that you are to sum total of all of the
choices that you’ve made up until now
and anything about yourself or your life
that you don’t like or isn’t working or
is immobilizing you is to be looked at
in terms of can I grow rather than why
did I do order hasn’t this wrong see the
two ways to motivate yourself our
deficiency motivation which says where I
am I don’t like I don’t like what I’ve
done I don’t like the fact that I can’t
do this well or I can’t do that well so
I will list these things in my own
repertoire and then I will be constantly
trying to repair those deficiencies
always assuming that I’m deficient that
there’s something wrong with me and I’m
trying to fix it and when you do that
you spend your whole life doing that and
you never arrive because your life
becomes a series of trying to get
someplace else
and it is if you follow that if you live
that if you behave that then what you
what happens to you is you become a
person who will always suffer from this
disease called more you always have to
have more because whenever you are
getting where you want to go let’s say
you want $100,000 in the bank and you
work and you struggle and you deny
yourself and you do all of those things
and you finally finally you get there
and here you are you got $100,000 in the
bank all of this stuff over here is of
course your life and that is all you
know that’s what you know how to that’s
how you are that is your being that is
your way of being so that when you do
get here what you will do is say this is
not enough you must a No Limit person is
never operating from deficiency or from
lack in their life they’re never saying
[Music]
success is an elusive thing right what
is it and I think it’s very interesting
that if most people can’t define success
well it means you made X amount of
dollars or but if you make X amount of
dollars but you spend more are you
successful or what means you come home
happy everyday okay how do you know when
you’re happy you know so I think success
is a funny thing which is we all seem to
pursue it but we don’t know how to
measure it or actually how to define it
so how do you pursue something that you
can’t measure fascinating so when people
say to me how do you measure success the
question we all have to ask ourselves am
i successful I don’t know I mean I had a
good year last year and what does that
mean does that mean I made a lot of
money does that mean I was really happy
oh I’ll let you decide right maybe
neither maybe both I had a good year
last year but am i successful and the
answer is no I don’t feel I am because
I’m trying to build a world that doesn’t
exist yet I’m trying to build a world in
which ninety percent of people go home
at the end of the day feeling fulfilled
by the work that they do so I definitely
took a step a big step forward towards
that goal but I’m still so far away so
somebody said to me then how do you know
if you’re successful and the answer is
if it can go by itself and so what is
more interesting to me as a measurement
of success is not the the the markers
per se it’s not the the financial goal
or the the size of the house that you
want to buy those it nice things go for
it those are but those are not
measurements of success those are just
nice things to collect along the way for
me its momentum
I want to measure momentum which is you
know when when something is moving and
you start to see you lose momentum you
like oh give it a push because if you
don’t get it push it’s gonna stop and an
object in stasis it’s much harder to get
going it requires a lot more energy to
get something started than it does to
keep it going right and so if you don’t
let it stop and you can keep it going
it’s this you know it still might slow
down down there but you can get it going
again much easier and for me the
opportunity is to get the ball rolling
faster and faster and faster and faster
and faster and bigger and bigger and
bigger and Slyke it’s Noble and my
responsibility is because it’s not
rolling downhill yet it’s not on
automatic yet I need to still keep it
going too
that critical mass where it can go and
at the point it can go by itself without
me then I will find something else to do
and that may not happen in my lifetime I
think we must all stop measuring
promotions salaries and these things but
rather measure the momentum of your
career does my career have momentum can
I see it moving in the right direction
can I see it gathering Moss you know can
I see that it’s easy becoming easier for
me to keep the momentum it’s becoming
easier for me to grow the size of this
thing it’s it’s requiring less effort
that’s the thing we need to measure
that’s the thing that we need to be
cognizant of which is the momentum of
our career is not just the the markers
that we think define our success well
I’m not comparing myself to any of these
people believe me but you wouldn’t say
to Picasso why are you gonna put those
brushes down get rid of the canvas
you’ve done it I’m an entertainer first
and foremost but there’s art involved
here and an artist has an obligation to
be on route to be going somewhere
there’s a journey involved here and you
don’t know where it is and that’s the
fun so you’re always gonna be seeking
and looking and going and trying to
