What do you want that's worth failing? What's worth looking stupid? What do you care enough to die for?
In this episode we explore the fear that's holding us back from living our best life. What dream or goal is worth risking your ego for? The tough question we all have to ask ourselves is whether we are going to allow fear to stop us from pursuing our biggest dreams.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
What's worth the fight for you?
Navy Seal story about a willingness to die for the mission
What do you care enough about to commit?
Take action today
ACTION STEP FROM THE EPISODE: Pick one action you can take today to prove your commitment to your better life.
KICK YOUR WEEK OFF RIGHT! SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE MAGIC MONDAY NEWSLETTER Three things you'll get every Monday with this 2-5 minute micro-dose of inspiration:
A habit tip to help you crush your goals
A mind-expanding idea you can explore with us
A must-read/listen recommendation to inspire you
OUR MISSION We're on a mission to guide 1 million people in taking daily steps toward their biggest dreams through simple habits by 2027.
P.S. We have a goal to get to 100 reviews on Apple Podcasts—send us an email with a picture of your review to hello@habitmasters.com and we'll send you a 20% off coupon code to our 7 Day LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE COURSE!
What do you want that's worth failing? What's worth looking stupid? What do you care enough to die for?
In this episode we explore the fear that's holding us back from living our best life. What dream or goal is worth risking your ego for? The tough question we all have to ask ourselves is whether we are going to allow fear to stop us from pursuing our biggest dreams.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
What's worth the fight for you?
Navy Seal story about a willingness to die for the mission
What do you care enough about to commit?
Take action today
ACTION STEP FROM THE EPISODE: Pick one action you can take today to prove your commitment to your better life.
KICK YOUR WEEK OFF RIGHT! SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE MAGIC MONDAY NEWSLETTER Three things you'll get every Monday with this 2-5 minute micro-dose of inspiration:
A habit tip to help you crush your goals
A mind-expanding idea you can explore with us
A must-read/listen recommendation to inspire you
OUR MISSION We're on a mission to guide 1 million people in taking daily steps toward their biggest dreams through simple habits by 2027.
P.S. We have a goal to get to 100 reviews on Apple Podcasts—send us an email with a picture of your review to hello@habitmasters.com and we'll send you a 20% off coupon code to our 7 Day LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE COURSE!
welcome to having masters. I'm Sheldon. I'm Jeff. And we have a quick, awesome little nugget for you guys today. Jeff and I have been talking about the things, you know, what are we willing to fight for, what are we willing to. Face our fears for, you know, maybe look stupid , maybe not actually look stupid, but we're afraid of, of looking stupid, of not being knowledgeable, of not being the best. Right. Yeah. I think this is just an awesome question because there's a part of me that I was always wondered, you know, what am I really passionate about? You know, I think a lot of people worry. They think about what really am I passionate about, but I think we., right? There are things that you may not have pursued them, you may not have, dug into it as much as you want. Again, my, my belief is that we're all sons and daughters of God with this divine heritage of creativity and growth and. I guess I, I'm calling you. What do you wanna call, like, like both sha on on the idea that like, we don't, a lot of people just don't have passions. I think they, I think you do, and I think by the time we're done today, like those who have risen to the surface and you have more energy and desire and, and belief that you can pursue it.
Jeff Corrigan:
Yeah. And we talk a lot on the show, like Living Your Best Life, and I don't think that's possible unless you're pursuing the things that really are valuable to you. Right? The things that you think about, that you've thought about, that you've been, the dreams you've had sitting on the shelf, that you've been afraid to pursue. For fear of well failing is one, right? Like, oh, what if I do it and it doesn't work out? Or feel fear of looking stupid, which Sheldon mentioned before. Like, oh, what if I do it? And people just don't like, they don't think I'm the person, right? I'm not the girl, or I'm not the guy that like, yeah, no one is at first. Right? What do they say in in the Bible? Like , a prophet is never accepted in his own country. Like, yeah, most like forming a new identity requires a new commit. A commitment to something new. And it is a battle, not just with the fear of what other people might say to you about your new pursuits, but of what your past self will say to you. Like overcoming, like there's a conflict between who you wanna be and who you have been in the past, and that's, that's a real struggle. That's something that you're gonna have to face if you're gonna wanna live a new dream or create a new identity in your life.
Sheldon Mills:
Jeff had a, you have a question that I thought was very profound. I've got a story I wanna show. What should we do first? Tell your story. Tell your story story. Okay. This is a true story. It was told to me by Monty Holmes from, and it was told straight to him from the Navy, the Navy Seal trainer himself. So this is a secondhand story, but a true one, fairly direct. I've been reading a book by. Goggins, what's his name? Go. First name David Goggins. Yes, David Goggins. Can't recommend particularly cuz of the language, but this idea of of just like you have to take ownership, like an effort is everything, right? Mm-hmm., I think is, is very valuable, but reminded. This because he talks a lot about his, you know, bud's straining Navy seal and stuff like that. There's this test to become a Navy seal where there's these knots underwater and you have to take, you know, a deep breath, go down, be able to tie or undo these knot tie these knots, and it has to be done right. there's people with scuba gear in the water, and then you can come back up and I think there's like five different knots, right, that you have to be able to do, and you get to come up and you get to take one breath before going down and doing it again. And it's, it is the pass or fail, right? Mm-hmm., it's like you do it or you don't like you. Yeah. You don't, you don't become a Navy seal, right?
Jeff Corrigan:
Yeah. Like it's, it's a must
Sheldon Mills:
do. Yeah. Yeah. And he is talking about this one particular person. Went down and got the first one. Okay. Came back up, got his breath. Like there are literally people in the water, you know, rescue people because people drowned doing this test. Right.. Yeah, it's, it's serious. And on the second one it became clear that he was struggling, came up, got his breath, went down for the third and just barely, you know, came up for a breath. And on the fourth one, like literally, Died in the water, right. Couldn't, couldn't do it. Right. And so they dragged him out. I mean, literally the guys he drowned trying to do this resuscitation, get him back. And as he's coughing up the water, a little bit of blood, you know, coming like consciousness, like this first thing is like, did I pass? Right? Like that is literally the driving thing. In his mind and the instructor's like, yes, son, like you passed. Like you, you did it right. And he didn't, he actually passed the test. But then he went on to talk about how, okay, who do you want on your side? I mean, you want people who are physically capable, people who who know know their stuff and can get the job done, but like from this test, like they knew that this guy was willing to give his life., for the mission, for his, for his comrades. Right. You know, when push come to shove, this guy would give his life mm-hmm. to protect his fellow comrade. So Yes. Didn't pass like the, the, the physical test, but the actual test, right? Like Yeah. Yeah. You passed, right? Yeah. And the question that was posed to me, you know, which I've thought about this many times, is like, What are you willing to give your life for? Right? What, what are you so dedicated to, so passionate about? So like you would, when's the last time you've ever given half that amount of effort to anything . You know what I mean? Yeah.. Well, you got me
Jeff Corrigan:
thinking those who listen who are listening right now are watching you. Cuz we are on YouTube now, by the way, So if you go watch our, you can watch our episodes on YouTube. But I think , , that's a hard question to ask yourself, but I think an important one. Because there has to be things in your life that matter more than you. I know that's crazy because we're all very like self-interested and obviously we wanna stay alive, we wanna do that, we wanna be successful, all these things in our lives. But the funny part is when you lose yourself in this service or in the battle for something greater than yourself is really when you find yourself, and I know that sounds like a scripture reference , but but it's true, like you. And so the question that, to add to that question, I think is, in order to overcome your fears and to beat the obstacles in your way, in the way of your dreams, of your passions, of fa, of pursuing what you feel is valuable and worth it is what is it you want that is worth the fight, right? That is worth being