Kind: captions
Language: en
[Music]
Hal Elrod welcome back to the show it's
great to be back man it's good to have
you back you there's something about you
and what you've gone through that I find
incredibly
useful this might be the wrong word but
you have faced death legitimately twice
you your heart actually stopped I think
for six minutes after a car accident
yeah and then not too long ago you were
diagnosed with cancer they gave you 10
to 20 chance of surviving 20 to 30 but
it's still not good yeah yeah not on the
right side of that 50 Mark no
but you have put together ways of
dealing with it before we get to the the
stuff that you cover in your Miracle
equation I want to know what it's like
when somebody tells you that you have
potentially fatal cancer like what's
that moment especially when you've been
through something like that before yeah
uh there's obviously multiple thoughts
and feelings
um but you know for me the car accident
when I was 20 it gave me a lot of faith
in the power of self-healing in the
power of Faith itself right and so the
day I was diagnosed with cancer so Faith
um
we'll come back to that but you use
Miracle Faith Like These are very
specific words yeah anyway we'll come
back to that so sorry yeah no no problem
um so we kind of talked about this one
you know last time I was here in terms
of uh one of the greatest lessons I
learned was when I was 20 years old
actually 19 years old I learned the
lesson to accept reality exactly as it
is and the other side of that coin is
that every painful emotion that we
experience is self-created by our
resistance to our reality do people push
back on you when you say that
it's not a hard in the new book you go
hard with the idea that uh whatever
negative emotion you're experiencing
that's entirely on you you create that
you can stop that uh I've gotten
pushback on ideas like that in fact the
strongest pushback I've ever gotten on
any any idea I've ever presented to the
world was that it's all your fault now
maybe that fault is the word that freaks
people out here here's the to me this is
the difference is that the difference
between responsibility and blame right
people confuse those two like I say you
know you're responsible for your life
and they go well how can I be
responsible for I wasn't responsible for
the trauma and the tragedy and the this
the that like I wasn't responsible for
my car accident right but the difference
between responsibility and blame is
blame determines who's at fault right
the drunk driver was at fault maybe your
parent was at fault for wronging you or
abusing you when you were a child
responsibility determines who's
committed to the current reality and the
future reality right so it's like I'm
not I'm not at fault for blank but I'm
responsible for how I experience every
moment of my life and that's actually
the the future of my work I feel is
really
um focusing on
teaching people how to choose their
optimal experience in every moment of
life regardless of what's going on
outside of you
do people get confused and and we will
get back to that moment where you're
told that you have terminal cancer yeah
I so the idea of choosing your
experience the fine experience for me
because the thing that's happening to
you is not necessarily the thing that
you can choose I agree with you that we
have agency but I never would have used
the word experience in your inner
experience okay right so what you think
how you feel what you focus on
um your mindset
Etc right you get to choose your
experience and the um a great example or
great is the uh Victor Frankel right he
said the the last of man's freedom is to
choose one's own attitude in any given
set of circumstances this is a guy in a
concentration camp in a concentration
for people that don't know yeah which
you know and I always think like I love
his book and his story because it's like
you know we've all got issues we've all
faced adversity it doesn't get much
worse than waiting for your day to die
having your you know he was 31 years old
wife's at home kids at home he's
watching his friends and and you know
peers being taken to the to the the gas
chamber and thinking he's going to die
and you realize oh I get to choose my
experience like that's how I would
Define it to me that's choosing my
experience I can't change what's
happening outside of me I can't change
what happened five minutes ago five
months ago five decades ago but I can
choose how I experience every moment of
my life and for me it's I want to choose
I want to experience love in every
moment I want to experience gratitude in
every moment and the date and this will
Circle back to your question the day
that I was diagnosed with cancer I I
decided I told my wife I said sweetheart
I will be the happiest most grateful
person version of myself that I've ever
been while I Endure them what I imagine
will be the most difficult time in my
life how does your wife respond in that
moment so uh let me set the stage here
so I'm guessing that in the the exact
moment that you get diagnosed that you
don't have this sort of because right
now you sound like a teacher right yeah
and I'm guessing in that moment it was
more like I just got hit with a
sledgehammer and there's like a
disorienting effect to all of that do
you have like did you have that reaction
or have you done so much work you don't
even have that reaction this is like a
monk-like existence that and and I say
that humbly here's what I mean so when I
had my car accident everything we're
talking about in terms of this mindset
of accepting reality as it is accepting
the things you can't change so you can
be at peace with it that was developed
when I was 19 in my Cutco sales training
I learned something called the five
minute rule it says it's okay to be
negative when something goes wrong but
not for more than five minutes and the
number is arbitrary to five hours fifty
minute whatever right the point is
painful emotion you're self-creating
your emotional pain based on your
resistance to reality which another way
of saying that is if you're wishing and
wanting you could change something
that's out of your control and if it
already happened it's out of your
control and so I learned that in a very
you know the context of facing rejection
and failure in a sales career but when I
came out of my coma and I was told I
would never walk again and I had to
process that and that was more what
you're talking about though like you
know I'm 20 years old I'm going wait
what I'm never going to walk again I
have 11 Broken Bones I have permanent
brain damage my ear was almost
completely severed like you know I'm
scarred beyond belief so that was a lot
of processing but I realized oh this is
that five minute rule it's just in a
much more extreme circumstance I can't
change that I was hit by a drunk driver
and if I'm in a wheelchair the rest of
my life
and I can never walk again that's my
reality who will I choose to be in that
wheelchair okay so now we have to talk
about reality so if the experts are
telling you that you're going to be in a
wheelchair for the rest of your life you
had to decide that you weren't going to
let them Define your reality and this is
where this gets I literally as you were
saying resistance to reality
I underlined the word reality because
that word is tricky and I'm the same so
I think about the mind being a
prediction engine and that I I think of
it as the closer you get to what is
objectively true the more you're able to
predict the outcome of your actions but
in that like I'm making a lot of
assumptions I'm choosing to believe one
thing over another when I don't have
enough evidence in One Direction or
another I choose the things I consider
to be useful I won't spend our time
defining that but I have a way that I
come up with what is useful how do you
decide what is real
so
so to me here's the two sides of this
coin right so I the doctors thought I
was in denial because I was you know
positive and happy and and they called
my parents in one day and they said
we're concerned with how we believe he's
in denial he's not facing this is two
weeks after the crash one week after I
came out of the coma they said we
believe he's not facing reality
essentially and that it's so painful for
him they said this is a normal response
we see with accident victims that are in
some horrific accident told they're
never gonna walk again we believe that
he can't handle his reality so he's
checked out and that's why he's always
laughing and joking and you know
whatever so my dad came into the
hospital room and expressed the doctor's
concern and he said the doctor said how
what's normal is for you to feel sad or
scared or depressed or angry with the
drunk driver angry that this happened
it's normal to feel those emotions how
are you really feeling
and I went inside and my dad was his
face is red he's trying not to cry he's
you know and I'm I can tell it's you
know he's because he's worried about
your future
he's just I think that he was they they
I think he just you know I mean he's
watching his son right it's only two
weeks removed from me being found dead
you know and uh and I'm out of the coma
for a week and so it's this very
uncertain as a dad now I can only
imagine like what I went through to me
and compared to what my parents went
through I think my parents had the worst
of it right and I think until your
parent you don't you don't make that
connection but I'm like to watch your
child go through that and have not be
able to do anything you know
and I said that Dad um
I said I thought you knew me better than
that and I said remember I live my life
by the five minute rule that I learned
in my Cutco training and he said well
what do you mean I said it's okay to be
negative and and feel sorry for yourself
but but only to a point where you
extract the lesson the value from the
circumstance or the experience and I
said I can't change that I was in a car
accident I can't change that I broke 11
bones and if the doctors are right and I
never walk again then I'll be in a
wheelchair the rest of my life so I get
to choose though how I experience every
moment on that journey and I said in Dad
I've decided and this came before the
cancer it was the first time I decided
I'll be the happiest most grateful
person you've ever seen in a wheelchair
if that's the case but I'm not accepting
that as my fate this is the other side
of the coin Tom is
I'm accepting reality exactly as it is
no matter what that is
so if I'm in a it's essentially I'm
accepting life before it even happens so
if I'm in a wheelchair the rest of my
life I've already accepted that and
decided if that's my quote unquote worst
case scenario
albeit peace in that wheelchair because
here's the thing I'm in a wheelchair
either way at that point
I'm either miserable in a wheelchair or
I'm the happiest person you've ever met
in a wheelchair either way I'm in a
wheelchair and if anybody's watching I
often ask like what's your wheelchair
like what's the circumstance in your
past or present that's out of your
control
and you're but you're allowing it you're
you're it's giving you you're allowing
it and giving yourself permission well I
feel bad because this happened in my
past I'm a victim because this is
happening in my in my current reality
versus I can't change what I can't
change but I get to choose how I
experience what I can't change how do
you walk though the path of okay I might
end up in a wheelchair and if I am I'm
gonna be the happiest ever but in the
interim I'm gonna fight really hard yes
and by the way go through a tremendous
amount of suffering I have to imagine in
rehabilitating yourself and all that so
it would have been easier to uh truly
not resist what the doctors are telling
you is real because there's going to be
less physical pain certainly in just
acquiescing to well I'm gonna be in a
wheelchair yeah it's going to be much
harder to stay optimistic to push
against that to do the physical therapy
and all of that stuff so what I'm trying
to wrap my head around is how you both
accept I I accept a few future outcome
and what whatever may be
but there are some and this is where
reconciling how sort of Hardcore
scientific push I can change and Faith
Miracle which to me in the way that I
Define those words is like utterly
detached from all that stuff yeah kind
of yes totally yeah
um the so yeah that's this is the other
side of the coin that I keep missing to
get to so here's where it's at it's I
accept my life exactly as it is and I
accept no matter what happens in my
future I accept life before it happens
yep
um while
I'm going to maintain unwavering faith
that I can create the outcome I want
until proven otherwise so the beauty of
it is what do you call proof
um that I get to a point where well it's
been x amount of time and I can't walk
again would you how do you decide that
amount of time so for instance I know
somebody that had a stroke and they're
just not years and years and years now
and they're not recovering at the rate
to the extent that they hoped they would
and they are beginning to wonder is this
a futile approach or do I keep going
so yeah it's this
it to me you can get to this place it's
almost like I guess in some ways an
enlightened state where you're ex you
accept life exactly as it is as I've
said
um while you move toward what you want
and and I'll give you like here's how
this worked out with the car accident
and I told my dad in this conversation I
said dad I accept that I may never walk
again I'm at peace with that but I'm not
deciding that's my only option I said
the doctors might be experts in medicine
but they're not experts in me and I
