It’s Not The Idea, It’s The Person (2454)

Execution reveals who you are. In this episode, Kevin and Alan break down why most people do not need more ideas. They need more follow-through. Big dreams and bold goals are easy to talk about, but they only become real through action, consistency, and self-awareness.

This episode challenges the gap between imagination and implementation. Kevin and Alan unpack why some ideas stay stuck in fantasy, why execution is tied to identity, and why reliability is one of the strongest competitive advantages in personal development. Stop judging the idea. Start judging the operator.

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

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Show notes:
(3:44) The missing step between ideas and action
(6:07) Why imagination needs real-world guardrails
(7:19) Execution is the real competitive advantage
(10:16) Big goals require full commitment
(13:17) When imagination becomes fantasy
(16:26) Knowing whether to dream bigger or act
(18:19) Self-awareness determines what you execute
(20:21) 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 don't think people need more imagination. (0:03) I think some people probably do. (0:05) I think some people probably are unable to create a brighter vision of the future that forces them to grow and all that happy jazz.(0:13) But I would say I have met more people that have these grandiose ideas of what they're going to accomplish in five years and there's always a new idea. (0:22) You've heard me say this a million times like yeah this client every time I see them they have a new idea or every time I connect with this person they're trying to pitch me on this new thing. (0:29) They never actually become a reality.(0:31) It's not lack of imagination it's lack of taking action and I want to pick your brain on why that is.

Alan Lazaros

(0:38) Ideas everyone has. (0:41) You've heard so many people say well I thought of this and that before that was a thing. (0:48) Ideas everybody has but it's not about the idea it's about the person who has the idea.(0:53) I think it's who you are that determines whether or not something is going to work or not.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:57) Welcome to Next Level University. (1:00) I'm your host Kevin Palmary and I'm your co-host Alan Lazaros. (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

(1:46) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2454. (1:50) It's not the idea it's the person. (1:52) I hate sponges.(1:53) They smell. (1:55) I've never found a sponge that does not smell. (1:57) There's your idea.(1:58) Run with it. (1:59) Find a way to make a sponge that doesn't smell. (2:01) Guarantee you'll be a fucking bajillionaire.(2:03) Good luck though. (2:04) Good luck. (2:06) It's not that easy.(2:08) That's a great idea. (2:10) Love it. (2:11) Go do it.

Alan Lazaros

(2:12) Go do it.

Kevin Palmieri

(2:12) Here's an idea. (2:12) Become a best-selling author. (2:15) Well that's a little bit more.(2:16) I mean that doesn't require that much imagination. (2:19) But the idea is like. (2:22) Yeah yeah.(2:23) It's not the hard part. (2:24) You ever picked up a sponge and it's like this is gross. (2:27) Of course.(2:28) Imagine if you picked up the sponge and you didn't say that. (2:31) There's the selling point. (2:32) There probably is one brother.(2:34) I trust me brother. (2:35) I don't think there is. (2:36) I've searched high and low.(2:38) There's the sponge daddy. (2:39) I swear to you. (2:40) This is like a thing in our household.(2:42) Like we used to use the wand. (2:43) That thing sucks. (2:44) You change the heads out.(2:45) They break all the time because I'm like just crushing them like a gorilla. (2:50) You have a dishwasher don't you? (2:52) Yeah but you got to pre-wash the dishes.(2:54) You just ran some man brother. (2:56) To be continued. (2:57) To be continued.(2:58) Okay from your 7,642 coaching sessions. (3:03) How many you got? (3:05) 7,211.(3:06) That's close. (3:07) Not bad. (3:08) From those coaching calls using that as anecdotal evidence.

Alan Lazaros

(3:12) Mm-hmm.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:14) How dare you? (3:16) Well it is anecdotal.

Alan Lazaros

(3:18) Technically yes.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:20) Yeah. (3:21) When you write the book it'll be scientific.

Alan Lazaros

(3:23) I have data on every client.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:25) Like I have trackers for everything. (3:27) Again we can't get into it because I don't know the difference between anecdotal and whatever. (3:30) Is there a shortage of ideas?(3:33) Is there a shortage of implementation? (3:36) Why? (3:38) Yeah let's start there.(3:40) Shortage of ideas. (3:41) Shortage of implementation. (3:42) Why?

