Logic Doesn’t Usually Feel Good (2414)

Train your brain before it costs you. In this episode, Kevin and Alan break down why rational decision-making can feel uncomfortable, even when the better choice is clear. Through real examples around money, subscriptions, debt, business, client patterns, and personal discipline, they show how emotion can distort judgment when clear thinking has not been trained.

They explore the gap between knowing the right move and being emotionally prepared to make it. Rationality is not automatic. Short-term comfort often wins when self-awareness, discipline, and long-term thinking are weak. This episode is about responsibility, better decision-making, and building the kind of internal operating system that supports real growth over time.

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

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Show notes:
(2:04) Why logic does not feel good
(4:44) Choosing what you optimize for
(7:51) Emotional thinking versus rational thinking
(12:15) Training yourself to become more logical
(17:37) Personal responsibility in a broken system
(19:17) Why deeper understanding protects you
(23:48) Train logic, reward smart choices.
(25:56) 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 know I can save 20% on whatever membership, whatever recurring thing I have if I just pay for the year up front. (0:09) I know. (0:10) I know.(0:11) I don't want to do it. (0:12) I don't want to do it. (0:13) I'd rather them just take the 20 bucks out a month than me have to shell out 300 bucks and save 60 bucks.(0:20) Logically, it makes all the sense in the world. (0:23) Logically, yes, I should just pay for all this up front. (0:26) It'll save me $60 over the course of the year.(0:29) Emotionally though, I'd rather hang on to the money and I know it's Jeff, but that is my honest truth.

Alan Lazaros

(0:36) This is going to be a tough one for me. (0:37) I make, I try to make my decisions based on rational number crunching calculations. (0:45) Yeah.(0:46) Calculated effective long-term strategic choices, delayed gratification, the whole nine. (0:50) So this will be a potential debate between Kevin and I, but that's also kind of what we're leaning into anyways.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:57) Welcome to Next Level University. (1:01) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (1:02) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus.(1:05) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven, but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(1:12) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:18) 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

(1:34) Self-improvement in your pocket every day from anywhere, completely free. (1:41) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:47) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2,414. (1:51) Logic doesn't usually feel good. (1:53) I don't think we'll debate because I am in agreement.(1:57) But I actually think it feels good. (1:59) Ah, fair. (2:00) Because I've rewired myself for logic to feel good.(2:02) We're definitely going to be in debate. (2:04) It feels good when I do it, but there's that initial, like, so pliability. (2:11) I think pliability, it used to be ROMWOD.(2:13) It's a long-form stretching subscription. (2:17) Oh, it's the GOAT. (2:18) It's an app.(2:18) It's the GOAT. (2:19) 1999. (2:20) 1999.(2:21) It's like, ah, it's not bad. (2:22) Cool. (2:22) Did you not pay for the...(2:23) I haven't yet. (2:24) Nope, haven't yet. (2:25) Oh, shit.

Alan Lazaros

(2:26) Haven't done it yet. (2:27) Now, the beauty is... (2:28) You're uncertain whether or not you'll have it for the whole year, or you just don't want to shell out the cash.(2:32) I just don't want to shell out the cash.

Kevin Palmieri

(2:36) Extremely illogical. (2:39) Extremely illogical. (2:40) I understand.(2:42) I just don't... (2:43) I have something for you. (2:45) Is it Rationality by Steven Pinker?(2:48) Look at that. (2:50) Rationality by Steven... (2:51) That book is boring as shit.(2:53) Yeah. (2:54) That is a rough one. (2:55) Most important book ever written, in my opinion.(2:58) Is that the number one?

