What Do You ACTUALLY Need Clarity On? (2309)

Hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros bring a grounded conversation on clarity and why so many driven people stay stuck despite working hard. Drawing from years of building businesses, coaching clients, and recording thousands of daily episodes, they speak to the patterns they see when focus is scattered and direction is undefined. This episode is for anyone who feels ambitious but unfocused, busy but not advancing.

It challenges vague thinking and calls for a higher standard of self-leadership without hype or shortcuts. Clear thinking creates decisive action. Decisive action changes outcomes. Choose your direction and remove the noise.

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Learn more about:
Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

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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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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:
(1:16) What you actually need clarity on
(3:49) Why dabbling kills long-term progress
(6:38) The core categories that require clarity
(7:33) Why clarity without commitment fails
(15:09) How limiting options creates fulfillment
(17:23) 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

• 1:16 What you actually need clarity on
• 3:49 Why dabbling kills long-term progress
• 6:38 The core categories that require clarity
• 7:33 Why clarity without commitment fails
• 15:09 How limiting options creates fulfillment
• 17:23 Outro

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) We talked about clarity the other day, but we didn't talk about what you need clarity on, so I think that makes for a powerful episode because that's like saying, well, you need to eat and not knowing what foods do what within your body.your body.

Alan Lazaros

(0:12) Yeah, I think clarity, not just as a concept, but as what categories do you really need clarity on? (0:20) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:22) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri.ieri. (0:24) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus.arus. (0:27) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:34) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:40) We bring you a new episode every single day on topics like confidence, self-belief, self-worth, self-awareness, relationships, boundaries, consistency, habits, and defining your own unique version of success.

Alan Lazaros

(0:56) Self-improvement, in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free. (1:03) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:08) Next Level Nation, today for episode number 2,309, let me make sure that's the right episode, I'm out here freestyling it today. it today. (1:16) What do you actually need clarity on? (1:19) It probably seems like a simple question, right?(1:22) If you're about to...to... (1:24) Great example. (1:25) I was talking to somebody yesterday and he said, I want to lose 30 pounds by my wedding.(1:30) And cool, you're clear on the goal to a degree.gree. (1:34) And then he was like, what supplements should I take? (1:37) And I said, diet and exercise.(1:39) Those are the two supplements you should take. (1:41) He said, yeah, yeah, but outside of that, I said, diet and exercise. (1:44) Outside of that, if you don't...;t...

Alan Lazaros

(1:47) 30 pounds is a lot, how long till the wedding?

Kevin Palmieri

(1:51) October, 10 months.

Alan Lazaros

(1:53) Oh yeah, you can do it.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:54) You can do that.

Alan Lazaros

(1:54) You got that. (1:56) Diet and exercise.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:58) But here's the problem.blem. (1:59) 40 weeks, 30 pounds, you got it. (2:01) The goal is hit this weight at this date.(2:06) Awesome. (2:06) Love that. (2:07) That's a great goal.goal.(2:08) But for a lot of us, we don't have those specific goals in other arenas.enas. (2:12) Like, what do you want? (2:13) You want a relationship.(2:14) Awesome. (2:15) That's a certain level of clarity.rity. (2:17) What do you want your relationship to look like?(2:19) You want a job and you want to make more money. (2:20) Awesome. (2:21) What do you want to do?(2:23) What would be fulfilling to you? (2:25) What are you good at? (2:26) What does the market need?(2:26) Like there are, again, going back to kind of what we talked about yesterday, but we'll go in a different direction.tion. (2:32) Clarity is just the start because it gets you moving in the right direction, not necessarily towards this specific goal.