Alan Lazaros

(3:44) Yeah. (3:45) Well one thing that came up for me already in this episode when you were opening it is I think there might be a step in between imagination and action. (3:55) Because you said there's no shortage of imagination and I'm wondering to myself like they say that athletes will visualize the game before they play.(4:09) They'll visualize the defense and what might happen. (4:13) I do that all the time. (4:15) Constantly.(4:16) I think I visualized this episode before we did it. (4:19) But I do it so quickly and so automatically. (4:21) So but that's not imagination.(4:23) I'm not like imagining fairies in the background with Kevin talking. (4:27) Like imagination might be very very very clouds. (4:31) Maybe it's like space clouds and dirt.(4:35) Maybe the clouds is a projection. (4:39) What scientists call projection. (4:41) Which is like going into your future and visualizing you doing the dunk in advance or doing the pitch in advance or doing the speech in advance.(4:51) And they've done studies on this where when you project and visualize you actually perform better. (4:58) Because it's almost like it's almost like you're simulating it in advance so you're not doing it for the first time. (5:07) In the military they'll they'll simulate the operation long before the operation.(5:13) And they'll do they'll like build the boat that they're gonna commandeer for lack of better phrasing. (5:20) And and then they'll do they'll run it do a bunch of run-throughs. (5:22) It's just like in a wedding.(5:23) You do a pre-run through so that it's not the first goddamn time. (5:27) And so it's almost like the imagination is you're a little kid and you're imagining your wedding. (5:33) Then the clouds is you're an adult now.(5:38) You've proposed and now you have some details of the wedding. (5:42) There's going to be 115 people there. (5:44) It's going to be at this venue overlooking the mountains.(5:47) Whatever. (5:48) You know what it is. (5:49) It's actually gotten more tangible where you've actually booked the venue.(5:52) You know what venue it is. (5:53) Versus when you're a kid it's all imagination no reality. (5:56) Then you get closer and closer and closer to reality until the day of.(6:00) And as long as you did that process. (6:02) So it's almost like imagination is great only if you make it land in reality.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:07) It's like it's almost like imagination is it's a reality without guardrails.

Alan Lazaros

(6:15) Yeah. (6:15) And then you come into the physical reality and you realize gravity is a thing. (6:20) And I can't dunk from the foul line.(6:22) And you know the popular girl isn't watching me play basketball. (6:26) And right.

Kevin Palmieri

(6:26) So well remember when we were young going to Newport Rhode Island was a big thing. (6:31) Going to like the cliff walks and walking in the mansions. (6:34) I'm sure there was a bunch of people there like oh yeah I'm gonna get married down here for sure.(6:37) I'm gonna get married in Newport Rhode Island. (6:38) And then it's like once you become of age to do it you realize it's like probably like seventy five thousand dollars. (6:45) No we're gonna we're gonna do it just outside of Newport Rhode Island somewhere else on a beach.(6:52) But I think that's the thing is I think the imagination is great again because the imagination has no limits. (6:58) The imagination has no limits. (6:59) That's great.(6:59) Some people if right now you don't think anything is possible I think having having an overshooting imagination is good because you need to introduce some sort of excitement. (7:09) Don't you think most people are there.

