One Skill You Can’t Win Without (2446)

In this episode of Next Level University, hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros talk about reliability as a core skill for success, trust, leadership, and personal growth. Most people want bigger opportunities, but fewer people have built the consistency required to be trusted with them. Kevin and Alan break down why reliability creates certainty, why talent without dependability eventually becomes a liability, and how self-consistency shapes the way others experience your standards.

This episode challenges you to look at where you show up, where you drift, and where your results are quietly being limited by inconsistency. If you want to become more valuable, more trusted, and harder to replace, start with the skill everyone respects, but too many people avoid. Press play before your calendar files a complaint.

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Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
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For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

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

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Show notes:
(2:11) The trust skill most people underestimate
(4:20) Why trust is built through certainty
(6:51) Choosing one priority and protecting it
(10:23) Self-consistency creates external reliability
(14:51) Why talent still needs humility
(18:22) The difference between being skilled and being trusted
(22:19) When talent gets tolerated but not respected
(28:53) Building a culture of reliability and improvement
(30:51) 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) This is something that sets you apart. (0:03) This is something you can 100% learn. (0:06) This is something that if you have humility in, if you have discipline in, if you have grit in, you can really, really, really set yourself apart.(0:14) And this is what everybody wants. (0:16) This is what everybody pays for. (0:19) And this is your unique advantage if you can make yourself what we're gonna talk about today.

Alan Lazaros

(0:26) Investors know that the most reliable company wins long term. (0:32) The same is true for the most reliable people. (0:35) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:38) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:40) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazaros. (0:43) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven, but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:49) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:56) 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

(1:12) Self-improvement in your pocket every day, from anywhere, completely free.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:18) Welcome to Next Level University. (1:23) Next Level Nation, today for episode number 2,446, Alan gave it away. (1:28) One skill you can't win without.(1:32) So at this point, between clients, coaching clients, team members, just people we, I'll speak for myself, I have had the opportunity to work alongside and or study and or learn from. (1:45) The ones who win the most are the ones that are most reliable. (1:49) And that is because if there's any uncertainty, if I don't think you're going to answer the phone, I literally won't even call.(2:00) Think about your favorite restaurant. (2:02) I'm willing to bet it's probably extremely reliable. (2:05) 100%.(2:05) If it's not, you find a different restaurant. (2:07) Because when you want pizza, you want pizza. (2:10) And this is why like the Domino's is a good example.(2:16) They always answer. (2:18) They always deliver. (2:20) There's, it almost never goes wrong.(2:22) Amazon. (2:24) Amazon might have the easiest. (2:25) We ordered some shit.(2:26) We didn't like it. (2:27) You just drop it off and then they just take it back. (2:29) They don't ask any questions.(2:30) They don't even care. (2:32) They don't even care. (2:33) Yeah, we'll take it back.(2:34) Whatever. (2:34) Oh, the bag's open. (2:35) Whatever.(2:36) You didn't fold it right. (2:37) Whatever. (2:38) Whatever.(2:38) We'll take it back. (2:40) There's something to be said about that as a skill for you, whether you're watching or listening, as a dream chaser. (2:46) What you could charge the same amount I do.(2:49) You could do the same work. (2:50) You could have the same skill set, all of that. (2:52) If you're more reliable than me, you're going to win.(2:55) Because you should. (2:57) Because you should. (2:58) And that's what people want.(3:00) They want reliability. (3:02) And I think the more and more I think about it, the more I realize that that has been our differentiator. (3:11) Am I perfect?(3:12) By no stretch of the imagination. (3:13) Do I make mistakes? (3:14) I make mistakes all the time.(3:16) But we very rarely... (3:19) I mean, I can count on like two hands in the... (3:23) I don't know how many episodes we produced as a podcast production.(3:27) Thousands. (3:27) Thousands and thousands. (3:28) I would love to know that number.(3:29) I could get the number. (3:30) I just don't have it offhand. (3:31) Nice.(3:33) Less than a handful of times have we missed an episode for a client. (3:37) And that's like... (3:39) We had a client message us today and say, hey, I decided I would rather a different episode go out.(3:43) Can we do it? (3:44) And we said, yeah, we can do it tomorrow. (3:45) Shout out to the team.(3:46) I didn't say that. (3:47) The team said it. (3:47) Nice.(3:48) Way to go. (3:48) That, that is... (3:50) There's just something about that.(3:51) And that's the opposite of entitlement. (3:55) Reliable people are not entitled because they understand at the end of the day, it's not about them. (4:02) It's about you.(4:04) It's about me saying, I'm going to do something and then doing it and trying to deliver on it. (4:10) And I think that's a skill that we all really, really, really should lock in because I think it's going to be more and more valuable over time.