Alan Lazaros

(2:41) So what categories do you need clarity on? (2:43) I talked offline with Kevin a little bit about this. (2:47) You got to have clarity on your career.(2:49) It doesn't mean you have to have everything figured out, but you have to have a general idea.idea. (2:54) I was playfully sharing a story with Kev before we got on. (3:00) I watched an old school, like this is when YouTube was first ever thing.(3:04) First big area. (3:05) Way back. (3:06) And there's a Halo 2 montage I listened to in the gym because I love the music in the background that I used to watch.atch.(3:11) I think it was probably in high school, tail end of high school. (3:16) So 2006, I want to say. (3:21) And I actually used to, I've like played with this person and he's really, really famous in the e-sports world.rts world.(3:32) And the point that I'm making is I could have, I was playfully joking with Kev, like this could have gone a lot of different ways.ways. (3:38) I could have been in tech. (3:40) I could have been a pro gamer.(3:41) I could have. (3:42) And I think that's true for everybody.body. (3:44) Not necessarily at that level, maybe, but everyone could, we have infinite choices.(3:49) Anyone can work in any industry you want, even if you start at the bottom for the most part. (3:54) Like you can work in tech or you can work in healthcare or you can work as an e-sports. (3:59) You can try that out.(4:00) You can do YouTube. (4:00) You can do podcasting. (4:02) You can do whatever you want to do within reason.(4:05) I'm not saying you're going to be Michael Phelps version of that thing, but other than that, you have a choice. a choice. (4:09) So career, you have to have some clarity. (4:13) And I do regret, I told Amelia this on the drive home from the gym because she's like, are you good?good?(4:17) You're in a weird energy.ergy. (4:18) I said, I'm just reflecting.ting. (4:20) I haven't watched that video in years.ears.(4:23) And I remember watching it when it first came out way back in the day. (4:28) And I used to like game with those people. (4:34) And I regret a little bit how much I dabbled.(4:42) Dabblers are people that go from thing to thing to thing to thing without like really becoming world-class at anything. (4:49) And I'm not, I wouldn't say I was a dabbler.a dabbler. (4:51) I was pretty obsessive and pretty all in on everything, but I didn't need to get good at can jam. jam.(4:56) I didn't need to practice beer pong.pong. (4:58) I didn't need to practice fucking billiards.ards. (5:01) And like, dude, I ping pong, billiards, can jam.(5:05) I mean, you name it. (5:06) I practiced basketball. (5:08) I could keep going snowboarding.(5:09) Like I wanted to, I really loved mastery. (5:12) I loved getting good at things. (5:13) But in hindsight, what a waste of fucking time.(5:16) Well, how you do one thing is how you do everything. (5:18) Yeah, yeah, yeah. (5:19) Right.(5:19) So, and at the end of the day, I'm not trying to beat myself up.f up. (5:22) I get it. (5:23) You're a kid. kid.(5:23) You need to be well-rounded. (5:24) Like there's, there's an argument for both. for both. (5:27) But my point of this is you have to have some clarity.(5:31) I remember I wanted to be a lawyer. (5:34) It was going to be lawyer, politician, president. (5:36) I screwed that up.(5:37) Yeah, actually, which is wild to think about. (5:40) And if we can tell that story briefly, I think that would be good. (5:42) Or I was going to be, I wanted to be like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, CEO of a Fortune 50 tech company.(5:47) It was going to be computer engineer, MBA, because I researched back then that 80% of all Fortune 50 tech companies, CEOs, Fortune 500, which is the 500 most successful tech companies in the world, really companies in the world, all had an MBA engineering combination. (6:02) Not all of them, but 80% of them did. (6:05) And I was like, okay, well, if I want to be that, I'm going to go do this.this.(6:08) I reverse engineered it. (6:09) Right. (6:10) And I decided not to go with lawyer.(6:11) I decided to go that road. (6:12) And I joke with Kev, I said, instead of being a pro gamer, I decided to go to college and get a girlfriend. (6:17) And I did.(6:18) But my point of all this is I want everyone out there thinking about like what, and I do, I think that most people don't really know.know. (6:27) That has been like really scary for me to realize how few people really know what they want their career to be. (6:37) That's one of the big ones.ones.(6:38) You said relationships. (6:39) That's probably the biggest.gest. (6:40) Next has got to be career.(6:42) And then after that, it's got to be like some sort of sport or athletic endeavor.avor.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:46) I think the hard part about all of this is it just takes such a, I won't say a long time, but like it is, it is a very consistent committed journey to say, okay, this is what I want.want. (7:01) And then dedicate however long it takes to get that. (7:04) I'm convinced that's, I mean, that is it.hat is it.(7:06) This, so this person that asked me yesterday, like, Hey, I want to lose X amount of weight by X time. (7:11) I just gave you the answers and I gave him a more specific, like I said, you got to start tracking your, your calories and your macros to see where you're at and then just dial those back.back. (7:20) No, no, nobody.(7:22) This is a, this is a new person to me that I met at one of the companies I was working at yesterday. (7:26) Oh, okay. (7:30) That's clarity on how to accomplish it to a degree.gree.(7:33) Now it's like, are you actually going to be committed for the next 10 months?nths? (7:38) Because if not, clarity is useless. (7:41) If not clarity just creates regret.

