Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hy Varsity Squad. Welcome back. If you're listening to Live
Across Palm Beach County on Am twelve ninety WJE no,
thank you for making this show a part of your week.
If you're catching the replay on the Level Up with
Coach Fergie podcast, Welcome back to the Huddle. As we
took off the beginning of twenty twenty six, I wanted
to do something just a little bit different. Over the
past year on this show, you've heard incredible conversations with athletes, entrepreneurs, leaders,
(00:28):
and difference makers. But moving into these conversations where the
coaching knowledge nuggets, the mindset shifts, the performance cues, the
little things that change everything if you actually pay attention
and apply them. This episode is about pulling those nuggets out,
sharpening them, and handing them directly to you so you
can use them in your life, your business, your training,
and your own leadership. Before we get rolling, I need
(00:50):
to lead with a little massive, not little, actually a
massive gratitude in a big way. A massive thank you
to our sponsor, my good friend Steve Austin and the
dynamic team at Rise Mortgage. They're belief in the show,
their commitment to service and the way they show up
for this community is next level. If you've been listening
to this program, you already know they don't just talk
about trust, clarity, and execution, they live it. This show
(01:12):
does not happen at the level it does without them.
Huge thank you as well to Susan Strasser for the
opportunity and belief in the show. Also to the legend
Brian Mudd, my producer who makes things run like a
machine every single week. To Aubrey Christy, my videographer for
capturing the energy and the moments behind the scenes and
while the interview is going on, and to the entire
(01:32):
WJ and O team behind the scenes, thank you for
the support and professionalism. This episode is about leveling up
with intention, no noise, no excuses, just lessons that work.
So let's get after a team. And I'm so blessed
to come through to you every single weekend and provide
you with just fantastic knowledge nuggets and also the knowledge
(01:53):
nuggets from my guests to you to pick up and
see their level of success and the clues and cues
of Leley behind. So let's do this. That's level up.
So we're going to launch every one of our shows
really with a kind of a coaching knowledge that I
get that I worked with possibility client during the week
or something I just came up with or actually learn.
And I'm going to regurgitate right out to you, squad
out there. But ourca Lucus the Greek ancient Greek poet
(02:17):
that said, we don't rise to the level of our expectations,
we fall to the level of our training. It's time
to get real, squad. I'm talking about goals, and more importantly, standards. Goals. Yeah,
they sound sexy, big dreams, big visions, I'm all for it.
Living a life of options and not obligations cannot be
attained without setting big, scary goals. But here's the truth, peeps.
(02:38):
You don't rise to your goals, you drop the level
of your daily standards. The way you wake up, how
you handle the tough days, how you show up when
no one's watching, That's what builds the life you want.
So what I'm saying is, if you're not where you
want to be, it's not a goal problem. It's a
standard problem. So don't just set bigger goals, set stronger
standards and then stick to them. Like your future and
life depends on it because frankly speaking, and it does.
(03:00):
And a real quick example is someone wants to drop
some pounds, drop some weight, get healthy. Doctor gave him
a little death sentence or something like. You can set
the goal to drop the weight, but if you're not
reading the labels and watching what you put in your mouth,
doing the exercise, hiring the right people around you, you having
the right squad, those are your standards. If their standards
aren't on point, you're not going to reach the goals.
(03:20):
Our coaching knowledge and I'll get of the week squad
is sometimes my clients they need to be coached, but
we're not set up for a session, so I'd send
them the little Texas says, start, stop, continue, And what
it does is it reframes their mind into what they
should be doing and what they shouldn't be doing, especially
my athletes that are out there big game. The guy
that played in the Super Bowl this year, it was
a text before and I just said start, stop, continue.
(03:44):
He got it. He knew what he needed to start,
he knew what he needed to stop, knew what he
needed to continue. So if you're out there and you
don't have a coach, which everybody should. But if you
don't ask yourself that what am I doing right now
that I am not doing? And to start that? What
am I doing right now? Maybe putting that hand in
the bag of chips or reading the screen late at night?
(04:04):
Stop doing that? And what are you doing? To continue?
You're getting up early, You're doing the cold plunge, you're
getting after it. Continue that and just get after it.
