¶ Intro / Opening
I am convinced that people who are willing to smack their heads against the walls for longer are the people who learn the most . They develop skills , and especially they develop problem-solving skills .
Every time you set a goal , all of a sudden all these obstacles come up , all these bottlenecks . You want to get to the next level and you're not good enough yet , you're not smart enough yet , you don't have the skills yet . And if you hang through the adversity , you end up developing the skills and the awareness and the lessons .
So the person who perseveres through that ends up the most developed .
Welcome to Next Level University . I'm your host , Kevin Palmieri , and I'm your co-host , Alan Lazarus . At NLU , we believe in a heart-driven but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers .
Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life , love , health and wealth .
We bring you a new episode every single day on topics like confidence , self-belief , self-worth , self-awareness , relationships , boundaries , consistency , habits and defining your own unique version of success .
Self-improvement in your pocket , every day , from anywhere , completely free .
Welcome to Next Level University , next Level Nation today for episode number 2085 . We're going to hit you with a quick one . This can be like a 15 . This is probably a 14 minute episode . A master skill worth developing . I had somebody asked me to do something recently a client and I had no fucking clue how to do it . Nice , not an inkling .
I didn't know where to start and then I proceeded to spend the next eight hours researching and chat , gpt and testing and retesting and seeing if it worked and seeing if it didn't work , and by the end of the day I had acquired a new skill . Eight hours it took me a long ass time
¶ Say yes and figure it out
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That sucked . It was terrible . I want to get for anyone watching or listening . That is something that Kev will do . I've seen . You do remember 16 hours for one teaser clip . Dude , you gotta power .
If you , if you have an outcome that you want , you gotta . One of the one of the good things about saying yes and then figuring it out is you have to figure it out . One of the bad things about saying yes and then trying to figure it out as if you don't figure it out , you're screwed .
So I do really well with necessity like that , but it also sucks I'm not there . I have another one of those things like I have to do tomorrow . I have something I have to do tomorrow that I'm not entirely sure how to do , but I'll figure it out , because now I have enough reps and that's what we're talking about today is problem solving .
Did you always feel that way ?
That's what self-belief is .
Look at how much self-belief it takes to stick with something for eight hours straight and then to say , yeah , I can do that , and then go figure it out . That's new , that's new , not like this year new . But no , I didn't have that , no way .
Eight years ago , Kev , would you have heard you say that and thought that that was arrogant or dumb or delusional .
I don't think I would have thought it was arrogant . I think I probably would have said , hmm , I'd like to get to that place . I'd like to get to a place where I can do it . And I also understand , because here's the thing I understand . So this is why I'm really good at getting things started , because I'll just say yes and figure it out .
But I also forget when I pass the ball to other people that they're not necessarily wired the same way . If I ever catch myself saying like why didn't we just do it this way , it's probably because I why aren't ?
they wired that way . What are they missing ?
I don't necessarily know that it's a missing thing , I think it's just a . I'd say it's grit . No , no , no , it's not , it's . Sometimes it's just the vision piece . I was on with christina today . Christina's our coo and head graphic designer . She's many things , she does many things , wears many hats and wears them all very well .
And I said full permission to just mess up and figure it out , because that's what I would do . But she's like well , what should I do it in a certain way ? No , just do it and see what happens . And if you need me , let me know and I'll keep an eye on it . No worries , we're going to be fine , it's totally fine .
That's my mindset because I know the client and I know the work we've been doing . It's , I think I just have more awareness to the standards and the momentum and I don't know , I think that's a big piece of it . I don't think it's necessarily grit . I do think the more gritty you are , the more problem solving skills you develop
¶ Hold your breath and learn
. And here's , here's my last example , and I'll kick it to Alan Cause again in shorter episodes , I don't want to just do an Epic monologue . When I was describing it to Alan , I said you've got to hold your breath for longer . That's going to be my takeaway for this episode .
All I mean by that is , if you hold your breath and the second you start to doubt whether or not you're going to figure it out , you put your hand up and somebody pulls you out of the water . You're missing all the opportunity to learn . There's a lot of opportunity that you left on the table by just tapping out .
There are times where I don't want to Google it . I want to try to figure it out myself first , and if I can't figure it out , I'll Google it . Stay in there longer because you're . The more you spend time with the problem , the higher the opportunity for you to become a problem solver . To that problem is my early next level lesson .
I actually think life , a big part of your level you reach in life pun intended next level you is predicated on your ability to identify patterns , which is identifying a problem , identifying the root cause of the problem and then creating a creative solution . What would be a good example of this ? So many things . Everything is this .