challenge yourself so without sitting
around thinking of that a lot it drives
you in it and it keeps you trying to be
fresh trying to be new trying to call on
yourself calling yourself a little more
you know the difference in the great
coaches and the average and ordinary
coaches is the ability to get momentum
and to keep momentum think about this
folks al Williams for 20 consecutive
years grew now during those 20
consecutive years we changed companies
five times I had to terminate the number
one producer in our company on two
different occasions and it was almost
impossible to get terminated you know
from a Oh Williams we had wars with the
regulators we were kicked out of
Mississippi for two weeks
Canada pass through where there was no
part-time recruits Texas limited the
number of recruits we could 350 a year
and with all of that al Williams grew
for 20 straight
years now how do you grow this is the
difference in a pro a real pro and an
average and ordinary coach there are
three things you do now to guarantee you
keep momentum when you get it going
number one you grow by multiplication
you’ve got to always be promoting people
the district leader to division leader
to our VP okay because once you get
things growing by multiplication then
what you have or you have hundreds then
hundreds are thousands of people that
are doing what you are trying to do okay
building friends praise and recognizing
people recruiting best friends does that
make sense and see once you have once
your growing my multiplication that’s
the greatest opportunity to you to keep
that momentum that you’ve killed okay
that makes sense alright number two the
second thing and keeping this momentum
once you have it is you’ve got to have
an enemy you’ve got to have some kind of
injustice out there you’re trying to
create you know you’ve got to have an
edge I don’t care if you in the root in
in the real estate business right
if somebody’s charging it’s charging a
let’s say a ten percent commission on
just raw land that you sell out there
then you do it for eight and a half
percent or something right you’ve got to
have an edge over the enemy you got to
have an enemy you’re trying to beat out
there right now we were fortunate to
have the worst enemy in old history of
the world right the trash value guys
right but but you’re selling a crusade
there’s nothing that energizes people
and keep that momentum going like a like
a crusade right you’re out there trying
to save the world you’re trying to make
a difference with your life right and
then the third thing is you have
competition competition inside the
company I was a master at promoting
competition inside the company right
like Lawrence Walker I get him taking on
a dick Walker you know down in Tampa
Florida you know I mean I was I had I
had a
of always egging people alone long a
little bit okay so if you want to if you
want to keep momentum once you get it
there are three keys you grow by
multiplication you keep recruiting this
folks for twenty years it’s present al
Williams the first thing I look for
every day on my desk
Cathy hearing my secretary the first
thing I did when I went in the office
before I talked to boo or anybody and
gotten and got in my million things I
needed to do okay the first thing I did
every morning was look at recruiting
numbers first thing I did every morning
the second thing I did was sign 200 gogo
letters that’s the first thing I did and
got that out of the way first thing
every morning right and so you’ve got to
have a women talk to you about that in
the morning to monitoring this kind of
stuff so when you know you can tissa
pate when you are slowing down right
when you’re you’re fixing hit a brick
wall down the road correct so if you if
you are growing by multiplication if
you’ve got people out there recruiting
best friends you’re picking up policies
of best friends you know making
presentations to best friends building
friends were there recruits praising
recognizing people promoting district
managers promoting division manager
promoting our DPS and you’ve got people
you’re teaching people how to do all
these same kind of things to build these
powerful relationships right then you’re
guaranteed that you’re going to keep
that momentum going if you have an enemy
you’ve got to have an enemy you’ve got
to have something you get people riled
up about and then the third thing is you
create competition inside your own
you can either live your dreams or live
your fears and I think the majority of
people actually are not living their
dreams but a living their fears so I
want to ask you a question what are your
fears what are you afraid of what are
you scared of because we all have fears
don’t we we all have something that’s
blocking us that’s holding us back and
as we begin to look at life what we
realize is that the reason that most
people are not living out their true
potential and not doing all of the
things that they would really like to do
it’s because of fear some people called
fear false evidence or expectations
appearing real
I had a real momentum going from college
on through all these roles and plays
that I just mentioned right up until
doing Carbon Copy in 1980-81 and I
didn’t get any work for about six months
and I thought it’s always work at the
post I better go back down to the City
Council meeting and but I got a small
play a one-act play about two guys when
the name Malcolm and the other named
Elijah I was even saying Elijah when I
first good big big big big role and that
really jumped started my career again
because the play went over very well we
did it down at the new federal theater
Henry Street Settlement and that led I
went right from that play to a soldier’s
play off Broadway and right from a
soldier’s play to st. elsewhere
[Music]
in an actor or even being an artist and
I had studied the school behind the
camera was not even in the vernacular of
my dreams I was raised 9 to 5 you go to
work your work you work your way up a
scale yeah and that was all I was able
to even like I said dream about so the
idea of living life and having a career
that was in the arms that was in the
storytelling business it was something
that’s really fun it was not something
that like I said I even dreamed up I was
in the right place right time right bar
guy found me and said you want to come
in and read for a part in a movie I’m
here producing Dazed & Confused I said
sure I got to read for the part it’s got
three lines three lines turns in three
weeks work they’re paying me 325 bucks a
day people were telling me I’m pretty
good at it and I think I’m getting away
with something and I still do feel like
I’m getting away with something
everybody’s problem comes down to one
pattern you’re repeating that you can’t
see and that pattern is getting
triggered by something that happened in
your past that left you with this
emotional scar and so for me the thing
that I always always always have to deal
with and myself is the fear of
disappointing somebody so if I’m in a
situation where I start to feel that
it’s an old trigger and so when you
finally have a word that describes in a
visceral way this thing you hate about
yourself or this thing that triggers you
or whatever it may be that’s where the
power comes because now you can name the
thing that was once controlling you and
so if you can identify first of all the
pattern you keep repeating that makes
you miserable or doesn’t serve you or
makes you lose your power or has you go
numb then you can start to go back and
say well where did I where did I first
start doing this and what was the
experience that triggered it because
that’s the root of the problem right
there and when you expose all of that
the trigger and the emotional button
like my I’m afraid of disappointing
people I’m afraid of disappointing
people I’m not worthy I’m not worthy
you know I’m pissed off that I that this
is happening to me now you have the
every problem the problem itself
presents an opportunity that Dwarfs the
problem and that is to say that if I had
only looked at my failure with the audio
book and viewed it as a failure in the
product let’s say and not in the process
I wouldn’t have taken away much instead
I realized that my approach wasn’t right
fixed by a person that has led to a lot
of great successes professional sports
everybody always said oh he’s a closer
and they said that’s the top level of a
competitor and I always thought while
working with Michael I said comparing
him to everybody else and putting him in
a category as a closer along with all
the other players
I said that’s an insult I see what this
man goes through I’ve seen his
preparation you know I don’t like to use
the word legendary with him because he’s
not a legend he’s an icon there’s a lot
of legends out there there’s only one
icon he’s an icon a cleaner is an
individual what we call a don’t think
person they’re so well-prepared at what
they do they spend hours and hours of
time years of getting prepared that no
matter what’s thrown at them they’re
going to deliver that end result over
and over again their instincts are so
dead on that no matter what variable
what problem they can adjust on the fly
and they’ll have the ability to get
themselves in what we call the zone the
problem is in order to be able to put
yourself in the zone preparation is the
so deciding as you look at your life as
you look into the future and say what
fears am i holding on to what fears that
I’m allowing to imprison me that’s
keeping me from breaking out that’s
keeping me from living up to my true
potential that’s keeping me from really
being happy that’s keeping me from
having a sense of adventure and
excitement in my life what’s what’s
keeping me from controlling my destiny
what fears and I’m giving that
permission to notice what I said that we
must give our permission to fear to
immobilizes because whatever discomfort
you experience whatever challenges a
difficulty that it is you got to handle
it
got to go up in there and wrestle with
it will it be easy no will it be
challenging yes friend of mine who’s
going into recovery
he’s been addicted to crack cocaine for
years and alcohol he was talking about
how challenging it was and while he was
dreading going on going into cold turkey
I said what do you want me to tell you
that it’s gonna be a picnic no it’s not
he’s gonna kick your butt yes it is are
you gonna want to die yes yes that’s a
part of it but that’s just what you must
go through in order to get where you
want to go and guess what you are strong
enough to do it you’re strong enough and
your life is worth whatever you have to
go through to get past this addiction
whatever you have to do this dream
you’ve got whatever you want to do will
it be easy to just run out then do it no
what’ll happen overnight now what a bit
struggle yes will there be times when
you can’t make ends meet yes that’s a
part of it will there be times you won’t
someone always be detached okay
straightforward question the answer is
no someone shouldn’t always be detached
because otherwise you aren’t enjoying
anything in your life so don’t always be
attached detached no but at the same
time that being said you should be aware
all the time if you are getting sucked
into the emotional vortex right you’ve
got to be aware of that once you have
that awareness you don’t need to be
attached all the time at all yeah you
can I’m not always detached at all but
but I’ve got clear warning signs when
things start going sideways
and I start going down some vortex I
know immediately I just attach so it’s
really easy it’s but it does take
practice and eventually you realize that
you know when you’re feeling overwhelmed
when you’re feeling emotional and you’re
feeling angry or you’re feeling
frustrated when you start feeling those
things and you’ve sent them really
quickly and you recognize them you just
detach boom you’re done yeah
so that’s what you got to do is start
recognizing those red flags so that you
can enjoy the good things and when
something starts getting crazy you can
detach yes so it’s like a overall skill
of being able to control when to detach
and when you don’t have to being able to
identify yeah when you need to detach
yeah then being able to detach then your
good habits good habits will give you
results that stick bad habits will
destroy everything I have some bad
habits that’s right all my habits are
not great so if you’ve got some bad
habits
don’t feel bad so does your next-door
neighbor so does your mentor your coach
so does your mother and father if
they’re alive so does everyone and the
trick of life is to replace a bad habit
with a good habit I used to hang around
bars all the time and one day I went in
I picked up a glass and I looked around
and I thought they’re all bums in here
and then it dawned on me I’m always here
I learned something
I put the glass down they said I’m never
coming back here again and I’m never
gonna drink this and I never did it was
a long time ago but you know what I did
I went from spending all my money in the
bar to a race track and I started to bet
it all on horses so I went from making
somebody with a bar get wealthy and then
I started to feed the horses and one day
I woke up and I learned something if you
don’t consciously and deliberately
replace a bad habit with a good habit
you will automatically create another
bad
now what is a habit a habit is an idea
that has been planted in the garden of
your subconscious mind and then
repetitively fed for a sufficient period
of time that you act on it without
giving any thought to it I’ll give you
an example I want you to right now
mentally imagine you’re pulling on your
underwear in the morning what what do
you put in first I put my right foot in
if I tried to put my left foot in my
underwear first I’d stagger and I’d fall
over let me say what’s this got to do
with it it’s got everything to do with
it why do I put my right foot you may
put your left certainly a lot of people
do well when I was just a little gaffer
didn’t have a clue of how to put
underwear on my mother or my grandmother
and my father or somebody came along and
they had the underwear ad put your foot
in here you’re rather fuck what did they
do they had the underwear prepared as if
they were gonna put it on and so pretty
soon I was doing it like they were doing
it they through repetition plans of the
idea in my hand
in my mind well now think of this you
don’t just form habits of how to get
dressed you form habits to do everything
that you do and some of them are not
that productive any idea that you keep
dwelling on and impressing upon your
subconscious mind becomes fixed in the
subconscious mind a habit is nothing but
an idea that’s fixed in the subconscious
mind that you act on without giving any
conscious thought many years ago I went
in to train the Prudential Insurance
Company of America their agents I ended
up training all of their agents and I
only got them to do two things this is
in the early 70s I got them to form the
habit of being in front of a prospect
before 9:00 a.m. and ask everybody they
talked to to purchase $100,000 worth of
insurance I said you don’t have to sell
them just give them the opportunity to
say no do you know the sales in that
company went up by hundreds of millions
of dollars I to rewire a retired VP told
me he thought it was a billion
just change in two habits what habit you
want to change I’m forever chest and out
habits I’ve got I’m in the habit right
now I’m changing my diet and you know
something I’ve been doing it for going
on three weeks it’s getting easier but
it’s still not that easy I’d still like
to reach or burn eat some of that when
nobody’s looking
doesn’t work doesn’t work I’m looking
what habit are you gonna form and you
shouldn’t drive for more than two it
once it’ll become too big and too heavy
