2 Things That Help With All Goals (2389)

What changes faster, your life or the standard you hold yourself to?

In today's episode, Kevin and Alan break down why most people stay stuck even when they care deeply about growth. The problem is not always effort. More often, it is a lack of clear structure. They unpack why every meaningful goal needs a real timeline, a real target, and a system strong enough to survive pressure. Drawing from years of coaching, client results, and their own trial-and-error journey, they show how clarity sharpens action and why vague goals quietly drain momentum.

This is a grounded conversation about discipline, self-awareness, feedback, and the kind of consistency that actually changes your future. Hit play and make your next move measurable.

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Show notes:
(2:05) Why timelines and targets matter
(4:30) Goals give life structure and meaning
(9:48) How clear goals train your attention
(14:30) Why better lives require better frames
(18:17) Alan’s gamified success framework
(20:44) When to raise or lower standards
(25:22) Timeline target and transformation
(37:26) The coaching system behind real progress
(40:02) 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.

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) I am under a lot of pressure and I am cracking like a walnut and Alan is sitting across the camera from me saying, this is good. (0:08) This is exactly what it's supposed to be. (0:10) In today's episode, we're going to try to sell you that.(0:13) We'll see what happens. (0:16) Nice timeline on a target. (0:18) You should always be under a little bit of pressure and you need to have something where your back is up against the wall.(0:26) Welcome to Next Level University. (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. (0:40) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth. (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.(1:02) Self-improvement in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free. (1:09) Welcome to Next Level University. (1:14) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2,389, we're almost at 2,400, which is crazy to me.(1:20) Two things that help with all goals. (1:23) We have talked, I don't know, hundreds of times about goals at this point. (1:29) Accountability and public accountability and making the goals bite-size and clarity and all this stuff.(1:35) Commitment and a million different things. (1:37) I don't know if we've ever really talked about what we're talking about today, which number one- You're going to get your giraffe at 2,500? (1:44) I'm hoping.(1:46) Yeah, I have to reach out to the giraffe dealer, see kind of what the supply chain is like. (1:51) But yeah, it'll be right over here. (1:53) Jeffrey the giraffe.(1:54) Yeah. (1:56) Is that what we were saying? (1:57) It was valuable for sure, what I was saying.(1:59) I don't think we've ever talked about what we're talking about today, the two things that help with all goals. (2:05) I've said this many times, 10 pound and 10 week challenge, amazing. (2:10) Why?(2:11) 10 pounds is my goal, 10 weeks. (2:15) So target, 10 pounds. (2:17) Timeline, 10 weeks.(2:19) Works really, really well. (2:20) The second I hit my goal, which I usually do early, usually I want to stop because the target has been accomplished and the timeline is no longer valid for what I determined. (2:32) I'm cranking right through it this time, but I have, and I'm probably jeffing this, I have a target, I don't have a timeline.(2:39) So coach me on why that's bad. (2:42) Yeah, yeah, well Parkinson's law states that more is accomplished in less time when you have a definite goal. (2:49) So if, and this is one of the reasons why success I think is so challenging for your emotional self-esteem is because you and I wanted to get five done, we're only going to get three done.(3:03) So you shoot for five, you end up at three. (3:06) It's like you have 10 hours in bed for nine hours of sleep or nine hours in bed for eight hours of sleep. (3:10) It's the same way.(3:15) Human nature is goal oriented. (3:17) So I'm going to start with this. (3:20) From an evolutionary perspective, I'm, I nerd out on evolutionary psychology all the time.(3:27) You and I back in the day, 200,000 years ago. (3:32) You and me personally? (3:33) Hypothetical.(3:34) Yes. (3:34) Nice. (3:35) Yeah.(3:35) All right. (3:35) And we need to eat. (3:37) So we got to go hunting.(3:39) All right. (3:39) We've got spears. (3:42) We need to have a goal, a specific goal.(3:46) Okay. (3:46) We're going for a deer. (3:47) We're not going for a bear because we're going to get killed.(3:51) Right? (3:51) So if you see a bear, dip. (3:54) You see a deer, we're good.(3:56) All right. (3:57) Now again, at the end of the day, I'm not a huge fan of killing deer. (4:03) I personally have never killed a deer.(4:05) So don't, this is a fucking metaphor. (4:07) All right. (4:07) All right.(4:08) So don't, no one come at us with that. (4:10) My point though is we're goal seeking creatures and we need a timeline and a target. (4:17) And if you don't have, so what would be the timeline?(4:20) Okay. (4:20) We need to be backed by sundown. (4:22) Otherwise we're going to get killed.(4:23) So we're wired that way. (4:25) That's what I'm trying to say. (4:26) We're just wired that way.(4:27) That's it. (4:28) That's it. (4:29) Yeah.(4:30) Okay. (4:31) Imagine a sport where there's no goal. (4:36) You and I had a slight argument on an episode prior, last week, last week, healthy discord.(4:46) And I said that without the numbers, there would be no meaning. (4:51) And you're like, come on. (4:53) And I, we had a little back and forth.(4:55) I don't mean no meaning, but whether you're aware of the numbers or not, imagine if basketball had no hoops, no boundaries, no foul shot, no three point line, no out of bounds, just people running around. (5:09) Well, you can travel. (5:10) You don't have to dribble.(5:13) There's no scoreboard. (5:14) You lose all meaning. (5:16) It's just dumb.(5:17) Right? (5:17) In game theory, you have to have a target. (5:21) How do you even know Michael Jordan's better than Joe Schmo?(5:24) There's stats. (5:25) There's a game. (5:26) There's rules.(5:27) There's referees. (5:28) There's a fucking hoop. (5:29) Like there's a target.(5:31) Gamify your goddamn life is what I'm saying, because how do you know if you're winning or losing at life? (5:36) How do you know? (5:37) You know what?(5:38) No. (5:38) How did old Kevin know? (5:39) I felt good.(5:41) It was purely based on feelings. (5:43) That's the worst.