There's a quote life has to be more than just solving problems , meaning you have to create a meaning for yourself . That's bigger than just I'm going to get up today and I'm going to solve problems . That's what I do as a CEO . That's what I do
¶ Goals always come with problems
as a coach . What do you think my whole fucking day is ? It's how are you ? How's it going ? Ah , I'm really having trouble getting this result . Okay , Well , why is that ? Identify the root cause , find a strategy that works , go back to the drawing board . Go back to the drawing board . Go back to the drawing board .
So and here's the thing People always say well then , what's the point ? What is life just going to be ? Identify problems and create solutions , and then those solutions create new problems , and then you get to a new level and you have bigger problems .
What you're missing is that your new walking pace , your new relaxy taxi , is going to be your old all out sprint when you . It was so good for us to do that episode of the 10 most embarrassing moments which dropped yesterday in this case , that was yesterday . Yes , yeah , so for the listener , not for us , but yeah , so it dropped yesterday .
Check that out if you haven't . But that was eight years , our top 10 most embarrassing moments . It was so big for me to see and hear and to go back to those moments , for me to realize that those that would be child's play for us now .
You know , dude , when we our last event okay , this conference room is not going to work how quickly we went into solving all those problems . I mean , when we hosted our last virtual event , the moment I got there there was at least 15 problems that needed to be solved , big and small , and we just figured it out and we did .
I don't know if I know how to develop problem solving skills . I do know that . Anyone who is super into mathematics and loved math growing up , one of the things I loved about it most is that there was an actual answer . But the way you got to the answer could be any way you want . So as long as you get the right answer in math , you win .
It's fucking awesome . It doesn't matter how you get there , dude . Half the time I didn't get there the way the teacher wanted me to . It's fucking awesome , it doesn't matter how you get there , dude , half the time I didn't get there the way the teacher wanted me to .
I don't care , you got to show your work though you do , but I still got the right answer . So I still get a hundred ? Okay , right , how dare you ? But to me there's a thousand ways to get to the root cause of a problem and to solve it . And to me that's what math is .
It's solving problems , it's solving equations , it's solving and , okay , at one point , railroading , getting shipments across the country was really hard . Okay , railroads solution . Steam engine solution . Okay , internet solution . Phones solution . Okay , smartphones solution . Okay , starlink .
Now , every business is built on identifying and solving problems based on human needs , the quality of our lives . If we could go back 200 years right now , the quality of life would be terrible . There'd be no laptops , there'd be no electricity , there'd be no phones , there'd be no airplanes , there'd be no vita coca water there'd be .
I mean , there would still probably be that today's sponsor , today's sponsor . But I wonder and again , I'm always thinking about this stuff
¶ At NLU, your success is our purpose. Join us every first Thursday for tools, insight, and the spark to move forward.
nlu listener what is happening ? I just wanted to jump in here and let you know . If you want to get to the next level faster , we have a free virtual monthly meetup at the first thursday of every month . You can connect with like-minded people and become a bigger part of this amazing global community . The link to register will be in the show notes .
How many things do you and I enjoy today ? There'd be no stream yard , there'd be no podcasting , there'd be no microphones , there'd be no cameras . How many things do we take for granted every single day that were , at one point , someone saying you know how do we film something ? What if we could capture a memory ?
Probably everything we enjoy , everything we enjoy , was at one point , a goal and that goal created a problem . Goals are just problems in disguise . You have a goal to make a million dollars Awesome . Now you have a fucking million problems . Okay , let's solve it . Okay . Well , you have to do this .
That's one of the reasons why I keep saying the science of achievement doesn't care about your feelings , because when it comes to your next level in life , you and I are talking about and we were strategizing before about Kevin's going to be potentially getting a home in the next year , two years , three years , five years .
Okay , we just strategized about exactly what to do and what not to do about that and how to plan for that and the numbers . I had someone yesterday . She said I , I've been putting this on the principle , I've been adding this to my mortgage and and I'm can you look at these numbers ? I was in spreadsheets , I looked for anomalies and we found them .
I said you got to call them because something's off here . I'm certain my whole life is helping people identify and solve problems and the problems are predicated on goals . What is a goal ? A goal is I have something I want that I don't know how to get yet . Okay , I want warm showers . Okay , well , your plumbing better work . Okay , plumbing's out All right .
Well , now you have a problem . So again , people always ask me you know what's the point of all this ? Why achieve so much ? It's the goal of the goal of the goal , last piece , I promise . No , I take that back . I I gotta stop saying that , because then there's
¶ The real goal behind the goal
end up being other stuff . The goal of the goal of the goal Okay , we're doing the 10 pound in 10 week challenge , super pumped , gonna be awesome , great . Now you want to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks . You got a big fucking problem you eat too much and you don't exercise enough . Same , by the way , not making it wrong , I'm not picking on anybody .
Well , that's why we're doing it . That's why we're doing it . But what's the goal of the goal ? The goal of the goal is to lead people . The goal of the goal is to inspire others . The goal of the goal is to live a healthier life . The goal of the goal is to get self-respect and self-esteem . The goal of the goal is growth .