Alan Lazaros

(7:13) What do you think is more common having not enough imagination or too much. (7:17) I don't know. (7:17) You opened it with thinking too much.(7:19) And you asked me so I'll give you the actual answer but 7211 coaching sessions. (7:25) The first answer is you obviously need both. (7:29) The second answer is I do think people have more ideas than they are able to execute.(7:34) And I think that execution maybe back in the day dude pre-internet you know you had to go to the library. (7:40) Like maybe back then imagination was more important because you didn't have as many answers. (7:45) Now it's like it doesn't really matter.(7:47) You can just look it up but nobody can actually do it. (7:50) Like you and I have started realizing this even in our own business. (7:53) It's like you and I one of the reasons we are succeeding so much in business right now very grateful is because you and I can just be reliable every day.(8:00) That alone is like not. (8:02) Of course you're going to go to Amazon. (8:04) They're always available.(8:05) Always. (8:06) No matter what they're reliable and they're always on point. (8:08) And when they mess it up they give it to you for free.(8:10) Like you're you and I just have an advantage because we're willing to work every goddamn day. (8:16) So nothing will ever drop. (8:19) And here's the thing if you can't become the type of person who can actually execute something every single day you almost can't do that much.(8:26) And I think that's something that I obviously have pain in my fucking voice about. (8:30) It's like I hear people's dreams right all the time. (8:34) It's like goals and dreams and I want to be a billionaire.(8:36) Now it's like yeah awesome. (8:39) Like of course everybody wants to be financially free. (8:42) Everyone.(8:44) You know how you get financial freedom. (8:45) I've said this before. (8:46) You work every day.(8:48) Like every day. (8:50) That's how you we are financially free. (8:51) You and I we make more than we spend by far.(8:54) Congratulations we're financially free. (8:57) And now we have to work every day to make sure that continues. (9:00) And then eventually it can snowball and then you don't have to work.(9:03) But that's not supposed to happen in your 30s. (9:05) It's not supposed to happen in your 40s or 50s. (9:07) I don't even I don't even understand that mindset.(9:10) It's like everyone has to work. (9:14) Like you're not you're no one is supposed to just like oh I'm good now. (9:18) Like everyone needs to be a contributing member of society.(9:20) I don't even get it. (9:21) So and by the way that's a bad dream. (9:25) Like the dream shouldn't be being financially free.(9:27) The dream should be something that you build and create in the world that is of value. (9:31) That it makes you more and all this stuff. (9:34) I'm getting off track.(9:34) But to answer your original question. (9:38) 7211 coaching sessions. (9:39) It's not the fucking ideas.(9:42) It's not the ideas at all. (9:44) Like coming up with a good idea is honestly not that hard. (9:51) Okay here's an idea.(9:52) I'm going to make a car that's better than every other car. (9:55) Okay cool there's a good idea. (9:58) Now you have to monetize it.(10:01) You have to design it. (10:02) Build it. (10:03) Sell it.(10:03) Market it. (10:04) Brand it. (10:05) It's a it's a what I just said.(10:09) I'm going to make a car that's better than all the other cars. (10:12) You have to dedicate your existence to that and you still might fail. (10:16) And I don't think people understand the gravity of like words.(10:19) When I said I wanted to build uh when I wanted to bring personal development to the masses. (10:24) I didn't like say that and then go to the beach.

Kevin Palmieri

(10:27) That's your favorite thing.

Alan Lazaros

(10:28) Dude I can't even with it. (10:30) It's like you don't you can't say you want to change the world and then like go hang out. (10:35) You you can but you can't.(10:37) It's not real right. (10:39) It doesn't land. (10:39) So if I come to you and I have idea.(10:42) You know me long enough to know that if I'm serious about it I'm gonna now reorient my existence to make that happen right. (10:50) That's what real that's what really matters. (10:54) Coaching 7211 times.(10:58) You come to me with an idea. (10:59) I need to see the conviction in your eyes and I need to know that you're going to reorient your entire existence to making that thing happen. (11:07) And even then it still might not happen depending how big it is.(11:11) Um and I have one client who said I want to be a billionaire and and it's like in my mind genuinely it's like not a chance. (11:18) Not a chance. (11:19) You just mathematically can't.(11:21) It's not landed. (11:22) You can't because you're not on track for that even a little bit. (11:27) You you it hasn't come anywhere from the imagination to like reality.(11:31) It hasn't even come within fucking Hail Mary distance. (11:34) There's a disconnect I think.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:35) There's a huge disconnect. (11:36) Yeah. (11:37) There's a disconnect between I have this idea that makes me feel really good.

Alan Lazaros

(11:41) Yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(11:41) If I could find a way that's why I wanted to do a second like a V2 of the episode we did because that's where this came from for me is I had an idea that I thought would make me feel really good. (11:51) It's like oh my goodness I feel like I'm on to something here for the first time ever. (11:55) I feel like I found something that I actually enjoy and then I can imagine making a life around that podcasting podcasting.(12:02) Yeah. (12:02) But for me that felt like the thing it was like holy shit I've never thought about this before. (12:07) The doing it part.(12:09) Yes. (12:09) Obviously it was challenging for sure for sure.

Alan Lazaros

(12:13) So you had never thought of that before.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:16) No.

Alan Lazaros

(12:17) No. (12:18) It never different. (12:20) My imagination was you didn't go into the world and like look at all the careers and then pick one.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:26) Fuck no. (12:28) No. (12:28) I remember being in high school.(12:30) I remember being in high school in the computer lab when we were supposed to be picking our careers looking up personal trainer then knowing okay I have to go to school for kinesiology and blah blah blah and being like I'm not doing that. (12:41) Fuck that. (12:41) That's stupid.(12:42) I don't wanna do that. (12:43) Seriously. (12:44) I have zero desire to do that.(12:45) No. (12:46) And then it was like I remember having a conversation with my guidance counselor and saying like I'm not going. (12:52) I'm not going to college.(12:54) I don't care. (12:54) I'm not going.