really believe that right like just
because you're given a statistic that's
the statistic based on the masses based
on people that live in fear based on
people that eat unhealthy based on
people that right that aren't doing any
of the things to heal themselves and so
I told my dad I said I'm going to I'm
going to pray every day I'm going to
meditate every day I'm going on healing
I'm going to visualize myself walking
again I'm going to do everything in my
within my power to create the outcome
that I want and if I get to a point
where it's like no you I can't walk
again and I don't know that time frame
right for me it essentially didn't fully
come because a week after that
conversation with my dad and the doctors
had said Your son's not going to walk
again he needs to come to grips with
that I think he's delusional he's he's
checked out a week later the doctors
came in with routine X-rays and they
said we don't know how to explain I
don't know I don't know the exact words
they said but they said hell we're gonna
let you take your first step tomorrow
and I was like even I was thinking I was
a I was thinking a year that in a year I
could heal and and walk again but it was
three weeks after the crash after my
femur broke in half and my pelvis broke
in three places that the doctor said
we're gonna you can walk again I took my
first step the next day and
you know that there was I had no science
I didn't right I wasn't reading well
what's the mind-body connection and how
did epigenetics play into this and like
I didn't know right it was very Layman's
approach to healing myself but now there
is a lot of science out there that shows
the mind-body connection let me ask you
a really pointed question do you think
you would have healed faster the same or
slower
if you knew exactly the epigenetic
scientific route to walk or is is prayer
faith
visualization all of that
more effective so let me even refine
this a little bit further assuming that
prayer visualization all that has a a
grounded real world
mechanism by which it works right so if
those things trigger something over here
do you think that if you could just pull
the epigenetic levers that you would get
the same outcome or is there I mean I
guess what I'm really asking is there a
deity that's playing some role in faith
Miracles prayer that's interesting right
and we could we could we could spend a
lot of time talking about like I have a
very unique relationship with prayer or
with God it's very it's very much I
don't know it works right I I don't for
me it's not like well what's written in
this or that is exactly how it is I
actually don't know that I don't have my
faith isn't it's really not an
unwavering faith in what someone else
told me is true it's an unwavering faith
in possibility that's it
and
from that does that mean that there is
no fate when you say possibility what do
you mean I think we create yeah I know I
think we create our fate I think that we
CR a great example if I would have lived
in fear you know and I would have
thought and I would have given up and
gone oh I'm never gonna walk again I I I
would imagine there's a strong
possibility that that would have been
the Fate I would have created and I
never would have walked again right it
was the no I'm going to walk again and
and you know I'm I think anecdotal
evidence is one of the most underrated
right like when it's dismissed like oh
no no that's just those 150 people that
did that but we don't have science yet
that proves what they did so it's
dismissed that Dr Bernie Siegel who I
had on my podcast a couple years ago
um he wrote the book love medicine and
miracles there's that word again
um and uh and Dr Bernie Siegel I read
his book when I had cancer and he said
that this is all anecdotal but he has I
think three thousand patients and he's
said that for the most part in his you
know 30-year career all of the patients
that beat cancer and many of which he
said beat cancers they shouldn't have
statistically beaten that were very
deadly they were stage four he said
those that beat their cancer they had
the mindset called unwavering Faith call
it unshakable belief like it's just
words whatever you want to call it but
they went no I'm going to live I'm going
to live for my family for my kids for
myself whatever I'm gonna beat this
cancer there's no other option for me
and he said and they and he would even
be astounded that somehow they did and
he said he watched many cancer patients
die that had cancers that they should
have beaten that were very healable
but their mindset was this is it I'm
going to die I have cancer and they
lived in fear and and it was this he
said it was self-fulfilling prophecies
on both sides
okay let's tie this back to Victor
Frankel for a second so Victor Frankel
says in Man's Search for meaning that
you could again this is in a
concentration camp you could predict
uh within 72 hours who would die because
he said once they gave up he was like
they only had 72 hours to live I
remember thinking whoa that is really
interesting now if he's right and that
just feels intuitively correct to me
that
there is going to be a biological
connection between the parts of your
subconscious that reach your conscious
mind and vice versa so your conscious
mind you can't go uh I mean maybe some
monks can but for most people you can't
go
um slow my heart rate down to exactly 42
beats per minute you can't go uh killer
T cells up ramp you know production to
whatever but truly when somebody's
Spirit breaks
there's going to be a biological
knock-on effect sure now for me to go
back and answer the question that I was
asking you I agree with you I don't
understand how the universe works so let
me just plant that flag aggressively
aggressively yeah there's something I
don't understand very clearly yeah so
everything that I say becomes a guess
but I have a guess that if I could
directly control the the epigenome if I
could directly control my biology that I
would get a superior outcome than if I
put things in the faith modality prayer
all of that now that's all I have right
now yeah so if I were diagnosed with
cancer I would first of all call you and
be like walk me through the exact
protocol because you have like all these
uh anti-cancer visualizations and all
that dude I wouldn't be above a single
bit of it I would do it all I would pray
I would do whatever the hell I needed to
do but that to me is a proxy only for
that which we don't understand yet and
so what I want to know and maybe you've
already answered it
but what I want to know is do do you
have a hunch I know you don't know do
you have a hunch that there is a
um a more powerful spiritual being thing
that like is waiting for us to to show
our faith or is this just the lever that
we have now because we don't know the
scientific levers to pull to me I would
say my and this might be controversial
for some people
um but
uh my belief in a higher power a deity a
spiritual God it is more science it's
almost more scientific
um and does that mean that ultimately
you will be able to understand in the
sort of einsteinian way of
he didn't think of God if I understand
it correctly he didn't think of God as a
person in the sky but he very much
thought that there is this higher power
whatever that we don't understand that
put all these rules into play but once
you understand the rules you really do
in his vernacular understand God's
thoughts yeah well one way and again I I
can't go deep into this but with
statement but right that everything is
energy
and so to me God is that that Ultimate
Energy that all things are born from and
die into and what it can be explained it
will ultimately be explained yeah I
think so I think it is actually
explained people just maybe aren't
making the connection right but people
that are studying
um metaphysics and and you know and and
I forgot what was that author that did
the uh that studied water right and he
would have two glasses of water and if
you put negative thoughts toward one
glass it would change the molecular
structure what you haven't seen that I'm
so skeptical you can't imagine right now
so it's a Japanese like not nakimura
it's a Japanese author
um and so yeah he so he I mean
negative thoughts towards one Loving
Thoughts towards the other glasses do
you have to put a certain amount of
distance between the two glasses of
water I don't I don't remember I'm gonna
have to learn about this oh God yeah but
you don't remember the name Japanese I
think I believe Japanese author power of
water which I mean I had somebody here
they could look this up yeah it's right
it's pretty well known awesome water
um Good Vibes bad vibes okay what I'm
trying to get to is and and so you
answer the core of my question which is
that you think in in what I'm calling
the einstinian way of like
God is the the rules of the universe you
said energy I'll just say rules of the
universe yes and that we will ultimately
be able to know these things they they
follow a set of rules so they aren't
like
they aren't unknowable undefinable where
God becomes a mystical thing don't try
to understand it because I go crazy and
I've done actually a fair amount of
thinking as to why this bugs me but I
think it's outside of the importance of
what we're talking about now but when
people say Quantum and they mean magical
it drives me nuts well if if you
remember so the miracle equation right
which I think we talked about lost when
I was here
um I like I really defined miracle I
demystified this whole chapter I think
on demystifying Miracles and it's the
idea that I don't view a miracle as some
magical unexplainable result maybe maybe
unexplainable in some ways but to me a
miracle is any result or outcome that's
beyond the realm of what you believe is
possible for you therefore when you
achieve that outcome it feels like a
miracle it feels like I can't believe I
did this and the way that I broke that
formula down well how do you create
Miracles at will it's two decisions and
if you study the world's most successful
people in all walks of life they live by
these two decisions including you
whether you're aware of it or not it's
unwavering Faith unwavering faith in
themselves what organ God they can put
it wherever they want right like it's
just I have unwavering faith that if I
do these things if I work really really
hard then I'm going to create this
outcome that I'm going to attract the
right people into my life that I'm right
that Luck's gonna come my whatever
whatever it is but you see these people
that that maintain unwavering Faith they
could do something that they had never
done before
and those are the only people that do
things they've never done before and
maybe that no one's ever done before
right but the average person goes I'm
only going to do things that I know for
sure I can do because I have evidence
that they've been that they're possible
either because I've done them before or
I've seen someone do it and I know so my
Faith's very narrow versus this
unwavering faith that I'm gonna walk
again I'm gonna I'm gonna you know reach
millions of people through impact Theory
right like you had never done that
before I'm going to build a company of
nutrition bars and sell it for a
gazillion dollars right like what right
so even unconsciously you're operating
with unwavering Faith here's one of my
favorite examples that's very tangible
take the best sport stars and where I'm
going to choose the basketball growing
up Michael Jordan that was my guy right
um you pick any sports star but it will
take basketball
the truth is hitting your career goals
is not easy you have to be willing to go
the extra mile to stand out and do hard
things better than anybody else but
there are 10 steps I want to take you
through that will 100x your efficiency
so you can crush your goals and get back
more time into your day you'll not only
get control of your time you'll learn
how to use that momentum to take on your
next big goal to help you do this I've
created a list of the 10 most impactful
things that any High achiever needs to
dominate and you can download it for
free by clicking the link in today's
description all right my friend back to
today's episode
Michael Jordan
maintained in my in my from my
assessment maintained and so Kobe Bryant
you take anybody right LeBron James
unwavering faith that they could make
every shot that they took despite the
evidence shown right so you take you
take these players that are having a
terrible game right you know you know
first quarter right oh for seven right
but but here's the thing the average
person allows that's where they lose
faith and faith is replaced by fear and
doubt it's oh dude I'm off tonight I'm
oh for seven like pass the ball to
somebody else but not Michael Jordan
give me the ball
oh I missed the eighth one I'll make the
ninth one though guaranteed oh I missed
the ninth one I'll make the tenth one
guaranteed unwavering Faith he'll make
every shot he takes and then because he
has unwavering Faith what happens in the
fourth quarter when he's had three
terrible quarters and it looks like he's
off and he should be benched people are
calling from me but Jordan's up put him
on the bench Jordan white stops shooting
your team's down it's your fault he goes
no no give me the ball dude you asked
for the ball six and you're not making
it give me the ball I have unwavering
Faith I'll make every shot that I take
and in that fourth quarter
that unwavering faith that luck Whatever
It Is God that for it comes it the
spirit is in him and he comes back in
the fourth quarter and he comes back and
he brings the team back and he wins the
game
because he maintained unwavering faith
