Dr. David Lieberman is one of the most sought-after leaders in the fields of human behavior and interpersonal relationships. His groundbreaking research and writings have established him as a remarkable force of influence across a spectrum of fields and industries.

His eleven published books, which include two New York Times bestsellers, have been translated into 27 languages, selling more than three million copies worldwide.

Dr. Lieberman has appeared on more than 300 programs. He is a frequent guest expert on national television and radio shows, and he has been interviewed for, and featured in, leading newspapers and magazines around the globe. You can connect with Dr. Liberman and learn more at drdavidlieberman.com.

Favorite Success Quote

“Mental health requires an allegiance to reality at all costs to consequences ”

Key Points

1. You Must Accept Reality 

The first step to developing true mental health and emotional control is to accept the reality in which you live.

As the famous words written on maps and billboards across the world state: “You are here”

Wherever ‘here’ is…

If you wish to create the life of your dreams you must start where you are. You must develop real clarity on where you are in the important areas of life, where you want to be, and (most importantly) what’s holding you back.

I challenge you, right now, to write down the answer to the following questions:

• Where am I in my health?
• Where am I in my relationships?
• Where am I in my happiness, adventure, and play time?
• Where am I in my career?

Until you have a clear picture of where you are, you will never be able to get where you are going.

Be real with yourself and accept reality. Because once you do, life get’s a helluva lot more exciting.

2. Maximizing Your Potential Requires Enduring Pain 

If any of you have watched the (now) mainstream classic “Rick and Morty” then you probably remember the episode with the Meseeks box.

If you have a particularly astute memory, then you probably remember their tagline: “Existence is pain“.

Although you don’t often uncover valuable life lessons from cartoons on Adult Swim, I’ve gotta hand it to the writers of the show… They were right.

Existence is pain.

Because there is nothing in life that can be achieved without pain and nothing that can be truly appreciated without adversity.

Pain is what makes existence valuable, it’s what makes life worth a damn.

Think about the Olympics that are going on right now.

How would you feel if you walked up to the podium and were simply handed an Olympic Gold Medal?

Sure, some of you might use it to brag or try and pick up women, but most of you reading this would feel completely and utterly cheated.

Why?

Because you didn’t earn it. You didn’t endure the pain of early morning workouts, strict diets, and sobriety.

You didn’t experience the pain of grueling training sessions and years of dedication for that one moment of victory.

Pain is what makes life valuable. So stop avoiding pain and start accepting it.

Because the more comfortable you become with pain, the more pleasure and, ultimately, fulfillment you will experience.

3. Uncover Your Values… And Live Them 

One of the biggest problems holding men back from achieving their true purposes is that most men aren’t living their lives based on their values.

In fact, most men aren’t even consciously aware of what they value.

Sure, every guy can tell you that he values family or fitness or money or success but do his actions reflect these values?

Have you taken the time to clearly define the values that drive your life? Have you asked yourself the tough questions to help you understand what you care about and why?

If not, then you are like a ship at sea with no rudder, a feather in the wind. Without clearly defined values you have no purpose, no mission, and no fire driving you forward.

As soon as you finish listening to this podcast I challenge you to sit in silence and contemplate what you value.

Once you have your values defined, make a list of actions associated with those values.

From there, it’s simply a matter of living those values each and every day.

4. Anger Doesn’t Solve Problems (It Only Helped You Survive)

One of the most critical steps to ridding your life of anger is to first change your relationship with it.

Many men believe that anger is a good thing. They think that it’s somehow manly to get pissed off and try to solve problems with their fists or strained vocal chords.

And while it’s certainly true that there are rare moments in most men’s lives where violence or aggression is called for, these moments make up less than 0.0001% of your lifetime interactions.

In almost every other case, anger is simply a sign of weakness. It’s a sign that you lack control over yourself and, by extension, the world.

The grounded man doesn’t get angry. The strong man doesn’t lose his temper. The wise man doesn’t scream and yell to make a point.

Anger is childish and, what’s worse, is that it rarely solves problems.

When was the last time that you got pissed off with a friend, family member, or romantic partner, began screaming at them and arrived at a positive outcome?

I’m going to assume “Never” is the answer you would give.

This is important to realize.

Anger doesn’t solve problems. It simply makes them worse.

Thousands of years ago on the plains of the Sahara, anger had its place in our survival instincts.

But in 2018 it’s an outdated method for interacting with the world that needs to end.

5. Anger Stems from Poor Communication

When you get angry with someone, especially someone to whom you are close, your anger typically stems from ineffective communication.

Sure, there are times where someone is genuinely trying to egg you on and get a response from you. But 9 times out of 10, you are angry because the communication between you and someone who loves you wasn’t clear.

Maybe a friend forgot your birthday, a lover said something that hurt your feelings or a family member berated you for a particular political or religious belief.

Whatever the case, most anger is formed from misunderstanding, not genuine friction between two individuals.

And that’s the catch 22.

When we get angry with someone, the last thing that we want to do is sit down and attentively listen to what they have to say while trying to fully understand and internalize its meaning.

All we want to do is prove that we are right and they are an a**hole.

But I want to challenge you.

Next time you get angry, stop.

Take a deep breath and ask the other person what they really mean. What are they really trying to say and why are they saying it.

Until you understand the root of the problem which, by the way, is NOT the fact that your wife forgot to do the dishes again, you will never solve anything.

So calm down, shut up, and listen.

It might not solve anything but it will allow you to enter into the interaction from a place of understanding.

Isaiah Hankel received his doctorate in Anatomy & Cell Biology and is an expert on mental focus, behavioral psychology, and career development.

His work has been featured in The Guardian, Fast Company, and Entrepreneur Magazine. Isaiah’s previous book, Black Hole Focus: How Intelligent People Can Create a Powerful Purpose for Their Lives, was published by Wiley & Sons and was selected as Business Book of the Month in the UK and became a business bestseller internationally. Isaiah has delivered corporate presentations to over 20,000 people, including over 300 workshops and keynotes worldwide in the past 5 years.