And this week's knowledge and I get squad is about
the difference between I get asked a lot of difference
between coaching, consulting, and therapy, and what I like to
do with my clients to show them that I'm a coach.
I believe that everyone knows what they want, they just
(04:25):
don't know how to talk themselves into it. So I'm
not going to tell you how to do it. I'm
going to guide you. So with my clients, I like
to put them in their car. They sit in the
driver's seat and I say, see that rear view mirror
right there. It's small for a reason. That's your past,
great place to visit, great place to learn from. But
if you live there, then you need therapy. Okay, if
you have this big windshield, it's big. Oh my gosh, scary,
Where the hell am I going? Wow, I'm lost. Since
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twenty eleven, they've been putting these things on the dashboard
called the GPS. So actually you can have it and
you hold it in your hand in your phone. Now
that's what I am as a coach. I'm a GPS.
You plug in the coordinates and you go there. Now,
I can't buckle your seat, I cannot start the car
for you. But if you get lost, you're going somewhere,
we can help reroute you and hold you accountable. So
that's what a coach does. I really coach from a
(05:09):
neutrality position. Coach from neutral and moving forward from where
you're at, hold a mirror in front of you and
let you see where you're going and then keep you
on track. And my really quick coaching knowledge and I
get this week was I was talking with an influencer
advice to say his name, you absolutely know who he is.
But he told me I was having some issues that
I was going through and he said, Fergie, He said,
(05:29):
many times, when you think you're going through a crisis,
it's actually a transition in your life. And life is
built on transformations and transitions. Every single one of us
hits that moment when the path we're on no longer
serves a person we're becoming. And here's the kicker. It's
not the wins or losses that define us, it's how
we transition between them. Transformation doesn't come in the comfort zone.
(05:49):
It comes when you're willing to step out of the familiar,
shut the identity and no longer fits, and move towards
something bigger and something truer. That's the difference between existing
and actually leveling up. Transitions are tests. They ask will
you cling to what you know or will you step
into who you're meant to be. The people who thrive,
the leaders, the high performers, the warriors of life. They
(06:09):
embrace the transition. They don't fight it, They fuel it.
So this week I challenge you, squad, look at your
own life. What chapter do you need to close and
what new identity do you need to step into? Because
your greatest transformation is waiting on the other side of
that decision. And listen. If you're having any issues with
that transformation, give me a call. Five sixty one four
four zero three eight three zero. It's five six one
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four to four zero three eight three zero. Be happy.
To go through one of my complimentary hour of powers
with you. We're going to talk about pressure. You often
hear me say discipline equals freedom. Also dropping your reminders
that life isn't happening to us, it's happening for us.
And also to implement neutral thinking when things get tough,
So don't get caught in the story, focus on the
next play or task. If you're on point, then you
(06:51):
will encounter pressure. Remember pressure is a privilege. It means
you're in the game. It means the ball is in
your hands when the clock is winding down. Most people
run from pressure because it feels heavy. But here's the truth, squad,
that weight isn't meant to crush you. It's meant to
build you, to forge you, to take all the training,
all the lessons, all the legacy handed down to you,
and force you to step into your own power. When
(07:11):
you stop seeing pressure is a problem and start seeing
as a platform, that's when you level up. That's when
you turn expectations into execution. That's when you go from
playing small to playing on the varsity squad. So today,
as you listen in, remember pressure doesn't define you. It's
how you spawn to it that does use it, own it,
turn it into power. This week by really quick two
minute knowledge nugget is talking about tension and that you
(07:36):
carry in your body, and tension is actually information. Think
about it. When your body tightens up, when your shoulders lock,
or your chest feels heavy, that's not random, that's feedback.
It's your system telling you something is off. Most people
ignore it. They push through, they numb it out. The
champions they lean into it. They ask what is this
tension trying to teach me? See, tension shows up when
(07:56):
you're out of alignment physically, mentally, spiritually. It's a signal,
not a sentence. You can either treat it like a
problem or use it as a compass. When you choose
awareness over avoidance, you find the weak spots before they break.