told you're not good or that is worth failing. Right? There was a great question from Seth Godin I heard a few weeks ago where he said, you know, a lot of people asked the question, , what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? What'd you, and he's like, well, that's, that's not a great question because it leads to too many answers. And if you go back to our 10 x and all those types of ideas, he says, the better question is, what would you do if you knew it would fail? If you, what would you still do if you knew it would fail? And this is kind of that same question where, what is worth the fight to you? Stuff that you would care enough about to risk failure, to risk your ego, to risk looking stupid to, to risk being told that it's not gonna work for you. Because if you look at anybody who's reached a great level of success in their life and any endeavor, almost all of them have gone through a point, and I would say all of them at some point, maybe they just haven't shared it, but every story I've ever heard they reach a point where, They don't feel like they can make it. People tell 'em they're not gonna make it. They're they, they are discouraged at every turn. And all of us have experienced that. The difference is they kept going. It was worth the fight to them, right? So the question you gotta ask yourself today is what's worth the fight for me?, what am I willing to give my life energy to? Right. And, and, and to Sheldon's point, maybe even your full life, right., like willing to give. Now that's a hard, hard, really hard question. Like, what are
Sheldon Mills:
you willing to give? That's very, yeah. Very few of us will ever be asked to, to give up our life for, for a cause. Right? Right. I'm reading a book called Mindset. By Carol Dweck, very famous. Probably many of you have read it before, right? It's all about growth and fixed mindset. Mm-hmm. and basically, you know, it dives very much into the difference between the fixed mindset and the growth mindset and how, you know, with fixed, it's like you believe that it's innate you. This really goes down to beliefs. That like, this is the way it is and you can't change it. And it's a growth mindset. It's like, it doesn't matter what it is. My aptitude, my ability, like even my perception, my personality, like it can be changed and molded, right? Mm-hmm. and one thing with a fixed mindset. It's very interesting. She doesn't delve into it as much. Probably as, as I think it's fascinating, is like, you know, if you tell a child., they, they ace the test and it's like, good job. You're so smart. There are unwritten rules in there that are basically saying like, if on the next one you don't do great, then you're not that smart. Mm-hmm.. Right? And basically all this research that you need to praise and talk about the effort. that they're giving, right? It's like the effort that they give to it. You, you did so great. You must have worked really hard. And how psychologically that leads to this growth mindset , of ability to give. But it all comes down to effort. Like this fixed mindset. Mm-hmm.. effort is a bad thing. Right. If it's not effortless. Right. If it didn't, if it just doesn't come to them, then like they're really not that smart. Right. But a growth mindset, you, you realize like it all comes down to the effort that you're willing to give something. I was reminded, like in college, I'll be honest, I did not get like the best grades.. Yeah. I wanted to go to law school. Mm-hmm. and , I frankly didn't have good enough grades to go to the ones I wanted to go. Go. and I didn't go to law school and I don't look back. That's not like a, a huge regret or anything. But then I went back and did my, my mba. Mm-hmm., I was almost surprised at how much easier everything was. Not that it was easier, but I had matured enough that I was willing to just put in the effort. And it's just like, you know what I don't have to be a genius, I just have to put in the effort to do the homework.
Jeff Corrigan:
It wasn't. Wasn't, it wasn't easier. You were better, right? Yes. Yes. Yeah. Like, I, I think that's such a, that's a vital distinction there. It's like, don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. Right. That's another Jim Roh quote, man, you guys, I love Jim Roh. He's just got a ton of great quotes, right., sorry. Keep going, Sheldon. Keep going.