that he could until the last possible
moment and that first decision in
isolation right unwavering Faith but it
requires the second decision which is
extraordinary effort Michael Jordan and
every highly successful person you
included maintains unwavering Faith they
can do whatever they set out to do
regardless of the what what the you know
the short-term results are showing them
the feedback immediate feedback is like
no no dude you're you're not on track
now it doesn't matter if I'm not on
track I'm going to get there watch and
they put forth that second decision
extraordinary effort
Jordan he keeps trying you're right he's
fighting for Rebound he's fighting for
everything until that last possible
moment and then at the buzzer he wins
the game and to me you can apply that
analogy to life those two decisions if
you shift how you live where you go you
know what from now on I'm going to
maintain unwavering faith in everything
I try
and here's the thing you might approach
a goal with unwavering Faith put forth
extraordinary effort and you don't reach
that goal maybe in the bigger picture
you weren't supposed to reach that goal
because that goal wasn't the end of the
road right that was you were supposed to
learn from why you failed that one time
so that you could do something bigger
and better in the future okay that's
that's supposed to talk to me about that
that feels who's defining supposed to
what context did I don't even know what
I said so basically that okay you you
have the unwavering Faith so you've made
decision number one decision number two
you put in the just massive amount of
effort but you still don't get the
outcome and you said that's because you
may not maybe you weren't supposed to
and so that's where the you said
something in in that because dude so
much of this resonates with me but you
said where you put your belief doesn't
matter you said you could put it in
anything God whatever and
that I disagree with I think where you
put it is going to matter a lot and then
this idea of supposed to
um talk to me about that those two
things yeah let's Circle back to the
supposed to but in first the where you
put the belief right so here's my
thought and I don't even know if I've
ever said it that way before that just
came through me but
um you see many people that are very
successful right I believed in myself I
believed in myself my daddy told you
know taught me to believe in whatever
right like I believed in myself I
maintained unwavering faith that I could
do anything I put my mind to and I gave
it everything I had until the last
moment and I did it right but you find
other people go
I I give it to God I had all my faith
that God would give me the power right
so again one person putting the belief
strictly on themselves might be an
atheist the other one they put all the
belief in God right and so that that's
where that came from it's again it's an
I don't know but to me that makes sense
to go well you you just see anecdotally
that there are people that their faith
is in himself and they achieve
extraordinary remarkable things and
other people their faith is that it's
actually God that's enabling them to do
that both might be right it might just
be two different ways of looking at you
know I don't know so that's my thought
on the and I'd love to hear your
thoughts on that like on though that
example of putting your faith in two
different spots but achieving the same
outcome or something remarkable
my thought on that is ultimately what
matters is the behaviors so
the reason I think it matters where you
put your belief is I think some beliefs
will cause people to do the wrong thing
but if you do the right thing even if
you do the right thing for the wrong
reason you'll still be you'll get the
outward signs of the
um the success so take Michael Jordan if
he uh trains poorly believes poorly but
still makes every basket then he's going
to win right now the odds of him making
every basket if he's training poorly are
virtually zero sure but it becomes about
you were able to make the baskets
because you had the skill set but making
the basket is ultimately what matters
and so when you think about an infinite
number of universes there's a universe
in which Michael Jordan never trains but
somehow Divine luck whatever he just
makes basket after basket and he still
becomes you know a version of the
Michael Jordan that we know but just
from a probability standpoint and who
knows if there are actually multiple
universes so we only have this one and
you get the guy that had to work so my
thing is I think when some people I'll
use the secret isn't example I have met
way more people dude and I mean way more
people that lean on the part of the
secret that I think is total [ __ ]
which is that if you wish for a parking
spot a parking spot will become
available yeah it's like no if you sit
there long enough just the the nature of
a parking spot is such that when will
come available
um so you don't believe in parking Karma
uh you have to talk to my wife I don't
know believe it or not but I'm so yeah
we could derail on Karma but so I think
that where you put that belief is
ultimately going to matter because some
beliefs are going to be more optimal at
getting you to take the action that will
yield the outcome that you want but the
reason that I believe totally with you
and the two things just that we would I
think use slightly different words so
what I tell people the first part the
unwavering faith I call the only belief
that matters and to me the only belief
that matters is that you if you believe
that humans are designed in the
following way that if you put energy and
effort into getting better at something
you will actually get better yeah so
it's like oh I failed that just means
that I need to get better at this saying
and if I put energy and effort into it I
will actually get better now if you
believe that you'll actually take the
actions yeah and so that's the second
part of that equation you have to
actually take those actions so and
that's the second part of your equation
so we both agree on that I just think
that you can put your belief in
something there is a higher for example
there is a higher power watching out for
me and the secret is that as long as I
visualize it it's going to come true
that person will fail yeah and they will
fail reliably because it's like flipping
a coin sure fifty percent of the time it
will come up heads but if your life
strategy is that it needs to come up
heads 80 of the time you're [ __ ] dude
you are you are going to get ruined yeah
and so I think that one needs to be very
thoughtful about that but to your point
about you have people that have these
extraordinary lives and one puts the
faith in God the other puts the faith in
themselves and so it begs the question
is the second part the only part that
really matters and that is my hypothesis
which is that if somehow some way you
just always did the right thing you're
going to win it's just that you know and
I know that if you don't have that
belief that you can get better you won't
put the energy in to do the other thing
yeah to do the right things so I think I
think I think we're set I think we're
saying the same thing essentially and I
think there's a little bit of confusion
with me too
um in terms of when I say putting your
faith that you could put it in God you
could put it in yourself
um and then you're a rebuttal in terms
of like you know but you can put your
faith or belief in the wrong thing right
here's what I mean I think that
the faith is in the past I mentioned in
the possibility of the outcome that you
want and I guess credit might be a
better word of what I meant when I said
you could put your faith wherever the
credit could be wherever the faith is
that it the thing you're working towards
is is possible and that therefore you're
going to give it everything you have
right and so again the credit though is
like I'm crediting my father for my
ability to do this I'm crediting myself
for my ability to do this I'm crediting
God for giving me the strength to do
this right so so I think that's my you
know slight distinction is I think I
meant more it's credit the credit could
go wherever but the Fate you have to
maintain the faith that you can achieve
the goal because again if Michael Jordan
in the game was like I have faith that
that you know that I can that I can make
every shot I take because God gives me
that power okay I have faith that I can
make every shot that I take because I'm
capable of anything that I put my mind
to okay can I give you another example
of why what you credit really matters
yeah so even adopting your new word I'm
not sure all right let me get on board
entirely
um so a lot of athletes are
superstitious and so imagine if Michael
Jordan was saying all of My Success is
because I wear one red sock and one blue
sock and then he shows up to the game
one day and oh [ __ ] there's no Red Sox
blue sock and if he believes that's
really the reason to your earlier Point
that he's missed nine shots but he still
wants the tenth because he has
unwavering faith that he's going to make
that 10th and because he believes he can
he actually gets the ball takes a shot
makes attempt when it really matters if
he doesn't call for the ball because he
doesn't have his red and blue socks he
will literally fail when I what I'm
saying is going back to the earlier
point that we made that God is knowable
I'm putting new words on that so if that
doesn't sit well with you I'll give you
a chance to push back
but I believe because I believe it's
just the rules of the universe that God
is knowable then one should be very
thoughtful about either putting their
belief in in a proxy that will never
fail you
or in the real thing now the only reason
I say a proxy that will never fail you
is because I don't think we yet know the
real thing and so to to boil it down all
the way to the hyper-specific real thing
would be very difficult
so one in my world view and I'm going to
use the word ought on purpose so one
ought because I believe that's how the
world should be one ought to place the
credit their faith all of that in in
even though I know it's a proxy
in a proxy that's never going to fail me
now ironically if nothing ever shakes
your belief in God that may be a proxy
that never fails you yeah
the proxy I have adopted in my life that
I advise people use is that the human
animal is designed to get better and you
can get so good at something that people
can't stop you from doing it and just
focus on your ability to get better put
time and energy into practice all the
things that we know made Jordan Jordan
yeah
um and you increase your likelihood of
the correct outcome the desired outcome
Yeah by thousands of percent so I think
I don't know if there's a semantic
slight difference but like using the
example of the shoes let's say he's got
you know the socks or whatever you you
use right Jordan's faith is in the socks
again no the faith is in he can make
every shot that he takes I'm saying I
don't care where that faith comes from
do you think though if he credits if his
faith is based on the Sox and the socks
are gone will it then he doesn't have
faith that he can see that's the thing
that's what I'm saying credit matters
because I agree with you the only point
I'm disagreeing because I think your
your whole thesis makes a lot of sense
the only thing and you like you said
you've never said it that way before
yeah is is when you said it doesn't
matter where you put the credit every
alarm Bell I have went off and so all
I'm pushing back on is that where you
place a credit does matter so now as I
say that if you still think no no time
you're missing something then we can go
deeper but to me just using the the
superstition about the socks as an
example
my hypothesis about life is that if one
puts their faith in a proxy that can
break socks and no the socks don't show
up and then because he lacks belief he
won't play well because I think we both
agree if his belief breaks yeah he won't
play well yeah so now all I'm saying is
whatever you credit whatever you choose
to believe in whatever your faith is
based on all of that
and maybe we need to to talk about why I
keep saying proxy but whatever your
proxy is going to be
you better pick a proxy that isn't going
to break
so here's what's Miss here's what's
missing again again we're like we're
kind of like we're like missing
something and here's what I mean
his faith is wavering using your example
I I never talked about wavering Faith
unwavering Faith you can achieve the
outcome but if it's based on socks that
could be changed well then that's
wavering faith that is waiverable
people are either in the feed right now
they want to drag me out into a field
and shoot me or like the funny thing is
this really matters to me I was just
talking to Evan Carmichael whom I love
dearly but he's like uh you know Tom
sometimes you'll go so into the Weeds on
something and I'm like Evan I can't move
forward unless I actually understand it
yeah and so what I'm trying to
understand in your belief system because
you've pulled off something so
extraordinary not once but twice I'm
trying to figure out if you agree that
well I'm trying to figure out if you
agree that a breakable proxy creates
waiverable Faith yeah and that's so then
we both agree or are you like no if
Michael Jordan wants to believe in the
Sox we're good I think he sets himself
up in an incredibly weak and dangerous
situation yeah
in that I truly believe
in fact this will be how we will put
this to bed
I believe in the following statement and
then just tell me if if you believe it