Alan Lazaros

(7:44) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:44) I think clarity is one of the things that's really, really powerful about clarity is it creates guardrails.ails. (7:50) Um, I'm moving in a couple of weeks and I'm already looking at like you and I have to discuss cause I, I want to change my studio.my studio.

Alan Lazaros

(7:56) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:56) I think I'm evolving beyond this.this. (7:58) I don't, I don't know.27;t know. (7:59) I like it still, but I told Taryn, I was like, I don't know if I like the blue light space shuttle thing.hing.(8:04) I want it to be more modern. (8:05) I want it to be a little bit higher.

Alan Lazaros

(8:06) Yeah. (8:07) I'm changing mine too. too.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:08) So evolving.

Alan Lazaros

(8:09) Look at us.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:09) But I'm literally like, eh, a hundred, $120 for this.this. (8:14) No, that like, can I, can I find that for 90 or like, should I just go in a completely different direction? (8:19) Respect it.(8:20) I was never that guy when it came to. (8:23) Is it interesting how now that you have money, you actually are skimpier with it back when you didn't have money.oney. (8:27) It really sucks.(8:28) Honestly, it does. (8:29) It sucks. (8:29) It's like, I resent it a little bit, but I think you kind of have to, if you go to the gym and your personal trainers there, they're like, good morning, sunshine. sunshine.(8:38) You fucking hate them. (8:39) You hate your personal trainer because they're there to help you do the thing that you kind of don't want to do on your own, or, you know, you need that gentle kick in the butt. the butt. (8:49) Right.(8:49) So I think our clarity is a very, uh, very similar part of this minor side tangent.

Alan Lazaros

(8:57) Someone reached out one of my clients who is a huge fan of you, huge fan of the podcast, huge fan of all things, masterclass book club, all this. (9:04) And she said, you know, I think you a little bit hard on Kev. (9:10) And I audioed her and I haven't, I haven't heard it back yet. back yet.(9:14) Um, like I haven't opened it, but I said, honestly, I know, of course.urse. (9:19) Yeah, of course. (9:20) I, I, I think the old me would have been triggered and defended myself.(9:24) And I, of course, Kevin gets praise from everybody. (9:27) He doesn't need that shit from me.m me. (9:28) Like at the end of the day, I do think I'm hard on you, but I also think that's because I believe in you and also, and again, I love you. love you.(9:36) If you're listening, I know you are, I actually know what it takes to be you. you. (9:42) I don't think other people do.e do. (9:44) And I think the last thing you need is me to be like, dude, you're already the man. man.(9:48) You're good.good. (9:49) Hang out, enjoy yourself. (9:51) And I know that's not what you were saying.ying.(9:52) I know you're listening, but ultimately my point of this whole thing is you need clarity.rity. (9:56) Can you hear my dog?

Kevin Palmieri

(9:58) Oh, Tucker's going crazy.razy.

Alan Lazaros

(9:59) He's going off right now. now.

Kevin Palmieri

(10:00) Saturday, he wants dad, mom's probably in the office.fice. (10:03) He probably wants dad to take him out. (10:05) He's poops, you know, it's not optimal right now.right now.

Alan Lazaros

(10:07) It's unfortunate.nate. (10:08) So Tucker says, hello everyone. (10:09) But ultimately you need clarity on who you are, the who, what, when, where, why.(10:15) But then you need clarity on the process. (10:17) Then you need clarity on whether or not you want it bad enough. (10:21) And I, I, I tried to explain that to this person of like, he wants that.(10:26) He doesn't only want it.t it. (10:27) He fucking needs it. (10:28) Be honest.(10:29) I need it more than I want it. (10:31) I don't necessarily want it.t it. (10:32) Fair.(10:33) And I think it sucks to be that person. (10:35) I don't know if I talk about that enough.ough. (10:36) I probably do, but it sucks to be that person.