Sheldon Mills:
Go. Going back to our, our real question is like, what is it that you're willing to put real effort into? Effort enough . To sacrifice, you know what I mean? To put above our Netflix, our cell phone binging. You know, I mean, we, we always joke about that cause it's like the, it's the low hanging fruit that we all can probably do a little bit better at. And, and the same side. At the same time recognizing you have to be able to sharpen the saw rest. Perhaps there are better ways of doing it than binging four hours of
Jeff Corrigan:
dinner . Well, and, and, but I think that brings up the perfect point of, and I've been thinking about this a lot this week , with my boys who are getting a little bit older and I've been wanting to help them create a little more focus in their lives. What is a goal that's important enough to you? overcome distraction. Right. Because distraction does, it comes in, it's like a, it's a lesser path, right?. Yeah. Your biggest obstacle is an easy, easier path to a lesser goal. And it's easy to be distracted, and it requires zero effort., but when you focus on something you really want something that matters to you, something that's worth the effort, worth the fight, worth your life, even in some instances. that's when you have the power to overcome the obstacles of these lesser distractions. And that's what I've been talking to my boys about because of course, like they like video games like most kids, right? They, they like, you know, watching silly YouTube videos and stuff like that, and we've just been encouraging them more and more to be like, okay, like, great, you want to take a moment and watch a movie or, or take a moment and play a video game., but more important are the direction you're heading. Like what, what goal are you pursuing that's creating a new identity in yourself and building a better life for you and those around you. And that has to come from you. You've gotta decide what that is and then start taking an action on it. And Sheldon and I have talked on this show a lot about what commitment really is, and commitment is time focused, money, right? All those things. If you're really committed to something, it's gonna require some of, or all of those things. Giving those
Sheldon Mills:
things increases your commitment, right? Absolutely. We talk about giving effort as you give more focus or, or time or, or effort or your resources like that increases your commitment.. Mm-hmm.. We, we talk about these things. It's like, when is the last time you've been committed to something that you'd be willing to give your life to it? Right. That wasn't something that is going back to the Navy sill. I mean, he wasn't just born that way. Yeah. He, he grew in that commitment as we'd grown in whatever we're committed to by giving it more time, more effort, putting, you know, his, his directions, his thoughts, his money, his, his life toward that, his commitment rose to the point where it was like, this is his mission and he'll do anything to make it happen.
Jeff Corrigan:
Yeah. He, he had committed to that new identity, like, yeah, , I'm a Navy Seal, right? So what is it, what, what identity are you gonna create? You know, it's there. And Sheldon talked about this earlier. We, a lot of us know what it is we want, right? We know where our passion lies. And you have to ask yourself this question,, and I had to answer my own question honestly too, is, am I going too slow in pursuit of my dreams? And I'll put that caveat in there. Are you going too slow because you're scared of what other people will.. So I'm not gonna answer that question for you. Obviously that's for you to answer. But are you going too slow in the pursuit of your goal or dream because you're scared of what other people will think or even what yourself will think? Like, are you worried that you can't, you know, the self-doubt that creeps in And sadly the answer that I had to write down to this question was yes. That is a big thing that holds me back from the pursuit of my goals. But I'm committing today that that's no longer the case. I, you know, committing to writing more, committing to getting an episode out every week we do our Magic Monday newsletter. If you haven't checked that out, please do. It's short. The little dose of inspiration every Monday., but Sheldon, how do they, what, where did the rubber meet the road on this one? How are they gonna put this into action? Because, you know, on this show, we don't just like to leave you with a philosophy. We like to leave you with some steps to take. Sheldon Mills: Yeah. So I, I think ultimately, again, we sometimes get hung up and it's like, oh, I'm not, you know, nothing drives my passions. So that's not true. There are things you're interested, things that inspire you. Right? And it's. Time to do, have a little more commitment in those areas. And as you do so that commitment, it's like the, that righteous cycle, you know what I mean? It grows on itself. Right. So I think that's what it is, is really coming back to, there's some, there's everybody has something they wanna do somewhere where they want to go. Some cause some something that has been on the back burner too far and it's just time to, to., it's time to, you know, like the time, the resources, the focus, the effort. I, we, on our website, the tracker, we have a, a free tool if you wanna go use it, it's a tracker