too or you disagree I believe Michael
Jordan's career would have been
substantially less if he had put his
faith in a pair of socks
then that he put it in hard ass work
yeah yeah I think that the idea of
unwavering faith is that it couldn't be
put into socks because it would be
waiverable as you said perfect
unwavering faith is that no matter what
socks I'm wearing no matter what the
other T so I think it's almost like
I'm thinking yeah big like you kind of
drilled in but let's go into the word
proxy because I think this will this
will bring everything home okay okay so
the uh I am interpreting what you say in
terms of a miracle
um prayer Faith or my
um what I call the only belief that
matters they're all just proxies what I
mean by that is in the Donald Hoffman
way so Donald Hoffman utterly
fascinating guy and he has a rubric or a
rule of thumb it's not quite the right
word here's a framework with which he
looks at the world that says we
definitively are not experiencing the
world
at the connection point to objective
truth so what he's saying to then get
into metaphor is that reality is so
complex that any creature that is born
of evolution would never optimize for
interaction with objective truth and so
the example that he gives is a computer
and I think this is brilliant
a computer functions on opening or
closing an electrical gate and so it's
zeros and ones it's either on or off
everything that you do from playing a
video game to writing an email to
sending a text message all has to do
with opening and closing electrical
gates in a certain sequence but it
happens blindingly fast
and any human if you had to open and
close the electrical gates to send an
email or to play a video game you you
just would not be able to do it our
brain doesn't work fast enough to pull
that off so we create graphical user
interfaces so when you're playing Grand
Theft Auto you have the experience that
when I you know nudge the controller the
steering wheel on the screen turns but
the reality is all that's actually
happening is your opening and closing
electrical Gates so what he's saying is
all of life is a proxy
and it's a to use the video game analogy
it's a visual proxy that allows you to
open and close those gates in a way that
is stimulative of your dopamine centers
right so that you have the sense of wow
this is fun and you know I got to play a
game but in reality you're just opening
and closing electrical Gates yeah so
what I'm saying is the the reality of
what you've done from learning to walk
again to beating cancer all of that
there is an electrical gate opening and
closing type thing where it's whether
it's killer T cells going in whether it
was sending the nutrients you were
absorbing to the right part of your
bones to heal
that's the opening and closing of the
electrical gate
the how we get there prayer meditation
visualization all of that stuff is a
proxy so if you have a proxy that works
in the right way so video games a lot of
people it costs about 350 million
dollars in five to seven years to build
a triple A game okay so that's that's
all the underpinnings to get those
electrical gates to open and close at
the right time it is obscenely
complicated yeah so we're going to work
really hard to get a proxy that doesn't
break in the case of a video game and so
what I'm saying is I think Donald
Hoffman is directionally correct in that
we we need proxies we're going to deal
with life at the level of proxy
but what I'm saying is be very careful
what proxy you use because if you use a
proxy that can break which they probably
all can at some level but if you use a
proxy that breaks easily Superstition
you're really going to be in trouble
yeah and
period that that is the sum total of
what I'm trying to communicate
everything you're saying makes sense and
I think that it goes I think over
unwavering Faith overrides all of that
right that's kind of the thing it's like
no matter what socks I'm wearing no
matter what challenges I face no matter
what the statistics are I will maintain
unwavering faith that I can achieve the
outcome that I want and if I don't I'll
be at peace with it that was my approach
to the car accident I'll maintain
unwavering faith I can walk again and if
I never walk again I'll be the happiest
most grateful person you've ever seen in
a wheelchair so I win no like not I
would you know right life's great no
matter what how do you start translating
this into things you do obviously
Miracle morning it's a routine it's a
system
how do you take those things and you you
intimated some of the stuff that you've
done around cancer like how do we
translate this into an action list so
I'll give you a real specific example
right so the miracle morning
um I had written or published four years
before I was diagnosed with cancer and
I've done the miracle morning every day
for 14 years much longer than the book's
been out right it's in 2008 is when I
started and I literally do it six days a
week on average by 6.2 who are watching
this for the first time yeah so the
miracle morning is essentially in 2008
when the U.S economy crashed I crashed
with it you know my my business failed
my house was foreclosed on my body fat
percentage tripled I canceled my gym
membership and lived on credit cards I
just and I got depressed I was just
circumstantially depressed like my life
was falling apart and the economy is
crashing the recession's getting worse
you know and a series of events led me
to a gym Roan quote Jim Rohn said your
level of success will seldom exceed your
level of personal development and that
in that moment it landed for me I'd
probably heard it before right but you
either what's Tony say you know Tony
Robbins moment of inspiration or
desperation for you to make that change
for it to hit and I go this is how I
Quantified it in my head I go okay wait
your level of success will seldom exceed
your level of personal development on a
scale of one to ten what level of
success do I want that's why I asked
myself I went well 10. I don't know
anyone that doesn't want level 10
success right meaning it's this human
innate drive and desire to make life as
great as it can be I want level 10
Health I want to be as happy as I can be
I want to be as financially secure as I
can be I want to be as energized as I
can be right on a scale of one to ten if
I'm measuring any positive aspirational
outcome or way of being I want level 10.
and then I ask myself
okay my level of success will seldom
exceed my level of personal development
what level of personal development am I
operating at right now and again this
was 2008 it was about six months into
this downward spiral where I'm just
hopeless nothing's working I'm trying to
sign clients not only am I not signing
new clients because nobody has any money
because the economy my current clients
are just continuously quitting you know
um and uh again the house is being
foreclosed on which is my first house
that I had bought a year and a half
before like living the dream and now
it's falling apart and so at that time
my level of personal development was
like a two or three you know like I
wasn't reading I was literally in
desperation mode where I would wake up
at the last possible minute go into my
office stare at my computer call people
try to get business right and then I
would do that until my eyes bled at the
end of the night and I'd go watch TV for
an hour and go to bed that was that was
rinse and repeat
and so at that time my personal
development was it a two or three now
that I believe this is the visual
disconnect every person that I'm aware
of wants to experience the greatest
level of success and fulfillment and joy
and health and happiness that they can
level 10. but if your level of personal
development which I would Define as your
internal way of showing up to the world
your the knowledge that you possess the
skills that you've Acquired and
developed the habits that you've
established in your life the mindset the
confidence right that's your personal
development right who you are so if you
want level 10 success but your level of
personal development is that a two or
three I believe this is the disconnect
for our society
and so in that moment when I heard this
quote from Jim Rohn I went so wait I've
got to create a personal development
ritual that is so effective that enables
me to learn grow evolve
and become a better version of myself
ultimately that level 10 version the
best version of me so that I can create
and sustain that level 10 success that I
want
so I went home I spent I was on a run I
spent an hour Googling
what are the world's most successful
people do for personal development what
are the best rituals best routines and I
was looking for like the one like what's
the one that I could do and I ended up
with a list of six practices
and I got a little overwhelmed I wrote
down meditation affirmations
visualization exercise reading and
journaling and first thing the first
problem was we've been conditioned in
our society to look for something new I
want the new iPhone I want the new
computer I want the new this right if
I've heard of it I dismiss it and I know
about that but do you do that
well no but I learned about it like
seven years ago but do you implement it
do you live it no right but we we like
we literally do these mental trickery
where we're like if I know about it and
I'm not different it must not be
effective right so I'm looking at this
list I'm like I know about meditation
like yeah that's not new affirmations
those are like goofy you know
visualization sure the world's greatest
athletes do that but I'm not an athlete
you know exercise yeah I kind of I know
that you know so like I almost got
dismissed because it wasn't new and then
I dismissed it because I was overwhelmed
because I'm like because I had the
epiphany of okay it's not new but the
world's most successful people have
swore by these six practices
since way before I was born hundreds of
years right and if you study depending
on what successful person you study in
fact what caught my attention with these
I read an article it was something along
the lines of Fortune 500 CEOs that swear
by meditation
and that caught me off guard because at
that time in my life I was what 28
um I hadn't meditated before and I
viewed it as like a spiritual woo like
it conjured images of monks in a
monastery I'm like how's that going to
make me more successful I'm in debt I
need to make money don't think
meditation is going to get me there but
this article talked about how these CEOs
said their their best money making ideas
their their greatest Clarity it all came
in their meditation I was like they got
to try that and then affirmations
I always thought those were super goofy
right I watched you watched Saturday
Night Live Stuart Smalley I'm good
enough I'm smart enough and doggone it
people like me that was my image of
affirmations and so but then I saw this
video of Ellen DeGeneres interviewing
Will Smith this was pre-christ slap
right will you say the name Will Smith
now it's a different connotation yes but
so pre Chris rocks love you and she
asked him how are you so successful like
you're a mult you know Platinum selling
recording artist you're a Blockbuster
movie star you had one of the hottest
TVs like everything you do you succeed
at the highest level how and he said
affirmations
when he was I think he said 15 years old
he learned about affirmations and he
said he wrote them a little different
than I had heard them taught where he in
writing articulated what he wanted in
his life and then who he needed to be in
terms of the mindset and the behaviors
to get that and then he affirmed that
every day and aligned his thoughts words
and actions with what he affirmed was
his blueprint for the life he wanted and
he said I just lived in a line with who
I needed to be and what I needed to do
and all the things that you just
mentioned came true and I was like
that's a different way of looking at
affirmations that I can get into what
what part of that
felt different the the difference
between the the delusion of like I'm I
am blank like we've all heard the
affirmation I think the two biggest
problem with affirmations are one of two
number one we're taught to affirm
something as if it were true but it's
not so for example if you want to if you
if you if you're broke and you want to
be wealthy just tell yourself I am
wealthy I am wealthy I am a millionaire
just just tell yourself until you
believe it and then you'll eventually
like
I I don't believe that that's now that
there might be some Merit to that but to
me that's not optimal lying to yourself
the truth will always Prevail when you
say I am wealthy and you're broke you're
creating an internal conflict as if you
don't have enough you're creating a new
one that's like your subconscious goes
dude you're not a millionaire you're not
even a thousandere like who are you
kidding right the other problem with
affirmations is we're taught to use this
flowery passive language that makes us
feel better in the moment but is
destructive in in the future here's what
I mean another Financial version
I am a money magnet
money flows to me effortlessly and in
abundance it's a very popular
affirmation oh yes why here's why I
think it's popular it gives people
temporary relief from their money woes
if you check your bank balance on your
phone in the morning you're like oh God
I'm overdrawn I need to do my
affirmations I am a money magnet oh that
feels good that feels real good money's
flowing to me effortlessly and in
abundance everything's gonna be taken
care of in my financial
I feel better and it's this daily