Alan Lazaros

(5:44) I didn't say it was good.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:45) You asked. (5:45) That's the truth, baby. (5:47) No, no, no.(5:47) Okay. (5:47) Give me more than that, though. (5:49) How did you know if you were winning at life?(5:50) It's more than that. (5:51) You wanted to be jacked. (5:52) You wanted to have a hot girlfriend.(5:53) You did gamify it. (5:55) You just didn't do it well. (5:56) Yeah, but I feel like I was lucky in a lot of ...(5:58) I mean, I wanted to make more money. (6:00) Yeah, I wanted to have a hot girlfriend, and I wanted to be jacked. (6:02) Those are the three things.(6:03) The jack thing- And you did them all. (6:04) Yeah, the jack thing was pretty easy. (6:06) I had been doing that for a long time, so that was different.(6:09) I had experience in that. (6:10) The well thing, I still am convinced I just fell into the right place, right time, right attitude. (6:17) Yeah, but you did have that desire.(6:21) Yeah, but I can't replicate what I ... (6:23) I couldn't explain to you what I did to get the opportunity, so I still don't think I was in full control of it. (6:28) No, no.(6:29) No one's in full control of anything. (6:30) I don't even think I was in the majority control. (6:32) Would you like it to rain today, sir?(6:37) Unconsciously and subconsciously ... (6:39) Maybe we never explained this, but the subconsciously unconscious ... (6:47) Did you know what I was talking about back in the day when I said that?(6:51) I think after Think and Grow Rich, which I think ... (6:55) I'm so sorry to say this to anybody who's into ... (6:57) I think that book is a crock of shit.(6:59) I do. (6:59) Now more than ever, I do. (7:01) I've learned too many things about Napoleon Hill.(7:04) In retrospect, it's like- It's not even just that. (7:06) It's also sexist and racist.

Alan Lazaros

(7:08) It's an old book. (7:09) Yeah, it's all that stuff.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:09) But I ... (7:10) But there is some things in it that are ... (7:12) I know, but I'm convinced- The timeline and the target.(7:14) I'm convinced now that when I say, like, what's your favorite book, it's like Think and Grow Rich. (7:18) It's like, okay, you haven't read that many. (7:20) You just haven't read that many personal development books.(7:22) That's it. (7:23) You just haven't. (7:23) And that's fine if that's the truth.(7:28) I've never once said that was my favorite book. (7:30) I've just heard so many people. (7:31) You will never hear that.(7:32) Someone's going to send me a clip of me on some podcast, like Think and Grow Rich. (7:36) Eleven years ago. (7:37) My favorite book is Think and Grow Rich.(7:38) It has ... (7:38) Look, it has some good stuff in it. (7:42) It does.(7:43) It has some good stuff in it. (7:43) But the subconscious mind is in it. (7:45) That's where I think I probably heard about it.(7:47) Maybe the ... (7:48) I've heard about it, and it was explained maybe for the first time. (7:53) Okay.(7:54) You've heard the thing where your heart beats 100,000 times per day without you having to think about it. (7:59) The point is, is that the subconscious and unconscious mind is running most of your life. (8:04) You don't have to ...(8:07) We were on a hike earlier, Emilie and I. (8:09) We went for a hike this morning, and an owl, like a huge owl, flew across the way. (8:15) And I didn't have to consciously go, owl, look.(8:21) Our perception apparatus as human beings are ... (8:25) We're drawn to motion. (8:28) Because back in the day, you'd die if you didn't notice when an owl came out of nowhere.(8:32) Because it might have been, I don't know, a mountain lion. (8:35) The point is, that's why I hate it at the gym when there's TVs on. (8:40) It's designed ...(8:40) Motion takes focus. (8:42) That's why you're supposed to talk with your hands. (8:43) You need to get people's attention again.(8:45) That's also why all this ... (8:46) On YouTube, all that horseshit. (8:49) It's getting everyone's attention through shock value horseshit content, and it's destroying your mind.(8:55) But, what I will say, and that's why old movies are brutal.

