April 14, 2025 • 36 mins
Are you juggling too much and unsure what truly deserves your focus? In this episode, I share the "Glass Balls vs. Basketballs" framework that helped me prioritize what really matters—like relationships, health, and purpose—without letting the rest break me. Learn how to identify your non-negotiables, build supportive systems, and protect what can't be replaced.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This was a harder lesson for me to learn a few
years ago and something I'veshared on the pod.
You know I've got a youngersister, kina, that I love her to
death.
She's three years younger thanme and it's always been my duty,
at least in my eyes, to alwaysprotect her, be there for her
(00:24):
and just be what I thought was,you know, the best big brother
that that I can be.
And I thought that I was doingthat for the longest time.
And she gave me feedback.
You know, when I was at aconference and they challenged
us to call somebody in our livesand ask them what's their
(00:48):
experience of us?
So I called my sister hey,what's your experience of me as
it relates to just being your,your big brother?
And she said you know, I canalways count on you to be there
for me and to give me advice andespecially, you know, as it
relates to my career andprofessional growth.
But you know, as it relates tomy career and professional
growth, but you know, sometimeswhen you come home, it's there's
(01:09):
always some something elsemixed in.
You come home and you'll see me, but then you've got a podcast
or some sort of business meetingor a mentor dinner and it
doesn't always make me feel likeI'm a big priority as your
sister, and that hit me hardbecause family is a glass ball.
(01:31):
But I felt like man, like damn,I dropped the ball and I didn't
realize it.
Welcome to the Wednesday Podcast, a weekly resource thoughtfully
crafted to help people buildand refine discipline,
accomplish their goals, fortifytheir mindsets and be of service
to somebody in this world.
(01:52):
My name is Ryan Cass and I amyour host, and it is my mission
and commitment to deliveramazing episodes to you every
week where you will learn frommyself or renowned expert in
their field.
We love helping people win inevery aspect of their lives, and
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(02:13):
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and review.
We believe that everybody inthis world is meant to do
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role in that.
Thank you for tuning in andlet's win today.
Thank you.
(03:16):
You might be asking which glassball did you drop if you listen
to the intro.
I dropped a glass ball with myfamily.
What exactly is a glass ballversus a basketball, which you
might also be wondering by thetitle of this episode.
What does a glass ball versus abasketball mean and how does
(03:40):
that apply to life?
That apply to life.
Glass ball versus basketball issimply another analogy to help
(04:03):
separate what's truly, what'ssomething that isn't critical.
So if you didn't do it for aday, a week, a month, there
would be limited consequences,and it's often that we look at
the non-critical items ascritical and then drop the
(04:26):
critical items, meaning we focuson the basketball.
If you drop a basketball,nothing happens, and then we
drop the glass balls and youalready know what happens when
you do that.
I'm bringing this episode backand tweaking it a little bit
from last year, as it was a verywell-received one, and I had a
(04:46):
conversation recently with ahigh-performance coach and we
were talking about how we'reapproaching the middle of the
year.
It's going to be here when wesnap of a finger.
It's going to be summer, it'sgoing to be the middle of the
year, and this is right aroundthe time where it's going to be
(05:29):
the middle of the year, and thisis right around the time where
people are either stillcapitalizing on their goals or
quote resolutions I really don'tlike the word resolutions that
they set at the beginning, crushthe second half of 2025 because
their 2025 progress died outafter February.
Actually, the numbers show thatmost people start declining the
second week of the year, whichis crazy to me the second week
of the year.
So with that one thing that alot of people decline.
(05:55):
One reason why a lot of peopledecline is because they start
focusing on the non-criticalitems and they ignore the
critical, and sometimes they'renot even aware of it.
So I'm bringing back this glassballs versus basketballs analogy
with the intent that it createsa useful framework in your mind
as to what's really mostimportant to you versus versus
(06:22):
what can wait or what can be putto the side, or maybe what
doesn't need to take all of yourtime and attention and create
unnecessary stress.
Wishing that you enjoy this andthink through what are the
glass balls in your life andwhat are the basketballs, and
(06:44):
revisit this frequently, whetherit's monthly, quarterly,
annually.
It's a great way to truly focuson what is important so that
you can win today.
Thank you, I would rather leavemy house on a Monday with a
(07:07):
pile of laundry unfolded on thefloor scattered under my bedroom
than I would leave the houseknowing that a podcast episode
hasn't been released.
Now I know that I've definitelygot the attention of at least
one of you.
You're thinking why the heckwould you leave the house with a
(07:30):
pile of laundry all over theplace?
You'd rather have a podcastepisode published on Monday than
pick up the laundry.
Now let me tell you where we'regoing.
One of those items is a glassball.
One of those items is abasketball, and this analogy
(07:53):
will help address, or may helpaddress, some overarching
questions that I often receiveor talk to people about, people
that I'm working with ascoaching clients or people that
I've coached in the past, peoplethat I have a lot of
development conversations with,people that I mentor, and one of
(08:16):
the questions is how do I knowwhat to focus on or how can I
stay more focused?
Why am I not making progress oncertain things in my life?
How do I know what to trulymake important versus not
(08:40):
important?
Is it possible to focus on allthe things at once?
And the quick answer to that,from experience and strong
belief in research, is no.
So this episode probably won'tcover that, but the other
questions it may help paint abetter picture for you around
how do I really, again, again,stay focused on what's truly
(09:11):
important to me, or how do Iidentify what it is that is
truly important to me?
And this brings up the glassball and basketball analogy.
Now, if you drop a glass ball,what happens?
It shatters.
You can't pick it back up asone and put it back together.
It's gone, it's tarnished, it'sirreplaceable for the most part
(09:36):
.
Now a basketball, you can dropit, it bounces back.
You can leave it on the ground,pick it up later, pick it up
tomorrow, pick it up next week,but theoretically it's always
going to be there for you,assuming that it doesn't get
deflated.
But even then you can inflateit and it's there.