delusional relief session
that prevents you from doing what you
need to do because you're tricking
yourself and your subconscious into
thinking it's just gonna all work itself
out
so that Will Smith formula and also
share so my formula for affirmations
I've kind of evolved what I learned from
will right is three steps number one
affirm what you're committed to because
in life you don't get what you want
because you want it you get what you're
fully committed to that you're going to
do whatever it takes to achieve that
result so number one from what you're
committed to and I'll give you a really
yeah I'll give you an example of how I
applied this during my cancer Journey
yes please yeah so number two affirm why
it is a must for you
or depending on the language that
resonates with you you might say why
it's a must or why it's deeply
meaningful to you right why is it like
you're you're willing to do whatever it
takes to follow through that commitment
because it's so important what are the
whys right the Simon sinek like the wise
that will drive you to do whatever it
takes and the third step to creating
affirmations that produce results is
affirm What specifically you will do and
when you will do it
give an example when I had cancer and by
the way this is also ties in the
unwavering Faith piece unwavering Faith
it's a very
flowy loose intangible it's hard to grab
onto this is how I apply it in real time
um when I had cancer I followed these
three steps for my affirmations whenever
I felt fear I'd pull up these
affirmations and step one affirm what
you're committed to I am committed to
beating cancer and living to be 100 plus
years old alongside Ursula and the kids
no matter what there is no other option
so if you're if you're using that as a
template it's I am committed to blank no
matter what there is no other option for
me when I was you know I didn't have the
formula but when I was walking again I
was committed I'm committed to figuring
out a walk again no matter what there's
no other option yet in the back of my
mind I also accept if that doesn't
happen right so it's this interesting
dichotomy where you're you're you're
maintaining both I'm at peace with
whatever but the thing is once you
accept what you can't change and you're
at peace with it you don't have to think
about it like you literally get to file
it away
until that outcome if the worst case
scenario happens I've accepted life
before it ever happens so I can follow
that away now and now 100 of my energy
my intention my emotion and my actions
is focused on walking again
and I don't have to pull that out unless
it never happens and then I go oh I
guess it's been a year I'm definitely
the bones aren't healing I'm never gonna
walk again I'm gonna be I'm in a
wheelchair that's the rest of my life
cool I accepted that a year ago
and so
step one I am committed to beating
cancer alongside Ursula and the kids
living 100 years old no matter what
there's no other option step two affirm
what why it's meaningful to you and I
recommend using bullet points like if
there's only one reason it's meaningful
that's great but here's what my
affirmation said I'm committed to
beating Ursula I've been here
cancer oh God Freudian slip uh uh oh man
oh man social media does Hal hit you
um no I'm committed to beating cancer
for Ursula
because I promised her forever and today
what is up my friend Tom bilyu here and
I have a big question to ask you how
would you rate your level of personal
discipline on a scale of one to ten if
your answer is anything less than a ten
I've got something cool for you and let
me tell you right now discipline by its
very nature means compelling yourself to
do difficult things that are stressful
boring which is what kills most people
or possibly scary or even painful now
here is the thing achieving huge goals
and stretching to reach your potential
requires you to do those challenging
stressful things and to stick with them
even when it gets boring and it will get
boring building your levels of personal
discipline is not easy but let me tell
you it pays off in fact I will tell you
you're never going to achieve anything
meaningful unless you develop discipline
right I've just released a class from
Impact Theory university called how to
build Ironclad discipline that teaches
you the process of building yourself up
in this area so that you can push
yourself to do the hard things that
greatness is going to require of you
right click the link on the screen
register for this class us right now and
let's get to work I will see you inside
this Workshop from Impact Theory
University until then my friends be
legendary peace out
I'm committed to beating cancer for
Sophie and Houston because they need
their daddy's love leadership and
guidance
I'm committed to beating cancer for my
dad
because he gave up everything to save me
I'm committing cancer for my mom because
she doesn't deserve to lose another
child my baby sister died when I was
eight
I'm committed in cancer
for the millions of people who are
themselves battling cancer or some other
disease and may not have been blessed
with the knowledge and resources that I
have
and I can help them on their journey and
last but not least I'm committed to
beating cancer for myself because I
deserve to live a long happy healthy
life
and Tom whenever I felt fear that I was
going to die which in the beginning I
felt almost every day right The Logical
mind I'm like what if I do everything
right and I still die and I've got to
think about what's that mean for my kids
and I got to prepare like I gotta be
responsible just in case I can't ignore
that possibility I have to actually make
sure my life insurance is set up and and
the will right there were logistical
things and whenever I'd focus on the
possibility of me dying and doing some
prep work for the kids and the family
and my wife the fear would come up but
every time I felt that fear the way that
I replaced it with unwavering faith is
pulling out those affirmations and going
fear doesn't serve me
In This Moment
on this journey to heal so I'm the
affirmations were printed on my bedside
table they were the screensaver on my
phone they were all over the place they
were in the car they were my reality
that I created I said I am committed to
beating cancer there is no other option
I said it with such conviction I
remember I would hit my fist that's why
that happened automatically I'm
committed to eating cancer no matter
what there is no other option I'm gonna
do it for Ursula because she deserve
right like on and on I'd read those and
that became my reality and here's the
amazing thing after I did that for a few
weeks the fear disappeared it was
replaced with unwavering faith in every
fiber of my being
and then that last that third step
the specific at which specific actions
will you do and when will you do them
the high level of that was I will
combine the best of Western medicine
with the best holistic practices known
to man and I will dedicate time every
day to studying and researching the best
holistic practices that my oncologist is
dismissing because they've got no that
wasn't part of his education right my
oncologist it's a whole other story but
when I said hey what part does Diet play
in my healing it was more of a
rhetorical question he said it doesn't
matter as long as you do chemotherapy
and that a little bit anger when I'm in
the hospital in the cafeteria and I'm
looking at these poor people that have
cancer walking around with chemo you
know in their IV and they're dragging
their IV Tower and they're drinking Big
Gulp sodas eating the worst quality meat
and bread and pizza and cake and pie
because their doctor told him it didn't
matter again it's a whole other topic
that I'm very passionate about but but
so the the what I will do and when it
was I'll do my Miracle morning every day
I will double down on my Savers and the
Miracle morning just put a super fine
point is to do those six things in a
very useful way yes and and we'll let me
dive into that real quick so those six
practices
meditation affirmations visualization
exercise reading and scribing I decided
I I my first miracle morning was I'm
gonna do all six that was the Epiphany
instead of picking one what if I did the
six most timeless proven personal
development practices in the history of
humanity every day like that would be
the ultimate morning ritual that was my
theory I thought how could it not be and
I thought that level 10 success that I
want and me needing to be the level 10
person to achieve that success to
deserve it
I thought if I do those six practices
that should accelerate how quickly I
evolve into the best version of myself
and I was thinking it would take a year
I was thinking about The Compound Effect
right one percent better every day Tom
in less than two months and I hope this
gives hope to anybody right now that it
you know the cancer piece is hope for a
certain type of person that's facing
that or has family facing that but if
you're having Financial struggles or if
you're just afraid of the recession
that's looming right in the economy
in 2008 at the height of the recession
when it was the economy was getting
worse and worse and worse and worse
that's when I did my first miracle
morning
and I woke up I did all six practices I
fumbled my way through them like hey I
wasn't a morning person and I almost
that was another thing that almost
derailed me and then I went wait a
minute
do I want to change my life or not am I
willing to get out of my comfort zone
and do something I've never done before
to create a result I've never created
hell yes I am I'm gonna wake up an hour
earlier why did it need to be the
morning great question
um because so as I looked at my schedule
and I'm like okay when am I going to do
these six practices and I thought you
know I'm gonna do an hour like I don't
want to fly through this I want to go
deep I want to really give it time I
thought and I thought there's six
practices so my mind just went 10
minutes each cool that's a good starting
place now I can adjust if I want to do
more or less for anyone but I thought um
when am I going to do it I thought okay
maybe in the evening after work at like
9 00 PM because I was working till 9 pm
every day like I was in desperation mode
right at 9pm and I go who am I kidding
I'm exhausted I'm mentally and
physically exhausted into the day
there's no way that I'm at my best to do
these then I go okay throughout the day
I go I'm working all day I go what am I
gonna you know maybe my lunch break but
I want to eat and so I thought and then
I go I'm looking at the schedule look at
my planner I look at the morning and I
go not the morning like but but like
something intuitively inside me was like
Hal if you start your day with these
practices you're gonna start your day in
a Peak Physical mental emotional and
spiritual State you're going to start as
a better version of the guy that went to
bed the night before and if you start
every day in a peak State I also read an
article by um what is his name Steve
something he wrote personal development
for smart people
um he had an article called The Rudder
of the day and just like the rudder
steers the ship he said your morning is
the rudder of the day if you have an
unfocused unproductive lethargic lazy
morning
that's probably the type of day you're
going to have because that's how you're
showing up to your day if you have a
focused disciplined structured mourning
you're going to be in a focused
discipline structured state to create
that kind of day so kind of the
combination that just I'm like I'm gonna
do it I'm gonna do it and so I schedule
my alarm for an hour earlier I was going
to put six every day so I went to five
which was like I had never gone into
five in my life unless it was like an
early flight and I woke up the next
morning I did all six practices I
fumbled you know I didn't I met like the
night before I had six browser tabs open
how to meditate how to do affirmations
how to like I didn't really know how to
do both of these but even fumbling my
way through the six practices at the end
of that hour my whole life changed
because I went from being hopeless the
economy is crashing I'm already in debt
my house is foreclosed on I'm in the
worst shape physically of my life
because I canceled the gym membership I
don't have time to exercise because I
gotta work to try to save my you know
our financial life
and
even after that first day I went if I
start every day like this I feel good I
feel I don't feel depressed like I felt
the last six months I feel like hopeful
I feel like this is it if I start
everybody like this it's only a matter
of time before I become that level 10
person and create that success I want
and I was thinking it would take a year
it happened in less than two months
and it did what's it
well here's the it the results so in
less than two months I more than doubled
my income and again the hope is for
anyone listening the economy got worse
but I got better
and
that's the idea is you can't control the
economy good luck with that but you can
control if you get better and
specifically
I wanted to get more coaching clients
that was my income at that point I had
written my first book taking live head
on
um and and it's a whole other story I'd
written that book but it wasn't making
any money I was starting a speaking
career at colleges that wasn't making
much money yet maybe 500 bucks a month
my main income was my coaching income
and that's where I'd lost half of my
clients and so I the it was in less than
two months I more than doubled the
amount of clients now how did I do that
well the first thing I did is I'm
looking at these Savers the r is for
reading oh and I got real quickly savers
the the M meditation became silence as I
was writing the book
I had these six practices and they were
not my own right I didn't invent any of
them and I was frustrated how am I going
to organize this in a way that people
can remember it that it flows together
and I can picture the moment I walked
out of my office I was living with my
dad my wife and I lost our house at that
point moved in with my dad and I'm in
our the office I walk out my wife greets
me in the hallway and she goes hey
sweetie you look you look flustered I
said I'm frustrated I'm trying to write
the book but I have these six practices
they're not connected in any way I don't
know how to communicate them in a way
that they're memorable and they flow and
she goes why don't you get a thesaurus
my wife does my muse by the way why did
you get a thesaurus and see if you can
swap out any of the words with synonyms
and then structure an acronym that
people could remember
and I gave her a kiss on the face I was
like that's brilliant I went back in the
office meditation became silence
affirmation stayed the same right s a v
for visualization e for exercise R for
reading and the final s was journaling
so it'd be the saberja but it but but
that became scribing right which is
writing and so and I was like and when I
when I got that I was like Savers I go
these six practices saved my life they
saved me from missing out on what was
possible and they can do that for
anybody and so so those are the six
practices and in two months of doing
this miracle it wasn't called The
Miracle morning sorry I'm doing my
morning it was literally a Morning
Routine Morning Routine and actually
then it became May Verger or whatever
but I went into my wife and I said
sweetheart this was in our first house
that started going back in time and I
said sweetheart I just signed on to
coaching clients I it's all because of
this morning routine we've doubled our
income in the last two months
it's a freaking it's a miracle
and she goes it's your Miracle morning
and I go
I love that you know I mean so this is
it's like this couldn't have evolved
more organically it was not a book idea
it wasn't like oh what's a good book
title it was like my wife said it's your
Miracle morning and I'm like I love that
it is it is it's a miracle morning and
so my schedule became Miracle morning
every day you know
um and then I started teaching it to my
coaching clients
there were I had 14 clients at the time
almost all of them said I'm not a
morning person and they were they're
like how I'm not a morning person like
and I go I know neither was I and I gave
him a few tips keep the alarm clock as
far across the room as possible so it
forces you to get out of bed that will
wake you up five times more than if you
reach over and you're fumbling with the
phone on your bedside table so I gave
him a few different tips that I teach in
the book there's five steps on beating
the snooze button right and 13 out of 14
of the clients came to the next call and
go how I'm having the best week in my
sales career I'm running again I'm
exercising I'm a morning person in the
last two weeks this miracle morning
thing works and that's when the light
bulb went off and I went if this changed
my life if the miracle morning changed
my life and I wasn't a morning person
and I was like at Rock Bottom I was in
debt I was depressed and two months
later life's changed if this changed my
coaching clients lives and they weren't
morning people
this could change the world this could
change anyone's life and that's when I
really owned I have a responsibility to
figure out how to share this with as
many people as I possibly can and I
thought I should probably write a book
about it like that seems like the next
logical step speaking of writing what do
you have people do in the journaling
section
so my journaling method it was really
inspired by five minute Journal
um but it uh but I kind of like it
evolved a little bit so the first thing
I write down is and and there's you know
you whether you write by hand or like we
have the miracle morning app people you
can journal in there and these are
actually prompts in the app but so my
step one I write down what's is there
anything I need to let go of
and I find that's such an I didn't used
to do that I used to start with
gratitude but I realized that if we have
something that we're not letting go of
whether it was a fight yesterday with
our spouse or it was it's something from
our childhood or it's whatever and when
I say let go of
that's another way of saying accept
right it goes back to the acceptance
piece just why don't you accept wanting
to either let go of except be at peace
with right whatever language works for
somebody I always say don't don't use my
language use the language that resonates
with you and so number one what do I
need to let go of and it's like oh yeah
I'm I'm feeling stress or anger or
frustration over that thing
I'm going to release it I'm going to let
it go and I'll write it down and then
I'll sit there for 30. this is just the
act of writing it down that helps people
is it bringing it into their conscious
mind writing it down takes it out of
your head and puts it on paper gives you
a focal point right or in your phone
whatever it gives you a focal point and
then to me it's about the ACT it's about
the the actual emotional I'm letting it
go and whether you need to say it out
loud say it to yourself do this you know
whatever whatever work Street play with
it right play with it like Let It Go
they're not writing about the subject
itself they're just saying uh that fight
with my wife I need to let it go they
jot that down and then they do the act
of that for me so but again it varies
sometimes I go I need to let go this and
then depending on what comes through me
sometimes it might be like I need to let
it go because it's not serving me like
I'll just again it's really organic
whatever free writing a lot of times
though it's just I need to let that go
and then I actually do it viscerally
throughout my body right really you have
a mechanism for that that's tied to
silence like starting in your forehead
and make sure the muscles are relaxed
and then you get to your eyebrows like
that kind of thing not really but you
see it just through my physiology right
like so for me it's really imagining it
kind of like I guess because it's I'm
hanging on to it up here very often
right it's in my like I'm I'm it's
sticking up here and so it's like I just
imagine it just releasing and just
letting it go
um I will say that like when it comes to
that acceptance piece and the five
minute rule that for me it was three
words to let something go I'd set the
timer on my phone for five minutes and
for five minutes I [ __ ] moan complain
I'm like this is so frustrating right
and I remember when I first learned the
five minute rule I thought I was
learning my cut code training the way my
manager taught me is he said look you
guys sales is a microcosm of adversity
that is much more intense than the
average person experiences for example
he said the average person experiences
rejection occasionally and it's really
difficult for them you're gonna
experience it every day multiple times a
day you're gonna make 20 calls and
you're gonna talk to 10 people and eight
of them are going to say don't ever call
here again he's like that's hard on the
nervous system right most people aren't
used to that he said so you need a a
strategy a tool to be able to move
through it quickly so that you don't
hang on to it you don't get frustrated
you don't extend that painful emotional
turmoil and he said the five minute
rules you set your timer for five
minutes and you give yourself five
minutes to feel all the emotions if
you're frustrated feel it if you want to
cuss if you want to punch a wall
whatever like feel it after five minutes
you say three very powerful words
can't change it
it's an acknowledgment that I can't
change what happened five minutes ago so
now I have two choices I can continue to
resist reality wish it didn't happen and
be frustrated angry upset sad whatever
it is because I'm not willing to accept
it I'm resisting it
that's Choice One or
you can choose to accept it fully to say
this happened I can't change it so I can
choose to accept it be at peace with it
and focus 100 of my energy on what I can
control
and
when I learned that go ahead I'm just
going to say how do you move through
that part so let's take the example my
wife and I got into an argument I need
to let go of the emotion that I'm having
over the argument but my wife is really
wrong
and I was not able to convince her in
that and I'm going to run into this
again and again and again and again so
let let me share an example and then
bring that back please um I think it'll
help us to get there
um when I first learned this I thought
five minutes I'm not gonna be I'm not
gonna stop being upset because a timer
goes off like and in five minutes is not
enough time can I get like a five hour
rule you know for some things like a
five day Rule and here's what happened
this is and this will help lead into
answering that question is when I I
remember I can literally picture it I
was in my apartment and I had a lady
cancel her appointment
and I was like no I needed that
appointment like because I had every day
our manager with cut and Cutco they're
so good at accountability it's like how
many calls are gonna make today how many
appointments you're gonna schedule and
you call them multiple times a day right
so it's very you're very supported
um because they know and you're also I
was I was 19s right so they know that if
I experienced a little rejection without
someone to help navigate me navigate
that I'm probably gonna quit and right
so I got a lot of support and I remember
this lady canceled and I had scheduled I
had hit my goal for appointments for the
next day so I was like and it was like
at nine at night so it's too late I
couldn't fit that appointment and I
would no I can't believe she canceled I
needed that I've got this goal for the
week uh set my timer for five minutes
and I'm pacing around my apartment I'm
frustrated and I'm in my head why would
you do that like you know like I had to
I'm just going on and on and the timer
went off and I go I'm still pissed off
like just like I thought five minutes
isn't enough and I I knew I hit the
timer again went for another five
minutes did that a couple times right
here's what happens once you start
practicing this mindset and you become
aware because eventually you get to a
place where it might have taken me 10
minutes maybe 15 but eventually I go
all right I guess my manager my mentor
is right like I can't change that she
like right the demotions eventually die
down time heals all and eventually you
go okay I'm gonna accept it I can't
change it I only have four appointments
tomorrow instead of five
um I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna just get on
the phone in the morning it is what it
is right and now I'm at peace because I
accepted it took me 15 minutes but I
accepted it and now I'm teaching myself
I'm elevating my Consciousness my
awareness that oh
I actually am in control of the
emotional pain I experience when I get
to acceptance
I'm at peace
you think about like having a heartbreak
when you were younger right and you
thought your world was or you're in
sixth grade you got your heart broken
you thought life's over we were supposed
to go to Pro you know dance and get
married whatever but eventually when you
get to acceptance you're like well okay
I guess we're not I mean I'm I I thought
I could get in her back I can't we're
done okay I'm at peace now right and so
after a few weeks maybe less than a few
weeks I remember and I can picture same
apartment near the same phone the
difference was this was a worse
adversity in the sales World which is it
was the Sunday night orders were due
Monday morning
and my biggest order of the week that I
had just seen like three hours before it
was the biggest order I'd ever had I'm
like I'm brand new three weeks into the
career she calls at nine at night and
says hey
um my husband came home he was super
upset that I spent that much money on
knives I have to cancel the order
and I'm like like I heard it in your
mind if you're in commission you spend
the money right you're like oh I just
made a thousand bucks I'm gonna buy this
and that right I hit my goal great I've
already celebrated the win and now she
just took it away from me and I'm like
no no no no I'm trying to talk you know
I'm like oh are you sure I mean you get
a 15-day trial
and I get off the phone and I set the
timer for five minutes now this is much
worse than a couple weeks earlier when
an appointment canceled this is the
biggest order I've ever had the night
before orders are due and I set the
timer for five minutes and I go I can't
believe she canceled like oh my God and
I don't have my goal what am I gonna do
I mean I guess I can't change it I just
got to get on the phone and make more
calls and I pick up my phone and there's
four minutes and I can see the phone
there's four minutes and 32 seconds left
and I go
why don't I just accept it now
what's the value in me be feeling bad
about it for another four and a half
minutes
and I turned it off and I go can't
change it and I felt at peace
and then where that evolved to so Step
One is the five minute rule give
yourself the buffer to feel it step two
is get to can't change it as fast as is
healthy for you right don't rush it but
get there as fast as you can whenever