Alan Lazaros

(12:55) I have no interest.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:57) I don't remember. (12:58) I don't remember. (12:59) And I probably wasn't nearly that confident.(13:00) I was probably like I don't I don't I don't think I want to go. (13:04) Yeah. (13:05) In your mind in your imagination you were like I ain't going.(13:08) I walked in. (13:08) I kicked the door down. (13:09) I said fuck this.(13:10) I'm not going.

Alan Lazaros

(13:11) And I'm going to be successful anyway.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:13) I'm going to be an entrepreneur. (13:15) So. (13:17) But I I remember the mental masturbation thing.(13:21) I think a lot unfortunately a lot of what the imagination is is you take your place you take your mind to a that you like to get to eventually because it solves a lot of the problems you're feeling in the moment but you never actually do it.

Alan Lazaros

(13:33) Oh maybe this is fantasy instead of imagination. (13:35) That is great. (13:37) Yeah.(13:37) That that I mean there are things that I was fantasizes about.

Kevin Palmieri

(13:41) I know they're not going to do. (13:42) Yeah but I don't know. (13:44) It's easy to it's easy to confuse you.(13:47) I was fantasizing.

Alan Lazaros

(13:48) OK. (13:49) I was fantasizing. (13:51) So imagination is you are OK.(13:55) Maybe it's visualization. (13:56) Maybe what I'm doing is visualization because I'm not. (13:58) I mean I know what a fantasy is.(14:00) You know right. (14:00) Of course that's ridiculous. (14:03) That's ridiculous.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:05) Oh yeah. (14:06) But mine kind of wasn't. (14:08) Dude I'm more successful than I thought I was going to be.(14:12) I'm I'm more six. (14:13) I live in a nicer place than I thought I would. (14:16) I am more successful than I thought I was going to be.

Alan Lazaros

(14:19) I'm not even 3 percent.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:21) Yeah I mean it sucks to suck. (14:23) 3 percent. (14:23) It sucks to suck.(14:24) I like I know it's different for you but dude it's it's all good.

Alan Lazaros

(14:29) The future is bright.

Kevin Palmieri

(14:30) We had a conversation yesterday where like we were doing audios back and forth about something that we're doing within the business. (14:35) I was like dude I love this. (14:36) This is awesome.(14:37) Like I didn't realize I was going to get to do this. (14:38) This is cool. (14:39) Super cool.(14:41) It does. (14:41) It gets better and it gets worse but it gets better for me.

Alan Lazaros

(14:45) It gets better depending on how real your visual is. (14:50) So okay. (14:50) Imagination.(14:51) I know we gotta go. (14:52) Imagination. (14:52) You got three minutes.(14:53) Okay. (14:54) The top. (14:55) The clouds.(14:55) The cloudiest clouds. (14:57) I know. (14:57) The cloudiest clouds is fantasy.(14:59) There's no reality whatsoever. (15:01) I'm flying through the air as a superhero and Emilia's on my back and I'm you know and I'm jacked.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:09) A centaur.

Alan Lazaros

(15:09) Henry Cavill you know. (15:12) I'm a centaur. (15:14) There's a rainbow.(15:15) Do me on it you know. (15:16) I'm kidding. (15:17) All right.(15:18) So that's fantasy. (15:19) Ridiculous. (15:20) That's not a real one by the way.(15:22) I made that up. (15:22) Okay. (15:23) Fantasy.(15:24) Number two would be imagination. (15:25) That's a little closer to reality. (15:27) Then there's visualization.(15:29) That's actually tangible. (15:30) Like I'm not dunking from the foul line having never dunked before you know. (15:35) It's actually like landing in your skill set maybe a little beyond right.(15:41) I've given a speech in front of 300 people. (15:43) I'm visualizing 500 people right. (15:46) And then you've got reality which is oh that speech fucking blew.(15:51) You have to go from if you are you got to figure out which one you're in and that I've never actually thought about before actually.

Kevin Palmieri

(15:58) The word fantasy I never even use in this conversation. (16:03) That is something because I think unfortunately I got a message from somebody today and I love this person. (16:09) This person's awesome.(16:10) I have nothing but good things to say about this person. (16:12) But I think what they're thinking is a fantasy. (16:15) It's like I don't I don't know.(16:18) I don't even know if that's I don't I don't know if that's possible for you. (16:22) But then that's the thing too is like I didn't think what I'm doing is was possible for me either.