Isaiah grew up working on a sheep farm in the Pacific Northwest of the US before going on to get his doctorate. Isaiah went on to become the founder and CEO of Cheeky Scientist®, a career training company that specializes in helping PhDs transition into corporate careers; he is also the director of Hankel Leadership®.

Through these ventures, Isaiah has consulted on career development, employee management, entrepreneurship, focus, and motivation at several Fortune 500 companies. He has been invited to speak at top institutions including Harvard Medical School, Stanford University, Vanderbilt University, University of Chicago, University of Oxford England, the Marie Curie Institute France, and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. You connect with him at his website.

Favorite Success Quote

“Take responsibility for your own life and never give that responsibility to other people”

Key Points

1. Everything Is Your Fault

Read that sentence again and internalize it.

Everything in your life is your fault. Good. Bad. It doesn’t matter.

It’s your fault.

And that’s a good thing…

If everything is your fault or, should we say, your responsibility, then you have control over everything in your life.

When you take 100% responsibility for everything in your life and everything not in your life you are the only one who has the power to change things.

Now I don’t know about you…

But I would sure as hell prefer taking an uncomfortable amount of responsibility for my results than allowing someone else to determine my levels of achievement and success.

Accept that everything is your fault.

Unless you internalize this truth you will constantly give you power away and fail to reach the goals you have set.

2. Align Your Values with Your Daily Actions 

One of the first steps to achieving the life that you want is defining the values that will drive you towards your dreams.

Your values (should) determine how you conduct yourself, how you handle business, and how you treat others.

This is not a matter to leave to chance or shirk off with a dismissive “It’s not really that important”.

Living a life that is congruent with your values means the difference between living your biggest dreams and ambitions and wallowing away in mediocrity.

When you have clearly thought through values that you have defined, written down, and committed to living in your day to day life, every decision becomes easier.

You no longer have to debate decisions constantly in your head.

You can simply analyze your options, refer back to your values, and make the decision that is most in line with your #1 priority.

I challenge you to sit down after this interview has concluded and really think about your values.

What do you value? What forces do you want driving and shaping your life? What outcomes are truly important to you and which ones are merely societally incepted b.s. that is incongruent with your deepest identity?

When you can answer this question and authentically live it, life and all of the amazing experiences within it, are yours for the taking.

3. Your Most Valuable Asset is Your Mental Energy 

People will often (mistakenly) tell you that your most precious resource is your time.

They are wrong.

Time is NOT your most valuable resource, mental energy is.

Let me prove it…

Multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown that your mental energy or “Willpower” is a finite resource. Much more finite than the #hustle generation wants to admit.

The most commonly referred to research suggests that we only have 90-120 minutes per day of peak mental energy levels. And we only have about 5 hours a day of mental energy levels greater than 80%.

Let’s do the math for a moment…

If you live in a developed country, you have about 20,000 days or roughly 500,000 hours of life to live after the age of 18.

However, of those 500,000 hours, your mental energy levels will only be at optimal  (80%+) levels for 145,000 of them!

When you apply the laws of supply and demand you will quickly realize that your mental energy is worth about 300% more than your time! Crazy paradigm shift, huh?

So now you understand why mental energy is your most precious resource. The question remains… What do we do about it?

If you want to be a high performer then you must learn to work with your biology, not fight it.

Dr. Hankel recommends that you shift your work schedule so that you tackle your most important tasks roughly 2-3 hours after waking. This is when your mental energy will peak and this will allow you to allocate your best focus time to important tasks.

He further recommends taking frequent breaks throughout the day, working in 50-90 minute chunks, and using mental “Slump time” (typically 2-4 p.m.) to manage your most unimportant or simple tasks.

4. Prioritize Sleep More than You Think that You Should

The great hustlers and movers of the world have done us all a disservice.

They have glorified an unbalanced and unhealthy lifestyle that can lead to an early grave.

You will often hear “Gurus” telling you to sleep only 4 hours a night, to draw inspiration from your dreams, to push through your exhaustion and just “Do IT!”.

But they are all wrong.

Unless you are one of the rare individuals with the DEC2 mutation you, quite literally, cannot function at optimal levels on less than 7.5 hours of sleep. (6 is a bare minimum)

While you are sleeping your brain restore and repairs itself, allowing you to attack the next day with your mental energy firing on all levels.

As we’ve already established, time isn’t your most valuable resource. Mental energy is.

This means that the hours you “lose” sleeping you are actually “investing” in restoring your mental energy and operating at the peak capacities of which you are capable.

5. Everyone Should be an Entrepreneur 

There is a common misconception that entrepreneurs are born not made.

As technology continues to advance and the landscape of the workforce continues to change more and more people are realizing that “Part Time Entrepreneurship” is not only a worthwhile endeavor, it’s downright necessary.

Company loyalty and pensions are a thing of the past.

This is the era of the freelancer and the side hustler.

If you want to “Make It” in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, then you must develop your innate entrepreneurialism and find unique ways to generate income and create freedom in your life.

Every single person reading this should keep their day job and start a side hustle. It will give you income, options, and most importantly freedom.

You don’t have to be born with special skills and abilities, you simply need to find something that the market needs and provide it in a systematized and automated way.

Ryan Stewman is a high-performance sales coach and trainer who went from spending two stints in federal prison to building a multiple seven figure income.

He is the author of several best-selling books including Kick-Ass, Bulletproof Business, Elevator to the Top, and Hardcore Closer. You can learn more and connect with Ryan at hardcorecloser.com

Favorite Success Quote

“You must take action before you can take over.”

Key Points

1. Knowledge is Only Power if You Take Action 

You often hear the phrase “Knowledge is Power”.

This simply isn’t true.

In and of itself, knowledge is useless.