Alan Lazaros

(8:58) It's like, hmm.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:01) The credits are like 20 minutes, you know? (9:04) Or there's like very long- I'm joking, but they feel like 20 minutes. (9:06) Very long, steady scenes, where it's just like a one-shot take.(9:10) There's like no cuts. (9:11) I enjoy that now. (9:13) I do too.(9:13) Which you say- Yeah, because you and I are- Yeah, but would you say that's a film? (9:17) If the director understands that they've got to do some one-shotters, that's a film. (9:23) We're onto something here.(9:25) Emile and I, we talk about pacing. (9:28) We're watching Elysium right now. (9:31) Matt Damon.(9:31) Matt Damon. (9:33) Way ahead of its time. (9:34) Still never seen it.(9:35) The whole AI robotics, it's excellent, it doesn't matter. (9:41) It's well-paced. (9:42) It's well-paced.(9:43) Anyways, back to the point. (9:44) Back to the timeline target. (9:45) Subconscious mind.(9:48) I used to say this all the time, 4K TV, one of the pixels is your conscious mind. (9:54) All the rest of the pixels are the power of your unconscious. (9:58) But that one pixel, your conscious mind, is the commander of the fleet.(10:03) So imagine there's 3,999 pixels and 3,999 boats in this metaphor. (10:09) There's one that's the commander of the whole fleet. (10:13) So when you set a timeline and a target, you set up your perception apparatus to look for opportunities.(10:19) So you wanted money, you wanted a hot girlfriend, and you wanted to be in great shape. (10:24) So your unconscious mind said, hey, pay attention to this, this, this, this, and this. (10:29) And then you tried to gamify and learn how to talk to women, and you learned how to get jacked, and you learned how to...(10:35) Even though you weren't consciously doing it, that's why you got a fitness coach. (10:38) So this is why when you are doing a bodybuilding show or a fitness show, you end up way more disciplined. (10:44) Because you start noticing when you're eating like a dickhead.(10:48) You put skin in the game, and now there's a danger to not doing well and a big W to doing well. (10:57) And this all comes back to getting resources. (11:01) Because then there's the whole theory of like, why does fame matter?(11:06) Well, fame is attention, and attention can be monetized for resources. (11:10) So like, why are we jealous of the popular kids in high school? (11:14) Because we're all primitive idiots in high school who, we don't know why, but we want to be liked by the popular kid.(11:23) And it's all primal based on whoever was the leader of the tribe. (11:27) If they said, you know, F you, you- I got to pull you out of this fucking rabbit hole. (11:32) Timeline, target.(11:35) Yeah. (11:35) Connect that, please. (11:39) I just did.(11:41) If you don't have a timeline and a target, real quick. (11:43) If you don't have a timeline and a target, your subconscious and unconscious mind aren't working for you. (11:48) They're working against you.(11:50) And based on your experience with coaching as many people as you have, which one is less common? (12:02) I feel like most people have a target. (12:04) To a degree.(12:06) I feel like the timeline's not there, though. (12:08) It's like, well, by when? (12:11) When is this?(12:12) When are you planning on this happening? (12:14) Well, here's what we'll do. (12:16) This is good.(12:17) Everyone has a target. (12:19) Not everyone is conscious of it and choosing it consciously. (12:23) So you had a target to be a better baseball player, but you didn't consciously choose to do that.(12:29) So you couldn't recruit all of you, you know? (12:31) You weren't like studying baseball books and getting an extra coach on the side and having a tutor or whatever. (12:37) Again, I'm just making shit up.(12:38) And you were an all-star baseball player. (12:42) Talent, baby. (12:44) Not by accident, but not consciously.(12:47) Imagine how good you would have been if you actually chose in advance to be an all-star baseball player.

Alan Lazaros

(12:51) I didn't know you could. (12:52) It's like, I didn't believe it.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:54) I know. (12:54) And that's the fixed mindset. (12:55) Yeah, I thought everybody just was what they were.(12:58) It's like, oh, that person's just better than I am. (13:00) Shit. (13:01) Good for them.(13:02) That's the worst. (13:03) That sounds terrible. (13:05) But that also is very common.(13:06) That was most of my life. (13:08) Yeah. (13:09) Yeah, you thought people were just...(13:12) Can you imagine going back to a mindset like that? (13:15) Honestly, yeah. (13:17) There's a large piece of me that does not...(13:20) I don't ever want to forget certain stuff like that. (13:22) I think it's super important for me to remember that. (13:25) I think it's important in general.(13:27) I do. (13:28) But it's hard not to forget. (13:32) I think it's...(13:33) I was talking to somebody today and they were talking about how they didn't know how they were going to pay rent. (13:37) It's like, I remember. (13:38) I fucking remember that.(13:42) So when you sucked at a video game and someone was better than you at a video game, you just thought they were better than you at it? (13:48) Yeah. (13:50) You didn't think they played more and more often?

Alan Lazaros

(13:52) It wasn't even... (13:53) Worked on it?