Alan Lazaros

(3:00) Yes. (3:00) The compound effect has fallen. (3:03) Okay.(3:04) I think it's the most important book ever written. (3:05) That said, I also think it's one of the most boring books ever written, for most people. (3:09) And just because I say it's the most important book does not mean you will like it.(3:15) As a matter of fact, it's probably the direct opposite. (3:17) You'll probably hate it, actually. (3:19) But you need it, right?(3:19) I agree. (3:21) Yes. (3:21) It'll be the most helpful.(3:22) One of the most helpful books you've ever read, if you actually take it in.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:24) I need it. (3:25) I'm way more logical than I've ever been. (3:28) Tanner and I had a conversation about something.(3:29) We recently fully combined finances, which is the fucking best. (3:33) I love it. (3:34) My whole life, everybody was like, don't ever, don't ever combine finances with your wife.(3:40) Get out of here. (3:40) Get out of here. (3:41) My wife's the most wonderful person.(3:43) I mean, if she divorces me and takes all my money, whatever. (3:45) You can say, told you so. (3:47) I don't anticipate it happening, but I guess nobody does.(3:50) And when I got under the hood, there was a couple of things where I was like, pay that off right now. (3:57) What are we doing? (3:57) Just pay that right now.(3:58) Don't even think twice about it. (4:01) And I also understand completely. (4:02) Of course.(4:03) Of course. (4:04) It's very logic. (4:09) Yeah, it's the right thing to do, but the right thing to do doesn't always feel like the right thing to do.(4:12) And feelings run us more than the right thing to do, unfortunately. (4:17) And so I had that moment where Alan was like, so there are certain things that are still on the business account that need to get switched over to my personal. (4:25) I think Romwater, Appliability was one of them.(4:28) He's like, no yearly subscription on this. (4:30) It's like, I fucking know. (4:31) I know.(4:32) I just don't want to do it yet. (4:34) I need to, I need to move some monies around. (4:36) I need to make sure everything's, everything's set before I.(4:39) You'd have more money if you just made the right choice. (4:41) I know, but not in the short run, you know, that.

Alan Lazaros

(4:44) Who cares? (4:46) Emotion cares. (4:47) I know that.(4:48) All right. (4:49) So when we say the right choice, first of all, there is no right choice. (4:53) There's just more optimal choices and it depends what you're optimizing for.(4:57) So I was on with a client earlier, two clients today, actually, they are optimizing for long-term freedom, which means they have to temporarily give up freedom in order to accumulate enough wealth to buy back freedom. (5:08) It's, it's this weird paradoxical thing, but you can rewire your emotional guidance system. (5:17) I, I have trained myself, conditioned myself, just like Pavlov with his dogs of saliva when they ring the bell, because they think they're getting to get a treat.(5:26) You can train yourself to, to feel good when you make intelligent choices. (5:33) So I've spent my entire life trying to wire my emotions to intelligent decisions.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:39) Were you ever, you may know this too real quick, wasn't there a flood and didn't a bunch of Pavlov's dogs die?

Alan Lazaros

(5:46) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:46) That's made me sad when I read that.

Alan Lazaros

(5:48) Yeah, for sure. (5:48) Of course. (5:49) It wasn't because a lot of the best research in the world has come at the expense of animals.(5:53) It's yeah, I can't fucking stand it. (5:55) Yeah. (5:55) It's not good, but I mean, that doesn't change the principle.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:58) No, it doesn't. (5:59) I didn't do it. (6:00) I didn't do it.(6:01) We might as well use the data that we have and yeah, otherwise they went, it was a waste. (6:06) Died for nothing. (6:07) Uh, that's part one.(6:08) Was there a time where you made way more emotional decisions? (6:15) I think I just assume you always thought the way you think. (6:20) Seriously, that's not even meant to be even remotely funny.(6:24) No. (6:26) And kind of, kind of right. (6:29) More than me.

Alan Lazaros

(6:30) Uh, I don't know. (6:39) I don't know. (6:40) I would say I was always on the higher end of rationality in hindsight.(6:44) Yeah. (6:44) Yeah. (6:45) Yeah.(6:45) But what is rationality? (6:47) Rationality is the ability to calculate effective decision-making in advance based on a given goal. (6:51) You think it's math brain?

Kevin Palmieri

(6:53) Yeah. (6:53) I watched, I came across this really cool series on Instagram and this per, this person was on the MIT campus. (7:01) Nice.(7:01) He walked up to someone and said, Hey, what are you studying here? (7:04) And this person was a, they were whatever they graduated and they were getting their doctorate in something math. (7:13) And I was like this, let's take actuarial mathematics.(7:17) No idea. (7:18) Not a fucking clue. (7:19) But then he said, all right, can I ask you five questions that somebody in your position would normally know?(7:24) The guy's like, yeah, sure. (7:25) I'll give it a shot. (7:26) I didn't even understand the question.(7:29) And then the person just went off and they were talking about the difference between this thing and this thing. (7:35) It was insane. (7:37) Insane.(7:38) But I'm sure they are probably very, very, very rational. (7:42) Of course. (7:43) Because they know the numbers.

