Want more respect, momentum, and opportunities without waiting on talent or perfect timing? We go straight at the quiet truth: consistent, unglamorous effort is the edge that most people overlook. From showing up early to following up fast, we unpack the small behaviors that build trust, compound into reputation capital, and create real leverage in your work, health, and relationships.
We start by reframing what stands out in any room: not flashy skill, but reliability. You’ll hear practical ways to make effort concrete—arrive early, learn and use names, return messages promptly, and research solutions before someone asks. We dig into why starting is easy and staying is hard, and how boredom becomes the test that separates average from exceptional. If you’ve ever lost steam when the novelty wore off, this conversation gives you the systems to keep going.
The heart of the episode is integrity under pressure. We talk about earning your own respect by doing what you said you would do, even when you’re tired, busy, or over it. You’ll learn how to replace motivation with a daily architecture of non-negotiables: plan tomorrow’s three to five needle-moving tasks today, then execute no matter how you feel. We challenge the myth of the “right time,” make the case for starting before January, and explain how consistent follow-through turns into opportunity and trust.
If you’re ready to outwork your past self and build habits that last, press play, write down your three tasks, and start today. If this resonated, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs the push, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.
Thanks for listening & being part of the Mindset Cafe Community.
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Episode Transcript
What is up, guys?
Welcome to another episode ofthe Mindset Cafe Podcast.
It's your boy, Devin Gonzalez.
And today I wanted to talk abouta topic that I know has
resonated at least with you atsome point in your life, right?
And that's everyone wants tostand out, right?
Everyone wants theopportunities, the respect, the
(00:39):
momentum.
But here's the truth (00:40):
the fastest way to stand out has
nothing to do with your talent,your timing, or your
connections, right?
It's effort, pure, consistent,boring, unglamorous effort.
It's showing up early wheneveryone else is just coasting
in.
It's doing the extra researchbefore anyone asks.
(01:00):
It's remembering names.
It's following up with thingsfastly, right?
Someone texts you, text backfast.
It's smiling when you actuallygreet people.
Work ethic is the universalcurrency of respect.
And it costs you nothing, to behonest.
But if it can give youeverything, this is something
(01:21):
that we should maximize on.
So today we're gonna be talkingabout work ethic.
Right?
Most people think that the hardpart is just getting started,
and it's not right.
That's the easy part.
The easy part is gettingstarted.
The hard part comes when itstarts to get boring, when the
excitement fades, when the grindfeels invisible and nobody's
(01:42):
clapping anymore.
That's when that's where thisepisode really lives.
And I want to I want to reallydive into those things today,
into the quiet, into the grind,into that place where most
people end up stopping, wherethe great gets separated from
average.
Right.
So today we're talking abouteffort, where the underrated
(02:04):
edge that separates the ordinaryfrom exceptional, and how to
turn that habit that willoutlast your motivation.
So I want to start with whateffort actually looks like, not
just as an idea, but as apattern that you can build in
every single day.
Right.
So this is one of those things.
It's not fun, it's not easy, youknow, to show up and to be
(02:27):
excited about what you have todo every single day.
And that's fine, right?
Everyone, that's normal foreveryone, right?
I don't want to get up and youknow do most of the things that
I do in a day, every single day,but you do it right because you
know you need to get it done.
But effort is the fastest way tostand out.
When you show up on your in yourA game every single day, whether
(02:49):
you feel like it or not, peoplenotice, right?
That sets your stakes, andthat's what sets and that's what
earns attention, to be honest.
You can't control your borntalent or timing, but you can't
(03:12):
control if you outwork everyone.
Your work ethic is youruniversal currency of respect,
and that respect will earn youthe opportunities, will earn you
the connections, will earn youeverything else, but you have to
show up and give it your allevery single day.
Other otherwise, you know,what's the point?
(03:33):
Like we've talked about before,your time is the one thing you
don't get back, so don't wasteit doing things half-assed.
Right?
So you have to realize that thatyour effort showing up every
single day, it compounds, itcompounds day after day, and
consistently will start to buildtrust.
It will start to that trust willstart to you know build your
(03:54):
opportunities, will start toattract your opportunities,
right?
For example, you all know thatthat coworker, that teammate, or
um that employee or that friendwho you can call and they're
gonna do what you need, or youknow, if they say they're gonna
get it done, they're gonna getit done because they're
reliable.
That has been built over time ofthem doing the you know, doing
(04:18):
that day after day.
So you got to be that person.
Your work ethic is one of themost important attributes to
you.
So, what does your effortactually look like out there in
the wild, out there in yourworkspace, out there with your
family, right?
Because all those things takework.
Your relationship takes work,your fitness takes work, your
(04:40):
you know, nutrition takes work,your business that's work,
right?
So, what are you doing thatcould be improved?
What are you doing that you'reyou've if you really think about
it, you're kind of just coastingby and you're just waiting for
someone to tell you the nextthing, even though you know that
there's some other things thatcould be done, those are the
(05:02):
things that you should just bedoing.
So it's the the micro behaviors,right?
It's not just a mood, right?
Make effort concrete, everythingyou do, look for you know, be
proactive.
So think of think of the easiestones would be almost like you
(05:25):
know, showing up early, right?
And when you show up early,that's a huge, a huge thing
people start to notice.
That person's always on time,they're always early, right?
Versus being the person that'salways late.
Other thing is you know, usepeople's names, right?
Use it a couple times when youfirst meet them, so it gets sunk
into your brain.
But people like hearing theirname.
(05:46):
That's one of the most likeendearing sounds is your own
name, right?
That way you know someone'sactually talking to you, you
know someone actually knows whoyou are, and if you use people's
names, I guarantee you willstick out in their mind and they
will try to remember your namein return, right?
(06:07):
The things let's say with work,what could you be researching
how to do better or how toimprove the system or how to
improve your business or thebusiness?
You know, do that instead ofwaiting to be asked.
That stands out.
The easiest one I could thinkof, honestly, and this one is
(06:27):
probably one of the mostunderrated ones, is just smile,
right?
And and I say that, and I mean,believe me, this is one of those
ones I have to work on most ofthe time, too, that have a very
straight face.
But when you're greeting someoneand you're saying hello,
especially for the first time,smile when you say it.
Look pleasant when you'reintroducing yourself to someone,
(06:48):
when someone introducesthemselves to you, that first
impression gets ingrained intheir brain, right?
So you have to do more than isasked of you to stand out,
otherwise, you blend in with theherd.
And you don't need to do thesehuge, extravagant things and be
(07:09):
the MVP of the team.
Sometimes it's just beingreliable, sometimes it's just
showing up, sometimes it's justdoing more than you're asked,
but you're constantly lookingfor those things and trying to
improve yourself.
And one of the things thatyou're trying to improve is your
work ethic.
(07:30):
Because respect, it's earned,right?
Someone, someone lies to you,whatever you they lose a little
bit of your respect.
If someone's truthful with you,someone always set follows
through what they said they'regonna do, they earn your
respect.
But why don't you earn your ownrespect?
That's one of the biggest thingsI want you to to kind of take on
this too.
Is when I when I say respect, Idon't mean respect of only
(07:52):
others, but the respect ofyourself because if you tell
yourself you're gonna work outtoday and then you don't, well,
you just lost a little bit ofrespect for yourself that day
because you just lied toyourself and your subconscious
knows it.
Let that sink in.
How many times this last month,or and over in the beginning of
(08:14):
the month?
Last month did you say you weregonna go work out and you
didn't?
Follow through the things thatyou tell yourself you're gonna
do them, regardless of what timeit is, regardless of how you
feel.
Believe me, there's beencountless times where I told
myself I'm gonna work out, and10 o'clock hits, 11 o'clock
hits, and I'm like, damn, Idon't really want to work out
right now.
(08:34):
I'd rather just go home, getsome sleep, and I'm like, you
know what?
I'm gonna do a 30-minuteworkout, you know, and just
knock it out.
At least I stayed true to myword.
You have to be truthful toyourself, and you have to follow
things with follow through withthe things that you would tell
your boss.
You would have to follow throughthe same things you for
(08:55):
yourself.
Because if you can't trust you,then who else can trust you?
If you don't respect you, whoelse would respect you?
You should be your biggest fan,you should be your biggest
motivator, your biggest hypeperson, your biggest you know,
encouragement is from yourself.
That's what goes into thatself-a positive self-talk that
we've talked about, right?
(09:16):
And the biggest myth that Ithink people have is you know,
well, I don't know how to getstarted.
Getting started is the easypart.
You don't know, you don't needto know everything in order to
get started.
You don't know how to work out.
Go to the gym and just hop on amachine, do it wrong.
That's still getting started,right?
(09:37):
It's the hard part comes whenit's not exciting anymore.
The hard part isn't gettingstarted, that's easy.