You turn pressure into precision. You release what's holding you
back so you can move with clarity and flow. So
here's the challenge today. Stop running from your at tension,
(08:16):
pay attention to it, decode it, because there's that's where
the next level of growth, performance and freedom is. Every
day we are faced with a choice. Do we live
for convenience or do we live for legacy? Convenience is
that little voice that says, take the shortcut. It's easier,
skip the practice, no one will notice. But what's cheap
It doesn't matter. But here's the truth. Convenience only feels
(08:38):
good in the moment. Legacy is built when you choose
the harder right over the easier wrong. Legacy says, show
up even when you don't feel like it. Make the call,
even when you're tired. Fuel your body, your relationships, your
business with what will last, not what's quick. Convenience fades,
Legacy compounds. Legacy is what your kids inherit, what your
team remembers, your community feels long after you're gone. So
(09:02):
today's squad check yourself. Are you your actions feeding convenience
or are they planning seeds for legacy? Because in the end,
convenience disappears the second it's used. Legacy is undefeated. I
was thinking about this the other day, howevery whether we
realize it or not, we're hanging something new in the
wall of our life's gallery. Every action, every word, every choice.
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It's a brushstroke. Some are bold and confident, others may
be a little messy or unfinished, but it's all part
of the piece we're creating. Most people spend their lives,
walking through someone else's gallery, admiring what others have built, comparing, criticizing,
scrolling through their highlight reels, but champions the people who
level up. They're too busy creating their own. Here's the thing.
You can't hang excuses and expect applause. You can't paint
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half hearted effort and expect masterpiece results. The world doesn't
celebrate almost finished. It celebrates those who show up with discipline, presence,
and purpose every single day and keep adding to the
canvas even when no one's watching. Your life is the gallery.
The question is when people walk through it, what do
they feel. Do they see courage, consistency and growth or
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chaos and convenience? Every sunrises a blank wall. What you
hang there today, that's your legacy. So stop standing in
the museum of your past, pick up the brush, get intentional,
and start painting something worth remembering. I want you to
kind of really lean in for a second, because we
live in a world where everybody's chasing perfect perfect pose,
perfect pitch, perfect moment. But here's the deal. Perfect does
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not connect. Perfection is safe. It's sterile, and nobody grows
in sterile connection. That's raw that's real. That's where trust lives.
You don't inspire people by showing them how flawless you are.
You inspire them by letting them see the scar and
the strength that come from it. The best conversation is
the best leadership, the best relationships, They all come from
being locked in, not really polished up. So this week,
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don't wait to be ready, don't wait to have it perfect,
hit record, make the call, step into messy if you
have to, because when you lead with connection, perfection becomes irrelevant.
I was working with one of my executive coaching clients recently,
a brilliant leader with the title, the team and the talent.
But she was stuck, not because she lacks skill, but
because she was waiting for someone else to give her
(11:10):
the green light. She had the plan mapped out, but
wouldn't move until the board or her boss said go.
I reminded her, I'll tell you what I'll remind you.
What I told her is that leaders don't wait for permission.
Leaders move. Permission is comfort disguised as patients, his fear
hiding behind strategy. For real, leaders act with clarity, not certainty.
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They take the first step before it's perfect. They adapt
in motion, they own the outcome. A few weeks later,
that same client started leading with boldness, making calls and
powering her people and sting the tone, and guess what,
the organization start following her energy instead of waiting for direction.
You don't build momentum by waiting, You build it by moving.
Every great movement in history started with one person saying
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why not now. Whether it's launching a mission, starting a business,
or reshaping an entire community, progress belongs to the ones
who act. You want confidence, earn it through action, You
want respect, build it through service, You want change, lead it.
So today, stop waiting for the perfect timing, the perfect plan,
or the perfect applause, the permission slip you've been waiting for.
I tell people all the time, don't take life too seriously,
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because none of us are getting out of this thing alive.
I'm not talking about slacking or living reckless. It's about perspective.
We grind so hard, chase so many checkboxes, and measure
ourselves against highlight reels that we forget the simple truth
this whole ride is temporary. When you really get that,
you start to loosen your grip. You stop chasing approval
and start chasing presents, you laugh a little more, you
connect a little deeper. You stop needing to win every
(12:36):
argument because you realize most of it doesn't even matter
in the long run. That doesn't mean you don't push hard.
It means you push from gratitude, not fear. You train, build, love,
and lead. Every day is a bonus round because it
is so today's squad. Let's lighten up, smile in the struggle.