Alan Lazaros

(16:27) So what how do you know that's the thing is like I think the problem with this is I actually kept told me the story of the person. (16:37) I know the person also amazing human being genuinely such a huge fan. (16:42) But yeah no I don't think so.(16:43) But like it's not it's not impossible. (16:47) It's very unlikely. (16:48) But if that person came that would say that's not a fantasy.(16:50) I would say that's imagination but it's not a visualization and it's certainly not reality. (16:54) It's on the high end of imagination. (16:55) Agreed.(16:56) Do you think your Winnebago bullshit was a fantasy? (16:58) Fuck yeah brother. (17:00) That's the difference.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:01) Of course.

Alan Lazaros

(17:02) I was never like I want to be an engineer and then that was not like you know what I mean? (17:07) That wasn't like a fantasy. (17:08) I didn't fantasize about doing circuit boards and coding.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:13) Well who would? (17:14) Honestly no offense out there if you do. (17:17) My yeah my fantasy was better.(17:19) Drive around in Winnebago's? (17:21) That's awesome. (17:22) Your fantasy was stupid.(17:23) Who doesn't want to do that?

Alan Lazaros

(17:25) That sounds terrible. (17:26) The thing here though is you got to figure out for yourself for all our listeners is which one which one are you doing? (17:33) Because fantasy is like it's never going to happen and you need to own that.(17:37) Imagination is okay it needs some work. (17:40) It needs to be grounded more in reality. (17:42) Visualization means you're just visualizing actually doing something in the real world like visualizing this podcast episode before doing it.(17:50) I did this in milliseconds. (17:51) I said what's the episode and then you saw me close my eyes before this and I just simulated the whole thing. (17:57) This is okay last thing before we go.

Kevin Palmieri

(17:59) This is why self-awareness is so important because if you can't figure out where you are in this it's there are some of you right now that need to dream bigger for sure. (18:07) There are some of you right now that need to like you need to you need to zoom in a little bit like what are we doing here? (18:14) Come back to reality you mean?(18:15) Yeah like I love the fact that you have such big aspirations but I get to fucking work.

Alan Lazaros

(18:19) Yeah 100%.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:19) You gotta get sometimes you just gotta sometimes you gotta pick the pen up.

Alan Lazaros

(18:22) What percentage of your ideas do you act on? (18:25) Mine's gotta be one in a thousand. (18:27) I have ideas all the time.(18:29) Um probably a pretty high amount. (18:32) Most of them are dumb. (18:36) Like Emilia and I we thought about doing a meme uh Instagram with like entrepreneur funnies you know and we we come up with little skits all the time of imagine uh these little funny skits that would be funny and it would work.(18:52) I'm certain the idea would work. (18:54) I just would never do that. (18:55) I would never invest my time and effort in a bad idea and bad idea for you.(18:59) Well that's I think what I'm talking about is like I wonder if people it's almost like how many ideas do you have in a day and if you have 500 ideas in a day you're probably executing on too many things or nothing because you're overwhelmed.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:15) I have like five ideas a day.

Alan Lazaros

(19:16) Perfect no wonder why you can go to action so quickly. (19:18) Dude I have to decide constantly what to do and what not to do because and you're learning this a bit the more you believe in yourself the more options are available to you. (19:26) It's like I could do this I could do that it's like very hard to discern and that's why if you do have a lot of self-belief saying no is is the superpower.(19:34) Master skill. (19:35) If you don't have any self-belief saying yes is the superpower because you have to like try stuff.

Kevin Palmieri

(19:40) Self-awareness is everything. (19:41) Self-awareness is everything. (19:42) It used to be called the hyper conscious podcast for a reason.(19:45) Self-awareness is everything. (19:46) All right if you're looking to level up your self-awareness one of the best ways on planet earth to do that is a coach because a coach can help you see blind spots that you cannot see. (19:54) They have a perfect not perfect but a 360 degree view of you which we just don't as people right.(20:00) So reach out to Alan if you're looking for that and if you want to get jacked if you have the idea of I want to become the most in shape version of myself which you don't know how to implement. (20:09) Next level fitness accountability group. (20:11) Alan and I are in it every single day.(20:13) I'm doing a little bit of traveling because we've got some family stuff. (20:15) I'm literally trying to figure out where I'm going to work out. (20:18) It was the first thing I searched.(20:20) So reach out we will get you in the group. (20:21) As always we love you appreciate you grateful for each and every one of you. (20:24) If you are as committed as you say you are to getting to the next level make sure you tune in tomorrow because we'll be here every single freaking day to help you get there.

Alan Lazaros

(20:30) Keep leveling up to reach your full potential. (20:33) Next level nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:35) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (20:39) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(20:41) We mean it when we say family. (20:44) If you ever need anything please reach out to us directly. (20:47) Everything you need to get a hold of us is in the show notes.(20:50) Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.