Kevin Palmieri

(13:54) I think there was a point of, I don't care that they play more. (13:58) I should still be better. (13:59) I want to be better, though.(14:00) I want to be better than them, even if they do play more. (14:03) I think it was just that. (14:04) I was competitive and I couldn't understand...(14:08) I didn't understand how much the reps mattered. (14:10) I had no idea. (14:13) Yeah.(14:14) I had no idea. (14:15) And so connecting it to this, being better at video games was not my target until I played video games. (14:20) It was a micro target for an afternoon and then I just forgot about it until the next time I played video games.(14:26) So it wasn't an actual target. (14:30) If nothing comes of this episode for anyone out there watching or listening, here's what I would say. (14:35) Your life will not be as good as it could be if you don't have timelines and targets.(14:42) Your life is... (14:44) How many times better than back then? (14:46) Many, many, many, many, many, many.(14:48) Yeah. (14:49) So I remember I told you this way back and I joke, if you want a coach, you need a therapist. (14:57) If you want a therapist, you need a coach.(14:59) Get both. (14:59) But I had dozens of mentors and coaches in my life. (15:04) Too many, quite frankly, and some of them were awful.(15:07) Awful is probably harsh. (15:08) Not great. (15:09) Yeah, some of them sucked.(15:10) Some of them sucked. (15:11) Some of them were great. (15:13) And you just didn't...(15:15) I remember telling you this, success, though, you need to learn how to be successful. (15:24) And this is one thing that we don't talk about anymore, but we should. (15:27) How?(15:28) You try. (15:29) You always try to get me to tell people how. (15:31) It's very hard to explain.(15:33) And then usually I say why and I go down the rabbit hole of evolutionary psychology. (15:37) But the truth is, how? (15:39) How do you set a timeline and a target?(15:42) It's extremely... (15:42) You do it for the first time and you fucking miss completely. (15:47) And then you're like, no, that's not even possible.(15:50) 10 pounds in two weeks? (15:52) No, I can't do that. (15:53) That's not possible.(15:54) You do that. (15:56) You know what I'm going to do next time? (15:58) I'm going to do 10 pounds in six weeks next time.(16:02) But you're not going to say that. (16:03) I will say that. (16:04) Because it's the 10 pound in 10 weeks challenge.(16:05) Well, okay, maybe I'll do 15 pounds in 10 weeks. (16:07) Maybe I'll do 15 pounds in 10 weeks. (16:10) Can I do that?(16:10) Okay, nice. (16:11) That's awesome. (16:12) But that's only...(16:12) You don't come on the mic?

Alan Lazaros

(16:14) I don't know.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:14) This is next year. (16:15) Let's see what happens. (16:16) The giraffe, I could ride off into the sunset with the giraffe, my cats, and my wife and never be seen again.(16:21) Okay? (16:21) So I'm not really getting a giraffe. (16:22) It's just a running joke we have for whatever reason.(16:24) I have no idea. (16:25) I said it one time. (16:25) I say dumb stuff.(16:27) I don't know if you can really understand the timeline and the target until you create a timeline and you create a target and you miss horribly on both or you get closer than you thought and then you just have to reassess. (16:39) So it's the scientific way. (16:43) Method.(16:44) I was going to say the scientific experiment. (16:48) Sounds like a street I want to live on. (16:49) The scientific way.(16:51) Yeah. (16:52) Right next to... (16:53) Yeah.(16:53) Yeah. (16:54) Park drive in scientific way. (16:56) So did you just get a little embarrassed?(16:59) I think you feel like you got a little embarrassed for me there when I couldn't spit it out.

Alan Lazaros

(17:03) Slightly.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:03) I appreciate that. (17:04) I don't think anyone will care. (17:05) I think it's fine.(17:05) I don't care. (17:06) And also, I don't know if I care. (17:08) I was going to say the scientific experiment.(17:10) That was the first thing that came to me. (17:11) I was like, that sounds... (17:13) That's too much.(17:15) The scientific method.

Alan Lazaros

(17:15) Yeah, I know now. (17:16) Now I know.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:16) But that, I think that's the way. (17:19) That's the way. (17:20) You don't...(17:20) That's the scientific way. (17:21) That's the scientific way. (17:21) When you hire a fitness coach, I hired a fitness coach.(17:26) You know why he was able to dial me in on the day of my show? (17:28) Because he missed a bunch of times in the beginning with other people. (17:31) A bunch of times.(17:32) A bunch of times. (17:32) And himself. (17:32) He probably started with himself, figured it out, started coaching other people.(17:36) Yeah. (17:37) And when you were posing, you know, four weeks out, it's like, shit, we're behind. (17:42) Yeah.(17:42) You got to crank. (17:44) I sent this to... (17:45) I know we got to go here soon, but I sent this to a client recently.(17:50) As a matter of fact, I just saved it in my Google Drive. (17:55) One second. (17:55) No worries.(17:59) It's looking for my face. (18:00) Looking for his face. (18:01) Only my face can get into this Google Drive.(18:06) Here we go. (18:08) Ah, Alan's Gamifying Success Formula. (18:11) Let's see if that sticks.