and you won’t form any make up your mind
you’re gonna do it every day every day
every day until you don’t have to think
about it and then you’ll automatically
do it I guarantee you this idea will
change your life think about it all day
because that is definitely an idea that
will give you results that will stick me
type of danger right gives you this
flight-or-fight response so train starts
with training jujitsu boxing Muay Thai
wrestling shooting competing competing
right you get used to those butterflies
when you compete you get those
butterflies and you get used to them and
so train and get used to seeing how that
reaction what that adrenalin feels like
and and also get used to understanding
what the superior action is right fight
or flight
because sometimes flight is the correct
response sometimes fight is the correct
response but what you want to do is you
want to be able to assess and dictate
which response you’re gonna give and not
just do whatever your instinct tells you
because sometimes your instinct might be
wrong and so again I don’t know what
you’re actually you’re the situation
where you’re going into but whatever it
is because people get the
fight-or-flight response to to everyday
things to like public speaking right
rock climbing and and that’s why I say
do you know do these things training
them so public speaking rock climbing
you know if you want to get good at rock
Michael are you gonna get over that
fight-or-flight response when you get
out go go rock climbing you are used to
it you scared of heights good to go
start parachuting you know you’ll get
used to it you’re scared of the water
get worked up and go through swimming
and then him come scuba certified just
well the things that you’re not
comfortable with get comfortable with
being uncomfortable what’s the next
piece is that you accept yourself then
you accept the fear as a fact and not a
force so when you accept yourself and
you accept fear as a fact that means
that it’s something that happens it’s
something that you’re going to
experience but it is not a force to hold
you back it doesn’t have any special
power other than that that you give it
so you accept the fact that you are
afraid and then you move on anyhow you
move on past it and you do whatever
talk to you about where you’re going and
what you want to do with your life you
see most people never go after what they
want because they don’t know every step
they have to take to get there I want
you to think of a person going up the
side of a wall of ice now the only rule
for reaching a goal that you have to
know is knowing where you’re going and
knowing that you’re going to get there
you do not have to know how you’re going
to get there
now pay attention to this for a moment
imagine the climber has all his
equipment he’s got his crampons he’s got
his climbing rope his hardware his ice
access how does he get to the top he’s
standing on the ground and he’s looking
at maybe a hundred foot vertical wall of
ice he looks up and he has absolutely no
idea the path that he’s going to take he
just sees himself at the top he reaches
up and he puts one pick in and then
another pick then he raises one foot and
then the other now he’s not standing on
the ground any longer he’s suspended on
the wall on a vertical wall of ice that
goes up 400 feet he adapts to the
changes that is taking place in his
environment and then and only then does
he see the next step and he moves this
pick then this pick then this foot then
this foot now that’s how he gets to the
top a step at a time and that’s how
you’re going to get to your goal you
just have to know the first step to take
and when you take that step you’re going
to find that your conditions your
circumstance and environment will change
then you see how you have to make the
next step it’s a matter of adapting all
the time you only have to know two
things you have to know where you’re
going and you have to know
that you’re going to get there you’ve
got to see it in your mind now this is
the beautiful scenario this is what it’s
all about
save that in your mind and think of it
often think every time you think of your
goal and you’re trying to figure out how
you’re gonna do it think of that
vertical wall of ice what’s the next
step that’s all you really have to know
one step at a time and you’ll get to
wherever you’re going that’s how Hillary
got to the top of Mount Everest and I
don’t think that it’s optional for us to
sit on what we have see if you’re
sitting on what you have what you’ve
been given I think everybody has been
given something to bring to the planet
that only you can do that only you can
perform that only you can initiate that
activity and if you don’t do that if
you’re not filling in your life with
your life work or your mission then
there are gaps in your life and what we
do when we’re not living out our true
identity we begin to fill the gaps we
fill the holes with garbage alcohol
drugs worry self-destructive behavior so
when you begin to look at your life and
you know that that you’re not doing what
you can do because you have allowed
yourself to be held captive by your
fears now
when you don’t have a true appreciation
and acceptance for who you are and you
allow yourself to be immobilized by fear