I always say, go into the pain cave, hop on
the struggle bus, call something you just you haven't talked
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to you in a while, and just tell them how
much you have appreciate them. You don't need to wait
for the perfect moment to live like you mean it.
We're not making it out alive anyway, so might as
well make it matter. This week, I had a coaching
session with a able just call a three Comma guy,
one of my billionaire coaching clients, and he was stuck
in this transition in his life, not in the businessman,
in his life. You know that space where life isn't
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what it is, it's not yet what it's supposed to be,
That in between zone where your identity, your confidence, and
your patients all get tested at the same time. He
told me, for I feel like everything is shifting under me,
and I said, good. That means you're being forged, because
transition is where the world stops giving you clarity and
starts demanding character. See, most people try to muscle their
way through change pure grit, white knuckle it. But every
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transition has two sides, grit and grace. Grit is your discipline,
Grace is your self control. Grit is pushing, Grace is
pausing long enough to respond, not react. The high performers
I've worked with learn to hold both. They don't run
from discomfort, they don't let their emotions hijacked emission. They
stay neutral, They stay, they stay in the next action.
With my client, we slowed the moment down instead of
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trying to out fight the chaos. He learned to own
the space between who he was and who's becoming. And
once he stopped trying to overpower the transition, he started
navigating it. That's the move right there. Grace keeps you steady,
Grit keeps you moving. Remember, grit is a monotonous activity,
so you always have to keep moving. And together with
grace and grit, that's how you come out the other
side built, not broken. Every week I watch people ride waves,
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emotional waves, market waves, motivational waves, and that's why they
stay stuck because surges come and go. Surges are loud, dramatic, exciting,
and temporary. Standards. Standards are silent killers. That are the
foundation of that never cracks. Remember I say time and
time again that goals are nothing but byproducts of your standards.
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When you live by surges, you're reacting. You're waiting to
feel good, waiting for the market to heat up, waiting
for things outside your control to give you permission to
be your best. That's not winning, that's drifting. But when
you anchor your life to standards, everything shifts. Standards eliminate
the excuses. Standards remove the drama. Standards keep you steady
when everybody else is blowing in the wind. I've seen
this firsthand. One of my clients out there in Los Angeles,
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awesome real estate client, real estate agent. When we started
working together, she was doing about eight million a year
in closed volume, solid, respectable, but she was living by surges.
When the buzz was high, she crushed. When the market cooled,
she hesitated. So we build a standard system, daily reps,
non negotiables, how she communicated, how she prepared, how she
protected her energy, how she attacked the day before it
attacked her. No hype, no hero moments, just consistent standards.
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Fast forward to twenty twenty five, She's sitting at one
hundred and forty seven million year to date. That's not
a surge. That's a standard driven life. That's what happens
when you stop reacting and start leading. Before you dive
into today's show, ask yourself, are you choosing surges? Are
you choosing standards? One feels good for a moment, the
other changes your whole level up trajectory. You know a
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lot of people talk about getting tougher, pushing harder, and
grinding longer, but very few ever learned the difference between
pain and and that difference determines whether you evolve or
you break. Pain is a discomfort that comes with growth,
the stretch, the burn, the fatigue, the pressure that shows
up right before you level up. But signal is different,
signals the body or mind delivering information. It might mean
your technique is off, your preparation was in the line,
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your recovery wasn't respected, or your emotions aren't steering the wheel.
Instead of your standards. Pain asks, are you willing? Signal asks?
Are you aware? I recently worked with a pipe performance
athlete client of mine who kept shutting himself down mid progress.
Every time the pressure rose, he labeled it as pain
and backed off, thinking something was wrong with him. We
slowed it down and reframed it. Together. We learned to ask,
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is this the pain of growth or the signal of adjustment?
Once you understood that distinction, his confidence didn't just increase,
it became earned and repeatable. He stopped treating every challenge
like danger and started treating it like data, and when
that clicked, his performance and self leaked. Spike champions don't
ignore pain, squad, they interpret it. They don't fear signals,
They study them. They know when to push, when to pause,
(16:58):
and when to adjust. They stay committed without being reckless.