Alan Lazaros

(7:44) Not everywhere though. (7:46) That's fair. (7:47) Not everywhere.(7:48) I would say they're more statistically rational than most. (7:50) Yeah. (7:50) Where are they not?(7:51) There's something called a CRT, cognitive reflection test. (7:54) There's two types of decision-making. (7:56) There's quick, intuitive decisions.(7:58) And then there's like rational, cognitive conscious decisions that dolphins and primates can make. (8:04) Um, not as well, obviously you never seen a dolphin build a computer, right? (8:08) Not yet.(8:08) Not, no, never, never. (8:11) Uh, maybe in 50 million years. (8:14) Who knows what they're doing down there.(8:15) Could be doing anything. (8:16) I have no idea. (8:17) You're a ridiculous human being.(8:19) Honestly, fucking guy. (8:21) Who am I to guess? (8:22) Yeah.(8:22) Dolphin building computers. (8:23) That's a funny thought. (8:25) No, but my point is, is you can't build computers with emotional, intuitive thought, right?(8:30) So, that MIT, this CRT, remember the lily pads that double every day for 30 days? (8:37) It's like, when will the pond be half full? (8:39) It's like, obviously the 29th day.(8:42) Um, but other people say the 15th day, if there's 30 days and you just don't understand exponentials in mathematics. (8:47) Yeah. (8:48) So, and this is one of the things I try to tell you, like, well, aren't social skills natural?(8:53) Not at all. (8:54) No, no, not for fucking me. (8:59) You're not allowed to say a fat person's fat.(9:01) You're allowed to say a dumb person's dumb. (9:03) It's like really hard to navigate the social world when you live in a calculating brain. (9:09) Like dumb people are dumb.(9:10) That's why we call them dumb. (9:11) Like, it's okay. (9:12) I'm not, but feelings, oh, that's mean.(9:14) It's like, or it's just accurate. (9:16) Like, you can call me lanky. (9:18) I get it.(9:19) Like, sure. (9:20) I'm not really that lanky statistically now, but I just, I spent my childhood arguing with irrational people and I tried to have rational arguments and it realized how irrational that was. (9:34) Quite a paradox.(9:36) Then I went to engineering school and it was the fucking best. (9:40) Everybody knew mathematic modalities of thinking and it was the best. (9:46) No one was allowed to be dumb.(9:48) Like in engineering school, if you say dumb shit, you, people are like, they make fun of you. (9:54) It's the best because I know that sounds mean, but like you and I debate on the show, right? (10:00) Love it.(10:01) In engineering school, we would have heart to heart, deep debates while drinking about everything. (10:09) Like technology, GPO, a lot of ego there. (10:13) Um, not necessarily more just, yeah, some for sure.(10:19) Uh, Sean, Sean, one of my friends, Sean, he was brilliant. (10:23) Very bright. (10:24) One of the top electronics in the country.(10:26) And I loved debating this dude because it made me smarter and we thought it was just the best. (10:35) You, you get to find every flaw in your thinking. (10:37) It's the fucking best.

Kevin Palmieri

(10:38) Yeah. (10:39) I enjoy debating with you because I know it's in a positive place. (10:43) Constructive.(10:43) Yeah, it's good. (10:44) And I know you're, I mean, I won't say you don't judge me because I know you do, but you don't judge me unfairly, unfairly or toxically. (10:53) Like we might get off here.(10:54) You might say, brother, that was some of the dumbest shit I've heard in my entire life.

Alan Lazaros

(10:58) Like, yeah, no, I, I don't say that.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:00) That's not fair. (11:01) What do you mean? (11:02) You said, I said that.(11:03) Of course. (11:04) Was I joking? (11:05) I don't think so.(11:06) No, not entirely. (11:07) But, but, but I also know that's the hard thing is like, Oh man, you can only really get a truth you've given yourself. (11:18) That's part one, right?(11:20) So almost everything you say to me, I already believe about me. (11:23) Like, I know I'm highly illogical.