The goal of the goal is self-discipline . The goal of the goal is growth . The goal of the goal is self-discipline . The goal of the goal is to track and to be in better shape and to live a longer life and be more athletic and look better and feel better and have better sex and everything . Okay , I don't know why I threw that in there .
The point is , the goal of the goal is so much different than the actual goal . 10 pounds in 10 weeks doesn't matter at all . That's the goal , where there's a thousand other things that get better as a byproduct . And then you want to know the goal of the goal of the goal Fulfillment .
You want to know the goal of the goal of the goal of the goal Self-worth and self-belief . Everyone who does the 10 pound in 10 week challenge , if you set a current weight and a goal weight and in 70 days from when we marked it , you lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks , you will build self-belief , you will build self-worth .
That is the goal of the goal of the goal of the goal , and that's what really matters . That's all anyone actually wants . That's what's underneath , underneath , underneath , underneath Everyone who's out there watching and scrolling and seeing people that have these amazing lives , including Kevin and I . What you really want is self-belief .
What you really want is self-confidence . What you really want is self-esteem . What you really want is self-respect . What you really want is self-worth , which , by the way , only comes from achievement . It comes from growth and contribution and getting better every day . You and I have the life cheat code .
We built an entire business around getting better , which is what everyone actually wants .
The best and the worst . The best and the worst at the same time .
I think it's the best . Of course I do . I do too . I do too , but at the end of the day , you wanted to do an episode about problem solving , and I wonder if every opportunity comes with a problem and every problem comes with an opportunity . And I think that , if nothing else , change your attitude around problems .
I have a thousand problems , but they're way better than the problems I had growing up .
¶ Self-belief starts with action
Yeah , I think you only really get . The problems that you try to solve are probably connected to how much you believe in yourself and your ability to solve them . Everybody out there right now you can think of something that used to be a problem that you know how to do , with no problems .
Now , if we said yes more often and again say yes to the level of your belief , I think we'd know way more . So much of what I know is because I said yes and I didn't know how to do it , and then I had the ability to figure it out . That's , that's it . That's it at the end of the day .
So that would be , that would be my next level lesson is next time you have an opportunity to say yes to something that you don't know if you can do and again , don't make this like a massive thing Say yes and see if you can figure it out . Next time you're at work and somebody says , hey , do you know how to do this ?
Say yeah , I'm not really sure , but maybe I . Maybe I know more than I'm more familiar with with it than you are , so let me give it a shot . Who knows ?
And I think when you do that long enough , you do have the you , you build the belief , and then you have the proof that last time I said yes to this , I wasn't really sure how to do it and actually went better than I expected . Cool , let me try it again .
And then eventually you know a ton of stuff and then you're more willing to do the stuff that you don't know how to do yet , and I think that , to your point , is kind of a cheat code .
And haven't you been doing that kind of your whole life Same ?
Yeah , yeah , I would say so , not to the degree or maybe the level I am now , or not , with the understanding that that's what I'm doing . But I say yes all the time and then I say I'll figure it out . That's , we'll just figure it out , like that's what Saturday's for , that's the figure it out day , nice .
So far , so good , all right . What's your next level lesson ? No one I've ever coached or ever met who doesn't have a series of problems , and if they don't have any problems they do have . They create goals , and those goals create problems . So change your relationship with problems .
Problems are what we problems are what help us grow and become more , and we just get to create higher and higher and higher quality problems . A real problem is not being able to eat . A real problem is not having clean water . Those my problems are not real problems . I do know that , and some days blow , but it doesn't matter because I have that perspective .
¶ What higher quality problems look like
All right , cool , all right . Next Level Nation . If one of the problems you're struggling with right now is feeling lonely on this weird-ass growth journey , we have a private Facebook group called Next Level Nation . We would love to have you in there . There's posts every day . It's an awesome community . There's engagement . Yeah , it's a great place .
So if you're somebody who is struggling to be productive , I know a lot of early entrepreneurs I was talking about yesterday who really has a hard time not being distracted . I remember when I got out of corporate and it was like , oh , I'm my own boss and my own boss's boss and my own boss's boss's boss . I'm not as productive as I thought .
So the Next Level Dreamliner is designed to make you far more productive . I promise you it will make you more productive . It makes me more productive and I notice when I don't do it .
So the link will be in the show notes
¶ Outro
as always , we love you , we appreciate you , grateful for each and every one of you and at NLU we do not have fans , we have family . We will talk to you all tomorrow keep it Next Level , Next Level Nation .
Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level Nation .
Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University . We love connecting with the Next Level family .
We mean it when we say family . If you ever need anything , please reach out to us directly . Everything you need to get a hold of us is in the show notes .
Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow .