0:02

Hello and welcome to the Achieve Your Goals

0:04

podcast, the show that empowers you to wake

0:06

up to your full potential and achieve your

0:08

biggest goals and dreams. I am your host

0:11

Hal Elrod, and I invite you to join

0:13

us each week as we share actionable strategies

0:15

to take your life to the next level,

0:17

as well as interview world-class experts and entrepreneurs

0:19

who have achieved extraordinary goals themselves. And we

0:21

ask them to give you a peek behind

0:24

the curtain and teach you exactly what you

0:26

need to do to do the same. Ready?

0:36

Hello friends, welcome to the Achieve Your Goals

0:39

podcast. This is your host Hal Elrod, and

0:41

my voice is barely hanging on today. I

0:43

don't know why, but last night my voice

0:45

started to go as my wife

0:47

and I were playing pickleball with a couple

0:50

of friends. And I don't know why, I

0:52

wasn't really yelling yesterday, I don't know what's

0:54

going on. But regardless, today's episode is about

0:56

how to love the life you have while

0:58

you create the life you want or create

1:01

the life of your dreams. And

1:03

what came up for me this morning as I was

1:05

on my bike ride and pondering, what should I share

1:07

on the podcast today? And I had a few

1:09

ideas in mind. What came through

1:11

me was how to love the life you

1:14

have while you create the life of your

1:16

dreams. It's something that it's

1:18

the subtitle of my original book. You

1:20

may have no idea that I published

1:23

a book in 2006 called

1:25

Taking Life Head On, How to Love

1:27

the Life You Have While You Create

1:29

the Life of Your Dreams. And

1:31

I started writing that book when I was 21 years old.

1:34

It took me six years and I published it

1:36

when I was around 27. And

1:39

so I thought, oh, I'm going to crack that book open

1:41

and share some of the wisdom from within. And

1:44

that book, by the way, there's a subtitle

1:46

to the subtitle, which is Taking Life Head

1:48

On, The Hal Elrod Story. So it was

1:50

very much a book about my story of

1:53

the car accident, the head on collision with

1:55

the drunk driver. That's where the name

1:57

Taking Life Head On came from, the title of the book.

4:00

and ourselves and every moment to

4:02

be dependent on our ever-changing circumstances.

4:04

And that's a recipe for losing

4:06

control of your personal well-being. So

4:08

today we talk about how do

4:10

you choose to love the life

4:12

that you have, regardless of when it may

4:15

be difficult or not. And then the other

4:17

side of the coin of living a great

4:19

life is actively creating the life of your

4:21

dreams. And that's kind of a cliche phrase

4:23

and almost, again, kind of cliche, but the

4:26

life that you want, the life you aspire

4:28

to live, it's simply making gradual daily

4:30

improvements in creating this life that you want.

4:32

I'm preparing for a Front-Road Ads webinar that

4:34

we're going to host here. Actually, when you

4:37

listen to this, we will have hosted it

4:39

the same day, I believe. But I'm preparing

4:41

for that. And I was really looking at

4:43

what are the three keys to being

4:46

the parent or the dad in this

4:48

case that your kids deserve. And number

4:50

one is to lead by example. It's

4:53

to eat healthy and exercise and do

4:55

all of these things, right? To set

4:57

goals and work towards them. And working

4:59

towards predetermined goals, I mean, you're listening

5:02

to the Chief Your Goals podcast, that is

5:04

what gives us a sense of direction and

5:06

a sense of fulfillment. So today, I'm reading

5:08

you chapter 16 in the

5:10

book, Taking Life Head-On, live every

5:12

day like your life depends on

5:15

it. Before we dive into

5:17

the episode, I want to take

5:19

just a couple of minutes to

5:22

thank our two sponsors, Organifi, making

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So I encourage you to do

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night oil at curednutrition.com/Hal. All

7:00

right, without further ado, my friends,

7:02

let's talk about living every day

7:05

like your life depends on it,

7:07

taking life head on, loving the

7:09

life you have and creating the

7:11

life of your dreams because you,

7:13

my friend, deserve nothing less. Here

7:16

we go. Living

7:22

every day like your life depends

7:24

on it. How you spend

7:26

your days is the greatest measure of who you

7:28

are becoming, Mark Lobus. I

7:31

sold knives like my life depended on it

7:33

and ultimately it did. This is

7:35

the greatest lesson that I have learned to

7:37

live every day like your life depends on

7:39

it because it does. This

7:41

is the opposite of living every day like it doesn't

7:43

matter. Each day of your life

7:45

does matter because it is who you are becoming in

7:47

every moment that determines the life you

7:50

are creating for yourself in order

7:52

to truly love the life you have while

7:54

you create the life of your dreams. You

7:57

must do it every day. There are no timeouts

7:59

in life. There is no pause button. Today

8:01

is your life. Goals

8:03

and dreams for the future are vital, but

8:05

only when they are backed by daily actions

8:07

consistent with making them into a reality. Otherwise,

8:10

your goals and dreams are nothing more than a fantasy. For

8:13

the past seven years, nearly one third of my life, from

8:15

age 19 to 26, selling

8:18

knives has been what I chose to do.

8:21

And everything I am today is because of the

8:23

choices I made every day to be

8:25

and give my best. It

8:28

was through unwavering faith and putting forth

8:30

extraordinary effort each day that

8:32

allowed me to create the life of my dreams.

8:35

It wasn't about the knives, the

8:37

money, or the cut-co-fame. All

8:39

of these things brought me joy, but it

8:41

was the process that defined me. It was

8:43

the choices I made every day when I

8:45

woke up about how I would spend my

8:48

time. These choices shaped my life and continue

8:50

to do so. Looking back, I see

8:52

that at first I didn't realize my own potential. It

8:55

was my mentor, Jesse, and other mentors in

8:57

Vector that saw the potential within

8:59

me. It was in borrowing confidence

9:01

from them that I took

9:03

my first steps toward my desired future. It

9:06

was in the decision I made on the second day

9:08

of training to attempt breaking the

9:10

fast art record, something I had no

9:12

idea how to do, that

9:14

my destiny began to take shape. Once

9:17

I was committed, the how,

9:19

H-O-W, revealed itself. And

9:21

it was during those instrumental first days of selling

9:24

cut-co, through my taking action in spite

9:26

of my fears and failures, that

9:28

I proved to myself that I could create

9:30

anything I wanted as long as I

9:32

was willing to commit to the effort. My

9:34

earlier decision to take cut-co head on made

9:37

it possible for me to take the rest of my life

9:39

head on as well. Who I became was

9:41

the man that, when faced with the greatest

9:43

challenge of my life, would have

9:46

the strength, positive attitude, and

9:48

emotional fortitude to take adversity

9:50

head on. Had it not

9:52

been for my experience selling cut-co, I

9:54

honestly don't know who I would have been at

9:56

the time I was hit by the drunk driver.

9:59

I cannot promise you. that I would have

10:01

been able to handle such physical, mental,

10:03

and emotional challenges. Upon awakening

10:05

from my coma after the car accident, for

10:07

a brief moment I questioned myself. I

10:09

questioned whether or not I could ever really succeed again. I

10:12

questioned the validity of my accomplishments. Then

10:15

I remembered everything that Jesse had taught me and the

10:17

example set by my parents. I

10:19

drew strength from Jesse, from my parents, and

10:21

my own experiences. So,

10:24

let's talk about you. What

10:27

do you do? What

10:29

do you spend your valuable time, energy,

10:31

and attention on? Is it your

10:34

career? Your family? School?

10:37

Are you giving your best in each moment? Are

10:39

you playing from your heart and creating

10:42

an extraordinary life for yourself and those around

10:44

you? I hope so. If

10:46

you are living anything less than your best, I have to ask you

10:48

why. What could you possibly be waiting

10:51

for? Whatever it is that

10:53

you spend your time doing, do

10:55

it like your life depends on it. Because

10:57

it does. This is your life

11:00

right now. And what you

11:03

do today is the greatest measure of what

11:05

your tomorrow will bring. You

11:07

are choosing in every moment. Do

11:09

not wait another minute to love the life

11:12

you have, for this is the only

11:14

life that you have. And there

11:16

is no time more advantageous than now for

11:18

you to take immediate action and begin to create

11:20

the life of your dreams. It

11:23

is also time to take full responsibility for

11:25

your life. By making excuses

11:27

and blaming other people or

11:29

circumstances outside of your control, you render

11:32

yourself powerless to make changes. The

11:35

moment you take full responsibility for everything

11:38

in your life is the moment you unleash the

11:40

power to create anything in

11:42

your life. I

11:44

could have easily chosen to feel sorry for myself, blamed

11:47

other people, and ended up broke. Physically,

11:50

mentally, and financially broke.

11:53

I could have chosen to blame the accident

11:55

for my circumstances and my limitations. I

11:57

could have proclaimed that it wasn't my fault that my life was

12:00

the way it was, because it wasn't my fault that

12:02

I was hit by a drunk driver. Yes,

12:04

this could have been the life I chose, the life

12:06

of a victim. So why didn't I?

12:09

I will tell you why. Because no

12:11

victim loves the life they have.

12:14

Victims feel sorry for the life they have. That

12:17

is the essence of victimhood. And

12:19

victims do not create the life of their dreams.

12:22

Victims wallow in the excuses as to why

12:24

they cannot. What kind of

12:27

life would that have been? It

12:29

was only by taking full responsibility

12:31

for everything in my life that

12:34

I claimed my power to

12:36

create anything in my life that I wanted. I

12:38

chose to accept my life exactly as it was, decide

12:41

what I wanted to improve, and take consistent

12:44

action toward my vision for the future.