Alan Lazaros

(4:20) I could go so many ways with this. (4:23) Sports team. (4:25) Who's the player you can always count on?(4:29) Company. (4:31) Who's the person you can always count on? (4:34) Mechanic.(4:36) Need your car done. (4:37) You got a big interview. (4:38) Boom.(4:39) Who's the mechanic you can always count on? (4:41) I remember I had a... (4:43) She was technically a hairdresser, but I went to her before several of my photo shoots and she was always great.(4:52) So certainty is underneath this. (4:53) Certainty and trust. (4:55) So why do we care so much about reliability?(4:59) Because we are certainty driven. (5:04) Are you going to shop at the store down the street that may or may not take back the clothes if they don't fit? (5:12) Or are you going to go on Amazon knowing for sure they'll take them back?(5:15) You're going to go on Amazon. (5:17) Even if you don't like Bezos. (5:18) Even if you don't like billionaires.(5:20) That whole thing. (5:20) The company that wins, the person that wins is the most reliable. (5:27) I say this often to the team.(5:29) I have to pivot sometimes. (5:31) I'm late sometimes, often. (5:34) I have a five-minute buffer.(5:36) But I never miss fully. (5:38) I don't miss fully. (5:41) We're coming up on 2,500 episodes without a single miss.(5:46) And that's a testament to you, to me, and to the production team. (5:53) How many people can do something 2,500 times without missing? (6:01) Now, that isn't just to highlight us.(6:05) That's a principle. (6:08) It's a principle. (6:10) It's a...(6:11) There's something to that. (6:13) I traveled this weekend with Emilia. (6:15) We went to the lake.(6:17) I had a meeting at noon. (6:18) And I was like, we've reverse engineered when I had to get up to pack to get home in time. (6:27) It was a holiday.(6:28) I don't care. (6:30) I don't care. (6:31) My EA, Laura, she sends a week in advance email to confirm the meeting.(6:36) And then the day of, an email again to confirm the meeting. (6:39) With every... (6:40) Now, I prioritize one-on-one coaching over everything else.(6:43) I pivot other things, of course. (6:45) But why? (6:46) Because I want to be the most reliable in coaching.(6:51) And I coach 36 individuals now. (6:55) 36. (6:57) And I don't know how many years ago this was, but I decided in my head, like something clicked in my brain of, you are a coach who also podcasts.(7:07) You are not a podcaster who also coaches. (7:10) Emilia helped me with that. (7:11) She's like, you are fearful of going all in on this thing.(7:15) Because you're fearful of people disliking you, because people don't really like coachy people, typically. (7:20) But it is who I am. (7:22) I mean, can you imagine being my friend and me not having an opinion about your career?(7:26) That would be impossible. (7:27) It would be like nauseating for me. (7:29) Hey, Kev, how are you?(7:30) Same old, same. (7:31) How are you? (7:31) All right, let's drink some beers and shoot the shit.(7:34) Hey, how's it going with your goals, man? (7:36) I don't worry about that.

Kevin Palmieri

(7:36) Well, you drive a couple of drinks into me, I'll talk about it.

Alan Lazaros

(7:40) I just can't not. (7:42) What are we doing here? (7:43) Get better.(7:44) But my point is, is when I decided that clicked in my brain of, I am a podcaster who... (7:48) I'm a coach who also podcasts, not a podcaster who also coaches. (7:52) I decided that was my one thing that I wanted to be the best on earth at.(7:57) And I decided to never miss again. (7:59) I remember in my head, it was like, done. (8:02) That door's closed.(8:03) You will never reschedule. (8:04) You will never miss. (8:06) You will never pivot.(8:07) Now, everything fucking around that, like everything around that is going to move and accommodate. (8:13) Like we're literally 12 minutes over a meeting we were going to have with the team. (8:16) Like they get it.(8:18) But that's my priority one, my priority. (8:21) And everything around that has to move. (8:24) Except for an extreme emergency with something with my immediate family, Emilia and my pets or whatever.(8:31) But at the end of the day, I'm going to be 10 out of 10 reliable on that. (8:34) And this is what I thought of. (8:35) I have a client who did five times a week.(8:37) And when you talk about reliability, you definitely jump off the page. (8:43) You're always sitting here waiting. (8:44) You're always ready.(8:45) It's good. (8:46) It's real good. (8:47) Seriously, you don't reschedule.(8:49) You don't cancel. (8:50) You don't move shit. (8:52) It's like really nice.

Kevin Palmieri

(8:53) Very rarely, but very rarely.

Alan Lazaros

(8:56) This person I'm thinking of, I know you're listening. (8:59) We did five times a week. (9:01) And every time I entered the room, I kid you not, every time she pops right up.(9:07) Now, that's not the truth with all clients. (9:09) Some clients that get there three minutes late, four minutes late, two minutes late, one minute late, and I'm waiting and they got something going on. (9:15) They might not even show.(9:16) That is a thing. (9:17) Okay. (9:18) This client, her name always, you know how you open Zoom and it takes a little while to see if they're in the room waiting for you.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:24) Nobody's ever in the room before me, son. (9:27) Nobody's ever in the room before I am. (9:29) No, no, no, never.(9:31) Oh, never, never. (9:33) Now, again, I'm not back to back all day like you are still. (9:37) Almost never is somebody, nobody's waiting on me ever.(9:40) I can't even fucking stand that. (9:41) I lose sleep over that shit. (9:43) Okay.

Alan Lazaros

(9:43) That, that's, we should talk about that because that's for liability. (9:46) That's what that is. (9:47) But she always, her name pops up immediately.(9:50) No matter what, I can be one minute late, two minutes late, three minutes late, four minutes late, five minutes late. (9:55) This is five times a week. (9:58) Always waiting.(9:59) Always in there waiting for me, ready to go. (10:03) Honestly, the more I coach, the more I'm like, I want that. (10:10) Consistency is just everything.(10:12) And consistency is reliability. (10:13) Those are, I looked it up. (10:15) Reliability is the consistency and dependability of something over time.(10:18) Whether it performs as expected, repeatedly and accurately. (10:22) Period.

Kevin Palmieri

(10:23) Well, I think reliability is self-consistency. (10:27) Okay. (10:28) How reliable are you to yourself?(10:29) I had a moment today, dude, it is. (10:31) It's just the same thing every day. (10:35) It's just the same.(10:36) So I actually, Sunday, I slept until 7.57. I didn't set an alarm. (10:42) And this is the first time I didn't set an alarm. (10:43) I couldn't tell you last time.(10:45) And it was glorious. (10:45) I needed it. (10:46) I was feeling run down.(10:47) But I get up. (10:48) And again, this isn't like the hustle porn thing. (10:50) It's just the, I am, I try to be as reliable, if not more reliable to myself than I am to other people.(10:56) Because that's how you build reliability. (10:57) If you can't be reliable to you, you're not going to be reliable to anybody else. (11:01) Some people are reliable to others and not to themselves.(11:03) Fair, fair. (11:04) If you're willing to do more for others, like, yes, yes, for sure. (11:07) However, you do need both.(11:09) But I think that's, you're operating from a place. (11:11) Yeah. (11:11) You're operating from a place of scarcity and you're operating from a place of necessity, which is great.

Alan Lazaros

(11:17) Why are you so reliable? (11:19) Because that started out in anxiety and fear and not being good enough. (11:23) Like, no, that started out as that was my key to survival.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:28) That's what I meant. (11:29) Yeah, exactly. (11:29) But like, in the very beginning, it wasn't anxiety.(11:32) And it was, that's what you do. (11:35) You have a fucking job and you show up to the job because if you don't show up to the job, somebody else, either somebody else gets screwed or the company gets screwed or whatever. (11:45) It was that.(11:45) I feel a very heavy responsibility to do the thing I say I'm going to do because there are implications for people well beyond me if I don't do what I say I'm going to do.

Alan Lazaros

(11:55) And I would say that's more principle-based now and it used to be more fear-based. (12:01) You thought you'd get fired if you were late. (12:03) Sometimes you would, right?