you get there you're free you're
liberated from the emotional pain that
resistance creates and then the third
step the third evolution of this mindset
is accept life before it happens which
is once you've practiced it for a few
weeks and you go oh
I don't ever have to feel any unhealthy
emotional pain now to be really clear
Tom I believe every emotion serves a
purpose I believe we should grieve I
feel sadness is a there's a purpose in
Anger every emotion serves a purpose but
only to the point where it's beneficial
for us
and most people their emotions control
control them to the point of detriment
and so that third point of accepting
life for it happens and this circles
back to your question you asked a long
time ago and then and we just went off
on a tangent when I got cancer how did I
respond when I was told I had a 20 to 30
chance of surviving
so when I went into so the way this
happened I woke up in the middle of the
night struggling to breathe
and I was like it might you know I have
to sit up and I can't lay down or I
can't breathe I have to sit up in bed
and my wife says go to urgent care
tomorrow it's like two in the morning
and I go to Urgent Care the next day and
they misdiagnose me with pneumonia well
I go to the ER and they drain two liters
of fluid from my lung
a day and a half later I can't breathe
again I go back to the ER my lungs full
again they drain another liter of fluid
they don't know what's causing it this
goes on for 11 days in 11 days I had my
lung drained seven times they're
sticking these giant needles in my back
and draining fluid and I'm going to this
hospital and they they don't know what's
wrong finally my doctor he runs a bunch
of tests he's a new doctor I just moved
to Texas for I literally seen him once
and he calls me the assistant call says
Hey doctor girl's last name wants you to
come in
and I for the results I'm like can you
give me an idea of what it is she goes
he'd like you to come in and tell you
like scariest words a nurse can say yeah
and at that point my wife took our kids
to go visit my grandma a trip we've been
planning forever she hadn't seen the
grandkids yet but I couldn't breathe
every other day so I had to cancel and I
said you go without me I don't want to
rob her from seeing the grandkids
and her great grandkids and
I go into the office and um
he says well how
you know the test came back and uh
there's there's definitely something and
he's he's like he can't say it like he's
nervous to tell me and I reach over and
I put my hand on his forearm and I said
Doctor I said I I know you don't know me
well I literally said this Tom I said
but I live by this philosophy where I
accept life before it happens meaning
you could literally tell me I'm dying
today and I'm totally at peace with it
it is what it is I can't change it so
whatever you have to say you can tell me
and right probably a flip of normally
the doctor should be comforting
everybody goes he like he had a sense of
relief and he said you have looks like
you have cancer
and to be honest with you even though I
said I was like
because literally I like I I my identity
is I'm a very healthy person now looking
back I see all the things I did in my
20s I experiment with some drugs I took
a lot of workout supplements that have
horrible cancer-causing stuff dyes in
them so there's a lot of things I'll do
but in general I was like dude I'm a
really healthy person I'm like I don't I
don't I don't think that's it but if
that is okay and he says you need to get
a second opinion I got into the car
right and I'm like okay I but literally
when you live this way long enough right
I've accepted so I go okay I have cancer
I can't change that so there's no point
in feeling sorry for myself I'm not
going to be depressed I'm not like I
have cancer that's a fact I'm going to
choose to optimally experience every
moment while I deal with this I'm going
to be I'm gonna have faith I mean
whatever right I'm gonna be positive I
want to be happy I'm gonna be joyful and
I'm gonna deal with this in as optimal
way as I can because my only objective
is to heal for my family I called my
wife on the phone and I said
I told her what happened I said I have
cancer right and she starts bawling and
my poor my mom's there with her at the
zoo and uh my wife starts crying you
know and and it was hard for like I was
at peace with it but I but I you know
the empathy of like oh God my this is
devastating for her you know and uh I
said sweetheart I said I I can only
imagine what you're going through I said
but let me say two things to you number
one when I was hit by a drunk driver and
told I would never walk again I made the
decision that I will be the happiest
most grateful person you've ever seen in
a wheelchair like while I Endure this I
said same decision today I said so I
want you to know you don't have to worry
about me at all in terms of like I'm at
peace with this I'm gonna figure it out
I said the second thing that I'll tell
you is this cancer has a 20 to 30
percent survival right I already told
her that which that's when she broke
down in his ears you know right because
if you're looking at the other side
you're going so wait there's a 70 I know
how she was interpreting it there's a 70
to 80 chance that my son husband's going
to die
right and by the way because cancer
kills people in weeks they told me I had
a few weeks to live if I didn't start
chemo the next day and
um my heart was failing my lungs were
failing and my kidneys were failing all
at once right they discovered more with
these tests and I said I know the doctor
said there's a 20 to 30 percent survival
rate meaning among the masses of people
and it was a small amount it's a rare
cancer but among the it's like 6 000
people in the US have had this cancer
and I said among those 6 000 people 20
to 30 percent survived I'm telling you
sweetheart in my mind there's a 100
chance that all be among the 20 to 30
percent of those that survive this
cancer because I will do everything
I will maintain unwavering faith and
I'll perform the extraordinary effort
that I'm going to be I'll do everything
that those people did and more I will do
everything and so so that was that's my
honest answer is I was
I was at peace I can't change that I
have cancer the odds are their odds not
my odds right nobody tells me what my
stats are those are those are stats
amongst a group of people right and so
I'm gonna beat it I get all that super
powerful and going back to the letting
things go I think it's a critically
important step acceptance but then next
step is tactics and so how do you
leverage tactics now originally we were
talking about journaling so I was trying
to figure out okay we do the letting go
but maybe this is even more important so
when you have something big like this
how do you get into tactics mode so how
do you is it research is it something
else I was every so so here's actually
this is here's a beautiful answer that I
called my answer beautiful
um self-proclaimed beautiful answer no
but an answer that explains I call this
like Miracle morning 2.0 which is when I
started the miracle morning it was a
general practice to evolve myself right
now granted had a slant toward making
money in fact the first book I read was
called book yourself solid on how to
gain coaching clients right because that
was how I made money and I applied it
and what do you know it worked right but
Miracle warning 2.0 is where you take a
very specific result that you want to
achieve
and you filter it through all six of the
Savers so it could be saving a marriage
that is on the Rocks right
um in this case it was beating cancer at
that point nothing mattered other if I
don't beat cancer none of my other goals
matter so 100 of my energy during my
Miracle morning is going to go into
beating cancer so what does that look
like so silence I meditated on I and I I
so I meditated in a state of healing and
when I often combine meditation with
affirmations so I'll say things like my
body is completely healed and then I'll
sit there I'll also integrate me help me
understand that because with money you
said don't tell yourself the lie I
already am sorry thank you for that
language is important in this case my
but my body is healing no it's always I
never affirm a result has happened that
hasn't happened it's always I'm
committed to my body it's like it's that
it's this is happening and now I also
incorporate in visualization into my
silence so you can kind of combine Savor
what were you visualizing I was
visualizing every cell in my body healed
and here's how that happened that wasn't
on day one day one I was visualizing me
with my family healthy right so I was
like just visualizing down the road but
I believe that's the least effective
form of visualization I believe the most
important form of visualization is
visualizing what are you going to do
today that will create that that vision
board that that you got on the wall so
an example in that case with cancer is I
would visualize myself every day doing
the things that I needed to do that day
in order to heal so visualizing
something so near-term important if
you're about to do it is it visualizing
it going well is it just reinforcing so
you make sure you actually do it it's
visualizing yourself in a peak State
while you do the thing and I'll give you
one of my favorite tangible examples
um when I was doing the miracle morning
those first two months I challenged
myself in every area what's a level 10
in my health what's a level 10 in my
fitness what's a level 10 in my
relationships and I'm going to set level
10 goals right and in Fitness I hated
running I had never run more than the
required High School Mile and PE class
and I thought I'm going to run a
marathon
I don't even know what that takes that
hurts my soul to think about running I
hate running right but I thought who
would I have to become right I let
running a marathon to level 10 for me
who would I have to become
I'd have to become a level 10 version of
me in terms of my fitness to be able to
run a marathon that was my aspiration
was becoming a level 10 version of me
and I used these level 10 goals as
targets and so when I was training for
the marathon visualization was arguably
I mean it all worked together I affirmed
I'm committed to running this Marathon
here's why it's important because it'll
help me become the person that I need to
be to create everything else I want for
my life right and but then visualization
here's how this piece played out I
printed off
uh I was running the Atlantic City
Marathon and I printed off a picture of
the Finish Line I found it on you know
online and I would look at that and I
would close my eyes and I would only
spend like 60 seconds visualizing myself
Crossing that finish line and I would
create the flood of emotions of what
that's going to feel like how hard I
will have to work six months of training
to get to that moment and I felt that
that's part one step one of
visualization of Miracle morning
visualization as I teach in the book is
that visualizing the completion and
feeling the thing you want to feel when
you complete it yes to to two reasons
for that one it fuels the desire to make
it happen because right if that
outcome's exciting for you you're dude I
wanna I wanna get there right the other
thing it does is it helps you believe
it's possible right because if you're
imagining a goal that's so far beyond
what you've ever done before you're like
who am I kidding dude I've never run a
mile how am I going to run 50 to end up
doing an ultra marathon but how many 152
and like so so that
is it's hard to even get motivated to go
train when you're like dude I can't
that's so far from remove from who I am
or what I've done but when you see it
over and over and over that's the
healthy part of like tricking yourself
into actually believing and feeling what
it's going to be like maybe it is
possible I've seen it so many times the
problem is that detrimental if you leave
it at that and that's where most
self-help gurus if you will that's how
they taught it that's all they've taught
visualize yourself crossing the Finish
Line visualizing yourself getting that
million dollars check right and they
left it at that why is that detrimental
because you trick your subconscious into
thinking it's a foregone conclusion
independent of any effort that you put
forth you like right somebody's like hey
are you gonna finish that Marathon like
dude I have I I know I already have yeah
I already have bro I've seen it how's
the training going eh I haven't really
started the trade it's like wait so
you've you've you have a false sense of
confidence you've deluded yourself into
thinking that's gonna happen I don't
know about that the most important part
of visual is the Second Step which is
after you spend 30 seconds a minute it
doesn't take a long time to just see it
feel it go that's going to feel good if
if and when I get there right then this
was the most important part is I would
visualize so I had committed to go train
every morning at 7am I committed to go
run I bought a book for all you
non-runners that want to run a marathon
there's a book called the non-runners
marathon trainer it's for people that
hate running and how to psychologically
and logistically get yourself there and
so that's what I was reading
and so I had a training plan right it
was like on my day one jaw you know walk
jog a mile right and then day two it's
like another mile then day three you get
to 1.5 right so you really work your way
up and
the visualization piece was I would
close my eyes and I would visualize my
phone literally so I'm sitting at my
couch where I do my Miracle morning my