Alan Lazaros

(18:12) Here we go.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:12) Let's see if that sticks. (18:14) Yeah, probably not. (18:16) All right, ready?(18:17) My Gamify Approach to Life. (18:19) Number one, choose a clear specific goal with a timeline and a target. (18:25) Very appropriate.(18:25) Nice. (18:26) Number two, design a specific peak performance tracking, also known as PPT, system to ensure you achieve it. (18:34) And again, we got to go into how to do that.(18:36) Number three, decide on specific metrics to measure daily, weekly, and monthly to ensure you're on track. (18:43) Huh? (18:43) Nice.(18:44) Number four, redesign the system accordingly based on the data tracked in both the PPT and metrics. (18:52) It's pick a goal, timeline, and a target. (18:56) Step one.(18:57) Step two, design a system to get to that goal. (19:01) Step three, measure daily, weekly, monthly. (19:06) Step four, redesign the fucking system based on the feedback.(19:11) That's what my whole coaching program is built on. (19:14) Raffaella, shout out to you. (19:15) I was on with her earlier.(19:17) She's 28 days into my program and she's already cranking. (19:23) And it's funny, I told her I was going to shout her out. (19:26) I didn't know that it would be on this episode.(19:28) And I said that I'd do it anonymously. (19:30) Raffaella, my bad. (19:31) But anyways, so she's like, she doesn't care.(19:34) She gave me permission. (19:35) But I don't want any of my other clients to think that I'm going to do that. (19:38) So anyways, Raffaella, first names only.(19:42) I upped the ante. (19:44) Because when you're winning, I want to get to the next level. (19:46) So it's always, how do we improve the system?(19:48) How do we improve the system? (19:49) How do we improve the system? (19:50) So we upped the ante, added a couple habits.(19:53) She had all greens and yellows. (19:56) So below 90% and up is green. (20:01) 80 to 90 is yellow.(20:03) Anything below 80% is red. (20:05) They're all red now. (20:06) And she's like, ah, all my greens.(20:10) And I said, yep. (20:12) That's how we play, baby. (20:14) The moment you're winning, we up the ante.(20:17) Because over time, it should look like a staircase. (20:20) Something called total productive output. (20:22) Where peak performance tracking has total productive output of how well you're doing.(20:26) If you're doing 100% of your habits, you're green. (20:28) If you're doing 90%, 89%, you're yellow. (20:31) You get it.(20:32) The point is, I don't give a shit if you're all green. (20:36) If you're all green, it's time to up the ante. (20:38) If you're all red, it's time to get back to minimums and basics.(20:44) So the moment that the system is easy, it's time to up the ante. (20:49) The moment that the system is too hard, we have to get back to essentials. (20:52) And it's an expand and contract process that should never stop.(20:56) In the beginning, how short should the timeline be? (21:03) How short? (21:03) Okay, so the ladder is...(21:07) Everyone picture a ladder, bottom to the top. (21:10) Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, quarters, years, decades, lifetime. (21:14) And then beyond your own lifetime if you're legacy focused.(21:18) So, you don't start there though. (21:20) You start with how far out can you see. (21:23) So I think quarterly is legit.(21:25) I call it the 12-week... (21:27) There's a book called The 12-Week Year. (21:29) And then there's another book called The 25-Year Framework.(21:31) I combined them to make sort of my own system. (21:36) If you... (21:37) How old are you going to be in 25 years?(21:38) I'm going to be... (21:39) I am currently 36, so I'll be 50... (21:42) 61.(21:43) At least 61. (21:44) You'll be 61. (21:45) You have 100 quarters.(21:48) Till then. (21:51) Dude, don't fuck those up. (21:54) Like you could...(21:55) Your dreams depend on how well you do the next 100 quarters. (21:58) And I think 90 days is short enough to matter, but long enough to make a meaningful difference. (22:05) I like the quarter thing.(22:07) And you and I back in the day, we were doing decades. (22:10) And you're like, dude, I don't... (22:11) Yeah, I never landed.(22:12) I'm not attached to that. (22:14) I need... (22:14) Like if you're going to do a marathon, do it in a quarter.(22:17) Or maybe a 5K. (22:18) Start with a 5K. (22:19) Or start with a mile.(22:20) Whatever. (22:21) Like I have one client, 10-minute mile is the goal for this quarter. (22:24) Great.(22:25) Yeah. (22:25) So I think 90-day goals are fucking awesome. (22:28) I do.(22:29) What if it seems too far? (22:32) Then you gotta start with a month. (22:35) Or a week.(22:37) Use... (22:38) Use... (22:38) You can't use seconds.(22:39) Dumb. (22:40) Minutes? (22:41) Dumb.(22:41) Hours? (22:42) Eh, dumb. (22:43) Tasks.(22:44) Days? (22:46) Yeah, I think a daily goal could roll to a weekly goal. (22:48) Could roll to a monthly goal.(22:49) Could... (22:50) You know. (22:50) But at very minimum...(22:54) You should be able to think a week out. (22:57) You gotta be able to think a week out. (22:58) Yeah.(22:59) I would say... (23:00) Try to think a week out. (23:01) Set a weekly goal.(23:02) There's 52 weeks a year. (23:03) There's a lot you can do. (23:06) You can accomplish a lot in 52 weeks.(23:08) For sure. (23:09) It's a long-ass timeline though. (23:11) So I think that's important.(23:12) When you're starting to set a timeline, when it starts to get blurry, you should probably bring it back a little bit. (23:18) That would be my advice, just based on my... (23:21) There's like certain things where...(23:23) Alan and I have a conversation. (23:24) I'm like, I don't believe that. (23:26) Trust me, that's not gonna serve me.(23:28) Well, you want the goal to... (23:29) Trust me. (23:30) I do not believe that is humanly possible.(23:32) That is not gonna inspire me. (23:34) It's not gonna... (23:35) We gotta bring it back a little bit.(23:36) Just so it seems achievable. (23:40) Right? (23:40) If it seems impossible, there's no way I'm gonna push for it.(23:44) You and I recently... (23:45) I'll share this briefly, because I know we gotta go. (23:48) You and I recently hit a big goal.(23:49) Both debt-free, awesome. (23:55) You're pleasantly surprised with how well that does. (23:58) Yeah, it's weird.(23:59) It doesn't make any sense. (24:00) Okay, it's weird. (24:01) Okay, awesome.(24:02) I had a moment with Emilia last night where I said, so we're doing very well, awesome. (24:08) And I knew... (24:09) Nothing's a surprise to me.