Kevin Palmieri

(12:05) Yeah, but like, I'm thinking of the other jobs I had. (12:10) Because there were certain jobs where like, when I worked the night shift, I worked overnights at a hospital. (12:17) I used to call, I called out once a week.(12:19) But it didn't matter. (12:20) There was like nothing to do. (12:22) It's not like it was setting anybody else.(12:23) I would, I would call out and go to the Bruins game. (12:25) I did that like every week.

Alan Lazaros

(12:27) My point of this though is I think everyone's reliable somewhere. (12:31) And it's not usually rooted in aspiration to be the most reliable. (12:37) It's usually some form of necessity based on, at least it starts out, I think it starts out with some form of scarcity.(12:44) Because it's harder to be reliable when you are the boss.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:48) I think it was for fitness, man, for me. (12:50) I'm telling you, I think so much of the benefits, so much, so many of the skills I have been able to acquire and practice over the years are a direct result of having an early fitness goal. (13:04) I think that's a massive piece of it.(13:07) Because that's what it, every day I wake up, I come downstairs, I take my pre-workout, I pick Fudge up. (13:13) He usually likes a scoop in the morning. (13:15) I give him a scoop.(13:15) I pick him up. (13:16) I hold him. (13:17) I give him kisses.(13:17) Ace comes down. (13:18) He rubs against my leg. (13:20) I get everything set.(13:21) I go to the gym. (13:22) I'm literally pulling into the garage almost every day at like 8.02. I just pull into the garage at 8.02. I come up to the, every day is the fucking same. (13:30) Every single day.(13:31) But this morning I was like, this is a weird thing to think about, but imagine if there was a neighbor that was up every day having their coffee at 6. (13:42) And they see me leave every day at 6 o'clock, 6.20. And then they see me pull back in at 8 o'clock every morning. (13:50) They're thinking like, this dude never fucking misses.(13:53) This dude never misses. (13:54) He's, what is, number one, what is he doing? (13:56) Like where is he going?(13:57) He never misses. (13:59) It doesn't matter what day it is. (14:00) He's every single day.(14:03) That is a good sign.

Alan Lazaros

(14:06) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:06) That's a good, that's a good sign. (14:08) If you see the same people at the gym all the time, same time. (14:11) Good for you.(14:12) You're out here fucking getting it. (14:14) Good for you. (14:15) You have one of those guys or girls?(14:18) Bruce is one. (14:19) Bruce. (14:20) Bruce is one.(14:21) Bruce, dude, he's there. (14:23) If he says he's going to be there, he's there. (14:24) He never misses.(14:25) And yeah, there's, our gym is slowly dying. (14:28) Who's someone who you don't trust to be there? (14:32) I mean, I don't have, in the past, like we had a mutual friend who, the second we got to the gym, he'd be like, hey, how long until we're done?(14:41) I was like, dude, we just got here. (14:42) What do you mean? (14:43) You should have just fucking stayed home.(14:44) You didn't have to come, man. (14:46) If you don't want to be here, you don't have to be here. (14:47) I want to be here.(14:49) I'm not here to check the box. (14:50) I want to be here.

Alan Lazaros

(14:51) So that, success principles, this is something that came up while you were talking, which is reliability is number one, which I think requires humility. (15:04) Because if you're not humble and you think you're the bee's knees, you don't feel like you need to be reliable. (15:09) It's like the all-star athlete that, I remember when I was very young, I was sort of guilty of this.(15:16) Me and two other players were like the whole team. (15:21) And we had an attitude. (15:23) We gave some to the coaches.(15:26) And they were like, well, screw you two. (15:28) You know this person. (15:31) You, me, and this person were the shortest people in middle school.(15:35) Okay. (15:37) DC? (15:37) Yes, DC.(15:38) Yeah. (15:39) He and I had some attitude because we were the best in the team by far and we just knew it. (15:42) And the other person was, I don't know if you, you remember Andy Herko?(15:48) Yeah. (15:48) Okay. (15:48) So I played baseball.(15:50) Okay, nice. (15:50) So anyways, we had a decent team and we were just very much the best. (15:58) And between the three of us, if us three weren't playing, we would lose every game.(16:03) And we knew that. (16:05) So we would kind of like leverage that against the coaches. (16:08) And we were kids, right?(16:09) But when you, and this is why I'm bringing this up. (16:14) You need to be reliable, especially if you're not good. (16:17) Well, that is a, it is a differentiator.(16:19) Yes. (16:21) And it's like the sportsmanship award versus the talented person. (16:25) You need to be both.(16:27) That's a good metaphor because the best on the team is very rarely the sportsmanship award. (16:32) Because usually the best on the team has a little toot, a little bit attitude, a little bit of, come on, come on. (16:38) You can't win without me, right?(16:39) A little bit of attitude. (16:40) Michael Jordan had that. (16:41) The point that I'm making though, is how do you combine the talent with reliability?(16:48) Now that's, because the truth is, is when I was a kid, I definitely rested on talent at times. (16:56) Definitely. (16:58) Didn't have to study straight A's the whole nine.(17:00) I still studied more than most, but I didn't have to put it all on the court to win. (17:05) But later on in life, when you get out in the world, you can't rest on talent because there's a lot of talented people. (17:12) And this is why I think it's so important to have big goals.(17:14) Because do you know how easy it would be for some people? (17:17) This is going to come off wrong, but let me share it. (17:20) There are some people who like are so fucking gifted that most jobs would be so easy for them.(17:29) Think of someone who's super gifted. (17:31) Just keep it in your head. (17:32) Okay.(17:32) Now imagine they were like a middle manager. (17:36) How fucking easy street would that be for them? (17:39) And I know that anyone who doesn't feel gifted, this is going to be offensive.(17:43) But like, that's why you need big fucking dreams. (17:46) I know some people that are gifted and they just don't have to try. (17:51) And it bothers me so much.(17:53) And I think I, there was a time in my life where I was, I was guilty of that. (17:57) How dare I? (18:00) You don't want to play an easy game.(18:02) So number one is humility and reliability. (18:06) You need belief. (18:07) We got to always put that in there.(18:08) And then the other one is like, you have to be really, really good at what you do. (18:13) You can't just be reliable. (18:15) And that's what I want to bring into this is like, if you're not good, you better be fucking reliable.(18:21) What's the percentage?

Kevin Palmieri

(18:22) Is it 50-50? (18:23) Technically, it should be 100-100.

Alan Lazaros

(18:25) But people will pay for reliability. (18:29) If you are really, really talented, they'll tolerate you if you're not reliable. (18:34) But you better be really good at what you do.(18:36) If you have both, it's almost like level one is regardless of whether or not you're good, just make sure you always show up and be reliable. (18:46) Level two is be reliable and be extraordinary. (18:50) Like reliable and extraordinary.(18:52) Level... (18:54) I'm sorry. (18:54) Level two would be be extraordinary and then semi-reliable.(18:58) And level three is be the most reliable and the most extraordinary in an area that's desperately needed. (19:06) You are going to crush. (19:08) You're going to crush it.(19:09) Because we all know those athletes that were just naturally good, and they didn't have to try. (19:13) I have a friend of mine who was a rock star athlete. (19:16) He didn't, he just drank Mountain Dew, like didn't ever do any of the workouts.(19:20) You know, you know how you're supposed to run, and he would just go hang in the woods and shoot the ship. (19:25) Yeah, and that catches up with you later. (19:29) So for our listeners, because I know we got to go here soon.(19:32) If you're, this is the thing that I really want to land, and as scared as I am to say this, if you're not ridiculously good at what you do, you better be really reliable.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:42) I think that's very true. (19:45) That we had somebody, I was working with somebody in one of the departments, and I had very high hopes. (19:50) I was like, okay, this is gonna be great.(19:52) This is a great opportunity for them. (19:53) It's gonna be a win-win. (19:54) There's an opportunity to grow.(19:55) It's gonna be great. (19:57) And then it was just, they just were not reliable. (20:00) And it was like, I can't, there's no way this could possibly work.(20:06) There's no, I would much rather hire somebody, or work alongside somebody, and work with somebody who is, does not know the thing at all. (20:15) We have a really good example of that. (20:17) I'll keep it anonymous.(20:18) But we have somebody that came on, they didn't know anything about what they were doing, and they just don't miss. (20:23) I know exactly what you're talking about.