Alan Lazaros

(11:25) I'm way more logical than I've ever been, but I'm also ironic how you can now admit that now that you, it's like, you're now saying you're irrational now that you're actually rational.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:34) Well, that's, that is the, that is the wonky thing about all of this is number one, I don't feel confident and or aligned talking about something that I haven't, I don't want to say overcome. (11:45) I got to cross a threshold. (11:48) I have to cross a threshold in something.(11:50) I'll talk about money now cause I'm doing my own money. (11:53) It's very, it was very hard for me to talk about money before to a degree because Alan was just telling me what to do all the time. (12:00) I'll just regurgitate that to you guys.(12:02) It's good. (12:02) It's good advice. (12:03) It worked for me, but I just want to make sure that I'm walking the, the, the walk before I talk the talk.(12:10) That's a whole different conversation. (12:12) Um, okay. (12:15) How does one become more logical outside of reading that book, knowing that it's going to be extremely uncomfortable in the beginning and everything in your body is going to tell you, you don't want to do it.(12:29) And you'd rather not be logical. (12:32) I'm telling you that has been my experience. (12:35) Alan is alarmed, alarmed face.(12:38) I'm not the right person to ask. (12:41) Uh, how would you advise me if I, if, if I vulnerably shared with you like brother, I know I should pay it off. (12:47) We, we, we did this, this was 2015, I think, or 2016.(12:54) Alan was my, my guy, my, he was my guru. (12:58) I went to him for everything. (12:59) And I said, Hey brother, I get a discover card.(13:02) It's got $7,000 thing is maxed out. (13:06) Should I pay this off? (13:08) And you were like, of course you should.(13:09) Why?

Alan Lazaros

(13:10) Yes. (13:11) I asked you a question first.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:12) Please, please. (13:13) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(13:13) Yeah. (13:13) I asked you how much money do you have? (13:16) I didn't say cash on hand because I knew you didn't know what that meant.(13:18) How much money do you have in the, you, you're checking account, right? (13:21) You knew that I wouldn't know what cash on hand meant. (13:25) I, maybe, what did I say?(13:27) How much money do you have in your bank account? (13:28) That's what I said. (13:29) Probably.(13:29) I'm assuming. (13:30) I don't think I said, I had like, how much cash on hand do you have? (13:32) No, that wouldn't probably just said how much money?(13:35) No. (13:35) I said, how much do you have in your bank account? (13:37) Okay.(13:38) Fifth. (13:38) I said 15th out. (13:39) Yeah.(13:39) And I said, yeah, then pay it off.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:42) Why did I even have to ask that question? (13:46) That, why did I even have to ask that question of like, Hey, agreed, agreed.

Alan Lazaros

(13:50) Yeah. (13:50) You should, because there's layers of understanding you didn't have.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:53) I now understand that emotionally. (13:54) It felt good to have a dude, the 15 K in the bank. (14:00) Yeah.(14:00) Take, take a couple hundred bucks a month. (14:02) I don't care. (14:03) Interest, whatever.(14:04) I got 15 grand sitting in the bank. (14:05) That was emotionally. (14:07) It felt really good.

Alan Lazaros

(14:07) Yeah. (14:08) Well, you, you didn't understand how much they're going to take over time. (14:12) I definitely, when you came to me, you're like, dude, I looked at the 87 when I'm 87, I'll pay this off.(14:18) It's like, dude, is that the first time you've realized that? (14:20) Like brother, you credit card companies are not just giving you guys money. (14:25) Like there's something squad listeners.(14:29) Okay. (14:30) No, there is nothing for no such thing as something for nothing in any area, in any area. (14:36) No such thing as something for nothing.(14:38) I would love to do this.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:40) I, I would argue. (14:42) And when I say this, you're going to say, yeah, you're right on that. (14:44) You're right on that.(14:45) No, I can go, I can go take out a credit. (14:47) I can go get a brand new credit card right now. (14:49) I have excellent credit now.(14:50) Yeah. (14:51) I can get 0% financing for the first 16 months.