(09:56):
So the basketball is alwaysthere.
You can drop it with virtuallyno consequences.
The glass ball, you cannot.
I first got this analogy when Iwas about to embark on my
freshman year at the Citadel,and for those unfamiliar with
the Citadel, it's my alma mater.
(10:18):
It's a small military collegehere in Charleston, south
Carolina, and what's uniqueabout the Citadel is, regardless
of if you're going into theservice or not, all cadets are
(10:39):
required to participate in ROTC,wake up early, wear a uniform,
have leadership responsibilities.
So even if you're not going inthe military which I was one of
those that did not go still gotto wake up early every day, have
a clean, prepared uniform room,clean, prepared uniform room,
(11:03):
was responsible for others everysingle day, no matter what, and
so the responsibilities werefar beyond academic.
They were academic, militaryand physical fitness.
We also had physical fitnessrequirements and before I went
there, someone gave me thisanalogy that you have your don't
(11:31):
drop your glass balls, beingyour academics, and recognize
that you have your basketballs.
So what makes the Citadel uniqueis that, again, regardless of
which path you're going,military or not everyone still
has the same expectations.
So a typical day would looklike you wake up, you most
mornings go to physical fitnesstraining at 5.30 as a unit, and
(11:55):
then you come back, everyonegets ready for breakfast,
formation, and then those inleadership roles are responsible
for a certain amount of cadetsand you get to make sure that
everyone is meeting theirgrooming standards, their
inspection standards.
So your shoes had to be shined,belt buckle, uniform, neatly
(12:18):
ironed, all these things.
And if you didn't do that, orif you didn't pass an inspection
, especially as a freshman, thenthere were consequences lots of
additional physical fitnesstraining most of the time, aka
lots of pushups and sweatsessions, and you really didn't
(12:41):
want to go through a ton ofthese because they took up a ton
of time.
And then you're even more tiredand the expectation still
remains that you're doing all ofyour homework, your classwork,
and you're performingacademically as well.
So there was a list ofresponsibilities day to day,
(13:05):
that your uniform had to beready, perfect, and that took a
lot of time.
You've got your exams, you'restudying, you've got your people
that you're responsible for, orgroup or squad that you're in,
and it quickly became known thatyour glass ball in this case
(13:25):
are your academics, meaning thatif you spend all of your time
in the world shining your shoesand making your uniform perfect
which was important and spent notime on academics, well, the
workforce later on that's goingto be looking to potentially
(13:45):
hire you, or even the military,isn't going to ask you how shiny
were your shoes, how clean wasyour room?
Every single day they'reusually going to look at all
right, what was your GPA?
How did you performacademically?
Still true to this day,especially in the corporate
(14:11):
world, that your GPA or youracademic performance is
typically one of those firstgates that you need to get
through in order for them evento continue looking at you Now,
knowing what I know now.
Do I believe that GPA is theindicator of success?
No, but that's a discussion foranother time but at the time,
(14:35):
and still again, in bits andpieces to this day that is one
of the first gates, because itdoes show in some degree, if you
do have a strong GPA oracademic performance, that, hey,
you take initiative and you getstuff done.
Now there was a decision pointevery single day Am I going to
(15:00):
make sure my academics aresquared away or am I going to
make sure, let's just say, myuniform is squared away?
Now, the expectation was thatboth were squared away.
Now, the expectation was thatboth were squared away.
But in some instances let's saythat there was a big exam
(15:21):
coming up, or it's finals, it'smidterms it's more important
that you come down the next dayready for that exam that is
going to have far more impact onyour future than with the most
perfect shoes in the world andyou go bomb your exam.
So the basketball was militaryduties in the sense that, all
(15:47):
right, maybe today I don't havethe most perfect pair of shoes,
but I'm ready for this exam.
I may suffer some consequencesfor not having the perfect pair
of shoes, but it's a basketball.
I can re-shine those shoes atany point in time.
I can shine three pairs ofshoes over the weekend so that I
(16:12):
don't have to spend as muchtime on that during the week.
But I can suffer what may be ashort-term consequence or
inconvenience, knowing that thething that's going to prepare me
more for my future the exam isgoing to be taken care of.
I'm not going to drop that glassball and I took that with me
(16:35):
beyond just that freshman yearand now use it when I'm working
with people or in conversationand this came up recently in
conversation with my girlfriendand I remember the analogy.
I said man, I haven't sharedthis with you before, so I also
haven't shared this on thepodcast.
So when we think about glassballs in life, what are the
(16:59):
things that you're not willingto drop?
If we look at it like that,that may help you prioritize
what's more important or whatyou're really going to direct
your time and attention to.
So at the time of the recordingthis episode and I don't know
(17:19):
exactly when it's going to bereleased, but the podcast most
recently surpassed 100 weeks ina row of being published every
single Monday.
Now, that is extremelymeaningful to me because it's
linked to my purpose, and moreso because it's a commitment
(17:42):
that I've made to you improveyour mindset that will help you
shift your relationship withadversity and ultimately learn
(18:04):
from the most disciplined,heartwarming and inspiring
people on the globe.
That is a glass ball to me.
That ball will not be droppedMonday here in, here out.
This might be 102 weeks in arow, 103, 104, somewhere in the
mix, but every Monday.
(18:26):
So I would rather know that onMonday there's a tool available
for you to benefit from.
Then, all my laundry is put away, and I skipped putting out an
episode until Tuesday.
Laundry and some otherhousehold chores, while they're
(18:48):
still important, are abasketball to me, and sometimes
we get so caught up in this mix.
Man, I've got to, I got to domy laundry and all this stuff
around the house, and then andthen we get mad because we're
like, oh gosh, darn it.
Well.
Well, now you know I held offon editing my resume, or I held
(19:09):
off on filming new content, Iheld off on on getting this
podcast episode out, and I'vebeen telling people for weeks
that they're going to have thistool and I keep getting held up
by laundry.
The laundry is always going tobe there.