Alan Lazaros

(20:24) Welcome aboard.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:24) Welcome. (20:25) You're gonna be fine. (20:26) You're gonna crush it.(20:27) It's gonna be totally fine. (20:29) That, because that's humility. (20:33) Like that is humility.(20:34) Brandon's a good example. (20:35) I wasn't talking about Brandon, but Brandon Lowe is a good example.

Alan Lazaros

(20:38) That's what I was thinking.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:38) No, somebody different. (20:39) He is a great example. (20:40) Great example.(20:41) Like I'm not, I don't feel like I know that much, but I'll work really hard and I'll be consistent. (20:45) Awesome. (20:47) Awesome.(20:48) Awesome. (20:48) He also very rarely misses.

Alan Lazaros

(20:50) Yeah. (20:50) Coaching sessions. (20:51) Almost never, actually.(20:52) And if he is, it's because he gets called into work. (20:56) That like, if he ever has misses, Brandon, I know you're listening, brother. (21:02) It's when he has something else he has to be reliable for.

Kevin Palmieri

(21:07) That's the other piece. (21:09) That's the other piece. (21:10) Well, you know when I started fucking up at my job, the job I had that I left to do this, it's when I started valuing the podcast.(21:17) The podcast was the thing I wanted to be reliable in. (21:20) Yeah. (21:20) And I became the top priority.(21:22) Yeah. (21:22) Like I'm not, I refused to move my life around and make sacrifices for this job that I hate when I found something I really enjoy that I want to pour some effort into and see what happens. (21:34) And I want to be as reliable as I can.(21:36) And last thing, and then we'll kick it to you for the wrap up. (21:39) But dude, my mom, I talk about my mom all the time.

Alan Lazaros

(21:42) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(21:43) I don't know how many years I would have to ask her from the time I remember her working until like the time I left the house. (21:53) I don't think she ever missed a single day of work. (21:55) I have no idea how she did it.(21:57) It didn't matter if she was sick. (21:59) It didn't matter if she didn't sleep. (22:00) She just went every, and she worked overnights.(22:07) I saw that and I was like, that's fucking, I like that. (22:10) That's cool. (22:11) Yeah.(22:12) That's cool. (22:12) I like that. (22:13) I value that.(22:13) I look up to that. (22:14) I think that's awesome. (22:16) Uncomfortable conversation.

Alan Lazaros

(22:19) Okay. (22:22) Damn, this is going to fucking make me look like an asshole. (22:27) I think at times in the past, I have been tolerated because I was that good.(22:39) I would say that tracks. (22:40) Okay. (22:41) I was a sales engineer and I started an inside sales team for a tech company and I crushed it.(22:51) And I was allowed to be a little unreliable, make my own hours because I crushed it. (22:56) And I was really good at getting results. (23:01) Imagine what I could have done if I was 10 out of 10 reliable.(23:08) And here's the thing. (23:09) We're going to do the less comfortable for me side of the conversation. (23:16) Brother, you didn't go to college.(23:18) You weren't naturally gifted. (23:20) You weren't going to be some fucking prodigy who can show up when he wants. (23:27) So you had to lean on reliability.(23:30) And now you actually have developed.

Kevin Palmieri

(23:33) I'm a prodigy? (23:34) I made you emotional a little bit there. (23:35) No, no, I've been laughing.(23:37) I promise I'm not crying in a sad way. (23:39) It's because we were laughing.

Alan Lazaros

(23:40) Am I a prodigy now?

Kevin Palmieri

(23:42) Am I prodigious?

Alan Lazaros

(23:42) You're definitely not.

Kevin Palmieri

(23:43) I'm not prodigious?

Alan Lazaros

(23:45) Prodigy means... (23:46) No. (23:47) No, you're not a prodigy.(23:48) Um, however, this is the thing that I hope lands. (23:53) I know we got to go. (23:55) If you are reliable, you used to not be mastery driven.(23:59) So your reliability was rinse and repeat, not necessarily get better every day. (24:04) For sure. (24:05) Okay, that wasn't your default.(24:06) Mine was get better every day, but maybe not as reliably as Kev. (24:10) Kev was be reliable as hell, but maybe not get better every day, right? (24:13) You need both.(24:14) If you have both, you have all the strengths and very little of the weaknesses. (24:21) Like be 10 out of 10 reliable like Kev with 10 out of 10 improvement orientation like me. (24:28) And you can be...(24:30) I mean, you'll run circles around 90% of people in every industry. (24:36) Like, dude, I think the bar for excellence is a fucking alarmingly low. (24:40) It is alarmingly low in my honest opinion.

