¶ Intro / Opening
It was so negative in my life that it made sense to do it , you know . That's why good enough or Good enough is dangerous , and also kind of bad is dangerous . Kind of bad might not be enough to change . Good enough might be a safe place . So you don't get any better .
Same with business . So you go into an escape room for Valentine's Day and now you're thinking , okay , how does this work ? $68 . Okay , so now you can learn more when you go to this escape room and maybe you find out something they're doing that's actually really intelligent , because you're thinking in this new way .
And then you bring it back to NLU and go hey man , what if we ?
did this . 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 .
Welcome back to another episode of Next Level University , where we help you level up your life , your love , your health and your wealth . Today , for episode number 1,979 , I'm all over the freaking place because I got a new laptop and it very much goes in alignment with what we're talking about today . When one thing changes , everything changes .
Excuse me , yes , just a laptop .
This is a MacBook Pro 8,017 .
I don't know what any of that means no , I made up those last a on the team macbook pro .
He was like you getting the m7 . It's like I don't know whatever alan ordered , that's that's what I'm getting .
It's the brand new macbook pro . It's the yeah , it's good . It's good so far , so good .
Strong I've been doing some video editing . I'm trying to figure out if my audio or video sounds or looks any different . That's why we're trying to figure it out . But we you know us over here at NLU we take messy action . How old was your old machine ? The old machine was I got it in 2018 , I think Okay so it was 2019 .
I was eight years old , Five , six seven , seven , seven years old , six years old . So the MacBook Pro that you're using right now is of significant improvement .
Things change .
Even though right now it doesn't seem that way .
Well , that is what we're talking about today . We have talked about this in the past and this is a philosophical kind of concept . I'm sure Alan will bring it home with some level of tactic , but this is a good example . The laptop changed . Everything is different one thing now . That's a big change , obviously , and it's not always like that .
But I ordered the laptop . The laptop took a couple days to come . In the meantime was researching and I was like oh , it doesn't have any USB ports , so I have to order three micro to USB . Is that even going to work with my camera ? Meh , sometimes it does , sometimes it doesn't . That's why you think , that's why those adapters aren't always good .
¶ How new awareness reshapes perception
We'll figure it out . Maybe I need a . Maybe I need a USB to USB to USB-C . Yes , I'll do some research today In the very limited time I have , but I think this is why change is scary . So here this is a good thought . Okay , we've used this as an example before , but I don't know if there is a better one .
Alan and I have had the opportunity to meet some people in person that are very attractive and they have a profile online that shows off their attractiveness . I'm not saying they're not attractive in person . They're just not as attractive in person as they are online .
Yeah , it's not close .
Might be the same for me . If you saw the picture I posted in the gym yesterday and you came and looked at me . Right now I don't look the same way because I'm not pumped . The lighting's not there . So that's an example . Now , every time I see somebody online , I think to myself what do they actually look like ?
That one thing , when that one thing changed my perception of people , changed . Every time I look at somebody , it's different . Every single time I look at somebody , it's completely different , now that I'm a business owner and I go into establishments . So this episode is dropping . For Valentine's Day , taryn and I are going to an escape room .
She said hey , are we doing dinner ? What are we doing ? I said I don't want to do dinner . We're going to do dinner Saturday . I don't want to do dinner like everybody else does dinner on Valentine's Day . I want to do something different . So I'm going to surprise you with something . We're going to do an escape room . Nice , why did I even want to ?
Why did I bring that up ? What was I saying before
¶ Thinking differently as a business owner
that ?
Oh , I'm all as a business owner , you think about this $68 for two tickets to this escape room .
And immediately I'm thinking why $68 ? Well , it's got to be a pretty big location and they have like five or six rooms . So you're looking at probably I don't know probably $8,000 to $10,000 in rent per month . Okay , you could only have so many people in there per time . I mean , there's only so many time blocks throughout the day and you can book the room .
So there's only two of us . We have the entire room to ourselves . Sometimes there's six people . So six people it's more expensive . So , like they're doing the math on that , I kind of don't look at anything the same anymore . Yeah , I still don't understand how Domino's does $6.99 pizzas . I don't get it . I don't get it . I mean , obviously it must cost them .