It's not going to grow legs andrun away or, in many cases, we
wish that it would just growlegs and fold itself, but it's
(19:31):
always going to be there for you.
Wish that it would just growlegs and fold itself, but it's
always going to be there for you.
So what are the glass balls thatyou have in your life, beyond
the podcast, glass ball for mefitness, my relationship, giving
back and serving my family.
Now, each of those have deepreasons why they are glass balls
(19:56):
, and my glass balls may lookvery different than your glass
balls.
Only you can determine what istruly a glass ball and what's a
basketball.
Here's some examples ofbasketballs.
In my life, we'll go withlaundry and household chores.
As much as it's important forme to be clean and organized,
(20:20):
it's more important that I'm ingreat shape, have a strong
relationship with my family andcontinuing to be the rock and
example and model for my family,be a great servant to my
girlfriend, the best partnerthat I can be, that I'm invested
(20:41):
in the community.
It means a hell of a lot moreto me than if the dishwasher is
emptied or if the laundry isfolded.
It means a hell of a lot moreto me to do those things than it
does to go out on a weekend.
There's another basketballgoing out and social activities,
social media, working 24-7.
(21:04):
Now, that doesn't abdicate theresponsibility of working hard,
but I've been in those shoesearly in my career where it was
work, work, work, work, work, nomatter what.
No days off, no vacation forthree years.
That's not something I'm proudof of.
(21:34):
Discipline is a key component ofthis podcast and a key thing
that we preach.
We view discipline as the fuelto help you create the life that
you ultimately desire, anddiscipline being the fuel that
gets your habits and systems incheck so that you can actually
accomplish your goals.
If you're looking to level upin 2025, I am happy to be a part
of that and encourage you tojoin the Unshakable Discipline
(21:57):
Mastermind Group.
This has been my baby for acouple years and we're finally
launching it here in 2025.
The group consists of aself-paced course that teaches
you how to form core habits andmindset that will allow you to
accomplish your goals, a dailyaccountability channel to keep
you on track, motivated and inalignment with our members, and
(22:22):
weekly mastermind sessions whereyou're going to learn from
either myself or a suite ofrenowned guests many who have
been on the podcast that aregoing to share pieces of their
winning playbooks directly withyou.
I've learned that being a partof groups over the years has
helped propel me to so many newlevels in life.
(22:46):
If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, then gotogether, and it's my wish that
the Unshakeable Crew is a choicethat makes sense for you in
2025.
We are growing up to 100members this year and have
limited time founding memberpricing for 12 more folks before
(23:09):
we permanently increase pricingto $97 a month.
You can get in now for $67 amonth, locked in for life, and
be a part of the adventure thatwe're creating with our members.
If you're somebody that cravesdiscipline, seeks it or wants it
this year.
If you're somebody that cravesdiscipline, seeks it or wants it
this year, and you're reallycommitted to making lasting
(23:32):
changes in your life and beingaround others that are committed
to winning and serving theworld and sharing what they
learn with others so that wemake this world a better place,
then join the Unshakeable crew.
Go to unshakabledisciplinecomand you can sign up.
It is also in the show notesUnshakeable shake, as in
(23:56):
milkshake,unshakabledisciplinecom, and
we're excited to have you in2025.
Let's go 2025.
Let's go Now.
That's a basketball, becausework is always going to be there
.
Five years ago, going on sixyears ago, I got hit by a car on
(24:23):
a run, and getting hit by a carwas a real life reminder that
this life is temporary and wecan be easily replaced.
So God forbid on that day inJanuary of 2019, that perhaps
that was my last day on thisworld.
Then, shortly thereafter,somebody else would have been in
(24:44):
my role in my corporate job,and life would have continued on
, and therefore, that's why workis a basketball.
Not that it's not important,but it is not my entire world,
(25:04):
and that just so happened to besomething, an event that put it
into perspective, and that'sanother thing.
When you're thinking about, well, what are my glass balls or
what are my basketballs, you cango back and think about life
events, things that have takenplace that are meaningful or, at
(25:26):
the time, perhaps eventraumatic to you, but they
influence who you are and whatyou do today.
That could be something thathelps you really determine.
Okay, which one does this fallunder?
Is it glass or is it abasketball?
So getting hit by that car mademe realize, hey, work again
(25:49):
very important, but in the grandscheme of things, not the most
important thing in the worldtransitioned from being a glass
ball to a basketball.
Now it's still a glass ball, inthat I don't say, all right,
yeah, I don't really feel likegoing in today and I would
rather be recording a podcast orwhatever the case may be, so I
(26:11):
can just the work's still goingto be there.
Yes, in theory.
There's some consequencesthat'll likely be associated
with that, and I'm not afull-time entrepreneur yet.
Therefore, I have aresponsibility, as do many of
you listening that are in thesame boat.
Maybe you do want to go intofull-time entrepreneurship, but
you're not there yet.
(26:31):
So don't misconstrue what I'msaying completely.
Now a couple of questions thatmay come up and to clarify a few
things Only you can determinewhat is your glass ball and what
is your basketball, or what areyour glass balls and
basketballs.
So because I'm telling you someof mine and fitness,
(26:54):
relationship, et cetera, family,it doesn't mean that those need
to be your glass balls.
One of them or some of themmight be a basketball to you and
that's a-okay, but youdetermine those.
Now here's the question is canyou juggle both after you
(27:17):
determine them?
Can you juggle both your glassballs and your basketballs?
Yes, I'm not saying there's twobig things.
I'm not saying here.
(27:41):
I'm not saying that you alwaysdisregard your basketballs and
that the basketballs aren'timportant things.
Your basketballs can still beimportant.
I had a perfect uniform becauseI was responsible, you know, at
one point for up to 20% of theentire Corps of Cadets, about
500 cadets.
That was important.
Was it more important thangetting great grades so that I
(28:03):
was attractive to my futureemployer?
No, now, what I did in thisinstance, you know, and here's
how you can juggle them is youbuild a system this is something
I talk about all the time Builda system around both your glass
balls and your basketballs.