what happens in the process is that you
begin to abuse yourself you begin to
sabotage your life you begin to sabotage
your dreams you begin to unconsciously
work against yourself you become your
own worst enemy so what do you do about
that well you you begin to realize that
your dream and your gifts have so much
meaning and so much value for you till
your hunger for them
we’ll begin to push you past the fear
your hunger to have them will give you a
special drive as you work on yourself as
you begin to acknowledge your true
identity the true power that you have
the true capacity you have to bring
about change the miracle-working power
that you have within yourself to do the
things that you want to do your present
or past results have absolutely nothing
to do with what’s going to happen from
this point forward now that was the
point that really stand for it drilled
into my head you see I kept thinking
well gee I such a mess up you know I’ve
done everything wrong up till now I’m 26
I’m broke I’m not happy everything was
he said every moment is a new moment we
shouldn’t condemn ourself and he said
what you were yesterday you paid for
what you are today you decide what
that’s exactly what true words say this
even in a creative state we sometimes
don’t understand that you know why
airplanes right up to today almost have
wings on them because birds have wings
birds fly they have wings it’s gonna get
a plane to fly you got to put wings on
it
do you know we’ve got planes flying
without wings today you know I never did
need wings but you see the thinking was
to a degree limited by precedent birds
fly with wings planes have to have wings
planes do not have to have wings you’re
creative if you can visualize it you can
do it it doesn’t matter what it is
that’s what he’ll said and in mind can
conceive and believe it can achieve the
main reasons that people do get what
they want is because they don’t actually
figure out what it is
and the probability that you’re going to
get what would be good for you let’s say
which would even be better than what you
want right because you know you might be
what wrong about what you want easily
but maybe you could get what would
really be good for you well why don’t
you well cuz you don’t try you don’t
think okay
here’s what I would like if I could have
it and and I don’t mean I don’t mean in
a way that you manipulate the world to
force it to deliver you goods for status
or something like that that isn’t what I
mean I mean something like imagine that
you are taking care of yourself like you
were someone you actually cared for and
then you thought okay I I’m caring for
this person I would like things to go as
well for them as possible
what would their life have to be like in
order for that to be the case well
people don’t do that they don’t sit down
and think alright you know let’s let’s
figure it out you’ve got a life it’s
hard obviously it’s like three years
from now you can have what you need you
got to be careful about it you can’t
have everything you can have what would
be good for you but you have to figure
out what it is and then you have to aim
at it well my experience with people as
being is if they figure out what it is
that would be good for them and then
they aim at it then they get it and it’s
strange because they don’t Ness
it’s a strange thing it’s not quite that
simple because you know you may
formulate an idea about what would be
good for you and then you take ten steps
towards that and you find out that your
formulation was a bit off and so you
have to reformulate your goal you know
you’re kind of going like this as you
move towards the goal but a huge part of
the reason that people fail is because
they don’t ever set up the criteria for
success and so since success is a very
narrow line and very unlikely the
probability that you’re going to stumble
on it randomly is zero and so there’s a
proposition here in the proposition is
if you actually want something you can
have it now the question then would be
well what do you mean by actually want
and the answer is that you reorient your
life in every possible way
to make the probability that that will
occur
as certain as possible and that’s a
sacrificial idea right it’s like you
don’t get everything obviously you
obviously but maybe you can have what
you need and maybe all you have to do to
get it is ask but asking isn’t a whim or
today’s wish it’s like you have to be
deadly serious about it you have to
think okay like I’m taking stock of
myself and if I was going to live
properly in the world and I was going to
set myself up such that being would
justify itself in my estimation and I
don’t mean as a harsh judge exactly what
is it that I would aim at sit on your
bed one day and ask yourself what’s what
remarkably stupid things am i doing on a
regular basis to absolutely screw up my
life and if you actually ask that
question but you have to want to know
the answer right because that’s actually
what asking the question means it
doesn’t mean just mouthing the words it
means you have to decide that you want
to know you’ll figure that’s out so fast it’ll make your hair curl
choices that you’ve made up until now
and anything about yourself or your life
that you don’t like or isn’t working or