Knowledge doesn’t do anything. It can’t add money to your bank account. It can’t make you ripped. It can’t help you find the woman of your dreams. It can’t do a damn thing.

As the (in)famous entrepreneur and investor Derek Sivers said:

If [more]information was the answer we’d all be billionaires with six packs.

But we aren’t and it isn’t.

Knowledge is only power if it’s applied.

It’s only worth a damn if you use it.

It only matters when you leverage your knowledge to take massively informed action towards achieving the life of your dreams.

2. Everything But Death is Temporary 

Everything in life is temporary.

Good and bad.

All of the pains, frustrations, and heartaches will eventually end.

All of the success that you are enjoying will one day grind to a halt.

Everything in your life will end.

And this is a beautiful thing.

Because life is temporary and fleeting, like the cliche feather in the wind, everything falls into place.

When you are struggling you know that your struggles are temporary.

When you are at the top, you take the time to savor the moment because you know that it will end.

Keep perspective on your life, the good and the bad, by always remembering that “This too shall pass”.

3. Your Past Doesn’t Matter 

This year alone, Ryan’s company will generate more multi-millions of dollars in revenue.

Which illustrates a very important lesson…

Your past doesn’t fucking matter.

Who you were yesterday has no bearing on who you are today and Ryan is living proof of this.

At 19, Ryan was strung out on every drug that you can imagine and dealing full time to make ends meet.

He was eventually busted by the feds and sent to federal prison for several years.

When he was released, he dove into the world of sales and eventually, was making so much money in real estate that he was again targeted by the police who thought he was still selling drugs.

They raided his house and found zero evidence of any drug possession, use, or trafficking. In order to save face, they arrested for felon possession of a firearm (which resided in a legal grey zone).

He was sentenced to prison again except this time, his then-wife stole all of his assets and left him for the man with whom she’d been having an affair.

Talk about a mess, right?

Upon his second release, Ryan dove into the world of sales again taking special care to keep his nose clean and, in the last two years, has grown his sales coaching business from $0 to multimillions in revenue.

If a convicted felon and former junky who lost everything can rise from the ashes and rebuild his life to the top then so can you.

So cut the excuses and quit using your past as a crutch.

You are capable of achieving anything that you desire.

But you have to overcome your excuses and hustle.

4. It’s All Sales 

In life and business, you must become a master of sales.

I know that the word conjures up images of sleazy used car dealers and snake oil peddlers but let me assure you, everything that you do is sales.

Want to meet the woman of your dreams and convince her to marry you? That’s sales.

Want to get funding for your new startup? That’s sales.

Want to convince your kids that it’s important to read personal growth books and regularly exercise? That’s sales.

Want to get your boss to give you a raise or move forward with one of your ideas? You guess it! Sales.

Everything that you do is sales or, to put it in less cringy terminology, influence.

If you lack this skill then your quality of life and success will suffer.

If you can master it then the world is your oyster.

5. Take Massive Action. Fast

Although I’ve already mentioned the importance of taking massive action in this article, it’s a point worth repeating.

Experience is the best teacher and there is no book or course that can serve as a shortcut for rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty.

Your goal in business and life should be to acquire the MVIR or ‘minimum viable information required’ to take action on your next step.

I’m not recommending that you simply take action without a plan or system to support you.

I am saying that you should take action as soon as you have a concrete next step.

You know what you need to do to improve your body, boost your income, or improve your love life. So go and do it.

Once you’ve taken action, collect the MVIR for the next step and take action again.

Information is important.

But in a world where more than 2.5 million blog posts are published each day, information can also be a massive obstacle.

Tal Gur, a blogger, entrepreneur, and devoted adventurer, has spent a decade pursuing 100 major goals around the globe. But his journey had its challenges.

Like most people, he faced crippling self-doubt and struggled for a sense of purpose. Behind every difficulty, he discovered a life-changing gift, and now he’s passing what he learned onto others. You can connect with him and learn more at talgur.me

Favorite Success Quote

“Happiness before goals”

Key Points

1. Put Your Happiness Before Goals

Happiness should not be something that we defer until we achieve a specific goal.

It should be a state of being that we cultivate every single day. It should be an emotion that we make incredibly easy to achieve.

If you are reading this blog right now you have a lot to feel happy about. You have your sight. You have an internet connection and a device that is more powerful than the computers NASA used to put a man on the moon. You have full control of your brain and an ability to comprehend complex ideas and sentences.

You have a LOT to be happy about.

So act like it. Lower your barrier to happiness.

Make a conscious effort to cultivate more happiness in your life by making it stupid simple to feel happy.

When you wake up each morning, take a moment to feel happy for the warm sheets and cozy blankets covering your body. When you walk into work (even if you hate it) be happy that you have some sort of employment. When you come home each day, be happy that you have a roof over your head and food in your belly.

Be happy now.

Because now is all that we have.

2. Fulfillment is Dependent on Direction

So often people assume that fulfillment is dependent on achieving some goal or arriving at some arbitrary destination.

It’s not.

Fulfillment should depend on one thing and one thing only… Direction.

Sit down in a quiet place later this week and really ask yourself what direction you want to take your life.

Don’t tie this to a specific goal or outcome, simply a direction.

Do you want to move in the direction of more physical fitness? Greater financial freedom? More love and abundance?

Whatever you decide, write it down and then commit to take three actions each day that move you in that direction.

3. Pain is a Messenger 

Most people try to ignore or hide from pain. This is like trying to put a bandaid on cancer.

Pain is a messenger. It’s there to tell you that something is broken and you need to fix it.

If you have a broken arm, a shot of morphine will numb the pain but it won’t solve the problem. You need to visit a hospital, get a cast, and allow your bones to heal.

Pain in your life is the same way.

If you are depressed, anxious, or feeling overwhelmed… Good.

This is a sign that something in your life isn’t working. And you have the power to fix it.