12:47

This didn't happen overnight. It took time. It

12:49

took patience. In fact, it's

12:51

a never-ending process. And as I sit here writing

12:53

this to you now, I continue to love the

12:55

life I have. And with each letter

12:57

that I type on this keyboard, I am creating

12:59

the life of my dreams, all

13:01

because I take 100% responsibility for

13:04

everything in my life, my life. And

13:08

it is you who must take responsibility

13:10

for your life. What

13:13

follows is the taking life head-on formula that

13:16

I have used to love the life I have while I create

13:18

the life of my dreams, and it can empower

13:20

you to do the same. The

13:22

taking life head-on formula, step one,

13:25

love unconditionally. To

13:28

love and create, this is

13:30

the essence of life. In

13:32

order to create the life of your dreams, you

13:34

must first love the life you have. The

13:37

life you are living now is the same life you'll be living

13:39

in the future. Now, I know what

13:41

you're thinking. Sure, the circumstances that you're

13:43

going to create for yourself will undoubtedly be

13:45

different, and hopefully better than they are now,

13:48

but it will still be your life. And

13:50

it will only be as good or

13:53

as bad as you choose to see it,

13:55

just like it is now. As we've

13:57

seen with so many celebrities who think that they'll be happy.

14:00

once they get all the fame and fortune that they want,

14:02

but then those same celebrities end up turning

14:05

to drugs, alcohol, or some

14:07

other vice because they were

14:09

never happy to begin with.

14:11

They were chasing happiness in

14:13

a future goal, but the

14:15

happiness was never inside of them. If

14:18

you aren't happy with what you have now, then

14:21

getting what you think you want isn't going to make

14:23

you any happier. You must first

14:25

love the life that you have today unconditionally,

14:29

and then you can begin to implement the rest of the

14:31

taking life at on formula as a way to create the

14:33

life of your dreams. I'm talking about loving

14:35

every aspect of your

14:38

life this way, without conditions,

14:40

beginning with yourself. Love

14:43

your imperfect self, flaws and

14:45

all. You are exactly where

14:47

and who you're supposed to be at this very

14:49

moment. Love your past, including

14:52

your mistakes, because it is

14:54

by making mistakes that we learn the

14:56

lessons and establish our values that help

14:58

us to improve ourselves and

15:00

our lives to move forward. Love

15:03

your family, because it is the only

15:05

one you will ever have. Even

15:07

love your enemies, which I realize could be

15:09

part of your family, because they too are

15:11

part of the grand scheme of your life,

15:13

and there is a purpose for them being

15:15

a part of you. Love

15:17

others, despite their faults and

15:19

shortcomings. Love people not

15:22

because they are perfect or because they

15:24

always know what you want or how

15:26

you want to be treated. Love them

15:28

because they are imperfect, just like you.

15:31

Love them because they only want to do their

15:33

best, just like you. Love

15:36

them because they want the same things that you

15:38

want, simply to be happy and

15:41

to do what they believe to be right.

15:44

Love them unconditionally because that is how each

15:46

of us deserves to be loved. Love

15:49

what you fear, because the only way

15:51

to overcome fear is through love. Love

15:53

it all. Love your life unconditionally, deeply,

15:56

fully, without hesitation

15:59

or judgment. Step two,

16:01

expect the best, accept

16:04

the rest. Deciding

16:06

on your expectations, what you will choose

16:08

to expect each day that you wake

16:10

up, as well as being willing

16:12

to accept when they are not met, is

16:15

vital in order to keep moving forward.

16:18

In life, people usually get what they

16:20

expect, not what they wish for. This

16:23

is true in all areas of life in regards to

16:25

performance at every level. I don't

16:27

know too many successful people who wished for success and

16:29

it showed up on their doorstep, but

16:31

I know many who expected to be successful,

16:34

and in everything they did, their

16:37

daily actions were consistent

16:39

with their expectations, and

16:41

inevitably they became successful. The

16:44

people that you see living extraordinary lives, maybe even

16:46

lives that you envy, are no

16:49

different than you or me. They just choose

16:51

to wake up each day and expect the best

16:53

from themselves and from life. Expecting

16:55

that everything will work out for the

16:57

best and maintaining an optimistic outlook is

16:59

a strategy, which usually results

17:02

in just that, things working out

17:04

for the best. Not always,

17:06

but more often than if you expect that things

17:08

will go badly, so why not expect

17:10

the best? This is a strategy for

17:12

creating a better life. Nobody has

17:14

everything work out for the best, and

17:17

nobody has everything work out for the worst, but

17:20

your expectations play a vital role in how

17:22

things work out overall, so expect

17:24

the best. But Hal, what

17:27

do I do when I expect everything to work

17:29

out and it doesn't? As

17:31

we discussed in chapter nine, acceptance

17:33

is the answer. There

17:35

are a few things we should consider, a few

17:38

things. First, it's

17:40

a given that there are some things we can

17:42

control or change and

17:44

some things we cannot. Now

17:47

ask yourself this question, how

17:49

smart is it to focus your energy

17:51

on something you can't do anything about,

17:53

something you can't control, and something you

17:55

can't change? The answer

17:58

is not very. If you cannot change... a

18:00

circumstance, whether past or present, then

18:02

accepting it is the only real choice

18:04

you have. And doing so

18:06

allows you to be at peace. Because

18:09

it is your wishing and wanting circumstances that

18:11

are beyond your control to be different than

18:13

they are that causes all of your emotional

18:15

pain. Acceptance is your

18:17

key to finding peace within yourself

18:19

and creating a space for emotional

18:21

well-being and true happiness. Only

18:24

once we stop resisting our reality and

18:26

accepting our circumstances as they are, do

18:28

we regain control of our lives. Remember

18:32

to use these three magical words

18:35

anytime you find yourself upset over something

18:37

you can't change. And those words

18:39

are can't change it.

18:42

The next time you find yourself resisting your reality, as

18:45

you say these words to yourself, let

18:47

the breath flow from your lungs and with

18:49

it all of your negative

18:51

energy. In fact, I invite you to

18:53

do that now. There's something in your life that's out of

18:56

your control, something from your past, can't

18:58

change it. The only logical choice

19:00

that we have is to accept

19:02

it and be at peace and then focus

19:04

all of our energy on what we can

19:07

change to improve our lives now.

19:11

If you can't change a circumstance, then there is no sense

19:13

in feeling bad about it. The only logical

19:15

choice is to accept things as they are, to be

19:17

happy for the sake of being happy and then decide

19:19

if you want to make changes. If

19:21

you do want to change your present situation or future

19:23

outcomes, then take the necessary

19:25

actions immediately. Of course, as

19:28

you take these new actions toward

19:30

your desired outcome, expect the best.

19:33

Step three, have an attitude

19:35

of gratitude. When you live

19:37

with an attitude of gratitude, nothing is ever wrong.

19:40

You are choosing to see what you have to

19:42

be grateful for each moment of every day. Life

19:45

is as good or as bad as you think it

19:47

is, and it is all a

19:49

matter of perspective. Do you see the

19:51

glass as half empty or half full? Are

19:53

you an eternal optimist like me?

19:55

And you see the glass as always being 100% full,

19:58

half to over 100% full. with

20:00

abundance and the other half filled with opportunity? Oh

20:03

my gosh, that's so crazy. Why is it

20:05

that the same tragedy can befall two different people

20:07

and one sees it as the worst thing

20:10

that could ever happen while the other is

20:12

grateful for the lesson made available by the

20:14

experience? Who would you rather be?

20:16

And whose choice is it whether or not

20:18

to seek gratitude in every moment? It

20:21

is yours because there's always something to

20:23

be grateful for when you choose to find it.

20:26

When I wake each day, I spend a few minutes in

20:28

silence thinking of what I'm grateful for in my

20:30

life. Before I go to bed at

20:32

night, I do the same thing, reflecting on what

20:34

I would be grateful for that day. I

20:37

strive to maintain my attitude of gratitude at all

20:39

times, which keeps me grounded, humble,

20:41

and at peace with all things. Like

20:44

I told my friend Katie in response to her letter,

20:47

in life, we all have two pages to look at.

20:50

One page that lists all of our faults, insecurities,

20:53

failures and weaknesses, while

20:55

the other page lists all of our strengths, attributes,

20:59

talents, friends, family, accomplishments, possessions, possibilities, and

21:01

everything else that we have to be

21:03

grateful for. Which page

21:06

you spend most of your time

21:08

focusing on is your choice, just

21:10

as gratitude is a choice. Life

21:12

in itself is a blessing. Choose to

21:14

be grateful for all that you have. What

21:17

is your goal? Goal

21:21

achievers and members of the Miracle Morning community,

21:23

I just wanted to remind you or invite

21:26

you to check

21:28

out the Miracle Morning Routine app in

21:30

the App Store and the Google Play

21:33

Store. It is free to download and

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built-in journal, customizable timers for your sabers,

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the Sabers 101 guided track, where

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you complete your Miracle Morning in 13 minutes

21:47

by simply hitting play, a Miracle Evening guided

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night and a lot more. And then you

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always have the option to upgrade to the

21:55

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you want to make more money. There are

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stars. You

22:39

can download the app now in the App Store

22:41

or Google Play for Android users. Either way, I

22:44

hope the app enhances your mornings and

22:46

your life. Number

22:52

four, dream big.

22:56

In order to create the life of your dreams,

22:58

you must have a clear vision of what the

23:00

life of your dreams looks like. Know

23:03

this, anything you can dream,

23:05

you can achieve. And there is no such

23:07

thing as a dream that is too big. When

23:10

you were a child, what did you

23:12

dream of doing, having, being, becoming when

23:14

you were grown up? What

23:17

has stopped you from living the life you dreamt of when

23:19

you were younger? I'll tell you the answer to

23:21

that. You, the only

23:23

thing that has stood in your way is you. The

23:26

good news is we can get out of our way at any

23:28

time that we choose. Most

23:30

people talk themselves out of the life of their dreams

23:33

afraid that they might fail, but you are not

23:35

most people. You are extraordinary. You

23:38

are a dreamer. You are capable

23:40

of creating the life of your dreams. I

23:43

believe that you and I are kindred spirits. We

23:45

want more out of our lives and more out

23:47

of ourselves and we are ready

23:49

to take action. Do this exercise

23:51

now. Take out a piece of paper and a

23:53

pen. Seriously. Before

23:56

you continue reading or listening to this, grab

23:58

a piece of paper and a pen. This

24:00

part's fun. Okay, now at

24:02

the top of the page, write down

24:04

the life of my dreams

24:06

in all capital letters. Before

24:09

going on to step five, set down

24:11

this book or pause this audio and

24:13

write down a list of your dreams. Everything that

24:16

you want to have, do, become,

24:19

and give to others. Be

24:21

specific and just have fun with this exercise.