So here's the challenge this week for anyone listening right now,
before quitting, complaining, or tapping out, ask yourself and I
experience the pain required to grow or a signal designed
to guide. If you master that distinction, you don't just
get stronger, you become smarter, more durable, and more I'm
going to say, my little coaching knowledge, and I get
this week with I had a client that I have
(17:20):
and all my clients are required by nine am their time,
whether I have a client in Singapore, Canada, wherever, they
must get me three things are grateful for every day
by nine am their time. And the reason why I
do that is to activate the reticular activating system. So
reticular activating system is say, let's say Brian has a
brand new car, or say a tesla or someonell throw
that out there and I've never seen one before. He's like, ferg,
(17:42):
I have a tesla. I go over there see the
emotion that Brian has to this tesla, and I'm like, wow,
this is cool. How many teslas do you think that
I'll see on my way home. Probably quite a few.
But the teslas have always been there. And that's the
thing with gratitude. If you're starting your day with gratitude consistently,
the reticular active and system works to bring your attention
to opportunities and resources that are going to help you
(18:04):
level up. And that's something I really buy into. His gratitude.
I do it every day and I'm so grateful for
so real quick coaching. UGGI of the week's gonna run
really parallel with my guest as well. But let me
hit you something that could flip your entire approach to performance.
Whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, or just someone chasing greatness.
You don't rise to the moment. You rise to your identity.
(18:26):
And sometimes the best way to win isn't by being
more of yourself, it's by becoming who you need to
be in that moment. That's where the alter ego comes in.
Top performers, Like a lot of times with my clients,
I'll say, or even just friends if we're out having
a beverage or something and be like, hey, how many
plays do you think Dean Sanders played total in football
his whole life? They'll be like ten, twenty thousand, and
(18:48):
I'll say absolutely zero plays prime Time played. When he's
on the field, he was Primetime. When Beyonce performs, it's
not Beyonce, it's Sasha Fears. When Kobe was on the court,
late great Kobe was on the course, he wasn't Kobe.
He was the Black Mamba. So when the lights are
on and the pressure's real, they don't perform in themselves.
They tap into a version of them that's built to dominate,
(19:10):
not fake. It's focused, not pretend. It's powerful. You want
to perform better, close the gap between who you are
and then who the mission requires you to be. So
one you create the identity to you name it, three,
build its trades, and four step into it on command.
And if you'd like to, if you're struggling, maybe to
get in your own way, give me a call. Five
six one four four zero three eight three zero. It's
(19:32):
five six one four to four zero three eight three zero,
and we will build your alter ego. And this really
quick knowledge nugget is servant leadership. It isn't soft, it's
savage in a way. Real servant leadership isn't about being liked.
It's about being locked in. It's showing up with purpose,
putting your people first, and demanding excellence because you care
that much. Like good friends of mine. Ed my Lett
(19:53):
says Max Out. Nick Saban, legendary coach, says build dynasties.
Brian Kaine install systems. Trevor mo Ed stays neutral in
the chaos. Jesus washed his people's feet before he even
wore a crown. In myself, I do what I love
in the service of people that love what I do.
The common thread we serve their people, team clients by
raising standards, not lowering the bar. Remember what I have
(20:15):
said about goals. Goals are nothing more than a byproduct
of your standards. So your standards are good, you'll reach
your goals. So serve hard, love strong, demand better, and
that's how legacies are built. This week, we're gonna dive
into some luxury, but I'm gonna give it a little
quick coaching knowledge and I get and let's get real.
Luxury isn't just about shiny things. It's about intention, every space,
every habit, every choice you make. You're designing your life.
(20:37):
Here's the truth. Success doesn't happen by accident. Nobody stumbles
into a world class home, and nobody stumbles into a
world class life. Just like the best renovations in Palm
Beach start with blueprint. Your success starts with a clear
vision and the courage to follow through. My clients know
I lean into standards. Hard Goals are just byproducts of
your standards. With that, the standards must be locked in.
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To do you must always live in alignment with yourself.
Health luxury, Real luxury is when outside world matches the inside.
Discipline it's when your environment reflects the standard you set
for yourself. So, as we dive into today's conversation, I
want you to ask yourself, am I building myself like
a cheap flip? Or am I investing the time, the
care and the discipline to make it timeless and real
(21:18):
quick knowledge. I get this week as working with a
client here locally in Palm Beach. Oh it's a solid company.