Kevin Palmieri

(24:43) The bar for capturing opportunity real quick, and then we'll go, I promise. (24:48) I used to work at a company where we made anywhere from $75 to $130 an hour on the jobs we were working. (24:56) So like this is the golden ticket.(24:58) I mean, we were getting paid a ridiculous amount of money, and you didn't have to know anything about what we were doing, right? (25:03) Because it was on government contracts, prevailing wage. (25:06) Yes, that is insane money.(25:07) A great opportunity.

Alan Lazaros

(25:08) Genuinely, as a business owner, that is crazy. (25:11) It's a great opportunity. (25:11) Can't just give people $130 an hour for mediocre effort and work.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:17) Yeah. (25:17) And I was doing mediocre work. (25:19) Not mediocre effort, but I didn't know what the fuck I was doing.(25:22) Nobody did, I'm just joking. (25:23) Okay. (25:24) That is not a good...(25:26) No, I'm just saying there's implications of that.

Alan Lazaros

(25:27) Go ahead. (25:28) For sure.

Kevin Palmieri

(25:28) We had every time we tried to hire somebody, you would be... (25:33) It would blow your mind. (25:34) If you're out there right now and you're like, I would kill to make $130...(25:38) Let's just say it's $120 an hour. (25:41) Yes, same. (25:42) At that time, it was like, this is the best thing ever.(25:46) First person we hired was not reliable and he just was not good. (25:52) And wasn't really willing to learn. (25:54) Lasted like three days.(25:56) Second person could not rely... (25:59) We've talked about it before. (26:00) Could not reliably hold off on his vices for long enough to keep the fucking job.(26:04) Got fired.

Alan Lazaros

(26:05) Didn't you tell me he like crashed a company car?

Kevin Palmieri

(26:08) No, somebody got drunk. (26:09) No, no. (26:09) I've completely forgot about this dude.(26:10) This is it. (26:11) This is... (26:11) No, no, no.(26:12) This is a separate dude. (26:13) Another guy. (26:14) And again, I want to...(26:15) He was dealing with alcoholism. (26:18) It's a different conversation, but like not reliable. (26:20) Yeah.(26:21) Got a great job, decided to go on a joyride in the van, crashed the van and then got fired. (26:27) Like the next day he was gone. (26:28) Okay.(26:29) Another kid just wanted to go out and fucking drink every night and party every night. (26:36) And one day we get up to go to work and he's like, Oh no, I can't come in. (26:39) I got to go get my, my prescription at CVS.(26:43) And I was like, well, CVS doesn't open until like nine or 10. (26:46) We have to be at the job site at six. (26:47) And he's like, I can't come in until then.(26:48) I was like, well, dude, I need the van. (26:50) Like I'm the foreman of this job. (26:51) So like we're gonna have to figure something out.(26:53) He got fired too. (26:54) Just like, I remember thinking, guys, this is a fucking golden ticket. (27:00) Like you're getting, you're going to get paid a hundred and some odd dollars an hour.(27:04) You've never done this before.

Alan Lazaros

(27:07) So it's, it's an awesome opportunity. (27:10) Just to put this in perspective real quick, ready? (27:11) 120 times 40 times 52.(27:15) That's $250,000 a year. (27:17) And I know it's not full time necessarily. (27:19) Like, cause you guys have months off or whatever.(27:21) Two, that's a quarter million a year. (27:23) You can make six figures. (27:25) You can make a hundred thousand.(27:26) No, dude, it's to me. (27:28) And this is the thing, right? (27:30) Responsible individuals who can show up on time, who can, who can put in the work, who can do the thing.(27:36) And I know I'm not, like I said, I need to say this disclaimer. (27:39) No one is perfect. (27:40) I'm not expecting anyone to be perfect.(27:43) Just like the on time thing. (27:44) I'm not always on time. (27:45) I totally understand that.(27:47) If you want to be successful, that we have to say that if you want to be successful, cause then it's like, well, alcoholism also, I get it. (27:55) I get it. (27:56) If you want to be successful, you have to be reliable or ridiculously good at what you do.(28:02) Or if you really want to crush it, I don't think you can be level 10 success without both. (28:08) You need to be 10 out of 10 reliable with 10 out of 10 skill development. (28:15) And in the right industry, that can be the sweet spot.(28:18) But you have to at least have one or the other.