Kevin Palmieri

(10:39) Well, I don't, the hard part is nobody really knows what I signed up for and they don't know the conversations we've, I mean, how many fucking conversations have we had of like, Hey, the way we're currently operating is not, it's not good enough for where we want to go. for where we want to go. (10:54) Like we have had thousands, thousands and thousands and thousands of those. (10:59) Even if it's a little bit like, Hey, this is a shift we need to make, or this is a, you know, this is a pivot we need to make or whatever.ever.(11:05) Right. (11:05) So, but shout out to that person. (11:06) I love you for that.(11:07) And I appreciate you and I want to be the best in the world at this. (11:11) So Alan does have to be hard on me and I've given him the utmost permission for lack of better phrasing.sing. (11:16) Like, give me the, give me the stuff.(11:18) Give me the truth.

Alan Lazaros

(11:19) Well, cause I told everyone in masterclass, like I need to use Kevin as an example because all of you know him. (11:24) I'm not just picking someone out of thin air. air.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:26) Well, John Doe actually feels this way. (11:29) And anything you say in the masterclass, you have said to me more hardcore. (11:32) That's what I said.said.(11:33) That's what I said.said. (11:33) This is like a lighter version. (11:34) That's exactly my words.ords.

Alan Lazaros

(11:35) Yeah. (11:35) I said, I'm, trust me, I've said it way worse to his face. his face.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:38) For sure. (11:39) And I think, I know, I want to make sure, I want to make sure we stay on track here cause we don't have a ton of time.time. (11:44) What are the, should we do five buckets?(11:47) Like what are the, what are the compartments for clarity? (11:49) Okay.

Alan Lazaros

(11:50) So far I have, you have to know what you want to do athletically for some sort of fitness. (11:55) It has to fall under the fitness. (11:56) It can be tennis.(11:58) It can be racquetball. (11:59) It can be weight training like us. (12:01) Like ours is weight training.(12:02) Yes. (12:02) Right. (12:03) Ultimately.(12:03) And then there's different forms of, is it CrossFit or is it bodybuilding or is it, there's different categories, but you have to have, you have to have your health and your athletic, like you have to know what you want for a physique, I think., I think.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:16) So it's like a meeting for relationship, money for career, movement for fitness.ness.

Alan Lazaros

(12:25) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:25) What else we got? (12:26) We got two more Ms in us. (12:27) Mission.

Alan Lazaros

(12:28) Mission would be what do you, the change that you want to be in the world. (12:31) Okay. (12:32) So us being the male role models we never had.(12:34) I think that's, that, that helps us every day. day. (12:36) For sure. (12:37) That helps us make decisions every single day.(12:39) One of the things that, um, I think I help people with most is when I first start coaching them, I realized how little clarity they have. (12:48) I'll say, well, what do you want to achieve this year?year? (12:51) And they'll be like, um, I want to be healthier.hier.(12:54) And it's okay.okay. (12:56) So does everybody. (12:57) And I'm not trying to be a dick, but like, that's not going to do it. to do it.(12:59) Everyone wants to be healthier. (13:00) Okay. (13:01) Now what?(13:02) So, and I said, well, they're like, well, I want to make more money.oney. (13:05) Okay. (13:05) How much money did you make last year?(13:06) I have no idea. (13:07) It's like, yeah, well, we need a benchmark.mark. (13:12) We need something, you know, and the more money thing we just talked about yesterday.(13:16) I'm like, well, here's a dollar. a dollar. (13:17) Good luck. (13:18) Clarity is, is a superpower.(13:21) And it's such a fucking unseen hero because dude, we wake up in the morning every single day with a lot of clarity.rity. (13:28) And then when we're unclear, we talk to each other and or do an episode about it and then get clear again.gain.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:34) I was thinking of that yesterday. (13:35) Somebody was talking about how they, they'd been journaling more and how it was helping them.them. (13:42) And I was like, it's interesting how it's not like you and I have a podcast about history or about movies or about music.out music.(13:49) Like we're literally talking about our stuff.tuff. (13:51) I know. (13:51) We get to journal every day.(13:53) Every day. (13:54) And I wonder if I don't, I don't know if I really understand the long-term value of that.e of that.

Alan Lazaros

(13:59) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:00) Like, I don't think about that enough.ough. (14:01) I don't think.hink.