You can start right, you canstart wrong.
You just getting started iseasy, but it's exciting, it's
that new thing when you getstarted, right?
You're your motivation, you'retelling yourself, I'm gonna do
(09:58):
this, I'm gonna do that, andeverything feels like this
glorious plan until the hardpart hits, and that's doing the
mondane, that's doing the thingsyou have to do day after day
after day, and it almost becomesyou know repetitious and boring
and monotonous.
Years that ban that this is thisis not fun anymore.
(10:19):
No one said it was gonna be fun,no one promised you that.
You built that up in your headin the beginning.
That's like a new relationship.
Everyone that gets in a newrelationship enters that puppy
dog phase, you know, whereyou're all over each other, you
know, and it's almost likeyou're in high school again, and
then all of a sudden that ends,and now it's you're just in a
(10:39):
relationship.
Well, that's how it is with yourgoals as well.
Your goals feel fun, they feelexciting, it's this new thing,
and then all of a sudden you aredoing the things you know you
need to do day after day, andyou're like, this is not as fun
as I thought it would be.
No one said it was gonna bethat.
But will it be rewarding?
(11:01):
100%.
Your effort is going to dictatewhat you earn in any form or
form or fashion of your life, inany area of your life, your
effort towards that thing, youwill get out what you put in.
And more times than not, you'llget out more than you put in.
(11:21):
So if you're putting in ahundred, you're gonna end up
getting 110% out.
That's just the way it works.
Other people will start to putyou on a pedestal and try to
rise to your work ethic.
They'll try to rise to yourcommitment to the relationship.
Not the other way around.
(11:43):
If you're dragging therelationship, people will drop
down to meet you there.
If you're dragging it inbusiness, you're dragging it as
an employee, believe me, theteam will start to do it, or
you'll stand out in a way thatyou don't want to stand out, and
then you probably won't be apart of that team as long as you
thought you would be.
So there's this gray zone thateven with like business, for
(12:10):
example, and fitness, that theexcitement fades and the
progress feels almost invisible,right?
And that's the phase thatnormalizes the I almost said I
don't want to say bored, buttechnically it just feels boring
(12:34):
because you're doing the samethings because you're not
hitting that next level yet.
But those boring things allowyou to push through to the other
side.
Those boring things are thetests sometimes that separate
the people that succeed and thepeople that don't.
(12:56):
You can get through that phase,you know you can.
You just have to be willing tostay committed and truthful to
yourself and stay committed tothe things that you told
yourself you're gonna do it.
Instead of I'm gonna start freshnext week, I'm gonna start
cleaning, start today.
The day's not over.
(13:16):
I'm gonna start meal preppingnext week, it's fucking
Wednesday.
Start today.
You don't need to start nextweek.
I'm gonna start working out, youknow, January 1st.
Why?
You still have two months leftof the year.
Finish the year strong.
So I think like this is almostlike towards the time we start
talking about New Year'sresolutions, most people.
(13:40):
And this is a perfect example ofthis topic because January 1st
hits, everyone's excited,everyone has their New Year's
resolution, and how many timeshave you had the same New Year's
resolution?
How many years in a row?
Why have you not succeeded thatNew Year's resolution?
(14:00):
It's supposed to be differentevery year.
And why are you waiting untilJanuary 1st to start on
anything?
January 1st is just a date onthe calendar.
What's the difference betweenJanuary 1st and November 5th?
Nothing.
It's just your willingness tocommit.
(14:21):
Nothing is different.
The days are the same, samehours in the day, your work is
the same, everything is thesame.
Why not start now and start witha head start on it?
Then January 1st comes around,you already have a head start on
what you wanted to achieve forthe year, and then you can end
up accomplishing it and settinga new goal by the end of the
year.
(14:41):
Why did you stop achieving yourgoal for this year?
What makes commitment acommitment to achieving your
goals or to anything torelationship, it's your
integrity under pressure.
It's your integrity underpressure.
Commitment counts when it'sinconvenient for you.
(15:04):
Otherwise, it just feels like agood promise.
Right?
Commitment counts when it'sinconvenient, otherwise, it's
just a feel-good promise.
One thing I would say you coulddo is write your non-negotiables
down.
Keep them next to you, keep themin your pocket, and when you're
(15:25):
tired or busy or unmotivated,look at them.
What are your non-negotiablesthat you need to do every day to
achieve the goal that you're setout to achieve?
And we don't feel like it.
