Just Do It (Life Is Too Short) #626

Welcome back to the man that Can with Lach art , and today or tonight , I'm very excited , as this week's episode has been inspired by a client that I was speaking with , and I wanna dive in and share some insights , some frameworks and some examples around how I have overcome fear and I've become really good at just doing the things that I know will deliver the

results in my life , and I would love to pass this on to you now , full disclaimer . You can have all the frameworks and all the inspiration in the world , but if you don't take action , you're never going to get different results . So , regardless of how amped up you get from this or how simple you feel these frameworks are , you still have to do it .

So let's dive in . We're six weeks out from 2024 being officially over and as the year wraps up , I find myself reflecting on the challenges , wins and the lessons of this chapter . It's a ritual that I encourage all of you guys to adopt , because reflection often uncovers what's holding us back and pushing us forward .

Most people start the year with massive goals . I know I do . Maybe you had one , too , or a resolution to lose weight , to improve your relationships or to grow in your career or boost revenue , but , as life happens , those ambitions fade into the background , and it's not that we don't know what to do .

It's the fear , the doubt and the overwhelm that keeps us from taking action . For me personally , 2024 started with a leap into the unknown , settling into Nashville , and if you follow me on Instagram you'll have seen I've had some highs and lows there . I love the place personally , but it's been a tough trough .

Leaving behind a thriving business , a close-knit community and a comfortable life was one of the hardest decisions that I've ever had to make . Look , I moved to Europe or France when I was 21 .

Now doing it at 32 , you're definitely in a different season of life , but there were plenty of moments when I doubted the move right , starting over with a place where I didn't have a network . It was so much harder than I'd imagined and , I guess , so much harder than the first time I really did it 10 years ago .

After being so comfortable for so long , you almost forget what it takes to rebuild from scratch the discomfort , the patience , the daily grind . But those doubts remind me of an important lesson Success isn't about comfort . It's about leaning into the growth , no matter how messy it feels .

So every meaningful achievement in my life has come from following a very simple framework . Now , at the time I didn't realize it was a framework . It wasn't until I stumbled across Simon Sinek's book Start With why that I was able to sort of piece it all together and break down things that I've achieved , and it made sense .

And I'm sure that when you hear this , or if you've read Start With why , it will probably make sense to you as well . But the framework is this number one . You can probably guess it identify your why . So your why is the anchor that keeps you focused when things are tough .

When I started getting messages from people about my mental health or about mental health , sorry from Instagram I realized that I could turn my passion for helping others into something more Well , at that moment I still remember when I was in Austria and I got that message I was like my why became very or almost crystal clear .

To be honest , I wanted to create a life doing work that I loved , while making a difference , and I think really it's what a lot of us want .

But we allow fear , or maybe we just get to a certain point in our life where we have a lot of responsibilities that restrict us and it's not saying that's the worst thing , because I don't believe that everyone can do what they love for a living , but I was very fortunate in that moment and I guess timing is such a beautiful thing to be able to act upon

that . The second thing from that is creating a plan . So the plan doesn't have to be perfect and quite often , even if you think it's perfect , it's going to fucking change .

It always does the amount of to get this podcast recorded earlier and the plans changed because other priorities have become , I guess , jumped in front of this one , because they were more important at the moment at that moment in time . Sorry , but the purpose of the plan is to give you a little bit of direction .

When I wanted to play rugby overseas , I filmed myself training . I made a highlight reel and I sent it to . When I say every club as many clubs as I could find on the internet Most didn in reply , but eventually one did , and that changed everything . I'll talk about that a little bit more later . Thirdly , you've got to break it into manageable steps .

Big goals can feel overwhelming . That's why they're called big goals . Anything that's huge is fucking overwhelming for sure , but breaking them down into daily actions or weekly targets makes things definitely a lot more manageable , and I like to call them daily deposits .

Whether it's running , nurturing relationships or building my business , I show up every single day and people are blown away by consistency . But that in itself is a problem . If you're impressed by consistency , you need to break your goals down a little bit and just find some actions that you can stick to until you develop habits .

Right , because you should not be impressed by consistency . That blows my mind that people are right , which is quite , quite incredible . I show up every day , even when the motivation is low . I stick to my schedule because I know the compound effect of those small efforts will pay off at some point . Sorry , I jumped a gun there . I jumped a step .

So , number three break it into manageable steps . Big goals can feel overwhelming . Breaking them into daily actions makes them more achievable . Right , with rugby , this meant training during the day and sending emails at night .

For the marathons , it's about hitting my training targets , fundraising and managing the logistics , which , I can tell you , is an absolute freaking nightmare , but it's one day at a time . Number four is working on a daily right Consistency . It blows my mind that people are impressed by consistency , the fact that people go . How do you continue to show up ?

It just is like in my mind . I feel like it's the most simple thing because you don't have to overcomplicate things . If I want to get fit , I go to the gym regularly . I eat better regularly . There doesn't need to be much variety , which makes it very easy , but people are blown away by that and I think that in itself is a problem .

Consistency shouldn't be this superpower . It should just be . And in order to do that , we need to remove from our life . If you are struggling with consistency , you're doing too many things , in my opinion , and I feel when I struggled with consistency , it was because I was doing too many things , so small consistent actions add up .

And I feel when I struggle with consistency , it was because I was doing too many things , so small consistent actions add up . And you know this . I call these my daily deposits . Whether it's running , nurturing relationships or building my business , I show up every day , even when the motivation is low .