So what I would do back to thecollege example is on Sundays, I
(28:28):
would always, always,especially as a freshman, get
back to school very early onSunday afternoons and I would
iron all my uniforms to the weekand shine all my shoes.
Now, did I want to stay outlater on Sundays and watch
Sunday night football witheverybody, and could I have done
(28:49):
that and then come back tocampus later and then been a
little behind on the uniformsand gone straight to studying.
Yes, in this instance, what Ifound worked to make sure that
both were addressed is get backsuper early Sunday and spend a
few hours getting the uniformsready for the week so that
(29:12):
during the week the focus ispurely on leadership and
academics Said differently inthis day and age that I'm living
in now, meal prep, nutrition.
Meal prep nutrition veryimportant thing.
Could I buy meals at my placeof work during the week?
Yes, does that happen on rareoccasion?
(29:39):
Yes, but to make it easier,because I'm not going to
prioritize cooking a meal overfilming a podcast or a few other
things that are very importantto me then I do my meal prep on
Sunday.
So that is how I'm addressingone of my basketballs on Sunday
is making meals a few days inadvance so that it then creates
(30:00):
space for the glass balls duringthe week.
So, yes, you can juggle both.
And here's another thingBecause you've determined
something to be a glass balltoday or for this year or for
this season of life that you'rein, it doesn't mean that it's
(30:21):
fixed, meaning that as lifeevolves, what's important to you
evolves your way of being yourthinking.
All that is evolving.
Therefore, there may be thingsthat are basketballs now that
become glass balls later, andthe other way around.
(30:43):
There may be things that areglass balls now that become
basketballs later.
As people have families andtheir relationships become more
serious, they develop, maybe itbecomes a marriage, and there's
certain things that now there'stwo parties at play, and maybe
(31:05):
something that was reallyimportant to you before perhaps
your weekly golf night is or wasa glass ball, and now life
evolves that can be pushed overto the side.
It's a basketball.
So don't I'm also not sayingthat once you determine what's
(31:25):
what, not saying that once youdetermine what's what, that
that's what remains in those twobuckets.
In order to keep this analogyfresh, it's important to reflect
on it frequently, and perhapsnot every day, but this is
something that I like to look aton a monthly, but more so on a
(31:45):
quarterly, basis, when I'mreflecting.
Where is most of my time going?
What is being addressed, whatis not being addressed?
Are my lacking in the areasthat are truly most important to
me?
Because life happens.
It's very, very easy, especiallyin this world, to get
(32:06):
distracted and completely losesight of the fact that you are
that you may be dropping glassballs.
You know, sometimes they don't.
Sometimes they they fallquietly and there's a lot of
other noise playing in thebackground.
You don't realize that anornament dropped.
Think about dropping a, aChristmas ornament.
Sometimes, when there's a bunchof Christmas music playing in
(32:29):
the background, you might noteven notice it until you look
back and you're like holy smokes.
I have not been payingattention to that.
So this is something to reflecton at the cadence that occurs
as most useful to you.
I like to look at it monthly andquarterly and then also engage
(32:51):
people in conversations.
Am I doing my best to serve youright now?
Am I being as engaged andpresent as I possibly can be, as
(33:11):
engaged and present as Ipossibly can be?
And this was a harder lessonfor me to learn a few years ago
and something I've shared on thepod.
You know I've got a youngersister, kina, that I love her to
death.
She's three years younger thanme and it's always been my duty,
at least in my eyes, to alwaysprotect her, be there for her
(33:32):
and just be what I thought wasthe best big brother that I can
be, and I thought that I wasdoing that for the longest time.
For the longest time.
And she gave me feedback when Iwas at a conference and they
(33:53):
challenged us to call somebodyin our lives and ask them what's
their experience of us.
So I called my sister hey,what's your experience of me as
it relates to just being yourbig brother?
And she said I can always counton you to be there for me and
to give me advice, andespecially as it relates to my
career and professional growth.
(34:15):
But sometimes when you come homethere's always something else
mixed in.
You come home and you'll see me, but then you've got a podcast
or some sort of business meetingor a mentor dinner and it
doesn't always make me feel likeI'm a big priority as your
sister and that hit me hardbecause family is a glass ball,
(34:39):
but I'd felt like man, like Idamn, I dropped the ball and I
didn't realize it.
And so to put this at theforefront, you know, last year I
made it a goal this was veryintentional to be more
intentional about connectiontime with my sister and when I'd
go home back to the Charlottearea that my time was strictly
(35:05):
on family, not partly family,and then business meetings and
things for the podcast andmeeting with people that are
going to help fuel my growth.
You know I still do that when Igo up there, but sometimes and
I'll communicate in advance like, hey, this is going to be a
trip where it's mixed in, or Ido have some business related
things, but that is somethingthat and that's why it's
(35:28):
important to audit yourself andask other people what your,
their experience is, and they'renot the most fun conversations
to have, but these are the onesthat will help you, or your, you
and your significant other, youand whoever's important to you
or organization whatever.
These are the ones that willhelp you grow the most, because
(35:50):
sometimes, in our eyes, we'renever dropping the ball.
We're always balancingeverything, and that may not be
the case.
So I'm wishing that this is auseful framework for you all and
that you can picture things inyour life as glass balls and
(36:11):
basketballs, or you can help.
This may help you categorizewhat's really the most important
thing versus what is somethingthat you may deem is very
important.
But you know, hey, it can bepicked up.
It's okay if it's dropped.
It's okay if the laundry notfolded, it's kind of like it's
one of those it's okay but it'snot okay things.
Again, I'm not encouraging youlike, yeah, just go become a
(36:32):
slob now, don't do that.
But look at and evaluatefrequently, folks, your glass
balls and your basketballs, andthat's going to help you making.
It's going to help you making.
It's going to help you makemore informed decisions as to
where your time, effort,attention, energy goes, and it's
(36:52):
going to help you stay on thepath, serve yourself and serve
others better.