You know , maybe it's $4.99 to make the pizza . They're making $2 per pizza . Whatever it is , I don't know , but they have determined somewhere that nobody just orders pizza .
It's significantly lower than that .
Is it .
Yeah per pizza , but yeah , this isn't a business conversation .
Let me keep it high level . Let me keep it high level . I got you . It's hard for me . I love it .
I know I love business .
The number they have determined somewhere along the lines that , well , it's going to increase how often people do it and nobody just gets a pizza . If they get a two liter , we're going to get that at full price . If they get this we're talking about today , I'm so pissed off that
¶ Frustration with technology and growth
my camera isn't as good .
I am upset and it's hard for me to do this episode without just researching how to make it better . I need you to know that I do know that I can tell .
I've been working with Kev for a long time . Doesn't like when the it's so frustrating .
Yeah , we don't like , we don't like getting worse I'm gonna try something real quick .
I know you don't want me to do it , but I'm gonna do it . I'm gonna . I'm gonna put on one of the things to see if it makes it any better can I do it live at next level university .
Oh , it's even worse . Is it worse ? Yeah , significantly shit , it's all good . I'm it worse ? Yeah , significantly Shit , it's all good , I'm going to leave it At Next Level University . We're very big on improvements , improving , getting better it's really important to us , and getting worse isn't really our thing , but okay . So I was on with a client recently .
We talked about this . There's a quote I talked to Kev about this yesterday when you change the way you look at things , the things you look at change . Okay , just like bumper sticker , self-improvement . That quote needs to be unpacked , otherwise it's just kind of a fun quote that kind of makes sense but also doesn't .
Quote that kind of makes sense but also doesn't . It's like . By the way , I told emilia the other night I playfully joked , we were talking about how we've been grinding lately and she said I'm so proud of you . You've been absolutely crushing . I've never seen anyone work the way you do .
Thank you so much for all that you do for our family , all this stuff . I was super grateful and I said well , you know how I do it . Fall down seven times , get up eight , get up eight . And she's like and I said isn't that the dumbest shit ever she's like . What do you mean ? I said if you fall down seven times , you can only get up seven times .
And it was like oh my God , yeah , it's nobody .
Now what if you're already on the ground ?
You can still only get up seven times , no , no .
If you were to say you fall down seven times , get up eight , but you're already starting from the ground you've got to get up one time .
to get up yeah and then fall down seven more times . And then Hmm , kev , hmm , dumb saying .
Imagine if the person who came up with it was already laying on the ground . You didn't think of that , did ?
you . No , I didn't . Kev's worked on this because he's like there's no way that saying's not real . The point that I'm making with this is there's a lot of quotes that are inspirational but inaccurate . There's so many . You can do anything you set your mind to . No , you can't . No , you can do anything you set your mind to no ,
¶ Inspirational quotes Vs. Reality
you can't . No , you can't . Kev cannot survive being hit by a bus at 80 miles an hour . You just you could really set your mind to it , and you're gonna set your mind to being deaded . So , at the end of the day , I understand why these quotes exist , but they're not accurate . So change the way you look at things . The things you look at change .
Let me unpack that fully when you change the way you see a business or the way you see a person , now all of a sudden , you go out into the world and you start gathering new data that you didn't have before , and then , as you gain that data or feedback , you start to draw conclusions that you never could have drawn before , which changes what you say , think
, do , feel and believe , and then it changes the outcomes that you can create in your life . So a good example of that would be when Kevin was a young lad , a young man he would assume that every girl online that looked really attractive was actually that attractive in real life .
Then he went on a few dates and he realized oh okay , so this is different and it changed what he did . So so now you won't be hoodwinked for lack of better phrasing and you'll have the right expectations from now on again . That's just a silly example , but same with business .
So you go into a escape room for valentine's day and now you're thinking , okay , how does this work ? 68 . Okay , so now you can learn more when you go to this escape room and maybe you find out something they're doing that's actually really intelligent , because you're thinking in this new way .
And then you bring it back to nlu and go hey man , what if we did this ? You want to ?
do it ? Have we ever considered ?
this ? No , absolutely the next level escape room , absolutely not . And again , god , I sound like such a dick when I say things like that . It's like the next level escape room . I wonder if people even know you're joking .