(24:10) There's been no surprises with any of this. (24:12) This is exactly what I knew would happen, if anything, it's under. (24:15) But for you, it's like, holy crap.(24:17) For sure. (24:18) This is fucking great. (24:22) I told Emilia, if he didn't understand, because you explained how once it's a few layers in, you're like, nope.(24:31) Yeah. (24:32) If I can't get you to understand it, why would you work for it? (24:36) Like, would you just trust me?(24:37) I trust that it'll be better. (24:40) Yeah, but you didn't know how much better. (24:42) So we weren't igniting all of you, because you didn't know how good it was gonna be.(24:48) You know what I mean? (24:49) It's like, if I was trying to get you to go see a movie, and you think it's gonna be okay, you're gonna get there, but you might get there late, you might prioritize other stuff, maybe you don't dress nice, I don't know. (24:59) Metaphor.(25:00) But if it's like something that you know is gonna be a 12 out of 10, you're gonna work harder for it, right? (25:07) So I told Emilia, I said, I gotta do better at getting him to understand it. (25:12) I knew that this would be awesome.(25:15) You had no fucking clue how awesome it would be. (25:18) You just knew it would be better. (25:21) There's nothing in there.(25:22) Timeline, target, transformation. (25:25) You know what I mean? (25:26) I don't know.(25:27) Hey, think about it. (25:28) You mull it over. (25:29) I would just like a little bit of credit.(25:32) It's gotta be target, then timeline. (25:34) Target, timeline, transformation. (25:35) But I do think...(25:36) No, maybe timeline's first, because you can't pick a target if you don't have the timeline. (25:40) No, you put target first. (25:42) No, no, no, but what you can accomplish in two years is very different than what you can accomplish in two days.(25:51) That's what you die on. (25:51) Now again, it's your framework. (25:55) It's technically our framework, since you added the third.(25:57) Oh shit, it's our framework? (25:58) That's fire. (25:59) It's timeline first, then target, then transformation.(26:02) You can't have a timeline before a target. (26:05) Yes, you can't. (26:06) Somebody's gonna come to you and they're gonna say, we have a year.(26:08) Somebody's gonna say, a year to do what? (26:11) I don't know, lots of things. (26:12) Do lots of things with a year.(26:13) No, no, no, this is it. (26:21) You have Q2, April, May, June. (26:25) By July 1st, you want this goal.(26:28) So 90 days is the frame. (26:30) Now you have to know what you can achieve in 90 days. (26:33) Let me ask you a question, and then we'll get out of here.(26:35) Do you want this to apply to humans? (26:39) Do you want it to be optimal from your perspective or human use? (26:46) It's a weird question.(26:48) Human use. (26:48) I think target has to be first. (26:50) Why?(26:52) You can't pick a target if you don't have... (26:54) Everybody picks a target first. (26:56) That's probably suboptimal.(26:58) It could be, but I think that's... (27:00) Remember how we... (27:01) You can have a category.(27:02) Remember how we had... (27:06) It was... (27:07) Excuse me, geez.(27:10) Consistency, sustainability, and I was like, dude, sustainability has to be first. (27:13) You might be right. (27:14) Maybe in two years I'll tell you.(27:16) But right now... (27:20) I do think that the size of the target needs to be predicated on the timeline, obviously. (27:26) You're not going to lose 50 pounds in two days.(27:27) No, but I think... (27:28) But I think what happens is somebody says, weight loss, target. (27:32) It's a category.(27:33) I think that's good. (27:34) I think it's a category of a target, and it starts there, and then it's... (27:38) That fucks up the framework, though.(27:39) You know, I don't know. (27:41) Timeline, target, and transformation is... (27:43) So if it doesn't work, fuck it, I'm out there watching or listening.(27:51) Pick a timeline. (27:53) Q2 is tomorrow, or today. (27:55) April 1st to July 1st.(27:57) 90 days. (27:58) I think it might be 91 or 89, I don't know. (28:00) I don't know.(28:01) 90 days. (28:02) Okay, 12 weeks, 12 weeks. (28:05) That's the timeline, 12 weeks.(28:07) Pick a target. (28:08) You might overshoot, you might undershoot. (28:10) I like to lose at a big game, so I'll overshoot.(28:13) Kevin likes to win at a smaller game, he undershoots. (28:19) You don't grow, find your sweet spot, and then boom. (28:22) What's the transformation that needs to happen in order to achieve that goal?(28:26) I have someone with a financial goal right now. (28:28) You want to know your transformation? (28:29) Yes, I'm talking to you.(28:30) I know you're listening. (28:32) You can't miss... (28:34) You can't think that you need things that you don't need, okay?(28:36) She knows I'm talking to her. (28:37) The point is, the transformation... (28:40) I don't think you can hit timelines and targets without some level of transformation.(28:51) What do you mean? (28:52) Nice little bird chirp you got. (28:54) Wow.(28:55) If you suggested to me how drastic the transformation of my lifestyle would be, it would have motivated me more. (29:01) Not how much I was going to have to change. (29:03) I assume that by default.(29:06) Oh, well, the way I see it is you have to transform to achieve it. (29:10) Yeah, but I already assume that. (29:12) You mean transformation in lifestyle and transformation...(29:14) I mean, sell me on the... (29:16) Sell me on how good it's going to be if you actually hit the target in the meaningful timeline. (29:21) Well, that's predicated on what you value.(29:24) I assume your value... (29:25) Yeah, okay, but you can connect that to this. (29:29) Yeah, of course.(29:30) That helps me. (29:32) Kev, if you... (29:33) As long as people know you can't hit a timeline and a target without some level of transformation.(29:37) I think that's assumed, I would say. (29:39) I don't know. (29:44) I haven't said this to you in a long time.(29:46) I love you. (29:47) Well, I do. (29:48) I say it to you all the time behind the scenes.(29:49) I've been having so much fun lately on this podcast and I love you. (29:51) I love the fact that we are so fucking different and we somehow create content that is relatively valuable. (30:00) I dig that.(30:02) I appreciate it, man. (30:03) Of course. (30:03) I do and you as well, my friend.(30:05) I had a friend one time who reached out and he's like, dude, how the fuck do you... (30:12) I was like, dude, I don't know. (30:15) Just make him laugh.