Alan Lazaros

(14:55) I cannot for nothing.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:56) What do you mean? (14:57) 0%. (14:57) That's not nothing.(15:00) 0% is not, is nothing. (15:02) No, you're taking the risk. (15:03) But if I have the awareness, discipline, and understanding on how to leverage that, but they're getting something, do you know what they're getting?

Alan Lazaros

(15:13) My money. (15:14) More people use their card. (15:16) More vendors have to pay a fee to use their card.(15:19) Like they're getting. (15:20) But not for me, they're not. (15:22) No, I agreed.(15:23) And just the awareness. (15:24) They are playing a bet. (15:26) They're betting that you're not going to be in a financial situation.(15:29) Trust me, I have done that many times. (15:31) And if you do that to a hundred people, at least 70% of them end up in the hole. (15:35) It's like 12, 12 months from now, I want to be a completely different place than I'm today.(15:40) Yeah, completely worse.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:41) Yeah. (15:41) Nope. (15:42) Nope.(15:43) Didn't work.

Alan Lazaros

(15:43) I see you. (15:44) No, there's no such thing as something for nothing. (15:45) There's risk with everything.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:46) Well, my point on this is if you understand logic, you can work around all the other emotions that people get trapped by. (15:56) And that literally people are, I was thinking of this today. (16:00) I don't know what it, what would I, I don't know what jumped off the page to me.(16:05) Oh, somebody I'm working with a client who just got like a large sum of money as a sponsorship from someone way more than they should have got. (16:20) Like multiple times more than they should have got. (16:23) When I, when they said the number, I said, please say the number again.(16:27) How did you get that amount of money? (16:29) And they're like, I don't know. (16:30) Evidently I just said the right things.(16:32) No, the truth is the other person is just so unaware. (16:35) They don't know.

Alan Lazaros

(16:36) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:36) They don't know that. (16:37) They just, they just don't know that you can never possibly make your money back on that. (16:42) You can never.(16:43) Now this person, this client is an amazing human. (16:45) They're not doing it. (16:46) Right.(16:46) It's toxically. (16:47) But then it was like, well, when you go, how many times have I been hoodwinked at car rentals? (16:55) You want, do you want the insurance?(16:57) And then they like, they talk real quick. (16:59) Well, you know, if you don't get the insurance, if something happens, you're going to be out for it. (17:02) It's like, I don't want that.(17:03) Kick it on. (17:04) What is it? (17:04) 20 bucks a day.(17:05) Yeah. (17:06) That's better than paying $5,000 for a new car. (17:08) Give me that.(17:08) Cool. (17:09) You go anywhere. (17:11) You go to this, you go to the phone store, you return your phone.(17:15) Are you interested?

Alan Lazaros

(17:16) It's only going to bring your monthly to 76 more dollars a month. (17:19) And I get a brand new iPhone today.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:21) Perfect.

Alan Lazaros

(17:22) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:22) It's 70. (17:23) It's $70. (17:24) Just 70.(17:25) Yep. (17:26) When you leave here today, let me ring you up. (17:29) Let me Z out 96 20 boss.(17:31) There's supposed to be 70 though. (17:33) Yeah, no, can't, can't do that kid. (17:36) Nobody can do it for that price.

Alan Lazaros

(17:37) It's funny when you say it, it is alarming, but, but, and this is the issue, right? (17:43) Do you blame the individual who isn't intelligent enough? (17:46) Or do you blame the business owner who's trying to run a business?(17:50) And the truth is it's both like both people need to be responsible for that, but you want to know the only one you have control over. (17:56) It's there's only one you have control over. (17:59) Like, listen, but it's a broken system.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:03) Of course it is. (18:04) But the only thing you can do about it is get fucking smarter. (18:08) I know.(18:08) Cause most businesses aren't going to be like, Oh, you know what? (18:11) Ah, I feel, I'm starting to feel bad about making money hand over fist here. (18:15) Let's let's, let's just be honest.(18:17) Let's just be honest and tell people that would be a wonderful, I would, I am going to try to change the world in that exact way.