And it's going to help you wintoday.
Thanks for tuning in you.
This was a harder lesson for me to learn a few
years ago and something I'veshared on the pod.
You know I've got a youngersister, kina, that I love her to
death.
She's three years younger thanme and it's always been my duty,
at least in my eyes, to alwaysprotect her, be there for her
(00:24):
and just be what I thought was,you know, the best big brother
that that I can be.
And I thought that I was doingthat for the longest time.
And she gave me feedback.
You know, when I was at aconference and they challenged
us to call somebody in our livesand ask them what's their
(00:48):
experience of us?
So I called my sister hey,what's your experience of me as
it relates to just being your,your big brother?
And she said you know, I canalways count on you to be there
for me and to give me advice andespecially, you know, as it
relates to my career andprofessional growth.
But you know, as it relates tomy career and professional
growth, but you know, sometimeswhen you come home, it's there's
(01:09):
always some something elsemixed in.
You come home and you'll see me, but then you've got a podcast
or some sort of business meetingor a mentor dinner and it
doesn't always make me feel likeI'm a big priority as your
sister, and that hit me hardbecause family is a glass ball.
(01:31):
But I felt like man, like damn,I dropped the ball and I didn't
realize it.
Welcome to the Wednesday Podcast, a weekly resource thoughtfully
crafted to help people buildand refine discipline,
accomplish their goals, fortifytheir mindsets and be of service
to somebody in this world.
(01:52):
My name is Ryan Cass and I amyour host, and it is my mission
and commitment to deliveramazing episodes to you every
week where you will learn frommyself or renowned expert in
their field.
We love helping people win inevery aspect of their lives, and
you can help us win by sharingthe show with somebody that you
(02:13):
believe will benefit from it,subscribing and leaving a rating
and review.
We believe that everybody inthis world is meant to do
something great with their livesand we're here to help play a
role in that.
Thank you for tuning in andlet's win today.
Thank you.
(03:16):
You might be asking which glassball did you drop if you listen
to the intro.
I dropped a glass ball with myfamily.
What exactly is a glass ballversus a basketball, which you
might also be wondering by thetitle of this episode.
What does a glass ball versus abasketball mean and how does
(03:40):
that apply to life?
That apply to life.
Glass ball versus basketball issimply another analogy to help
(04:03):
separate what's truly, what'ssomething that isn't critical.
So if you didn't do it for aday, a week, a month, there
would be limited consequences,and it's often that we look at
the non-critical items ascritical and then drop the
(04:26):
critical items, meaning we focuson the basketball.
If you drop a basketball,nothing happens, and then we
drop the glass balls and youalready know what happens when
you do that.
I'm bringing this episode backand tweaking it a little bit
from last year, as it was a verywell-received one, and I had a
(04:46):
conversation recently with ahigh-performance coach and we
were talking about how we'reapproaching the middle of the
year.
It's going to be here when wesnap of a finger.
It's going to be summer, it'sgoing to be the middle of the
year, and this is right aroundthe time where it's going to be
(05:29):
the middle of the year, and thisis right around the time where
people are either stillcapitalizing on their goals or
quote resolutions I really don'tlike the word resolutions that
they set at the beginning, crushthe second half of 2025 because
their 2025 progress died outafter February.
Actually, the numbers show thatmost people start declining the
second week of the year, whichis crazy to me the second week
of the year.
So with that one thing that alot of people decline.
(05:55):
One reason why a lot of peopledecline is because they start
focusing on the non-criticalitems and they ignore the
critical, and sometimes they'renot even aware of it.
So I'm bringing back this glassballs versus basketballs analogy
with the intent that it createsa useful framework in your mind
as to what's really mostimportant to you versus versus
(06:22):
what can wait or what can be putto the side, or maybe what
doesn't need to take all of yourtime and attention and create
unnecessary stress.
Wishing that you enjoy this andthink through what are the
glass balls in your life andwhat are the basketballs, and
(06:44):
revisit this frequently, whetherit's monthly, quarterly,
annually.
It's a great way to truly focuson what is important so that
you can win today.
Thank you, I would rather leavemy house on a Monday with a
(07:07):
pile of laundry unfolded on thefloor scattered under my bedroom
than I would leave the houseknowing that a podcast episode
hasn't been released.
Now I know that I've definitelygot the attention of at least
one of you.
You're thinking why the heckwould you leave the house with a
(07:30):
pile of laundry all over theplace?
You'd rather have a podcastepisode published on Monday than
pick up the laundry.
Now let me tell you where we'regoing.
One of those items is a glassball.
One of those items is abasketball, and this analogy
(07:53):
will help address, or may helpaddress, some overarching
questions that I often receiveor talk to people about, people
that I'm working with ascoaching clients or people that
I've coached in the past, peoplethat I have a lot of
development conversations with,people that I mentor, and one of
(08:16):
the questions is how do I knowwhat to focus on or how can I
stay more focused?
Why am I not making progress oncertain things in my life?
How do I know what to trulymake important versus not
(08:40):
important?
Is it possible to focus on allthe things at once?
And the quick answer to that,from experience and strong
belief in research, is no.
So this episode probably won'tcover that, but the other
questions it may help paint abetter picture for you around
how do I really, again, again,stay focused on what's truly
(09:11):
important to me, or how do Iidentify what it is that is
truly important to me?
And this brings up the glassball and basketball analogy.
Now, if you drop a glass ball,what happens?
It shatters.
You can't pick it back up asone and put it back together.
It's gone, it's tarnished, it'sirreplaceable for the most part
(09:36):
.
Now a basketball, you can dropit, it bounces back.
You can leave it on the ground,pick it up later, pick it up
tomorrow, pick it up next week,but theoretically it's always
going to be there for you,assuming that it doesn't get
deflated.
But even then you can inflateit and it's there.
(09:56):
So the basketball is alwaysthere.
You can drop it with virtuallyno consequences.
The glass ball, you cannot.
I first got this analogy when Iwas about to embark on my
freshman year at the Citadel,and for those unfamiliar with
the Citadel, it's my alma mater.
(10:18):
It's a small military collegehere in Charleston, south
Carolina, and what's uniqueabout the Citadel is, regardless
of if you're going into theservice or not, all cadets are
(10:39):
required to participate in ROTC,wake up early, wear a uniform,
have leadership responsibilities.
So even if you're not going inthe military which I was one of
those that did not go still gotto wake up early every day, have
a clean, prepared uniform room,clean, prepared uniform room,
(11:03):
was responsible for others everysingle day, no matter what, and
so the responsibilities werefar beyond academic.
They were academic, militaryand physical fitness.
We also had physical fitnessrequirements and before I went
there, someone gave me thisanalogy that you have your don't
(11:31):
drop your glass balls, beingyour academics, and recognize
that you have your basketballs.
So what makes the Citadel uniqueis that, again, regardless of
which path you're going,military or not everyone still
has the same expectations.
So a typical day would looklike you wake up, you most
mornings go to physical fitnesstraining at 5.30 as a unit, and
(11:55):
then you come back, everyonegets ready for breakfast,
formation, and then those inleadership roles are responsible
for a certain amount of cadetsand you get to make sure that
everyone is meeting theirgrooming standards, their
inspection standards.
So your shoes had to be shined,belt buckle, uniform, neatly
(12:18):
ironed, all these things.
And if you didn't do that, orif you didn't pass an inspection
, especially as a freshman, thenthere were consequences lots of
additional physical fitnesstraining most of the time, aka
lots of pushups and sweatsessions, and you really didn't
(12:41):
want to go through a ton ofthese because they took up a ton
of time.
And then you're even more tiredand the expectation still
remains that you're doing all ofyour homework, your classwork,
and you're performingacademically as well.
So there was a list ofresponsibilities day to day,
(13:05):
that your uniform had to beready, perfect, and that took a
lot of time.
You've got your exams, you'restudying, you've got your people
that you're responsible for, orgroup or squad that you're in,
and it quickly became known thatyour glass ball in this case
(13:25):
are your academics, meaning thatif you spend all of your time
in the world shining your shoesand making your uniform perfect
which was important and spent notime on academics, well, the
workforce later on that's goingto be looking to potentially
(13:45):
hire you, or even the military,isn't going to ask you how shiny
were your shoes, how clean wasyour room?
Every single day they'reusually going to look at all
right, what was your GPA?
How did you performacademically?
Still true to this day,especially in the corporate
(14:11):
world, that your GPA or youracademic performance is
typically one of those firstgates that you need to get
through in order for them evento continue looking at you Now,
knowing what I know now.
Do I believe that GPA is theindicator of success?
No, but that's a discussion foranother time but at the time,
(14:35):
and still again, in bits andpieces to this day that is one
of the first gates, because itdoes show in some degree, if you
do have a strong GPA oracademic performance, that, hey,
you take initiative and you getstuff done.
Now there was a decision pointevery single day Am I going to
(15:00):
make sure my academics aresquared away or am I going to
make sure, let's just say, myuniform is squared away?
Now, the expectation was thatboth were squared away.
Now, the expectation was thatboth were squared away.
But in some instances let's saythat there was a big exam
(15:21):
coming up, or it's finals, it'smidterms it's more important
that you come down the next dayready for that exam that is
going to have far more impact onyour future than with the most
perfect shoes in the world andyou go bomb your exam.
So the basketball was militaryduties in the sense that, all
(15:47):
right, maybe today I don't havethe most perfect pair of shoes,
but I'm ready for this exam.
I may suffer some consequencesfor not having the perfect pair
of shoes, but it's a basketball.
I can re-shine those shoes atany point in time.
I can shine three pairs ofshoes over the weekend so that I
(16:12):
don't have to spend as muchtime on that during the week.
But I can suffer what may be ashort-term consequence or
inconvenience, knowing that thething that's going to prepare me
more for my future the exam isgoing to be taken care of.
I'm not going to drop that glassball and I took that with me
(16:35):
beyond just that freshman yearand now use it when I'm working
with people or in conversationand this came up recently in
conversation with my girlfriendand I remember the analogy.
I said man, I haven't sharedthis with you before, so I also
haven't shared this on thepodcast.
So when we think about glassballs in life, what are the
(16:59):
things that you're not willingto drop?
If we look at it like that,that may help you prioritize
what's more important or whatyou're really going to direct
your time and attention to.
So at the time of the recordingthis episode and I don't know
(17:19):
exactly when it's going to bereleased, but the podcast most
recently surpassed 100 weeks ina row of being published every
single Monday.
Now, that is extremelymeaningful to me because it's
linked to my purpose, and moreso because it's a commitment
(17:42):
that I've made to you improveyour mindset that will help you
shift your relationship withadversity and ultimately learn
(18:04):
from the most disciplined,heartwarming and inspiring
people on the globe.
That is a glass ball to me.
That ball will not be droppedMonday here in, here out.
This might be 102 weeks in arow, 103, 104, somewhere in the
mix, but every Monday.
(18:26):
So I would rather know that onMonday there's a tool available
for you to benefit from.
Then, all my laundry is put away, and I skipped putting out an
episode until Tuesday.
Laundry and some otherhousehold chores, while they're
(18:48):
still important, are abasketball to me, and sometimes
we get so caught up in this mix.
Man, I've got to, I got to domy laundry and all this stuff
around the house, and then andthen we get mad because we're
like, oh gosh, darn it.
Well.
Well, now you know I held offon editing my resume, or I held
(19:09):
off on filming new content, Iheld off on on getting this
podcast episode out, and I'vebeen telling people for weeks
that they're going to have thistool and I keep getting held up
by laundry.
The laundry is always going tobe there.
It's not going to grow legs andrun away or, in many cases, we
wish that it would just growlegs and fold itself, but it's
(19:31):
always going to be there for you.