24:24

Use it to create a vision for what your

24:26

life can become and don't put any limitations on

24:29

your dreams. Once you have

24:31

the life of your dreams written down on

24:33

paper, make copies and hang it on your

24:35

bedroom wall, bathroom mirror, put it up in

24:37

the office, etc. Look at it every day.

24:39

Take a few minutes each day to

24:42

vividly visualize yourself driving that car, having

24:44

the person in your dream sitting next to you, pulling into

24:46

the drive with your dream home. Do

24:49

you see it? Close your eyes if

24:51

you have to and feel what it will feel

24:53

like when you are living the life of your

24:55

dreams. I want to pause and I want to

24:57

insert some. I should have done this more often,

24:59

but let's do it now. That shows you where

25:01

my level of consciousness was when I wrote this

25:03

way back when, when I was 26, to vividly

25:05

visualize yourself driving the car and having the person

25:07

of your dream sitting next to you and pulling

25:09

into the drive with your dream home. Nothing wrong

25:11

with those things, but here's how I look at

25:13

the life of my dreams now. The life of

25:15

my dreams is an internal perspective. It's

25:17

how do I see the life I'm

25:19

currently living from a perspective of gratitude

25:22

and blessings. In

25:25

other words, in

25:27

every area of life, in our marriage, we can either

25:29

look at everything wrong. It goes back to that example

25:31

I gave a minute or two ago about

25:33

how in life there are two pages to focus

25:36

on. One page lists everything bad

25:38

that you don't like about your life. Most

25:40

people focus way too much of their

25:42

energy and attention on that page. And

25:45

then life sucks, right? If you're

25:47

focused on that page, life sucks. Versus on the

25:49

other page, when you focus on all the, be

25:51

grateful for all the things that in your life

25:53

that are blessings, then you

25:56

feel good about life and you

25:58

can apply the two pages concept.

26:00

to every person in your life,

26:03

to every aspect of your life,

26:05

your health, your family, your spouse,

26:07

your finance situation, your work, etc.

26:10

Another way of framing the two pages

26:12

concept is based on Ben Hardy's book,

26:14

Ben Hardy and Dan Sullivan wrote The

26:16

Gap and the Gain. The

26:19

Gap is focused on the page that lists everything

26:21

you have between where you're currently, your life exists

26:23

and where you wish it was or where you

26:25

wish you were or what you wish you had.

26:28

And the gain is when you look at all

26:30

that you do have, everything you've gained in your

26:32

life, right? You can look at your

26:34

financial situation as, I wish I had more

26:36

money or I have some

26:38

money, right? Some people don't

26:41

have any money and you can apply that to every

26:43

year of your life. You know, I'm my spouse, so

26:45

we don't get along. We're really struggling. Some

26:47

people would give anything just to have a person

26:49

in their life to share their life with. And

26:52

I know that what I'm saying isn't perfect across

26:54

the board. I mean, we're all in our own

26:56

unique circumstances and I don't want to discount if

26:58

you're going through a very difficult aspect

27:01

of life financially or relationally

27:03

or mentally and emotionally. I've certainly

27:05

gone through my really difficult aspects

27:08

of life. However, it was

27:10

that perspective of gratitude where I was

27:12

grateful even in the midst of the

27:14

most difficult times in life and you

27:16

have that choice. So

27:19

anyway, I just wanted to insert a little bit of

27:21

a perspective now based on what I wrote a split

27:23

20 years ago. All right, step five, take

27:25

your first step. Once

27:28

you have a clear vision of what you want in your life, whether

27:30

you call it your life of your dreams or whatever

27:32

you want to call it, you have decided

27:34

to expect the best and are willing to accept the

27:36

rest. Now it is time to

27:39

take your first step toward creating the life of

27:41

your dreams. This takes a

27:43

little bit of discipline. You've

27:45

heard it said that the journey of 1000 miles

27:47

begins with a single step. It

27:50

just so happens that the first step is the hardest one to take

27:53

from my first cut co phone call to the

27:55

first step I took out of my wheelchair. Neither

27:58

of them were easy. But

28:00

once I took the first step, I

28:02

was naturally motivated to take the second

28:05

and the third and so on. If

28:07

you can be disciplined to take your first step and

28:10

then see how you feel as opposed to

28:12

getting overwhelmed by the next 50 steps and

28:14

never even taking the first one, you'll

28:17

be ready to begin your journey. I

28:19

learned a very valuable lesson when

28:21

I was reading John Maxwell's book,

28:23

Failing Forward. And that

28:26

is to act your way into

28:28

feeling. Most people do it

28:30

backwards, hoping they feel their way into action.