Alan Lazaros

(18:24) No bullshit. (18:25) Same. (18:25) I am like actually trying to change the world in that way.(18:28) And I have, I have a deep belief in us and my belief in, in other people transforming that is, is lower than ever, unfortunately. (18:37) However, I am going to keep trying. (18:38) But my point is you want to know what I'm really passionate about is empowering the individual.(18:44) Cause when you have it, the difference between you and that person who invested, I'm so curious to the amount of money.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:50) $7,500 for one, one month podcast episode. (18:56) No. (18:56) Yeah.(18:57) One podcast episode.

Alan Lazaros

(18:58) No.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:00) Super, super proud of the client for getting the deal. (19:03) I just feel like I feel bad for the other person.

Alan Lazaros

(19:05) Cause they just couldn't possibly make it back. (19:09) Yeah. (19:09) Unless you're selling a fucking spaceship.(19:11) Okay. (19:11) So, uh, anyways, here, here's my point and I'm glad you told me. (19:16) Thank you.(19:17) My point of this is whoever bought that doesn't have the, the distinctions you have. (19:24) Right. (19:24) And this is why it's so important to learn every distinction that you can.(19:29) I have a client in the Bahamas. (19:32) I have learned the entire economy of the Bahamas. (19:36) Not the entire thing, obviously, but like a lot I've learned, you know, born and raised.(19:39) She came, it's a whole thing. (19:42) I'm like, Oh my God, when I traveled to the Bahamas, I am not going to get hoodwinked at all because in the Bahamas, tourists don't know. (19:54) And, and some, some allegedly people take advantage of you not knowing knowledge is super what that's everywhere.(20:05) Every tourist has that. (20:07) That's why distinctions and deeper understandings is where I always go. (20:12) Because if you didn't know the credit card wouldn't be paid off until you're 87, you don't have the understanding to get a fucking credit card.(20:19) It's on you. (20:20) It's not their fault. (20:21) It's on you.(20:22) You need to learn simple mathematics. (20:24) I'm not mad at you. (20:24) I'm mad at the world and you, because you need to do better.(20:29) Like, yeah, you don't blame a seven year old for not knowing that. (20:32) But when you're 17, 27, 37, what's the expiration date on being an idiot? (20:37) You know, 17, I feel like still, yo.(20:39) Yeah, fair. (20:40) But like, you're supposed to have parents that say, Hey, by the fucking way, like there are free math courses on the internet and people don't take them. (20:51) Rationality is $15.(20:53) You could get a synopsis online for free. (20:57) And if you don't, that's on you. (20:58) I, I, I know some people get taken advantage of.(21:04) Of course there are atrocious things in the world. (21:06) What I can't stand is someone who is ignorant, who remains ignorant by not putting an effort and still bitches about, about their, their life, not getting better. (21:18) Like all of us have to put sincere effort towards being more rational every day for the rest of our life.(21:25) If we want to be successful. (21:26) And the truth is you cannot be successful and be super irrational. (21:31) Those two things cannot go hand in hand, unless you're wildly manipulative, manipulative, and you're lying through your teeth.(21:37) In which case you can pretty much do, unfortunately, almost whatever you want, assuming everyone else, dude, horrible leaders in the past in world war II, like the burnt books. (21:48) So people would stay dumber. (21:50) They because dumber people are easier to control.(21:53) So, so I'm trying to educate human beings in every way humanly possible so that the individuals can actually live and flourish, you know, live free and prosper. (22:02) It's that whole thing. (22:03) And I believe in it so deeply.(22:04) So I know that wasn't your point, but I of course have to go off the rails.

Kevin Palmieri

(22:07) Yeah. (22:07) It's never my point, what you talk about usually, but I love it. (22:10) I love it because I'm a hundred percent.(22:12) I'm on board with that. (22:12) I, the real quick, I know you got to go, you got two minutes. (22:15) I watched a video today on, it was a very big, you've never heard of them because you don't, you don't necessarily, you're not tapped into like what's happening with the creator space as much.(22:28) I have to be, cause it's like my obsession with figuring out who is a person who isn't, but there's a very big company who during the, the NFT phase, if you don't know what an NFT is, just Google it and it will be revealed to you how dumb the whole thing was. (22:45) But they made like $25 million from their fans, quote unquote promise. (22:49) They were going to deliver stuff, never delivered it, any of it.(22:52) And that's just like, I wish that was a thing.