Kevin Palmieri

(28:20) You have to, if you want to be successful. (28:23) It always made me sad too. (28:24) Cause like when people came aboard, it was like, this is a really good opportunity.(28:27) I used to say like, just don't fuck this up. (28:29) This is a great opportunity. (28:30) This is like the first, I don't know, I made $75,000 last year without a college degree working part-time.(28:37) This is going to be great. (28:38) This is a great opportunity. (28:39) Just don't mess this up.(28:40) There are very few things you could do to fuck this job up. (28:42) Very few. (28:45) Somehow there was always, they always saw it away.(28:47) Well, reliability was a superpower for you that you didn't understand other people don't have. (28:51) I realized how fucking blessed I was.

Alan Lazaros

(28:53) It is really rare to get that job, brother. (28:56) I mean, a lot of our success is because of your reliability, honestly. (28:59) I mean, well, we have 145 paying clients.(29:01) A lot of them are paying us to make sure things get done every time on time to a high standard. (29:10) I have, I have 36 clients. (29:12) And the reason I say that is because I'm very reliable.(29:15) Who else could handle a 36 client roster of one-on-one coaching?

Kevin Palmieri

(29:18) I say this to you all the time. (29:19) Our production team is incredibly reliable.

Alan Lazaros

(29:21) Exactly. (29:22) And that's why they're there.

Kevin Palmieri

(29:23) That's why I'm unbelievably reliable. (29:25) So shout out, shout out to them.

Alan Lazaros

(29:26) It's not just me.

Kevin Palmieri

(29:27) I want to make sure everybody knows that.

Alan Lazaros

(29:29) Of course. (29:30) And that's, that's our culture though. (29:32) Yes.(29:33) Right. (29:33) And so shout out to you team, genuinely. (29:35) That's our culture, reliability and improvement every day.

Kevin Palmieri

(29:40) Boom. (29:41) Cool. (29:41) All right.(29:42) If that is part of your culture, being more reliable, being higher skilled, having a better opportunity to become successful, whatever that means. (29:48) Do you reach out to Alan for coaching? (29:49) He has slots available.(29:51) And as you've heard, that is his main thing. (29:53) He will get back to you. (29:54) The coaching calls will be fire.(29:55) All of that happy jazz. (29:56) I have a podcast client who wants very specific business things. (29:59) And I said, Hey, you're going to talk to Alan.(30:01) That is beyond my scope. (30:02) I can help you, but I cannot get you to the promised land you want to get to. (30:05) Alan's your guy.(30:05) Let me connect you for a session. (30:07) Also, I went running last night. (30:11) Huge L.(30:11) I'm now running. (30:13) So that is what will happen. (30:14) When you join the Next Level Fitness Accountability Group, you will be around people.(30:20) Honestly, better than I expected. (30:21) Nice. (30:22) Yeah.(30:22) Better than I expected. (30:23) I'm down 10 pounds. (30:24) The last time I ran, that's a big piece of it.(30:28) But I did hit him. (30:29) I had the worst cramp ever. (30:30) And I'm like, Oh my God, this is fucking terrible.(30:32) I feel like I might die right here. (30:34) But that speaks to when you're around people who are ambitious and who are leading the charge in fitness. (30:41) Alan helped me level my game up.(30:43) Bianca helped me level my game up. (30:44) They're running every day. (30:45) That's awesome, right?(30:46) So get around people who inspire you. (30:47) You will do inspirational things for yourself. (30:49) And then maybe other people will find that inspirational as well.(30:51) As always, we love you. (30:52) We appreciate you. (30:53) Grateful for each and every one of you.(30:54) If you are as committed as you say you are to get into the next level, make sure to tune in tomorrow because we'll be here every single day to help you get there.

Alan Lazaros

(31:00) Keep leveling up to reach your full potential. (31:03) Next Level Nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(31:05) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (31:09) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(31:11) We mean it when we say family. (31:13) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (31:17) Everything you need to get ahold of us is in the show notes.(31:20) Thank you again.

Kevin Palmieri

(31:21) And we will talk to you tomorrow.