Alan Lazaros

(30:17) It's not just that.

Kevin Palmieri

(30:19) It's a big piece. (30:20) And I'm not fishing. (30:21) You don't have to say anything.(30:21) I'm not fishing for compliments. (30:22) No, no, no, I know. (30:23) But I know you're not fishing and I know I don't need to say anything.(30:26) I want to. (30:27) I appreciate it. (30:28) I want to because I've thought the same.(30:31) Nice, nice. (30:32) That was a good one. (30:49) You've made Chicken Salad out of chicken shit and I think that, to me, I am inspired not by people who are awesome.(30:59) I think I'm inspired by people who become great through work ethic and willingness. (31:11) I mean it when I said if you were any level of spoiled brat, this could never have worked. (31:20) I love you.(31:21) I love that we started from the bottom metaphorically and obviously not, we were born in a great country, all that stuff, but we had very little handed to us. (31:31) Pretty much. (31:33) Almost nothing.(31:34) And to me that's always what I'm going to value most. (31:37) So anyways, you've done very well because some people are, they do start on third base. (31:45) Some people do.(31:46) Whatever, that's fine. (31:51) Same small town. (31:53) Grew up without fathers.(31:54) Raised by two women. (31:55) Had some serious adversity. (31:58) Both had a chip on our shoulder.(32:00) We have built something meaningful out of it and I think that that's, sometimes I wonder how this all happened too. (32:10) Not on the success side and not on, that was all by design and we went to the drawing board and figured it out and that formula that I said earlier just like constantly feedback, figured out, we're still doing that. (32:21) But when it comes to you and me, I mean that felt very intuitive from the beginning.(32:25) I don't know, it was like a fun ride in the beginning. (32:28) It's like fuck yeah, let's see what happens baby. (32:31) And next thing I know, nine years later, I have no idea, I don't even know how I got here baby.(32:36) Still here. (32:36) It didn't, it very rarely didn't feel natural though. (32:39) I don't.(32:40) I had a mentor once who said be careful, don't do anything that feels too unnatural. (32:46) He was talking about my ex and my relationship and I was like ah, I'm in trouble because I'm definitely going outside of alignment with who I am to try to make this relationship work but with you, it always felt pretty natural. (32:56) I had nothing to compare it to.(32:58) Again, I was just naive so I was like alright, this is fun, let's see what happens. (33:03) And it was like if I could find a way to do this, this would be like the best. (33:07) I was naive too.(33:08) Yeah, that's fair. (33:09) Maybe not in the same way.

Alan Lazaros

(33:10) To be continued.