Wish that it would just growlegs and fold itself, but it's
always going to be there for you.
So what are the glass balls thatyou have in your life, beyond
the podcast, glass ball for mefitness, my relationship, giving
back and serving my family.
Now, each of those have deepreasons why they are glass balls
(19:56):
, and my glass balls may lookvery different than your glass
balls.
Only you can determine what istruly a glass ball and what's a
basketball.
Here's some examples ofbasketballs.
In my life, we'll go withlaundry and household chores.
As much as it's important forme to be clean and organized,
(20:20):
it's more important that I'm ingreat shape, have a strong
relationship with my family andcontinuing to be the rock and
example and model for my family,be a great servant to my
girlfriend, the best partnerthat I can be, that I'm invested
(20:41):
in the community.
It means a hell of a lot moreto me than if the dishwasher is
emptied or if the laundry isfolded.
It means a hell of a lot moreto me to do those things than it
does to go out on a weekend.
There's another basketballgoing out and social activities,
social media, working 24-7.
(21:04):
Now, that doesn't abdicate theresponsibility of working hard,
but I've been in those shoesearly in my career where it was
work, work, work, work, work, nomatter what.
No days off, no vacation forthree years.
That's not something I'm proudof of.
(21:34):
Discipline is a key component ofthis podcast and a key thing
that we preach.
We view discipline as the fuelto help you create the life that
you ultimately desire, anddiscipline being the fuel that
gets your habits and systems incheck so that you can actually
accomplish your goals.
If you're looking to level upin 2025, I am happy to be a part
of that and encourage you tojoin the Unshakable Discipline
(21:57):
Mastermind Group.
This has been my baby for acouple years and we're finally
launching it here in 2025.
The group consists of aself-paced course that teaches
you how to form core habits andmindset that will allow you to
accomplish your goals, a dailyaccountability channel to keep
you on track, motivated and inalignment with our members, and
(22:22):
weekly mastermind sessions whereyou're going to learn from
either myself or a suite ofrenowned guests many who have
been on the podcast that aregoing to share pieces of their
winning playbooks directly withyou.
I've learned that being a partof groups over the years has
helped propel me to so many newlevels in life.
(22:46):
If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, then gotogether, and it's my wish that
the Unshakeable Crew is a choicethat makes sense for you in
2025.
We are growing up to 100members this year and have
limited time founding memberpricing for 12 more folks before
(23:09):
we permanently increase pricingto $97 a month.
You can get in now for $67 amonth, locked in for life, and
be a part of the adventure thatwe're creating with our members.
If you're somebody that cravesdiscipline, seeks it or wants it
this year.
If you're somebody that cravesdiscipline, seeks it or wants it
this year, and you're reallycommitted to making lasting
(23:32):
changes in your life and beingaround others that are committed
to winning and serving theworld and sharing what they
learn with others so that wemake this world a better place,
then join the Unshakeable crew.
Go to unshakabledisciplinecomand you can sign up.
It is also in the show notesUnshakeable shake, as in
(23:56):
milkshake,unshakabledisciplinecom, and
we're excited to have you in2025.
Let's go 2025.
Let's go Now.
That's a basketball, becausework is always going to be there
.
Five years ago, going on sixyears ago, I got hit by a car on
(24:23):
a run, and getting hit by a carwas a real life reminder that
this life is temporary and wecan be easily replaced.
So God forbid on that day inJanuary of 2019, that perhaps
that was my last day on thisworld.
Then, shortly thereafter,somebody else would have been in
(24:44):
my role in my corporate job,and life would have continued on
, and therefore, that's why workis a basketball.
Not that it's not important,but it is not my entire world,
(25:04):
and that just so happened to besomething, an event that put it
into perspective, and that'sanother thing.
When you're thinking about, well, what are my glass balls or
what are my basketballs, you cango back and think about life
events, things that have takenplace that are meaningful or, at
(25:26):
the time, perhaps eventraumatic to you, but they
influence who you are and whatyou do today.
That could be something thathelps you really determine.
Okay, which one does this fallunder?
Is it glass or is it abasketball?
So getting hit by that car mademe realize, hey, work again
(25:49):
very important, but in the grandscheme of things, not the most
important thing in the worldtransitioned from being a glass
ball to a basketball.
Now it's still a glass ball, inthat I don't say, all right,
yeah, I don't really feel likegoing in today and I would
rather be recording a podcast orwhatever the case may be, so I
(26:11):
can just the work's still goingto be there.
Yes, in theory.
There's some consequencesthat'll likely be associated
with that, and I'm not afull-time entrepreneur yet.
Therefore, I have aresponsibility, as do many of
you listening that are in thesame boat.
Maybe you do want to go intofull-time entrepreneurship, but
you're not there yet.
(26:31):
So don't misconstrue what I'msaying completely.
Now a couple of questions thatmay come up and to clarify a few
things Only you can determinewhat is your glass ball and what
is your basketball, or what areyour glass balls and
basketballs.
So because I'm telling you someof mine and fitness,
(26:54):
relationship, et cetera, family,it doesn't mean that those need
to be your glass balls.
One of them or some of themmight be a basketball to you and
that's a-okay, but youdetermine those.
Now here's the question is canyou juggle both after you
(27:17):
determine them?
Can you juggle both your glassballs and your basketballs?
Yes, I'm not saying there's twobig things.
I'm not saying here.
(27:41):
I'm not saying that you alwaysdisregard your basketballs and
that the basketballs aren'timportant things.
Your basketballs can still beimportant.
I had a perfect uniform becauseI was responsible, you know, at
one point for up to 20% of theentire Corps of Cadets, about
500 cadets.
That was important.
Was it more important thangetting great grades so that I
(28:03):
was attractive to my futureemployer?
No, now, what I did in thisinstance, you know, and here's
how you can juggle them is youbuild a system this is something
I talk about all the time Builda system around both your glass
balls and your basketballs.