Pull that little list out and belike, I work out, I do this, I
be, I need to do that, and thenyou do them, check them off the
list.
(15:46):
If you set a list for each dayof three to five things you need
to accomplish in the day to movethe needle towards your goal,
and you actually accomplishthose, regardless of what else
you accomplish in the day, youwould make more progress than
99% of people.
If you plan the goals that youneed to accomplish tomorrow,
today, and then you accomplishthem, you are more productive
(16:09):
than 99% of people.
It seems small, but you gottathink all of a sudden 365 days
in and you accomplish three tofive tasks that would move the
needle, your progress should behuge.
No one's gonna be clapping foryou along the progress, no one's
gonna be clapping you along thejourney, right?
(16:30):
They'll clap when you first tellthem that, oh yeah, that's
great, that sounds so cool, andthen you get into it, it's you
and it's you and yourself.
But you fo that's why you didit.
You didn't do it for theaccolades, you didn't do it for
the clapping, you did it foryou.
So focus on that, accomplish it.
(16:53):
Start now when it'sinconvenient.
Right now we're hitting theholidays.
It's not convenient to startanything right now.
Start now.
That way you start when it ishard already, and then all of a
sudden everything starts tolighten up at the beginning of
the year, there's not as manyholidays.
Now it's easy.
So it's easier.
(17:13):
You've already built the habitsduring the hard time.
Now you don't have to worryabout that.
Now that now the hard is eveneasier.
Kill your your sense ofperfectionism and your sense of
delay.
Kill your sense ofperfectionism.
I need to wait until the time isright.
(17:33):
Fuck that.
Your time is never gonna beright.
I promise on anything.
Starting a business, startingyour fitness, starting your
health, um, starting a family,right?
You know, I just had my second,you know, I would say we, me and
my wife just had our secondchild, and the timing's never
right.
I hear so many people, well,we're waiting for this, and I'm
(17:55):
waiting for that to start abusiness, and just fucking
start.
That's all it is.
You start and you figure it out.
That's what life is most of thetime.
Just figuring it out.
You figure out what you need todo today to accomplish the tasks
set out for today.
That's it.
(18:15):
Plain and simple.
And if you can do that, there'sno stopping you.
You have to.
You know, that asked if I wasgonna be working on certain
nights because they were moremotivated when I was here versus
some of my trainers.
(18:35):
And what I told her was, itdoesn't matter if I'm here or
not, I shouldn't be yourmotivation.
You should be your motivation.
Build or replace, I should say,your motivation with the
architecture of your day, withyour systems of today, of the uh
non-negotiables of today.
You don't need motivation, youdon't need a YouTube video to
(18:58):
watch, you don't need any ofthat.
Your reason why foraccomplishing your goals should
be your own self-internmotivation, regardless of how
excited or how happy or howenergized you feel for that day.
One thing kind of transitioningI want to say to was separating
(19:18):
yourself is more on the socialaspect.
You know, if you told someoneyou're gonna follow up with
them, follow up with them.
unknown (19:28):
Right?
SPEAKER_01 (19:28):
And I believe me, I know I'm guilty of this as well,
but that's one of the biggestthings, set a calendar reminder.
If you told you know someoneyou're gonna look into something
for them, look into it and thenfollow up with them.
You told them you're someoneyou're gonna call them later,
call them later.
That's how you separateyourself, right?
(19:51):
Your your effort, your workethic, your trust, your
reliability, all turn into yourreputation capital.
If people can trust you, andpeople again start trusting you
if you trust yourself, right?
So like all these things buildinterest almost.
(20:11):
That's what like thatcompounding daily is.
And so I just want you to thinkthat your work ethic can start
today if it hasn't already, andit can improve.
If you haven't set out for threethings to accomplish today,
write them down now.
What are three things that youneed to accomplish today to move
(20:32):
forward towards your goal andthen do them?
And that's where I'm gonna endthis podcast right here is
writing your you writing thosethree things down and
accomplishing them.
Okay.
I appreciate you guys.
Hopefully, this guy is givingyou guys a little reality check
for before the new year hits.
You know, we're starting to wrapup, all the holidays are gonna
about to start to hit.
(20:53):
Make sure you guys accomplishthree things each day until the
end of the year.
See how far you get.
I appreciate you guys.
I love you guys.
If you guys need anything fromme, you can always shoot over a
DM.
I'm always happy to help.
But otherwise, guys, make sureyou guys leave a review.
Otherwise, I'll see you guys onthe next one.
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