Alan Lazaros

(14:02) I do because I coach so much. (14:04) Yeah. (14:04) You do podcast production more than coaching.(14:07) So, but I do conscious couples podcasts and I'll share this briefly.efly. (14:14) We were talking about how there's a study where if you think you have high self-awareness, you most likely don't.on't. (14:20) And I was like, yeah, but like, I actually do though.(14:23) It's like when you call yourself humble, it's hilarious because you actually are, but you're not, it's so weird because, and this is what I said in the other episode.n the other episode. (14:31) I'll be brief.rief. (14:31) This is my job.(14:33) Self-awareness is my fucking job. (14:36) This is all I do. (14:37) You and I have had more deep conversations in a week than some people have all month or all year.(14:41) Not trying to shout us out. (14:43) It's just the reality.lity. (14:45) So statistically speaking, our self-awareness as men is really high because this is all we do.(14:50) Have you considered that? (14:52) Yes, I considered it. (14:53) I've contemplated it 16 times.imes.(14:55) If you want me to send you the episodes, I can. (14:57) At the end of the day, I'm being playful here.here. (14:59) Back to clarity.(15:00) This is something you and I have so much clarity because we have so much contemplation because we have so many conversations that are deep and that's an advantage that we have.have. (15:09) When you travel, you know what you're going to eat. eat. (15:11) You know what you're going to do.o do.(15:13) There's not a lot of options.ions. (15:15) You and I have limited our options so well. (15:18) When I was a kid, it's like, do you want to go snowboarding this weekend?kend?(15:20) Yeah. (15:21) Now it's like, nope.nope. (15:22) Thank you though.(15:23) I appreciate it. (15:24) And I think that's a superpower.ower. (15:26) It kind of sucks because on one level, maybe your life is less flashy, but on the other side, it's very fulfilling when you get really good at your thing.hing.(15:37) I decided in advance to be the coaching is my thing. (15:39) I'm a podcaster.ster. (15:40) I'm a coach who also podcasts.asts.(15:42) Kevin's a podcaster who also coaches.ches. (15:45) Even that level of clarity is more than most people statistically walk around with. (15:49) So if you're out there and you're listening to Next Level University, what is the career you want? you want?(15:55) What is your thing? (15:57) I was on with someone yesterday. (15:59) It's cooking is her thing.hing.(16:00) The Purpose Made Kitchen. (16:01) Shout out to Nina. (16:02) Love you.(16:03) It's she has so much clarity about her future.ture. (16:07) And I think that if you don't have clarity about your future, it's going to be very hard to create it.create it.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:13) For sure. (16:15) Yeah. (16:15) I'm glad we're talking about clarity.t clarity.(16:16) We could do a million episodes on this. (16:18) The hard part is I don't know how to help you get more clear, like questions.ions. (16:22) Yeah.(16:23) And reflection and patterns and all that. (16:25) But you got it. (16:26) This is where you got to do the work and you got to sit down because it feels like a lot of the most important work is the invisible work.

Alan Lazaros

(16:33) Yeah, I agree.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:34) It doesn't it doesn't feel like you're making progress when you're like, what do I want out of my life?want out of my life? (16:38) It doesn't feel like you're making progress. progress. (16:40) Right.(16:40) So you and I set up to record three episodes.

Alan Lazaros

(16:43) We only get one done. (16:44) But the other hour was clarity. (16:46) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:46) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(16:47) It was life and business mastermind. (16:48) That's what I mark it on my calendar.ndar. (16:49) Life and business mastermind.(16:51) What does that even mean? (16:52) I'm not sure, but I'm certain it's the underpinnings of what we're building.we're building.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:58) All right. (16:58) If you are looking to get sure on your clarity, on your success, on your fulfillment, on your relationship, on your fitness, whatever the hell it is, Alan has coaching slots available. (17:07) We will have his link in the bio.(17:08) Sorry, in the description, not bio. (17:10) And if you've had a free call, he does one with everybody.body. (17:13) So you can't use multiple free calls.alls.(17:15) But if you haven't had a free call yet, make sure you click the link and you can get one done.done. (17:18) And if you're looking for a group of amazing humans, we have a private Facebook group called Next Level Nation.tion. (17:22) We'll have the link in the show notes for that.that.(17:23) As always, we love you. (17:24) We appreciate you. (17:25) Grateful for each and every one of you.(17:26) 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. (17:33) Keep leveling up to your true potential.

Alan Lazaros

(17:35) Next Level Nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:37) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (17:41) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(17:44) We mean it when we say family. (17:46) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (17:49) Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes.(17:53) Thank you again, and we will talk to you tomorrow.