I stick to my schedule because I know the compound effect of these small efforts are going to pay off . Number five is hold yourself accountable or pay someone , because accountability is game-changing For rugby . My friends helped me film and they reminded me of my goals constantly .

If they were investing their time to film me , I knew that I couldn't let them down . I had to hit my gym sessions . I had to continue sending my rugby CV out , because otherwise they're giving up their time for nothing . So with the marathon , my team and I ensures that I'm prepped .

I'm raising funds and I'm sticking to the plan and because I'm documenting it on social media and through the podcast , I have to be doing the thing . So if you don't have someone to hold you accountable , pay for a bloody coach or join a community . It's that simple . If it's something that you struggle with , don't allow it to be the reason why you struggle .

Just find a solution for that problem . But that framework has worked for me for so long . Fear is a constant companion on this journey .

When you start recognizing you've got the goal , you've got the plan , but you're not achieving it , it's something in your head and generally it's fear , right , fear of the unknown , fear of failure , fear of isolation , many fears . When I announced the 58 marathons , doubt crept in straight away . Would people take me seriously ?

Would they think I was copying others who've done similar challenges , but I reminded myself that this isn't about comparison . It's about being authentic and doing what I'm called to do . Moments of doubt still come up every single day , even why I was prepping for this podcast while I was cooking dinner . Now I'm able to see them differently .

Doubt is a sign that I'm growing , I'm pushing to something new , a new level of myself , which is what we need to continually do . It's how we're showing up . So when I was younger , doubt often stopped me , but now it fuels me and I hope it does for you as well . Look , starting over is never easy .

When I moved to France to play rugby , I had to build a new life from scratch , a language that I didn't speak , people that I didn't know . So making new friends , learning that new language and figuring out how to thrive in a new environment . The same thing happened in Nashville .

People had already had their routines , they had their social circles and I had to intentionally put myself out there to create that connection .

And I believe it's a lot harder at 33 than it was at 21 , because most people at 21 , they're still partying , they're socializing a lot , they're just out exploring , trying new things At 33 , some people have mortgages , families , they're in their careers , so they're very insular . They're not trying as many new things , which is probably a little tip there .

If you're in that position where you're not trying new things and you want to keep life fun and you want to write great chapters for your life , get out there and do more things . The biggest lesson that I learned from this whole experience was loneliness makes everything harder . In France , I learned the importance of finding like-minded people quickly .

That same lesson helped me settle into Nashville . Seeking out communities that shared my values made my transition feel less daunting . Most people aren't taking action because they feel stuck in fear . The whole analysis by paralysis and I saw a great video almost a decade ago by Preston Smiles , who I've played golf with once was pretty cool .

I should actually get him on the podcast . Now that I'm thinking about that , I might reach out to him .

But this whole analysis by paralysis , or not knowing where to start , it's overanalyzing things , and one thing that I have become great at , I believe , is when I have an idea , I action it and I figure it out along the way and now look , I don't just fully bare bones it and not make any plans , but I don't get so bogged down in the details that I have

to spend the next five years planning that stuff out . So if that's you , here's my advice Less thinking , more doing . Find a small problem in your life , create a simple plan to solve it and then take that first step . It doesn't have to be perfect . Action brings clarity . Each small win builds confidence , and those wins compound over time .

One of the reasons why I'm running 58 marathons is to prove that success doesn't have an age limit . Look , I'm 33 now , doing something I never thought was possible and , especially at this age , never thought was possible . I don't want to feel like I've missed out on my chance at a great life , and I don't want you to feel like that either .

But the truth is , as we age , we gain resources , experiences and resilience . So , as much as we may lose youth and freedom and flexibility to a degree , we also gain that in other areas , and we need to be mindful of that . The perspective in which we view life is so freaking important . Plenty of small actions have brought me to this point .

Each one has its daily deposit towards a massive goal , and it's not just about running . It's about inspiring others to take action within their own life , no matter where you're starting from . My friend and podcast guest , Jackson Tippett , passed away recently , and Jackson was authentic .

He didn't care about what others thought and he always showed up for the people around him . His passing reminds me of how precious and how short life is .

He would always shoot me a text message or comment on my stuff just to check in , just to see how I was going , and at the time I was like man this guy has a lot of time to message people , but now I'm just like he was just being him .

He wasn't defined by his previous self and he was just so driven to help people get the most out of themselves and he was supporting people to do that , and that's a lesson that I've taken from him . We get one shot at life and I don't want my story to be a repetition of I went to work , came home and I did it all again .

I want a story that inspires my kids and , more importantly , it inspires me a story of adventure , a story of growth and doing the things that truly matter to me . So let me ask you what's honestly holding you back ? What do you enjoy doing ? Why do you enjoy doing it . If you could get paid to do something you love , what would it be ?

Start small and identify your why .

Create a plan and take one step today . Follow along with my journey to 58 marathons as I run all 50 states of America and all eight states and territories of Australia , and let it remind you that anything is possible when you just take some fucking action , win the battle , do the thing and write a story that you'll all be proud of .

As always , do something today to be better for tomorrow . My name's Lachlan Stewart , and if you want to follow me on the 58 marathons or if you want to help in any way , the best way you can help me is share my content . Share it to help people know what's happening , know why it's happening .

That is the best thing that you can do to support this journey right now . As always . Thank you guys for being here and we'll see you next week .