No , I'm serious , you're joking , right ? No , I'm serious as shit , you're not . I'm looking to branch out into some other industries , your next level escape room . Next level escape room .
Yeah , that sounds smart .
The only way to get out of the room is to improve yourself . No , you're the final boss . The only way to get out of the room is to do a math equation with you Is to fight me To do a math debate with me . Which one of these isn't real Fall down seven times , get up eight . We'd have to come up with some other ones . Which one of these isn't real ?
Fall down seven times , get up eight , we'd have to come up with some other ones .
Which one of these isn't real ? You can do anything you set your mind to , except for the stuff you can't do that is the impossible stuff that is . That is a fact ,
¶ Next Level Dreamliner: the planner, agenda, journal, and habit tracker to rule them all. Get a copy:
hello , hello , hello . Nlu listener . Thank you , as always , for listening to next level university real quick . I just want to jump in and let you know about the next level dreamliner . This is a journal that I use every single day . Achieve your dreams 90 days at a time . It breaks down your dreams into goals , milestones and daily habits .
We hope you enjoy it . The link will be in the show notes .
Well , I think this is why change is so hard , because no-transcript . But it was like when you get a new awareness , you can look back in your past and everything is different . It still happened , but now you can see it from a different way . And that's where regrets come in .
If you're getting better , if you're improving , if you're becoming more consistent , if you're more aware , if you're evolving , if you're believing in yourself more , if you're leveling up your self-worth , you might have more regrets .
If you're looking back on the past , I won't say that .
See , this is good . This is the debate , because I think , talk to me about why I do to a degree . I do to a degree , not as much as you do . I think you have way more regrets than I do .
Not because you made dumber decisions than I , which you did . I have more awareness . What if your regret is ?
predicated on your level of awareness . It's not just awareness , I think it's awareness , and uh , care standards , yeah , yeah care , yeah , how much you actually care . I think you care more about your . You care more that you used to drink a lot than I do , because it affected your brain and it affected your potential . I don't think of it that way .
But what if I have higher awareness of my potential than you do of yours ? So therefore I regret it more .
I would venture to guess that you also care more about maximizing your potential than I do .
I don't think it's just awareness yeah Right .
care more about maximizing your potential than I do . I don't think it's just awareness , yeah right it's awareness , and I don't know what would other than care , what would the ?
word be . This goes back to the knowledge is not power thing . We're having the same discussion in a different way because I believe that caring comes with awareness . How can you be aware of something and not care ?
People know smoking kills , people still smoke , every day they start smoking every day , but I think they delude themselves into thinking that they're not going to die or they'll be the exception of well , my grandma lived to 96 , and she smoked every day of her life . It's well , that's probably the one out of a million Maybe .
My mom always used to say I'm going to die one day , like okay like okay , you got me there , logically , you got me , you win .
Well , she quit , she ended up quitting . But okay , the debate there would be . Well , we all are . But that doesn't mean I know smoking weed's not good .
I know that . That's why I very , very , very rarely , if ever , if ever , smoke now . But I knew that I'm starting to come to your end on this .
So there are some people who just don't care about being out of shape .
I think . So this is a good example . If I wanted to , I could never have a drink again in my life . I don't have any dependence on alcohol , I'm a social drinker . If I wanted to , I could just say , okay , I'm done , and I would never drink again . Well , you can do anything you set your mind to . I could do that , I know you could .
I could do that .
As someone who's five years sober , who definitely liked alcohol more than you , I know you could .
Is it worth it ? Do I care ? Do I think that the current way I'm living is detrimental enough to change ? That's it .
Is drinking bad , and that's based on core values . It's based on what you
¶ How much do you really care?
value .
Yeah , yeah Is drinking bad .
Yes , it's one of the worst things you can do for your physical for your physiology . I don't think there's much worse that you can do .
It's one of the worst ? Well , I would probably . There's probably some hard drugs out there there's . Give you a run for your money you talk about legal . Yeah , like legal acceptable yeah , this is another one of those alien moments like imagine if an alien landed and they're like what are you drinking poison ? Why makes me feel ?
good , makes me feel weird , makes the shit fun , let's , let's get weird .
If I drink enough of it , I lie down on the bed and the whole fucking bed spins .
The spins the worst .
Terrible . There are probably some people out there that maybe they have more of a negative relationship . It would probably benefit them more , but they have to . Of a negative relationship . It would probably benefit them more , but they have to come around to that . You and I , we both quit watching porn . There's a reason .
For me it was massive pain but it made it was so negative in my life that it made sense to do it . You know . That's why good enough or good enough is dangerous , and also kind of bad is dangerous . The kind of bad might not be enough to change . Good enough might be a safe place . So you don't get any better . I'm sorry .
¶ Why being comfortable can be risky
Well , in the self-improvement space , Kevin and I have a lot of things , obviously , that we think are maybe not optimal , but one of the things that I really adore . One of the famous sayings is let me not butcher this yeah , people that are happy but they're not happy , but they're not unhappy enough to do anything about it . That's a very scary place .
I don't like to stay there long . Have you ever heard the quote ? And again , I know why some of these quotes just sound so stupid . The only way I'm comfortable is if I'm uncomfortable . Yeah , it's like , the people that are comfortable , the people that win in life or succeed in life , are the people who are uncomfortable being comfortable .
I know why that's a quote because I don't like being comfortable . I , I like being challenged . I , when I'm not being challenged , I know my future is gonna be worse . I'm certain , because you just can't grow . So when I'm not growing , yeah , you should see if you're on youtube , kevin's , kevin's the aliens just came .
They tried to take me but I held on tight Grab your tinfoil hat , alright .
So Any of our stuff Taken out of context Would be bad . We don't believe any of that stuff , or maybe we do , who knows . Okay , we're moving forward .
I do have to go in Four minutes , so I'm gonna need you To wrap this shit up .
I do know that you know what I mean I do all right , ready real quick alcohol , weed aliens that's all you need to live .
That's all you need to live a successful life when you change one thing , everything changes .
When you get one new awareness , it's like you're okay , my therapist , carol , I know your camera's freaking out no , no , that was . I was just freaking out in general my therapist , carol , said when you go to the eye doctors , all of a sudden , click , click , click . Oh , now I can see clearly . I can see clearly now .
The rain is gone , yes , but I can see clearly now . Okay . So now I see the world differently , I see myself differently , I see others differently . Now I'm going to make new decisions based on that . And so when you change one thing , everything else changes . This is why growth is so fucking painful . Seriously , growth is painful .
Here's why Kevin gets a new computer , and it's an opportunity for everything to be better , and everything just got worse . That is what
¶ Growth is painful, but necessary
it takes to get better . Unfortunately , it's up , down , up , down , up , down , up down . The key is to make sure the ups are higher than the downs , the peaks are higher than the troughs and the trend line needs to be up . So you just had one step back for , hopefully , five steps forward . We'll fucking see .
Time will tell last thing before we get out of here , because we both have meetings right after this . I think of it like a puzzle . You imagine you had a puzzle and you did it all and you put all the pieces and then you found an extra piece . It's like interesting , so this puzzle , everything about this puzzle is different than I thought . I'm missing pieces .
Now I have extra pieces . Everything's different . Now you put that piece somewhere and then you have the ability to build on that . I think awareness is the same thing . You only know what you can see of the puzzle and you can only see of the puzzle how aware you are .
That's why they give you an outline of what the finished puzzle is supposed to look like .
Well , remember , when you first interviewed me , I used to have that metaphor of if you can see , imagine two people doing a puzzle . I know we've got to go .
Two people doing a puzzle .
One of them can see the cover the vision , and one of them can see the cover the vision and one of them can't . Who's gonna put the pieces together quicker ? Who's gonna be more effective ?
It's the person who has a vision that's gonna be able to make the border and all that , whereas the other person is just winging it , throwing pieces together and it's gonna be a shit show . You haven't used that one in a minute . It's been a long time , long time since I used that Alright Abrupt ending .
We gotta get out of here . Next Level Live April 25th Sorry , april 5th 2025 . The website is almost done . The landing page will be fully done soon . Shout out to the team for working so hard on that behind the scenes . As always , we love you , we appreciate you . Grateful tomorrow , keep it Next Level , next Level Nation .
¶ Outro
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 .