So what I would do back to thecollege example is on Sundays, I
(28:28):
would always, always,especially as a freshman, get
back to school very early onSunday afternoons and I would
iron all my uniforms to the weekand shine all my shoes.
Now, did I want to stay outlater on Sundays and watch
Sunday night football witheverybody, and could I have done
(28:49):
that and then come back tocampus later and then been a
little behind on the uniformsand gone straight to studying.
Yes, in this instance, what Ifound worked to make sure that
both were addressed is get backsuper early Sunday and spend a
few hours getting the uniformsready for the week so that
(29:12):
during the week the focus ispurely on leadership and
academics Said differently inthis day and age that I'm living
in now, meal prep, nutrition.
Meal prep nutrition veryimportant thing.
Could I buy meals at my placeof work during the week?
Yes, does that happen on rareoccasion?
(29:39):
Yes, but to make it easier,because I'm not going to
prioritize cooking a meal overfilming a podcast or a few other
things that are very importantto me then I do my meal prep on
Sunday.
So that is how I'm addressingone of my basketballs on Sunday
is making meals a few days inadvance so that it then creates
(30:00):
space for the glass balls duringthe week.
So, yes, you can juggle both.
And here's another thingBecause you've determined
something to be a glass balltoday or for this year or for
this season of life that you'rein, it doesn't mean that it's
(30:21):
fixed, meaning that as lifeevolves, what's important to you
evolves your way of being yourthinking.
All that is evolving.
Therefore, there may be thingsthat are basketballs now that
become glass balls later, andthe other way around.
(30:43):
There may be things that areglass balls now that become
basketballs later.
As people have families andtheir relationships become more
serious, they develop, maybe itbecomes a marriage, and there's
certain things that now there'stwo parties at play, and maybe
(31:05):
something that was reallyimportant to you before perhaps
your weekly golf night is or wasa glass ball, and now life
evolves that can be pushed overto the side.
It's a basketball.
So don't I'm also not sayingthat once you determine what's
(31:25):
what, not saying that once youdetermine what's what, that
that's what remains in those twobuckets.
In order to keep this analogyfresh, it's important to reflect
on it frequently, and perhapsnot every day, but this is
something that I like to look aton a monthly, but more so on a
(31:45):
quarterly, basis, when I'mreflecting.
Where is most of my time going?
What is being addressed, whatis not being addressed?
Are my lacking in the areasthat are truly most important to
me?
Because life happens.
It's very, very easy, especiallyin this world, to get
(32:06):
distracted and completely losesight of the fact that you are
that you may be dropping glassballs.
You know, sometimes they don't.
Sometimes they they fallquietly and there's a lot of
other noise playing in thebackground.
You don't realize that anornament dropped.
Think about dropping a, aChristmas ornament.
Sometimes, when there's a bunchof Christmas music playing in
(32:29):
the background, you might noteven notice it until you look
back and you're like holy smokes.
I have not been payingattention to that.
So this is something to reflecton at the cadence that occurs
as most useful to you.
I like to look at it monthly andquarterly and then also engage
(32:51):
people in conversations.
Am I doing my best to serve youright now?
Am I being as engaged andpresent as I possibly can be, as
(33:11):
engaged and present as Ipossibly can be?
And this was a harder lessonfor me to learn a few years ago
and something I've shared on thepod.
You know I've got a youngersister, kina, that I love her to
death.
She's three years younger thanme and it's always been my duty,
at least in my eyes, to alwaysprotect her, be there for her
(33:32):
and just be what I thought wasthe best big brother that I can
be, and I thought that I wasdoing that for the longest time.
For the longest time.
And she gave me feedback when Iwas at a conference and they
(33:53):
challenged us to call somebodyin our lives and ask them what's
their experience of us.
So I called my sister hey,what's your experience of me as
it relates to just being yourbig brother?
And she said I can always counton you to be there for me and
to give me advice, andespecially as it relates to my
career and professional growth.
(34:15):
But sometimes when you come homethere's always something else
mixed in.
You come home and you'll see me, but then you've got a podcast
or some sort of business meetingor a mentor dinner and it
doesn't always make me feel likeI'm a big priority as your
sister and that hit me hardbecause family is a glass ball,
(34:39):
but I'd felt like man, like Idamn, I dropped the ball and I
didn't realize it.
And so to put this at theforefront, you know, last year I
made it a goal this was veryintentional to be more
intentional about connectiontime with my sister and when I'd
go home back to the Charlottearea that my time was strictly
(35:05):
on family, not partly family,and then business meetings and
things for the podcast andmeeting with people that are
going to help fuel my growth.
You know I still do that when Igo up there, but sometimes and
I'll communicate in advance like, hey, this is going to be a
trip where it's mixed in, or Ido have some business related
things, but that is somethingthat and that's why it's
(35:28):
important to audit yourself andask other people what your,
their experience is, and they'renot the most fun conversations
to have, but these are the onesthat will help you, or your, you
and your significant other, youand whoever's important to you
or organization whatever.
These are the ones that willhelp you grow the most, because
(35:50):
sometimes, in our eyes, we'renever dropping the ball.
We're always balancingeverything, and that may not be
the case.
So I'm wishing that this is auseful framework for you all and
that you can picture things inyour life as glass balls and
(36:11):
basketballs, or you can help.
This may help you categorizewhat's really the most important
thing versus what is somethingthat you may deem is very
important.
But you know, hey, it can bepicked up.
It's okay if it's dropped.
It's okay if the laundry notfolded, it's kind of like it's
one of those it's okay but it'snot okay things.
Again, I'm not encouraging youlike, yeah, just go become a
(36:32):
slob now, don't do that.
But look at and evaluatefrequently, folks, your glass
balls and your basketballs, andthat's going to help you making.
It's going to help you making.
It's going to help you makemore informed decisions as to
where your time, effort,attention, energy goes, and it's
(36:52):
going to help you stay on thepath, serve yourself and serve
others better.
And it's going to help you wintoday.
Thanks for tuning in you.
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