28:33

They want motivation to come swoop them up

28:36

and cause them to feel like doing something. But

28:38

the reality is that life rarely works

28:40

that way. I cannot recall

28:42

an occasion where I was being lazy on the

28:44

couch, focusing on what was negative in

28:46

my life, watching television, when all

28:49

of a sudden a wave of

28:51

motivation overtook me and I

28:53

felt inspired to take action towards my

28:55

goals. No, it's always quite

28:57

the opposite. Only through my

28:59

discipline to take action by making that

29:02

first phone call or taking whatever first

29:04

step toward a goal that I needed

29:06

to take, only then

29:08

did I feel like continuing and

29:10

making more calls and taking more

29:12

steps. It was once I took action that

29:15

the feeling to keep going came

29:17

along to my aid. I'm

29:19

sure you can probably relate, possibly in the realm

29:21

of exercise. Can you remember a

29:23

time when you were lying in bed, sleeping in

29:25

on a Saturday morning, when out of nowhere you

29:28

sprung to your feet with an overwhelming passion to

29:30

go for a run? Yeah, I doubt

29:32

it. It was only when you have the discipline

29:35

to lace up your running shoes or

29:37

grab your gym clothes and get into your car

29:39

with the intention of driving to the gym. Once

29:42

you take that first action, that first baby

29:44

step, the motivation that you need will come

29:47

alongside and get you the rest of the

29:49

way there. If you sit around waiting

29:51

to feel like it before you take action, you're

29:53

gonna be sitting around for the rest of your

29:55

life. Think of it this way, the

29:57

toughest part of getting into shape is either lacing up your running

29:59

shoes. running shoes or getting into the car

30:01

with your gym bag to head for the

30:04

gym. You need only have

30:06

the discipline to take that first step.

30:08

And once you take it, the feelings

30:11

that you need will come alongside to

30:13

assist you in completing the journey. When

30:16

you become a master of taking the first step toward

30:18

the life of your dreams, you

30:20

can have, do, and be anything you want. So

30:24

visualize what you want in your life. And

30:27

let me ask you, what is

30:29

your first step or your next

30:31

step toward the life of your dreams? And

30:34

when will you take it? How

30:36

about today? Step six, ooh,

30:39

this is a good one. Be accountable to your

30:41

word. This I am convinced

30:43

of the most powerful force

30:45

in the universe that we have access

30:48

to is our word. When

30:52

we value our word and live with

30:54

total integrity, meaning we do

30:56

what we say we are going to do.

30:58

When we say we are going to do

31:00

it with no exceptions, we

31:03

become unstoppable. What

31:05

would your life be like if you actually did

31:07

everything you said you were going to do precisely

31:09

when you said you were going to do it?

31:12

Then anything you wanted in your life,

31:15

you could have just by speaking

31:17

it into existence. Sadly,

31:20

most people do not value their word.

31:22

They may think that they do, but

31:25

their actions say otherwise. Consider

31:28

this. How often do people you know

31:30

say that they're going to do something and then they don't

31:32

do it? How often do you say you're

31:34

going to do something and then not do it?

31:37

Are you ever late to work or school or

31:40

when meeting other people, you

31:42

ever cancel plans because you don't feel

31:44

like it anymore? Have you ever not fulfilled on

31:46

a commitment because you didn't feel like it? Of

31:48

course you have. We all have, but

31:51

this does not have to be the way we live our lives. Unfortunately,

31:53

finding people who live their lives with total integrity

31:55

is very rare. It is more likely

31:57

you'll meet a millionaire than meet someone who has everything.

32:00

they say they're going to do precisely when they say they're going to

32:02

do it. Imagine what your life

32:04

would be like if you valued your word like

32:06

it was worth, not a million, but a billion

32:08

dollars. Would you be on time

32:10

if you knew you're showing up on time with earning

32:12

a billion dollars? If a billion

32:15

dollars were at stake, then when you told

32:17

someone that you were going to do something,

32:19

would it not be as good as done?

32:21

So then why do you not value your

32:23

word in the same way? Your

32:26

entire world transforms when you value your word at

32:28

the highest level. All of your

32:30

relationships, the way people view you, change

32:33

when you value your word. People

32:35

respect you. They know they can count on you

32:37

to follow through, but more

32:39

importantly, you know that you

32:41

can count on yourself to follow through.

32:44

So stop treating your word like garbage

32:47

and start valuing your word like it's worth a

32:49

billion dollars. Begin today to do what

32:51

you say you're going to do, beginning with

32:53

that first baby step when you say

32:55

you're going to do it. Being accountable to

32:57

your word, living with integrity, and

33:00

then you will be joining a group far more

33:02

elite than the millionaires and billionaires.

33:05

Step seven, surround yourself with

33:07

empowering people. Consider this,

33:10

we become like the people we spend our

33:12

time with. We quickly pick

33:14

up on their behaviors, habits, both

33:16

good and bad, language. Don't

33:19

you talk like your friends, style, ambitions,

33:21

or lack thereof, and

33:23

just about any other characteristic you can think of.

33:26

If you wanted to be lazy and live a mediocre life,

33:29

spending time with other lazy people who are living

33:31

a mediocre life would probably do the trick. If

33:34

you wanted to be a drug addict, you

33:36

probably wouldn't have to hang out with other

33:38

drug addicts long before you'd eventually pick up

33:40

the habit. But if you

33:42

want to be successful, happy, inspired,

33:44

living a life filled with love

33:46

and abundance, then actively

33:49

seek out and surround yourself with people

33:51

who are committed to the same things.

33:54

It's one of the easiest and best ways

33:56

to set yourself up for success. If

34:00

you don't have those people in your immediate circle of influence,

34:02

go find books by people like that.