for whatever your goal is. I think that's a good starting spot because it helps you boil it down to like, what's my one priority action that I'm gonna take ideally daily. that's gonna move me toward that, that's committing and it helps you track that along with, our whole course is about these, these ways that help you, you know, this new identity stick, this new habit become part of who you are. But that habit tracker free, anybody can get it. I think that's a great spot to help you identify what it is and, and figure out how to commit a little bit more by taking daily action. Absolut. As we always say, consistency is better than quantity when it comes to pursuing of your goals, right? So as of today, what is the new identity you want to create? What's worth the fight for you? Right? Where, where have you wanted to add value or contribution that you just haven't pursued because of fear of what other people might think or of failing or whatever that reason may be? Because we all face that fear. All of us, every day were facing that. And that you're willing, it's worth the fight because I gotta say Jon Acuff had a quote the other day I thought was really good. And it fits really nicely with this. He says, through, not over. Someone asked me, how do I get over imposter syndrome? Which is exactly what we're talking about, right? I told her, you trade the word over for through, over is a perfectionism word. It has finality to it as if you get over fear forever through admits. You don't beat fear, just once you go through. I've written eight books, hit the New York Times bestseller list, and sold hundreds of thousands of books and still feel like I'm not a real writer. Sometimes that's okay. I don't get over fear. I go through it, but it doesn't stop me and it shouldn't stop you either. It's really about U understanding that the fight is going to exist and you just get stronger, right? The fight doesn't go away. You just get stronger and the fight gets easier. Because you're now capable of fighting that fight. And you know, hey, if I'm gonna put a course out there in the world, if I'm gonna start sharing a podcast, there are gonna be those people. As I get more listeners that don't like me, that don't like what I have to say, or if I'm writing a book, there are people who are gonna think my book's dumb, right? They disagree with me. If I'm gonna go be a Navy Seal or whatever, those, there's gonna be people that tell me I can't do it, and it's gonna be super hard and physically demanding and all these things that are required of a, of a Navy seal. So is it worth the fight for you? And only you can answer that question and, and so I would say pick the thing and just like Sheldon said, go download our habit tracker. It's free on our website, and start tracking this pursuit of your new goal.. Sheldon Mills: That is a powerful mindset. It's like, I think sometimes , we have these struggles that we've dealt with, these, these things , we've recognized. It's like we fall short here, right? And we just wanna go like, how do I get over this? Yeah. But the mindset I think we need to take is, is how do we get through it. It's not, there's no finality to this. It's like you learn to tackle it. You learn to sit with discomfort, and that's where the growth happens, right? When you're willing to, to not run away. You're willing to like, it's uncomfortable and it, and, and it just sucks. well, sucks good, but that's where the stretching. Exactly right. And Seth Godin talks about that, like dancing with doubt. Right. So it's like through fear, not over it. You know, it, it's, it's a style, not a switch. You can't just turn it off. You're never gonna be able to turn off the imposter syndrome. Like, no matter how long we've done this, Sheldon and I still doubt like, is this episode gonna be worthwhile? Is the people gonna care what we have to say? right? It's like he's written eight books, several of them, New York Times bestsellers, hundreds of thousands of copies, and he is like, I don't know, I don't even feel like a real writer. Sometimes it's like, Nobody in any walk of life is fully over fear or self-doubt. So if that's what's been holding you back no more my friend, it's time to take the next step. So with that, We want to thank you guys. This is our 101, 101, 101st episode, and so excited. We have a guest coming on in the next couple of weeks that you're gonna love, wrote a new book. It's super exciting, all about telling your own story. If you guys have thoughts or suggestions for us, please send us an. Hello, at habit masters.com. We would love for you to go through our course and jump on it. Go ahead. Who,
Sheldon Mills:
who would you like that us to get on our podcast? You'd be surprised how willing people are to share their message and their idea. I Have we ever had anyone just like flat out say No. Yeah. Honestly, if there's someone you, you have on your wishlist that you'd like us to interview, let us know. I, I'll bet you we can get 'em on. That's a bet., Jeff Corrigan: we've been ignored, You guys are amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so, so much for listening. If you like this episode, please share it with a friend and Google, leave us a review if you can, if you're on an Apple podcast. If not, no worries. You guys are amazing. We love you. Have a great day. As always, it is time to start living your best life,