work. (33:42) On making their platform, the best thing on planet earth. (33:45) So at the end of the day, just understand.(33:46) Trust me. (33:47) I watch Netflix. (33:48) I love film.(33:48) I adore it. (33:49) I'm all for it, but it's an hour. (33:51) It's not my day.(33:54) And you just gotta be real careful and make sure you choose your content wisely.

Kevin Palmieri

(33:58) For me, it's not even about Netflix. (34:00) It's more of the suggestion that they are literally understanding that people are going to be doing more things distracted. (34:07) So that means people are going to continue to get more distracted, which means if you just don't.(34:12) You'll be more successful just based on that alone. (34:15) Even if you stay exactly the same exact trajectory you're on now. (34:18) And we don't, obviously that's not the goal, right?

Alan Lazaros

(34:20) We want to increase that, but that. (34:22) I know we got to go last thing. (34:23) You looked this up recently and this was very depressing for me, but also true.(34:26) I know exactly what you're going to say. (34:27) 54% of the US population has a less than 8th grade reading level. (34:33) True or false?(34:34) I think it was 6th grade, potentially. (34:35) Hold on. (34:35) Please tell me.

Kevin Palmieri

(34:37) Reading. (34:38) Would that be reading comprehension?

Alan Lazaros

(34:40) Yeah. (34:43) Please hold. (34:45) Which means if you, and we're reading a book called Rationality in Book Club.(34:49) And if you want to join us on Book Club, the link will be in the show notes. (34:53) But we had like 13 people there this weekend. (34:55) I was pumped.(34:55) Thank you for coming. (34:56) It was awesome. (34:58) And I mentioned that stat.(35:00) I think I said 6th or 8th. (35:01) I forget which. (35:02) But I mentioned that stat and I said how sad that was.(35:05) That made me sad. (35:06) And I said, well, what reading level do you think Rationality is? (35:09) And everyone laughed their ass off because it's brutal.(35:12) I mean, you can have a PhD and still struggle to read this fucking book.

Kevin Palmieri

(35:15) 54% of US adults aged 16 to 74 read below the equivalent of a 6th grade level. (35:22) Roughly 130.

Alan Lazaros

(35:23) There's something called the Flesh Score. (35:24) It's better than it sounds. (35:25) And it talks about how if you're marketing is above a certain reading level, you're screwing up for consumer products.(35:34) Better than it sounds. (35:37) I don't know why they call it. (35:39) I think the guy's name was something Flesh.(35:41) It just caught me. (35:43) Better than it sounds. (35:45) But yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(35:45) It sounds terrible. (35:46) Flesh Score? (35:47) It doesn't sound great.(35:48) That stat right there. (35:51) That. (35:52) And there's a lot of opportunity.(35:53) There's a lot of opportunity. (35:54) And I think as long as you continue to get a little bit better every day, that opportunity is going to get more and more and more. (36:00) For sure.(36:01) Last, last, last. (36:02) Oh, for fuck's sake. (36:03) I know.(36:04) I know. (36:04) Go ahead.

Alan Lazaros

(36:05) They say great leaders, successful people have big libraries, not big TVs. (36:12) And I say I'm going to have both. (36:13) Ah, I dig that.(36:15) I'm glad you said that because same. (36:16) 115 inches of home theater.

Kevin Palmieri

(36:19) It's awesome. (36:19) And like, I don't need books. (36:22) I can watch them digitally, you know?

Alan Lazaros

(36:26) Yeah. (36:27) But your audio, your audible library counts.

Kevin Palmieri

(36:29) Yeah, yeah. (36:30) But I don't need a room of smelly paper. (36:33) I do.(36:34) Okay. (36:35) I support that. (36:35) With a skylight.(36:36) Okay. (36:37) So when a rain drips down, you can read it on your recliner? (36:41) You know it.(36:42) By the fireplace. (36:43) You have a fireplace in there too? (36:44) What else do you have?(36:45) You have a slushie machine? (36:47) Absolutely not. (36:48) Well, that's rookie shit.(36:51) You're ridiculous. (36:51) That's rookie shit.

Alan Lazaros

(36:53) Yeah, no, I have a whole vision. (36:54) You know this. (36:55) I do.

Kevin Palmieri

(36:55) Will you have a popcorn maker in your movie theater? (36:59) Absolutely not. (37:00) No.(37:00) I don't trust it. (37:01) I don't trust that at all. (37:02) You thought about it too much.(37:03) You haven't thought about that enough. (37:05) Okay. (37:05) Next Level Nation, a private Facebook group full of amazing people who want to get a little bit better every day and they want to be successful.(37:11) The most successful version of them. (37:13) Whatever that means to you. (37:14) We'll have the link in the show notes.(37:15) As always, we love you. (37:15) We appreciate you. (37:16) Grateful for each and every one of you.(37:18) 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.

Alan Lazaros

(37:24) Keep paying attention to valuable things and reach for your full potential. (37:28) Next Level Nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(37:30) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (37:34) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(37:37) We mean it when we say family. (37:39) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (37:42) Everything you need to get a hold of us is in the show notes.(37:46) Thank you again, and we will talk to you tomorrow.