Whenever you experience pain don’t run from it. Feel it. Experience it fully and sit in it for a few hours.

Ask yourself, “What is this pain trying to tell me?”

Are you in the wrong job or relationship? Struggling to be disciplined with your finances? Overweight and unhealthy?

Before you run from the pain always try to uncover why you are experiencing pain in the first place.

Because until you solve the root cause of the problem, you will never truly overcome the pain.

4. Focus on Financial Freedom First 

People will often begin their journey of self-transformation by trying to fix their relationships, their career, or pursuing more of their passions.

In most cases, this approach is completely backward.

The first step that you should take to building your dream life and achieving your biggest goals is to achieve financial freedom.

Until you have the money to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want, everything else should be secondary.

Financial freedom will revolutionize every aspect of your life.

It will allow you to travel more and pursue your passions with greater ease. It will allow you to have more choices in your relationships and care for the people you love. It will allow you to take care of your body and give yourself the care and attention you truly need.

Financial freedom opens the doors of life and allows you to pursue your dreams on your terms.

Focus on getting your money right first, and the rest will follow.

5. Pick One Thing and Stick With it to Completion 

One of the most powerful ways to improve your quality of life is to master the art of single focusing on a task to completion.

Life isn’t short. We make it short by chasing too many goals at once and filling our time with unnecessary garbage.

By learning to pick a goal or project and see it through to completion, you will unlock one of the master skills of life and learn that you can accomplish anything you want with the right sequencing and a little perseverence.

Pick one goal and stick to it.

The benefits will be enormous.

Steve Sims is a kid from London with a knack for networking and an attitude that refuses to believe the word “Impossible”.

Founder of the super exclusive, membership only personal concierge service for VIPs and executives seeking the ultimate in unique experiences and travel for themselves and their companies, Steve Sims is an unlikely expert marketer within the luxury industry. But his secret to success is that he’s built a life out of keeping his word, and not taking no for an answer. Profiled and often quoted in international publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, London’s Sunday Times, and South China Morning Post, TV and Sims is a sought-after speaker at a variety of prestigious organizations such as the Pentagon and Harvard!

Whether you want to sing with your favorite rock star, have lunch with Donald Trump, get married in the Vatican, or dive to the wreck of the Titanic, Steve Sims is the guy who gets to yes when the answer for anyone else would be no. You can connect with him and learn more at stevedsims.com

Favorite Success Quote

“No one ever drowned by falling in the water. They drowned by staying there.” ~Steve’s Father

Key Points

1. It’s Not About How You Go Down It’s About How You Get Up 

Life is hard.

It will kick the crap out of you and leave you on the ground and there is very little you can do to avoid this.

So stop trying to fight failure and accept it.

You are GOING to fail. You are going to mess up. You are going to make bad decisions. You are going to lose money. You are going to fail at important relationships.

You are going to fall down.

But that’s not what is important.

Everyone in the history of humanity has fallen down. What history cares about, what the marketplace and the “gods” of success care about is how you get up.

If you are willing to pick yourself up off the ground, get back up, and start swinging again, life will reward you greatly.

If you are willing to push through adversity, smile in the face of failure, and persevere no matter how many times you fall down, you will eventually succeed.

Failure is inevitable.

It’s what you do after you fail that makes all the difference.

2. People Will Pay to Avoid Rejection and Humiliation 

If you are struggling to make ends meet, one of the quickest ways that you can increase your income is by becoming comfortable with rejection and humiliation.

People all over the world will pay handsomely to avoid the discomfort of rejection.

It’s simply part of human nature.

Humiliation and rejection are not pleasurable experiences. But if you can learn to overcome your fear of rejection and humiliation and then leverage that skill to help others, there is no limit to the amount of money and influence you can create.

3. Communication Opens the Doors of Life 

The “Secret Sauce” to becoming wildly successful in 2018 and beyond is simple… Master the art of communication.

While everyone else stares down at their cell phones, stays addicted to their Crackberries, and struggle to make small talk while they’re in line for a coffee, you can accelerate your success by learning to communicate.

Learn how to cut through the bullshit and start interesting conversations.

Master the art of building reciprocity.

Learn how to persuade people and connect with power players. Master the art of gift giving.

Become a master communicator and the world will become your oyster.

Our society is slowly but surely losing its ability to connect and collaborate.

If you can maintain and improve your ability to network and build authentic relationships, there is no limit to what you can achieve.

4. Be Memorable 

The worst crime that you can commit in a social situation is to be boring.

The world is filled with boring and uninteresting people.

It’s your job to stand out from the crowd, be authentic, and be memorable.

This doesn’t mean that you should be an obnoxious clown or some sort of ass hole.

It simply means that you must learn how to stand out in people’s minds.

Learn how to make people feel special and how to present yourself in a way that is unique and unexpected.

If you can successfully position yourself as a memorable and interesting individual you will have an abundance of business opportunities and romantic relationships coming your way.

5. Throw Sh*t at the Wall and See What Sticks 

Life is about experimenting.

Try out 1,000 things this year until you figure out what you like.

Try three new things a day.

Talk to as many strangers as you can.

Throw shit at the wall and see what sticks.

Sam Morris is the founder of Zen Warrior Training®. In 1999, just after leading a bicycling trip for nine teenagers across the United States, Sam was in a car accident caused by a drunk driver which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Rather than becoming the victim of his circumstances, Sam learned and created a system of attitude training that brought him more vitality and clarity than he ever had before his injury.

In addition to coaching private clients and businesses in Zen Warrior Training®, Sam hosts biweekly classes in Santa Monica, CA and leads community talks and workshops throughout the country. You can connect with Sam and learn more about him at zenwarriortraining.com

Favorite Success Quote

Self-consciousness is a lack of consciousness of the self

Key Points

1. Expand Your Relationship with Yourself Beyond Your Mind 

So often we get stuck in a place where our relationship with ourselves is limited only to our mind and the incessant mental chatter happening within it.