Alan Lazaros

(22:58) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(22:58) Those fans were obviously not educated. (23:01) They are not.

Alan Lazaros

(23:02) You're buying something that has no, like the risk they took.

Kevin Palmieri

(23:04) Well, they are relying on them not being educated. (23:07) We, the night before Next Level Live 2026, somebody messaged Amy, who was with us and Amy said, Hey, this person can't make it. (23:15) Can they get a refund?(23:17) And I was like, yes, give them, I don't care. (23:19) Give them the money back right now. (23:20) I'll do it right now.(23:21) So they have the money tomorrow or whenever it gets there. (23:24) Sure. (23:25) What am I going to do?(23:27) No, no, no. (23:29) You signed a contract that said you were going to come to the event. (23:31) What are we doing here?(23:32) Come on. (23:32) What are we doing here now? (23:33) Can we do that forever?(23:35) I don't know. (23:36) I don't know. (23:36) If somebody says they want something and we give them $5,000 worth of services, we have to, I mean, you got to pay us something.(23:42) You can't just run away. (23:43) That's not fair to us. (23:45) Right.(23:45) But that has nothing to do with what we're talking about, but I get fired up about that.

Alan Lazaros

(23:48) No, it does though. (23:49) It does. (23:49) So emotion and logic, this I will say, and we'll go, all human beings are built emotions first.(24:01) Logic you have to train.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:03) Fair.

Alan Lazaros

(24:03) Logic you have to train. (24:04) That's why they were doing that with the MIT students. (24:09) Rationality doesn't come by default.(24:11) Emotions do. (24:12) And all's I'm saying is if you want to be a conscientious, intelligent, mature, successful adult, you have to improve rationality. (24:20) You have to, because irrational decisions are, they, they're everywhere.(24:25) Yeah, of course they're everywhere. (24:27) I, you got to be careful and you got to make intelligent choices. (24:32) Intelligent choices is one of the most important things to develop.(24:36) And so when you make an intelligent choice, give yourself the W when you do the monthly, when you actually do change from the $20 a month to the whatever, the 120 for the year, or no, it's probably like 200 for the year, something like that. (24:49) So you save $40, something like that. (24:52) Probably something like that.(24:53) Give yourself like, hell yeah. (24:54) Give yourself the fuck. (24:55) Yeah.(24:56) Because you're training your brain to get dopamine when you make an intelligent choice instead of when you get candy. (25:02) Right. (25:02) And I think that's really powerful.(25:04) So I've been doing that my entire life. (25:06) And, and that's why you consider me so weird is because, you know, I, I don't really tie. (25:14) I try not to tie positive emotions to, to unintelligent decisions.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:19) Well, and I've never seen you do it. (25:21) So it's like, when did that start? (25:22) That's a whole different episode.(25:23) That's why I asked if it's always been that way. (25:25) Yeah.

Alan Lazaros

(25:25) Well, you and I reconnected when I was 25, man. (25:27) I was a child still. (25:29) You and I didn't do a lot of drinking together.(25:32) I had some emotions to drinking. (25:34) I'm devastated. (25:34) Honestly, we never had one go.(25:36) Oh, we did. (25:36) We did have one. (25:37) We had one.(25:38) That's fine. (25:39) I wasn't drinking that night though. (25:40) I don't think you were hammered.(25:41) No. (25:42) Me? (25:43) Oh, we did.(25:44) No, no, no. (25:45) We did. (25:45) You drank.(25:46) Did I? (25:47) Yes. (25:48) I think you might be thinking of the year before.(25:51) I wasn't there. (25:51) The bad photo. (25:52) You weren't there for that one.(25:54) To be continued. (25:54) I don't know. (25:55) To be continued.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:55) All right. (25:55) We got to go. (25:56) You got a coaching call.(25:57) As always, we love you. (25:57) We appreciate you. (25:58) Grateful for each and every one of you.(25:59) 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. (26:05) Keep leveling up to reach your full potential.

Alan Lazaros

(26:07) Next level nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(26:09) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (26:13) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(26:16) We mean it when we say family. (26:18) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (26:21) Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes.(26:25) Thank you again.

Kevin Palmieri

(26:25) And we will talk to you tomorrow.