Kevin Palmieri

(33:11) To be continued. (33:11) I love you too brother. (33:12) It's been a journey.(33:14) For sure. (33:14) I've been looking back in the past. (33:15) I did Google Street View of my old, where I used to live back in the day.(33:19) It's like jeez man, I'm so much nostalgia. (33:22) I don't know why. (33:22) I don't, you know I get like seasons.(33:26) I also think you appreciate it a lot too. (33:28) What? (33:28) You know, I think a lot of people have a lot to be grateful for and they're not.(33:33) And I think that you appreciate this. (33:35) I try. (33:35) I'm sure I lose, I'm sure I lose it.(33:39) Dude, I went to the gym today. (33:41) I worked out with Bruce. (33:41) We did shoulders.(33:43) Bruce, 79 years young. (33:45) The dude is just, he's in there hitting his 45 pound dumbbells. (33:49) Come on Bruce.(33:51) He's yelling at himself. (33:53) It's fucking awesome. (33:54) I had a great, I had a great workout and then I came home and did back office and the cats are waiting.(33:58) It's the best. (33:59) It's the best. (33:59) Super grateful.(34:00) You know what else it is too? (34:01) Last piece. (34:01) You're not entitled.(34:03) There's, there's very, very low entitlement in you. (34:06) You don't, you don't have this like, this, I deserve, you don't have, I don't know. (34:14) You don't stick your nose up at people.(34:17) You, you're humble and you don't have a lot of entitlement. (34:23) That's, I have trouble with people who have entitlement. (34:27) Like I have a really hard time with people who have lost sight of like how good they have it and I try really hard not to do that too.(34:35) I remember (34:37) in the past (34:38) I was with someone (34:38) who, (34:39) who, (34:40) you know, (34:41) we had gotten Subway together (34:42) and, (34:43) and I, (34:44) I just, (34:45) you can tell when someone is like (34:49) not getting perspective (34:51) and I, (34:52) I just wanted to sit her down (34:54) and say, (34:54) you do realize some people like (34:56) don't have food (34:59) and you can just tell (35:00) when some people aren't thinking about that, (35:02) you know, (35:02) and, (35:03) and it's just like, (35:07) you know, (35:07) you know, (35:08) oh, (35:09) well, (35:09) my sub is, (35:10) you know, (35:10) it's a little burnt (35:11) and it's like, (35:13) can you just be grateful for a second (35:14) that you have food (35:16) and that you didn't have to do anything (35:18) ever, (35:19) you know? (35:19) It's like, and again, I just can't stand that people that, this is what it is.(35:23) You, you don't expect something for nothing. (35:26) I don't expect anything for anything. (35:28) Really, it's not, so, I might be, that would, I might be under, you know, that, that we're gonna have to work on.(35:34) I, that's why I, um, but you, you don't expect something for nothing. (35:37) that's why I think it's, I'm happy I started as like, low self-worth, low self-belief. (35:43) Yes, I, I'm not, I'm happy I started with non-entitlement.(35:48) yeah, yeah. (35:49) Same. (35:49) The entitlement was ripped from us, brother, and, and that has become a superpower that we worked with and, and I'm working on this piece of, we made that our superpower.(35:59) It's not, some people start where we started and, and don't make it out. (36:03) let's, and that's why we do what we do. (36:05) If anyone feels that way, that's why we do this.(36:09) Cause you can do it too. (36:11) Your own version. (36:12) That's why we do this.(36:13) Like, you don't have to stay where you are. (36:16) Where I was, was fucking terrible. (36:19) You don't have to stay there.(36:21) You can climb out and it can be unfreaking believable. (36:24) There's no guarantee, but it's better than sitting there just, meh, and one day at a time with us. (36:31) That's why we do an episode every day.(36:32) I met somebody the other day and they said, I've never met a professional podcaster before. (36:36) And I was like, well, I don't know. (36:37) It's weird.(36:38) I don't consider myself a professional podcaster by any stretch of the imagination, but thank you. (36:43) And I said, yeah, we do an episode every day because I feel like, I don't, you can grow a little bit every day. (36:49) Just a little bit.(36:50) It's nothing crazy. (36:51) You're not going to go and lose 10 pounds today, but if you go to the gym every day for the next 30 days or every other day or whatever it is, if you do it for long enough, things can really happen. (36:59) So, cool.(37:01) All right. (37:02) If you're looking for anything in terms of growth, if you're looking for community, you're looking for whatever, book club, there's a bunch of stuff. (37:08) We have a bunch of stuff.(37:10) We are not good at everything, but we are very consistent and we are very driven to give value to you. (37:16) So, whether it's a free thing or a paid thing, whatever it is, come into the community, go deeper in NLU and you will not regret it. (37:23) That's my call to action in today's episode.(37:26) You heard earlier the four-step process of my coaching. (37:33) Set a goal, timeline, target, now transformation. (37:37) Design a specific system of metrics and habits and skills and identity to get there and then track it and then dial it in, dial it in, dial it in.(37:49) That's how I help my clients achieve their goals. (37:52) There are very few times where I, if you're delusional about your goals and the timeline, I will tell you, but my coaching lately has been so awesome because we have timelines and targets and then we dial in a system and then you track metrics and habits which is required if you're going to coach with me at this point. (38:14) Every one of my clients, 29 clients, very grateful, they all track metrics and habits and you just start winning and you start gaining momentum and yeah, the day-to-day is hard but that's why your life's going to be great.(38:25) If the day-to-day is easy every day and you're never challenged and you're never growing, your life is going to suck. (38:30) If the day-to-day is hard and you're challenged, your future's bright and it's pretty, pretty sweet, you know. (38:36) It's been awesome to see so many of my clients achieve their goals and dreams.(38:41) Yeah, and the compound effect of that is still going because I started 11 years ago and there's some people I've been coaching for seven, eight years now. (38:47) That's crazy. (38:49) I know.(38:50) That's been one (38:51) of my favorite parts (38:52) is the compound effect (38:54) of witnessing you, (38:56) some of my long-term clients, (38:58) how much can happen over time (39:00) and this is still (39:02) the beginning of the beginning (39:02) mathematically (39:03) but I have several clients (39:06) that are, (39:07) you know, (39:07) two years, (39:09) some three, (39:10) four, (39:11) five, (39:11) six, (39:12) seven (39:12) and then one that's eight (39:13) and then you nine (39:14) so it's, (39:16) you can just see (39:17) the compound effect pay off (39:19) but, (39:20) and I honestly, (39:21) I say this to my clients (39:21) all the time, (39:22) give me a decade. (39:24) I can make you wealthy. (39:25) Give me a decade.(39:26) Not everyone and there's levels to wealth, right, but I can make you financially free if we're fucking sure. (39:31) Absolutely. (39:32) There's very few people who I don't think can be financially free if they're intelligent about it and they give me enough time.(39:37) Time. (39:38) Time is the great equalizer. (39:40) Right?(39:41) In both directions. (39:43) I saw something and we'll get out of here the other day. (39:45) It was, when you're young you look like your parents.(39:50) As you age you look like your habits. (39:53) It's like, oh Jesus. (39:54) That's heavy.(39:56) That's heavy. (39:58) Yeah, that's good. (39:58) My father took steroids so, I don't know.(40:01) What do you want me to tell you? (40:02) As always, we love you, allegedly. (40:04) As always, we love you, we appreciate you, grateful for each and every one of you 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.(40:13) Keep leveling up to reach your full potential. (40:15) Next elimination. (40:17) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University.(40:21) We love connecting with the Next Level family. (40:24) We mean it when we say family. (40:26) If you ever need anything please reach out to us directly.(40:29) Everything you need to get a hold of us is in the show notes. (40:33) Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.