From this place, it becomes difficult to understand who you truly are, what you want, and what you must do to achieve the range of experiences that you desire in this lifetime.

Your breaths are shallow, your thoughts are cluttered with the opinions and expectations of others, and your truth is being clouded by noise, the ego, and your lack of presence.

But when you expand your relationship with yourself beyond your mind, everything changes.

When you get into your body and begin experiencing more frequent states of flow and presence, your reality changes.

You no longer worry about what you said yesterday or fret about what you must do tomorrow. You are able to simply “Be” in this moment without judgment or criticism.

And when you’re in this place of presence and freedom from judgment, you can be 100% you.

I challenge you to make a conscious effort to get into your body this week.

Go surfing, pick up an instrument, train parkour, lift heavy weights, do something that jolts you out of your head and into your body. Because when you are in your body and focused on your movements you are present, and when you are present, life opens up in ways that you can’t imagine.

2. Presence Frees You From Your Bullshit 

When you are living in the past or the future, it’s easy to get stuck in your bullshit.

Think about it…

If you’re living in the past, you are thinking about what you did wrong, or how you could have done something better, or how you said this or didn’t say that. You are stuck in an endless loop, experiencing the same “negative” event over and over again in your head.

This lack of presence eeks its way into your present moment and you begin to doubt yourself during conversations and constantly overanalyze yourself and your actions because you are so hung up on yesterday’s mistakes.

Living in the future is no different.

If you’re constantly focused on what you want to achieve tomorrow and the life you will have someday, then you aren’t focused on the amazing life you are living right now.

And if you have the ability to read this article, you do have an amazing life.

By getting present, you are able to be free from the bullshit. With presence, you cannot dwell on past mistakes and personal criticisms. You cannot get caught up in projecting a future that makes you dissatisfied with your current reality.

When you are present, you are free.

3. Presence Accelerates the Human Experience

Everything that you do is amplified by the power of presence.

Everything…

All of the greatest human experiences from creation to sex to friendship to adversity are all amplified by getting present.

When you are present with a woman, your anxiety disappears and you are able to reveal yourself to her in a way that is completely and totally authentic.

When you are present at work, you can tap into flow states and execute your craft masterfully in half the time that it would take if you were distracted.

When you are present with yourself, you are in tune with your body and emotions and all the lessons to be learned from them (more on that later).

Presence amplifies existence.

Get present.

4. Success without a Strong Internal Identity is Inevitable Failure 

One of the greatest mistakes a man can make is to tie his identity to something other than himself.

When a man’s identity is contingent on his relationship with his woman, his work, his possessions, or anything outside of himself, his identity is inherently fragile and ripe for disruption.

No one is impervious to the harsh realities of unexpected change.

From a lay off to a divorce to an unexpected death, there are thousands of things that can disrupt your life and completely wreck all of the things that you now hold dear.

And if your identity is wrapped up in these things, when they go, so too does your sense of self.

If your identity is outside of yourself then it doesn’t take much to raze your identity and leave you feeling lost and uncertain about who you are.

By cultivating a strong internal identity, you allow yourself to experience the storms of life with all of the pain and joy that comes with them.

You experience everything but can be beaten by nothing.

You are who you are.

And that’s more than enough.

5. Feelings Are Teachers 

Human emotions are the greatest teachers we’ve ever met.

Whether positive or negative, any emotion that you feel is there to teach you something.

It could be there to confirm that you are doing well, such as the bliss that you feel when you look at your partner, or the satisfaction that comes from a full day’s work.

It could be to inform you that how you are acting is not working, such as the tension in your gut when it comes time to pay the bills or the apprehension you feel about getting your yearly physical.

Or they could be there to tell you that the path you are on ultimately will not serve you such as the inexplicable “Gut feelings” so many of us receive whenever we are unknowingly out of alignment with our highest calling.

If you are going to live this life to the fullest and truly embrace this existence, you must learn to feel your emotions, embody them, learn from them… Don’t flee from them.

Never allow your emotions to scare or control you, but always notice them and give them the attention and intention that they deserve.

Your emotions are your mentors and your guides on this crazy journey.

Follow them and you will learn more than you ever imagined.

Next Steps

We’re on a mission to impact a million men with powerful life changing content. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends on your preferred social network on the left. I spent a ridiculous amount of time creating this article for you and with your support, we can impact the world together.

Do you want my help?

Then click here to join my elite community of 800+ high-performing men and get access to powerful coaching to close the gap from where you are now to where you want to be, The Secrets of the Top 1% of Men.

Not only will you get tapped into your own “band of brothers”, but you’ll also have access to the best damn content and training available for men as well as weekly group calls with my team of transformative coaches. No whiny boys, complainers or dabblers, for serious men only.

If you’re ready to push the boundaries of what’s possible in your life and become the man you’ve always wanted to be. This is the fastest way to do it.

Jeff Hoffman is a successful entrepreneur, proven CEO, worldwide motivational speaker, published author, Hollywood film producer, and a producer of a Grammy-winning jazz album in 2015. He has been the founder of multiple startups, has been the CEO of both public and private companies, and has served as a senior executive in many capacities. Jeff has been part of a number of well-known companies, including Priceline.com. uBid.com, ColorJar, and more.

Jeff is a featured business expert seen on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, CNN International, Bloomberg News, CNBC, ABC, and NPR, and in publications including Forbes, Inc., Time, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, and more. You can find out more about Jeff and the work that he is doing by visiting his website at jeffhoffman.com

Key Points

1. Don’t Fear Failure… Fear Not Trying 

Failure is an inevitable part of life.

Most of us spend our whole lives trying to escape and avoid it when we should be running towards it.

We’ve been taught our whole lives that failure is somehow a bad thing, that it means you aren’t a “real” man, or that you aren’t good enough.

In reality, failure is simply feedback.

Instead of running from failure, embrace it.

Learn to fear not trying instead of failing.

… When you fail, you grow, you learn, and you improve.

When you allow your fear of failure to control your actions you end up paralyzed and never take action.

As a result, you stagnate, burn out, and eventually die with your best work inside of you.

2. Follow your Curiosity and Ignore the Labels

It’s easy to allow your label to control you.

Think about it…

How many times have you thought to yourself

“Wow, I’d love to dive into real estate investing, but I’m in IT, I can’t do that”

Or

“I would really enjoy learning how to dance the Tango, but I’m a powerlifter so that’ll never happen”

Or even…

“I’d really love to produce an album but I’m a marketing guy… That’s not really my style”

We get so caught up in our own labels that we prevent ourselves from pursuing our deepest passions and curiosity.

Remember:

You are a learning machine… Not an occupation. 

Just because you make money in a certain way or have been in a specific niche for a long time doesn’t mean that you can’t learn new skills.

… It doesn’t mean that you can’t pursue new hobbies, passions, and businesses.

As Joseph Campbell says, “Follow your bliss”.

Pursue what makes you curious, no matter how odd or out of character it may seem.

At the end of the day, the person who wins at life is the person who leaves it all on the field.

So stop holding back from life because your interests don’t conform to your label.

3. Stick to One Pursuit at a Time 

Although it’s important that you have a wide variety of interests and hobbies to pursue, it’s even more important that you understand how to successfully pursue each interest.

How do you do this?

… One at a time.

Although Jeff has a wide variety of achievements and accolades ranging from the transportation business to the music & film industry to consulting and keynote speaking, he didn’t try to accomplish all of these things at once.

He devoted himself single-mindedly to each task for a period of 3-5 years.

In your own life, you can do anything that you want.

But you must learn to focus on only one thing at a time…

As the old adage goes, “The fox who chases two rabbits catches none.”

Pick one passion, define what constitutes “success” with regards to that passion, pursue it single-mindedly until you achieve your goal an then move on.

4. Eradicate Your Fear of Failure with This Simple Exercise 

If you are afraid of failure, then listen up.

I’m about to share a fool proof strategy to eradicate your fear and move forward with your life.

Are you ready?

Then here it is…

Anytime you are afraid of failing, dive into your failure.

Ask yourself “What will happen if I fail and how can I recover?”

For example, if you are considering starting a new business and you fail miserably, what will actually happen?

… And more importantly, how can you minimize the damage?

If you fail at the entrepreneurial endeavor you can:

• Move back in with your parents
• Get a 9-5 corporate job for 6-12 months
• Save every penny that you can
• Try again

When you break it down, it doesn’t seem so scary, right?

The concept of failure is often more terrifying than failure itself.

When you look at the reality of your situation, you will quickly realize that you can overcome any setback with relative ease and quickly get back on your feet if things go South.

So feel the fear.

Figure out your escape plan.

And then take action.

5. Begin with the End in Mind 

One of the biggest mistakes that most entrepreneurs make is that they begin without a clear end goal in mind.

They set all of these wild goals and ambitions but never really know where the path is ultimately going to take them.

Before you set out to achieve anything, you need to begin with the end in mind.

What counts as success?

What counts as failure?

What quantifiable metrics can you use to determine whether or not you’ve achieved success?

When you have a clear end game in mind, the day to day tasks of pursuing a goal becomes much simpler.

You know exactly what you need to do, what you need to avoid, and how you can expedite the path to your goal.

Take some time to sit down after listening to this interview and write out answers to the following:

What does success look like in my:

• Relationships
• Finances
• Career
• Personal development
• Physical health
• Spirituality

When you know exactly what you are trying to get out of life, life has a way of helping you succeed.

Begin with the end in mind and your path to success will be far smoother and simpler.

6. Make People Understand Your “Why” 

Oftentimes, as men, we get so caught up in our careers and finances that we can neglect important relationships and connections in our life.

One of the reasons that this is so easy to do is that we understand the bigger picture and just assume that everyone else in our life understands it as well.

We think to ourselves, “I’m working this hard for my family, for my community, and for our future… Surely they understand”.

But we never actually take the time to sit the important people down and help them understand why we are pushing so hard.

Your wife and kids probably don’t know why you are always at the office.

They assume that work is more important than they are and that you’d rather work than spend time with them.

Even when this isn’t the case…

As such, it’s important that you sell your proverbial “Board of Directors” (the important people in your life) on the “Why” of what you’re doing.

Why are you working so hard to build this business or advance your career?

Is it to…

• Retire early
• Pay for your kid’s college
• Take your wife on a 3 year round the world trip
• Get out of debt and have the money to work less than 10 hours a week
• Enjoy a better quality of life
• Give back to your community and make a real difference

Why are you doing what you’re doing?

Once you have the answer for yourself, share it with the important people in your life.

More often than not, they will understand and rally to help you.

7. Ideas are Welcomed, Execution is Worshiped 

Simply put, ideas are great but execution is where the magic happens.

You can think and come up with ideas all day long.

But if you don’t get your ass out of the chair and make moves to achieve your goals, you will remain stuck exactly where you are.

Execution is everything.

Without the grit and determination to take action and make things happen, you will never succeed.

Become a master action taker and the world is yours.

8. Your Success is Someone Else’s Miracle 

We live in such a guilt ridden society that it can be easy to get trapped in the mindset that success is dirty.

… It’s easy to believe that making money is wrong and that you should give away all of your surplus.

But this is a false concept.

The more successful you are, the more power and influence you can exert to help others.

When you have millions of dollars in the bank, it’s much easier to make a difference when disaster strikes.

When you have vibrant physical health, it’s much easier to help others overcome their own challenges.

When you are successful, you can show up as a miracle in someone else’s life.

If you want to make a real difference in the world, then success is your duty and obligation.