34:05

And that brings their mindset and the way

34:07

they think and the way they approach life

34:10

into your consciousness. Are

34:13

the people you spend time with adding value to your life

34:16

helping you to become a better version of

34:18

yourself, create the life of your dreams, love

34:20

the life you have or are

34:22

they not adding as much as you'd like? Are

34:24

they making it easier to be the

34:26

best you can or do they

34:28

squash your dreams and tell you to be

34:30

quote unquote realistic? And maybe

34:33

the most important question is

34:35

the direction that they are headed in their life, the

34:37

same direction that you want to go. Because

34:40

if you choose to continue sharing your valuable

34:42

time with them, then where they

34:44

end up is probably the same neighborhood you'll

34:46

be living in. How does that look

34:48

to you? Am I saying that if your

34:50

friends aren't on a path towards success, then you should abandon

34:52

them? And if your family

34:54

is an unhappy bunch, then you should just disown

34:57

them? Of course not. I'm so

34:59

close with many of my friends from

35:01

high school and love my family unconditionally,

35:03

regardless of how happy or healthy or

35:05

successful they are. What I

35:07

am suggesting is that you commit

35:09

to surround yourself with empowering people,

35:12

people who are committed to loving the life they have, creating

35:15

the life of their dreams, as well

35:17

as encouraging, supporting and helping you do

35:19

the same. Jesse was

35:21

that person for me initially, almost

35:23

from the moment I met him. And ultimately

35:25

just about everyone at the Cutco company added value

35:27

to my life in this way. They

35:30

were all striving to be better and

35:32

help others do the same. By making

35:34

the choice to be in that positive environment

35:36

and surrounding myself with so many empowering people, my

35:40

success, happiness and growth

35:42

were practically inevitable. And

35:44

they can be that for you too. We can't

35:46

choose the family we were born into, but we

35:49

can choose our friends. We

35:51

can't always choose where we go to school or

35:53

where we work, but we can choose which people

35:55

we associate with in these environments, choosing

35:58

to surround yourself with empowering. people

36:00

who are committed to supporting you to

36:03

love and create the life that you want will

36:05

enhance your life more than just about anything else

36:07

that you can do. Last but

36:09

not least, step eight, create

36:13

consistent progress. This

36:15

is the secret. It is the key to

36:17

creating the life of your dreams. Once you have

36:19

a clear vision of what you want, simply

36:21

create consistent progress towards your

36:23

vision every day until it

36:26

is real. Some days you may

36:28

work hard at it, making leaps and bounds. Other

36:31

days you might only take one small

36:33

baby step forward, but

36:35

do this and there is no

36:37

other option for you to consistently

36:39

create the life of your dreams.

36:41

There's no possibility for failure so

36:43

long as you create consistent progress.

36:46

Eventually, success is inevitable and

36:48

the only failure would be in giving up. Do

36:51

the right thing, not the

36:53

easy thing. This is a motto to

36:55

live by that will keep you heading in the direction

36:57

of your dreams. We are choosing

36:59

in every moment. So always choose

37:01

to do the right thing, create

37:03

consistent progress versus doing the

37:06

wrong thing, which is anything that doesn't

37:08

move you closer to your goals and

37:10

dreams. Pretty simple. Begin

37:12

today to create consistent progress towards the life of your

37:14

dreams and each day that goes by, not only

37:17

will you be moving closer, but

37:19

doing so will become progressively easier

37:21

with every day that passes. You'll

37:24

replace old habits such as

37:27

laziness and procrastination and self-doubt

37:29

with your new and empowering

37:31

habit of creating progress. Soon

37:33

enough, this habit will take on a life of its

37:36

own and then you will

37:38

be someone who creates consistent progress

37:40

towards your dreams. It

37:42

won't take any thought or much effort on your

37:44

point. You'll just do it out of habit, like

37:46

brushing your teeth. Your friends, family,

37:48

and peers will know you as this person

37:50

and there will be no turning back. You'll

37:52

be on a mission. I know because

37:55

this is who I have become, a creator

37:57

of consistent progress towards my dreams. There

38:00

is nothing I love more than to create

38:02

progress. Former pleasures such

38:04

as watching television, playing video games,

38:06

staying up late, sleeping in and

38:08

partying are now few and far

38:10

between. I just don't enjoy them like

38:12

I used to and they don't fulfill me because

38:14

they are not consistent with what I truly want in

38:16

my life. Why would I sleep

38:19

in when I can be changing the world? Why

38:21

would I choose to play video games when I can be

38:23

reading a book and gaining the knowledge that will help me

38:25

to be the person I aspire to be? Why

38:28

would I watch actors on television, actors who

38:30

are living the life of their dreams, when

38:32

I can be empowering one of my friends

38:34

to create the life of their dreams? I'm

38:37

not saying that sleeping in, playing video games, or

38:39

watching television are wrong. I'm simply

38:41

relating that these activities do not help me

38:43

to create consistent progress towards the life that

38:45

I have dreamt of. Don't

38:48

just think about creating progress towards your

38:50

dreams, take action. And don't

38:52

merely try to create progress, just

38:55

do it. Trying to do something

38:57

is about as effective as thinking about doing it. It

38:59

doesn't move you any closer to your goals and dreams.