coffee table in front of me my phone's
on the coffee table I'd visualize and I
would even hear beep beep beep beep beep
beep and I would visualize myself like a
movie picking up my phone but seeing it
through my eyes and seeing 7 A.M on my
phone because that's when I committed to
run then I would visualize setting it
down I'd visualize myself walking in I
mean dude I can see it like it was
yesterday walking into my bedroom into
the closet I'd visualize myself putting
on my running clothes my shoes lacing
them up I'd visualize and I'd spend
about five minutes doing this visualize
myself walking through my living room
going to the front door and then I would
visualize myself grabbing the handle
opening it and and as soon as I saw the
sidewalk I would use affirmations and I
would say something like I'm gonna go
for a run today it's going to be
incredible I'm doing this because it's
helping become a better version of
myself I'm becoming stronger I'm capable
of right like whatever it was it was a
freestyle often of um this is it this is
going to be great let's do this and I
would literally smile and I would get
myself in this hyped up state to go for
a run
That's The Power of visualization I've
rehearsed the thing I need to do while
in a peak mental and emotional and
physical state that is compelling so
that now when the alarm went off in real
time at 7am
it was unconscious I picked it up I
picked it up I went into my bedroom I
got dressed I walked out I grabbed the
handle and it was like it was like a it
was like a you know like a first person
shooter game right like really like you
see the hand reach out I'd see the
sidewalk and I'd be flooded with
confidence and excitement to hit that
sidewalk and go for that run and if I
hadn't visualized and everyone can
relate to this here's what I would have
done I could almost guarantee it alarm
goes off at seven a.m now say I hadn't
visualized I would have gone
if I can hate running I don't want to
run dude I just I I'll do it tomorrow
and there goes all our goals and dreams
that's why visualization in that
two-step process in that way to me is
one of the most and that's what the
world's greatest athletes did right is
they visualize themselves performing at
their best in the game or the perfect
swing and so when they stepped on the
court they're like dude I've already
been here in my mind in my emotions and
in my body I'm just and so then they
perform the way like I love
visualization as mental rehearsal right
that to me is like a much better
description of what you're actually
doing you're mentally and emotionally
rehearsing performing at your best
before it's real time and then when it
is real time you go right into it and
making sure individual visualization
that you mimic or create the emotional
state that you want to feel I assume is
a key part of that it's already the most
important part right yeah it's creating
a compelling Peak emotional state
of doing what you need to do and you can
apply this like in sales right sales
people fail because they hate making
phone calls and they're afraid of the
rejection right so I used to visualize
before I even knew this I'd visualize
myself making phone calls and I
visualize myself smile I would see
myself painting the phone smiling and it
was always I'd picture it at the time
that I committed to make the call so
that when that timer went off I had it
was like it was all just right neurons
are firing up like oh time to walk over
open your notebook pick up the phone
call a number right and I'd even imagine
it going wrong right customer hangs up
on me normally that would make me go how
could she do that I'm a good person
right I go to the victim mentality but
now I'm like I picture myself going no
big deal
next call and then when it happened I
had already rehearsed it so no big deal
next call right did you run a normal
marathon and then decide to do an ultra
or in the prep for the marathon you
upgraded to an ultra so in the prep for
the marathon I upgraded to an ultra and
here's what happened I have two friends
that have run Ultras and this is they
always I always say there's a fine line
between optimism and delusion and I
cross it often right you often are just
like I can do anything you know
um and so I was like dude wait they ran
Ultra so I was like once I just started
training I'm like dude I ran a mile
today I ran two I'm around two miles
I've never run two miles of my life if I
could run 54. I could do 52 yeah 52.
um and I literally that was literally my
thought if I could run two I could run
and also I thought if I could run 26
which is so far off what's 52 like who
cares you know so I was like and if
they've done it I can do it that's one
of my most I think one of the most
important beliefs is if another human
being can do it not they're different
than you they're better than you they're
simply giving you evidence of what's
possible for most of us all of us right
and so yeah so I come in around 52 miles
and what I did is the the marathon I ran
the Atlantic City Marathon they don't
have an ultra marathon it's a 26 mile
marathon so I convinced three of my
coaching clients to run it with me
and we showed up at the Atlantic City
Boardwalk at three in the morning which
was five hours before the marathon
started we ran the Marathon course in
the in Pitch Black in the middle of the
night and then we met up with everybody
else when the marathon started and we
ran the marathon Jesus did you pause in
between the two uh goes the two cycles
no but I was the I mean dude I it was it
took me 15 hours which is like the worst
marathon time and I also you know keep
in mind I I had you know I have a broken
femur right that has I have a 14 inch
metal rod in my Lane leg I broke my
pelvis in three places not to mention
the brakes in the arm and stuff so um
there was a part of it call it ego call
it it was ego a healthy ego I guess it
was like right doctor said I'd never
walk again I'm going to run 52 models so
I have to imagine that some of this
stuff starts kicking up in terms of pain
your leg starts hurting your pelvis is
hurting
one how do you what did you use was it
just ibuprofen so much ibuprofen okay I
couldn't have I mean I had so much pain
in my pelvis and my leg I could not have
I you know I don't if they could not
have right but but I I mean I was I
literally got from like I can't walk and
then I take Ibuprofen and then within
about 20 30 minutes yeah I literally
have to walk for a little while until it
kicked in and then I got into the Rhythm
where I would know when it was wearing
off right so it's like every three hours
or something I would have to take and I
would then I'd get ahead of it so I
didn't have to walk I could keep my pace
and keep jogging did you keep coming
back to a why so you talked earlier
about you have to have a why so you're
doing all of this you only to be the
level 10 you could have done a marathon
everybody would have been very impressed
yourself included your wife all of us ah
so what was the why when it starts
sucking and you've already completed a
marathon yep and nobody would have been
like oh you're such a wuss if you tapped
out at 36 miles what was the why that
got you to 52. so there's two answers to
that the first is that I I would have
given up many times had it not been
ironically for my three coaching clients
there were many times I was like conned
into doing this yeah yeah yeah yeah and
uh and but I'm like I'm like you guys
I'm like how you doing oh I'm not doing
I'm like dude we're at 30 miles like
that's more I literally was The Voice
I'm their coach and I'm like I literally
was I had talked to myself about it I
was like I'm in pain this is tough
because dude I'll tell you that's the
thing when you run 26 miles and it's the
hardest thing you've ever done and then
you're like we're at the halfway point
and I started fresh I have to do it
again and I can barely walk right so I
mean it's mint I mean a marathon's
mentally you know very difficult and so
I mean at the 13 Mile Mark I'd imagine
everyone has the same thing like dude
I'm I'm I'm I'm barely hanging in there
and I'm halfway there and so yes I
actually was not I was not the great
leader in that moment I relied on other
people to and they were like how no
let's keep going and I'm like you're
right you're right you're right you're
right like my bad
um so that was the first answer just to
give some context this to me like I love
you know you're all about Universal
proxies right and I and I am as well
that to me that's why unwavering Faith
Universal projects like doesn't matter
the color of the socks or that's why I
think there was a little bit of a
disconnect in how we were communicating
about it it's like no one way differing
faith is it's unwavering there that's
why it doesn't matter if you you can you
can believe it is you know my pinky
right you know but again if you lose
your pinky whatever it's unwavering
faith that no matter what I can get
there so but my why to me is the it's
the ultimate why if you will and I don't
mean that in a it's better than
otherwise but it's Universal my why is
always to become the best version of
myself in fact that's I didn't invent
that that's from Matthew Kelly in his
book The Rhythm of Life he says the
purpose of life is to become the best
version of yourself and you can back
test every decision that you make will
this this this cheeseburger this this
candy bar or this apple which will help
me become the best version of myself
right well watching this documentary
right well improving as you mentioned
the human animal is designed to get
better and better and better at
something right to become the best
version of yourself and so to me
that my why to do everything is to and
you can use different language to become
the best version of myself to fulfill my
potential in service of others when I
read uh you've ever read the book love
is the killer app no so Tim Sanders I
read it like 2004 and this is what estab
he that book established my purpose in
life Tim Sanders focused on talked about
and by the way the context of the title
Love is the killer app meaning in
business of every application available
love still prevails when you're a person
that expresses love through generosity
and service you're gonna get promoted
faster people are going to want to work
with you you're right like your
customers are going to love if you're
grateful all of these things all these
intangibles that are often not thought
of in business and so
what he taught me in that book is adding
value for other people so my purpose in
life became to selflessly add value for
others and then that evolved in what's
the best way I can do that it's actually
to become the best version of myself to
fulfill my potential so that I can help
other people fulfill theirs because if
I'm not striving to be the best version
of myself physically mentally
emotionally financially spiritually
relationally in every way
who in the hell am I to write a book or
give a speech or be a coach or help
anybody do anything
so so that's that was my why it's I'm
willing to do everything in my power to
fulfill my potential become the best
version of myself and that was also born
after the car accident I told my dad I
said you know when he said came in and
said the doctors are concerned that
you're in denial and I said dad by the
five minute rule you know and I said
besides Dad I said remember I always you
know ever since I started selling Cutco
and giving speeches at all of their
events you know I've always kind of
wanted to be like a motivational keynote
speaker like Tony Robbins or one of
these guys I said but I don't really
I've never had to overcome anything
major like you and Mom were great
parents like I got bullied as a kid but
like just normal stuff and I go and I'm
literally in my hospital bed this is
before I was ever knew I would walk
again right
and I go maybe that's why this happened
and I said I believe everything happens
for a reason but Dad I think we get to
choose the reason this could happen
because life's unfair or it could happen
because I'm I'm meant to take this
challenge head on become the best
version of myself so that I can help
other people maybe this is the message
that all be which I didn't know I'd be
on impact Theory talking about my car
accident and the lessons that I learned
by giving it everything I have but I
think for anybody watching this or
listening to this I think it's
to think about like
I think I feel it's my own opinion that
we have a responsibility to those we
love
and those we lead
to become the best version of ourselves
so that we can help them do the same
right I agree yeah very much well
brother I don't know why the universe
keeps [ __ ] with you but may you keep
uh impressing us all with the reaction
where can people follow you
miraclemorning.com is the best Hub we
actually just rated the homepage I've
never loved a home page I loved our
homepage but you can get the books there
you can get the app there you can watch
the miracle morning movie right there's
a documentary that we filmed during my
cancer Journey called The Miracle
morning
um the community everything is at
miraclemorning.com I love it all right
guys if you haven't already be sure to
subscribe and until next time my friends
be legendary take care peace
if you want to learn some really useful
habits on how to maximize your
productivity be sure to check out this
episode here one thing I'm always
telling people is the reason that I'm
able to work as much as I work to endure
as much stress as I Endure as I'm very
good at compartmentalizing when I have
something stressful I take it and sort
of