Forget what you’ve been told…

Becoming successful doesn’t make you greedy or power hungry.

It gives you the ability to make a difference.

9. What is Enough?

In pursuit of any goal, whether its…

• Financial success
• Career success
• Marriage
• Physical health
• Travel & Adventure
• Or fame

You must know when enough is enough.

When can you call it quits and move on to the next goal or activity?

If you don’t have a clear end game in mind, it’s easy to get caught in the comparison trap and waste your life constantly trying to compete with other people and buy the biggest boat, fastest car, or most luxurious mansion in town.

Ask yourself…

“What do I really need to be happy and feel fulfilled?”

There’s no right answer for everyone, but the more clearly you can figure out what you need to be happy, the easier it will be to achieve it.

Forget keeping up with the Joneses and showing off on Instagram.

Figure out what brings you joy and makes you feel fulfilled and then go achieve it.

Next Steps

We’re on a mission to impact a million men with powerful life changing content. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends on your preferred social network on the left. I spent a ridiculous amount of time creating this article for you and with your support, we can impact the world together.

Do you want my help?

Then click here to join my elite community of 800+ high-performing men and get access to powerful coaching to close the gap from where you are now to where you want to be, The Secrets of the Top 1% of Men.

Not only will you get tapped into your own “band of brothers”, but you’ll also have access to the best damn content and training available for men as well as weekly group calls with my team of transformative coaches. No whiny boys, complainers or dabblers, for serious men only.

If you’re ready to push the boundaries of what’s possible in your life and become the man you’ve always wanted to be. This is the fastest way to do it.

Jordan Harbinger, once referred to as “The Larry King of podcasting,” is a Wall Street lawyer turned talk show host, social dynamics expert, and entrepreneur.

After hosting a top 50 iTunes podcast for over a decade that enjoyed nearly four million downloads a month at its zenith, Jordan has embarked on a new adventure: The Jordan Harbinger Show, where he deconstructs the playbooks of the most successful people on earth and shares their strategies, perspectives, and insights with the rest of us.

Jordan’s business sense, extensive knowledge of the industry, and contemporary approach to teaching make him one of the best and most sought-after coaches in the world.

Favorite Success Quote

“Fortune favors the bold” ~Latin Proverb

Key Points

1. Find the Silver Lining 

Sh*t happens.

It’s an inevitability of life.

Things will not go your way. Partners will leave you. Employees will steal from you. Friends will betray you.

This isn’t a pessimistic outlook on life, it’s simply the reality of the world we live in.

As such, the question is not if these events will happen but how you will respond when they do. 

In every negative situation, every layoff, divorce, breakup, and failure, you have one of two choices.

You can throw yourself a pity party, whine, moan, and cry that your life isn’t where you want it to be. Or you can find the silver lining and move forward with your life.

Every door that closes opens up a new one. Every failed endeavor frees up your time and resources to pursue a new one. Everything that you currently think sucks has a silver lining… If you’re willing to look for it.

Learn to make the best of any situation and use adversity to your advantage and you will become unstoppable in your business, relationships, and life.

2. Dig the Well Before You’re Thirsty 

There is an old proverb that states, “Dig the well before you are thirsty”.

And truer words have yet to be spoken.

In every area of life, you must learn to cultivate a proactive attitude instead of a reactive one.

In your finances, set aside money each month and invest in your future so that when the unexpected happens, you are prepared.

In your relationship, create your own social circle and build your own life so that, even if your partner leaves you, you aren’t left out in the cold.

In your business and career, learn to cultivate powerful relationships with people when you have no agenda so that, if and when something happens (like a layoff or bankruptcy) you have a network of friends who will come to your aid and support you.

Take preemptive action in your life to avoid and recover from tragedies before they happen.

As I’ve already said, it’s not a matter of if something bad will happen, it’s a matter of when. 

Plan for these crises and prepare for them before you need to.

Your future self will thank you.

3. Don’t Wait on Other People 

Whether it’s a business partner, spouse, or friend you can never allow your momentum in life to be dictated by another person.

Don’t wait for someone else to get on board with your mission and vision.

Simply take action and move forward.

If your business partner or significant other is dragging their feet and screwing around with regards to your vision and important goals, fine. Take action without them and move forward on your own.

You can spend years or even decades waiting for someone else to come through, all the while missing opportunities and possibilities in your own life.

Don’t let this happen to you…

Chart your own path and move forward whether the people around you are on board or not.

4. Don’t Sacrifice Success for Other People’s Comfort 

In many relationships, people will avoid having difficult conversations with their partner because they don’t want to hurt the other person.

For example…

A wife might avoid talking to her alcoholic husband about his drinking problem because she doesn’t want to upset him.

A man might avoid talking to his girlfriend about her lackluster work ethic and spending problem because he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings.

A business partner might avoid calling his team out for laziness because he doesn’t want to be seen as overly critical or negative.

Stop!

In all of these situations, the uncomfortable conversation is necessary.

Unless you are willing to step up, make other people uncomfortable, and call them out on their b.s., they will never change.

You will never move forward in life and eventually, the relationship will implode.

Be willing to take a stand for yourself and let other people know when they’ve violated a boundary or acted in a manner that is unacceptable.

Otherwise, you will live in a constant fairytale and fail to achieve the life you want.

5. Do the Things Today that Your Future Self Will Thank You For 

Every day, you have a choice.

You can either choose to live for the moment or the future.

While it’s all fine and dandy to be present, it’s even more important that you are acting in a way today that your future self will thank you for.

What would make your future self-smile?

Eating that piece of cake or eating a salad?

Skipping the gym because you’re tired or staying commited to your training?

Talking to that cute guy/girl or letting fear hold you back from the relationships you want?

Working hard on your side hustle or goofing off with YouTube and video games?

You have a choice to create the life that you want.

The only question is, “What choice are you going to make?”

Next Steps

You can learn more about Jordan and follow his new podcast at jordanharbinger.com or click the following link to get Jordan’s Free Networking course.

We’re on a mission to impact a million men with powerful life changing content. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends on your preferred social network on the left. I spent a ridiculous amount of time creating this article for you and with your support, we can impact the world together.

Do you want my help?

Then click here to join my elite community of 800+ high-performing men and get access to powerful coaching to close the gap from where you are now to where you want to be, The Secrets of the Top 1% of Men.

Not only will you get tapped into your own “band of brothers”, but you’ll also have access to the best damn content and training available for men as well as weekly group calls with my team of transformative coaches. No whiny boys, complainers or dabblers, for serious men only.

If you’re ready to push the boundaries of what’s possible in your life and become the man you’ve always wanted to be. This is the fastest way to do it.

Nate Broughton is an internet marketing veteran of 17 years who specializes in lead generation and client acquisition. He’s built and sold four companies and been involved in several acquisitions with private equity firms. He’s now the leader of a movement and company called The Opt Out Life which teaches people all over the world how to design an amazing lifestyle centered around fun and experiences… While still making fantastic money in an industry they love.

Favorite Success Quote

“Lifestyle before money. But money also.”

“If there’s a will there’s a way”

Key Points

1. Focus on Lifestyle First and Money Second 

Money is a tool.

In the right hands, it can serve as a force multiplier to help you live the life of your dreams, enjoy wild adventures, and create a lasting legacy.

However, when it’s your sole aim and purpose it will overtake your life and lead you down a dark and lonely road filled with regrets.

As such, Nate’s motto and entire company (opt-out life) is built on the ethos of “Lifestyle first but money also.”

In life, you will often be presented with two options.

1. The lucrative option
2. The lifestyle option

For example, Nate was offered an executive position with a multiple six-figure salary, a significant amount of equity, and great benefits.

The only problem is that the position required him to drive 60 minutes to and from work five days a week, sacrificing time with his young children and wife.

He turned it down in less than a minute.

Money is great and you should always seek to expand your income and create passive assets.

But it’s not everything.

If you find yourself working 80 hours a week to make multiple six figures you need to take a step back and ask yourself, “Is this really worth it?”

Is this how you want to live your life?

2. Get Creative to Achieve Your Dreams 

Where there’s a will there’s a way.

Cliche, I know. But it’s true.

Whatever goal you want to achieve, whether it’s making a certain amount of money, improving your body, or finding the partner of your dreams, is ahievable. IF you’re willing to get creative and find unconventional roads to success.

A great example that Nate shared in the interview is how his business partner moved his family from an inexpensive inland suburb to the exclusive coast of Lajolla.

Even though his partner couldn’t afford the mortgage on the house he wanted, he got creative, found a property with a guest home and then rented the home out while simultaneously renting the casita in the back yard.

The result? He cut the rent payments in half and ended up spending roughly the same amount as his previous mortgage.

If you’re willing to get creative, there’s nothing that you can’t do, be, or achieve.

But you must be willing to think outside of the box and cut yourself off from any possibility of failure.

3. Know When to Hold ‘Em and When to Fold ‘Em 

You are going to have to make tough decisions in life.

It’s simply a part of the human existence.

And oftentimes, the most important decision that you will make is not whether or not you should start something, but whether or not you should stay with something.

Whether it’s a relationship, career, business, or just a boring ‘ol workout program, you must understand when a particular endeavor has run its course and when there is still something of value to be gained.

Nate has grown and sold several businesses, and he’s found that there’s a critical tipping point in each business (typically when it hits $5,000,000 in revenue) where he begins to burn out and lose interest.

Instead of fighting this, he’s adopted the “Serial Entrepreneur” approach and will sell his equity or the entire business, once a project passes a certain revenue threshold.

Here’s the deal…

Life is short. And there are thousands of things that we all want to try out and we have no way of knowing if they’re worth our time until we step up to the plate and swing.

But once you’ve been in the game for a while, you need to honestly evaluate your pursuits and ask yourself the simple question, “Is this serving me at the highest level?”

If the answer is “No” then cut your losses and move on… IMMEDIATELY.

4. Understand the Seasons of Life (And How they Impact Your Priorities) 

It’s funny to me how often I have young men reaching out to me in their early 20’s bemoaning the fact that they have no money and no clue what they want to do with their lives.

I always have to chuckle at these messages, because these guys are missing the point.

You aren’t supposed to be super wealthy and on purpose right out of the gate! 

Your 20’s are a season in life for pursuing your passions, seeing what sticks, making LOTS of mistakes, and learning as much as you can.

Life isn’t supposed to be this massive and nonstop upwards growth curve.

It’s a long and bumpy ride filled with different seasons. And one of the biggest keys to success is learning how to capitalize on these seasons and use them to your advantage.

For example, your 20’s are a high energy season that is best used to learn marketable skills, live super frugally while building a war chest, and to figure yourself out along the way.

Your 30’s are a season that should be devoted to mastery of your chosen craft and the creation of passive income streams that will create lasting wealth and freedom.

And once you have that? Your 40’s and beyond are for doing whatever the hell you want.

5. Develop a High-Value Skill Set and Turn It Into Passive Income 

It’s been said that passive income is worth 10x working income.

And truer words have yet to be spoken.

No matter where you are in life today, one of your top priorities should be the creation and expansion of passive income.

Money is simply a tool to buy freedom. And when you escape from the race of trading your time for dollars and create sustainable passive income, you will have freedom for life.

Imagine going to bed and waking up with an extra $500 in your bank account. What would that do for your life? How would you spend your days differently? What hobbies would you pursue? What relationships would you invest in more deeply? How would your life change if you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were going to be ok when the 1st of the month rolled around?

I can tell you from personal experience… It’s one of the most liberating feelings a man can have.

Get to work on building passive income streams NOW and your life will forever change because of it.