39:02

When someone says, I'll try, it means the same thing as

39:04

I'll think about it. I'll try to be on time

39:06

means I'll think about being on time, which really means nothing.

39:09

So this final step requires that you take

39:11

real action towards your goals and dreams and

39:13

it requires that you do it consistently every

39:15

day. In conclusion, live

39:18

every day like your life depends on it because

39:20

it does. Why not make today

39:22

the best day of your life? Why

39:24

not make every day the best day of

39:26

your life? Shouldn't today be

39:29

better than yesterday and tomorrow be even better than

39:31

today? Most people live their

39:33

lives with a someday mindset and mentality. And

39:35

as a result, they don't live an extraordinary life.

39:38

When you have a mindset that there's always tomorrow, you're

39:40

not living fully today. You may be

39:43

letting yourself off the hook today because you think, well, there's

39:45

always someday to work hard and do the right thing. I'm

39:47

sure you give yourself many valid reasons, also

39:50

known as excuses, as to why

39:52

you're not creating a life you've always wanted. I

39:55

know I've done it. I mean, you're

39:57

probably really busy with work, school, family,

39:59

your relationship. and you may

40:01

think it's not important to take your life head

40:03

on now because you can always do it tomorrow

40:05

or next week or next year, right? Wrong.

40:09

What makes us think that we will live any

40:11

differently tomorrow than we are living today? Start

40:14

living life to the fullest today and then you

40:16

will create an exciting tomorrow. There is

40:18

no someday. Your life is now. Your

40:21

life is happening right now at this moment

40:24

and will be determined by the actions you

40:26

take. Who you're becoming

40:28

is being defined by the decisions

40:30

you make today about how you

40:32

are spending your time and living your life. Alright,

40:36

you've made it this far and I congratulate

40:38

you on your decision to take your first step toward

40:40

creating the life of your dreams I

40:43

guess listening to this podcast and I commend you for your

40:45

discipline and finishing it to the end. However,

40:47

this is only the beginning for you and me. Here

40:49

we are with unwavering faith that each day will

40:52

get better, that we will get better and

40:54

each day we fight that same fight. The

40:56

fight to be whole, to be a better person, to

40:58

do what we know is right. That

41:00

fight, the human fight and

41:03

I'll be the first to tell you it's not

41:05

going to be easy and it's not supposed

41:07

to be easy. In fact,

41:09

there would be no reward in the experience

41:11

of being human if it were easy, but

41:14

it is worth it. Living every day

41:16

like your life depends on it is worth it.

41:19

Loving the life you have while you

41:21

create the life of your dreams is

41:23

worth it. I promise you this. Your

41:26

best story is yet to

41:28

come. The life of

41:31

your dreams, the person that you have dreamt

41:33

of becoming and everything you've ever wanted is

41:35

available to you. Just waiting for

41:37

you to make the commitment to create

41:39

it. Love the life you have

41:42

while you create the life of your dreams. Don't

41:45

wait and start today to take

41:48

your life head on. Alright,

41:51

goal achievers. That was chapter 16 from the book

41:53

Taking Life Head On and if you've ever gone

41:55

back and read your own work, it's often cringe-worthy.

41:57

You're like, ah, I can't. I can't believe I

42:00

said that. Oh, that was so cheesy. Oh man,

42:02

I've evolved beyond that. That's rough. But I didn't

42:04

want to edit too much of this. I wanted

42:06

to read it as it was written because there

42:08

is value, right? To look at

42:10

the simplicity in looking back and

42:12

for me at least, like I read this and I

42:15

go, oh wow, I go, yeah, some of it's a

42:17

little cheesy or cliche, but there's so much truth to

42:19

it. There's still so much wisdom and most of the

42:21

wisdom, some was gleaned from my experience, but much of

42:23

it was from all the books I had read and

42:25

the Tony Robbins events that I had gone to and

42:28

the Jim Rohn audios I had listened to and so

42:30

on and so forth. So I hope this

42:32

is valuable for you. Those eight steps real

42:34

quick, just to review them for you. Step

42:37

one, love unconditionally. Step

42:40

two, expect the best, accept the

42:43

rest. Step three, have

42:45

an attitude of gratitude. Step

42:47

four, dream big. Step

42:50

five, take your first step. Step

42:53

six, be accountable to your word. Step

42:56

seven, surround yourself with empowering people.

42:58

And step eight, create consistent progress.

43:01

And I will say when I review my life, especially up until

43:03

that point when I was about, I think 24, 25 when I

43:06

wrote that, those were the

43:08

eight steps that I literally looked back and reflected

43:10

in, how have I created the life that I've

43:13

wanted and loved this life that I've had, even

43:15

though it's been really challenging at times and

43:17

that was the formula. So I hope it's been

43:20

helpful for you. I love you so much and

43:22

we'll talk to you next week. Thanks

43:25

for listening. To learn more about the Achieve

43:28

Your Goals podcast and to get access to

43:30

today's show notes, transcript and exclusive content

43:32

from Hal Elrod, visit halelrod.com/podcast. Thanks

43:34

again for joining us. Be sure

43:37

to tune in next week for

43:39

another episode of the Achieve Your

43:41

Goals podcast.