Smart guy big heart built everything from the ground up,
and every time he talks strategy comes out of the
gate blazing. Day one, he's unstoppable. Day seven, he's distracted.
Day thirty he's wondering why nothing is moving. And it
hit me he wasn't struggling with capability. He was struggling
with confusion. He was confusing activity with progress. See, anybody
(21:40):
can show up piped on day one. Anyone can scribble goals,
build plans, make noise, post motivational messages, pound their chests.
But progress, real progress, is quieter. It's on sexy. It's repetition.
It's choosing the next right action when nobody's watching. It's
saying no to the distractions that feel productive but aren't
moving the ball an inch, we sat down talked about that.
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I told them, man, your job isn't to do more.
Your job is to finish what matters. Because a storm
of activity without direction is just chaos in motion. Progress
only shows up when intention becomes execution and execution becomes completion.
And that's the trap so many people in business, especially
this time of the year falling into they stay busy,
they stay moving, they stay loud, but they're not advancing.
(22:21):
They're on the treadmill, not the trail. Activity burns energy,
Progress builds futures. So if you're listening right now heading
into backstretch to twenty twenty five into twenty twenty six,
ask yourself, am I actually moving forward? Or am I
just moving? When you stop performing for the appearance of
effort and start committing to finishing what you start, everything changes.
My client is already seeing that, which is pretty awesome
(22:43):
by the way you came through there, Rick, his team
feels it, his customers feel it, and most importantly, he
feels it. So don't confuse activity with progress. One drains you,
the other builds. You choose the one that moves your
life forward. Coach you knowledge nugget of the Week squad
is it's about protection. And one of the most valuable
things you can ever protect is your time. See, everyone
(23:04):
wants a piece of it, your client's, your family, your
co workers, your phone, your inbox, even your excuses. If
you don't guard it like it's life or death, you
look back and realize you gave it all the way
to things that didn't move the needle. My own coaching
philosophy involves a lot of neutral thinking, which means focusing
only on what moves you forward. As my friend, the
legendary Navy sealed JOCKO. Willing, preaches discipline equals freedom. Time
(23:25):
is the battlefield where both of those play out. Protect
your time and you protect your freedom. Waste your time
and you hand the keys of your life to somebody else.
And here's what I always say to one of my
guests today. Goals are just the byproduct of your standards.
If you raise your standards, the goals take care of themselves.
But your standards won't hold if you don't protect the
time that supports them. So here's the challenge. Audit your day.
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Where are you leaking time? Where you saying yes when
you should be saying no. Protect your minutes and your
hours will protect you. That's how you level up, not
by doing more, but defending what matters most your time.
I always start out with the little coaching knowledge nugget.
A lot of people talk about leadership. It's like it's
some flashy title or in a corner office. Let's get real.
(24:06):
Leadership is not about what you can add, it's about
what you can multiply. Think about it. Addition is limited.
You work harder, you grind more hours, you push however
your weight. There's only so much one person can do.
Multiplication is different. Multiplication says I'm not just carrying this
load myself. I'm creating other people who can carry it too.
That's the difference between a manager and a leader. A
(24:27):
manager ads, a leader multiplies. So here's your coaching knowledge nugget.
If your impact stops with you, you're not leading your babysitting.
But if your impact outlives you, you're raising up leaders
who will raise up leaders. Then you're multiplying and that's legacy.
So today ask yourself, am I adding or am I multiplying?
Because leaders who multiply don't just change a team, they
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change generations. So then you have a squad. Thank you
so much for tuning into the knowledge nuggets that I
came up with that I work with my clients. And
remember I don't come up with any of these. I
live a life of curiosity. That's my superpower, and I
picked it up through people that have regurgitated. I'm just
regurgitating what they've given me through the years, and thank
(25:11):
you so much to them. Thank you for the shoulders
of the giants, and I'm able to stand upon. And
I am again just so blessed to be on your
station on the radio, in your podcast weekly giving you
awesome sauce knowledge nuggets to help you level up your life.
So let's absolutely go out there crush this next lap
around the sun here in twenty twenty six. Absolutely love
your guts, level up