is immobilizing you is to be looked at
in terms of can I grow rather than why
did I do order hasn’t this wrong see the
two ways to motivate yourself our
deficiency motivation which says where I
am I don’t like I don’t like what I’ve
done I don’t like the fact that I can’t
do this well or I can’t do that well so
I will list these things in my own
repertoire and then I will be constantly
trying to repair those deficiencies
always assuming that I’m deficient that
there’s something wrong with me and I’m
trying to fix it and when you do that
you spend your whole life doing that and
you never arrive because your life
becomes a series of trying to get
someplace else
and it is if you follow that if you live
that if you behave that then what you
what happens to you is you become a
person who will always suffer from this
disease called more you always have to
have more because whenever you are
getting where you want to go let’s say
you want $100,000 in the bank and you
work and you struggle and you deny
yourself and you do all of those things
and you finally finally you get there
and here you are you got $100,000 in the
bank all of this stuff over here is of
course your life and that is all you
know that’s what you know how to that’s
how you are that is your being that is
your way of being so that when you do
get here what you will do is say this is
not enough you must a No Limit person is
never operating from deficiency or from
lack in their life they’re never saying
[Music]
success is an elusive thing right what
is it and I think it’s very interesting
that if most people can’t define success
well it means you made X amount of
dollars or but if you make X amount of
dollars but you spend more are you
successful or what means you come home
happy everyday okay how do you know when
you’re happy you know so I think success
is a funny thing which is we all seem to
pursue it but we don’t know how to
measure it or actually how to define it
so how do you pursue something that you
can’t measure fascinating so when people
say to me how do you measure success the
question we all have to ask ourselves am
i successful I don’t know I mean I had a
good year last year and what does that
mean does that mean I made a lot of
money does that mean I was really happy
oh I’ll let you decide right maybe
neither maybe both I had a good year
last year but am i successful and the
answer is no I don’t feel I am because
I’m trying to build a world that doesn’t
exist yet I’m trying to build a world in
which ninety percent of people go home
at the end of the day feeling fulfilled
by the work that they do so I definitely
took a step a big step forward towards
that goal but I’m still so far away so
somebody said to me then how do you know
if you’re successful and the answer is
if it can go by itself and so what is
more interesting to me as a measurement
of success is not the the the markers
per se it’s not the the financial goal
or the the size of the house that you
want to buy those it nice things go for
it those are but those are not
measurements of success those are just
nice things to collect along the way for
me its momentum
I want to measure momentum which is you
know when when something is moving and
you start to see you lose momentum you
like oh give it a push because if you
don’t get it push it’s gonna stop and an
object in stasis it’s much harder to get
going it requires a lot more energy to
get something started than it does to
keep it going right and so if you don’t
let it stop and you can keep it going
it’s this you know it still might slow
down down there but you can get it going
again much easier and for me the
opportunity is to get the ball rolling
faster and faster and faster and faster
and faster and bigger and bigger and
bigger and Slyke it’s Noble and my
responsibility is because it’s not
rolling downhill yet it’s not on
automatic yet I need to still keep it
going too
that critical mass where it can go and
at the point it can go by itself without
me then I will find something else to do
and that may not happen in my lifetime I
think we must all stop measuring
promotions salaries and these things but
rather measure the momentum of your
career does my career have momentum can
I see it moving in the right direction
can I see it gathering Moss you know can
I see that it’s easy becoming easier for
me to keep the momentum it’s becoming
easier for me to grow the size of this
thing it’s it’s requiring less effort
that’s the thing we need to measure
that’s the thing that we need to be
cognizant of which is the momentum of
our career is not just the the markers
that we think define our success well
I’m not comparing myself to any of these
people believe me but you wouldn’t say
to Picasso why are you gonna put those
brushes down get rid of the canvas
you’ve done it I’m an entertainer first
and foremost but there’s art involved
here and an artist has an obligation to
be on route to be going somewhere
there’s a journey involved here and you
don’t know where it is and that’s the
fun so you’re always gonna be seeking
and looking and going and trying to
challenge yourself so without sitting
around thinking of that a lot it drives
you in it and it keeps you trying to be
fresh trying to be new trying to call on
yourself calling yourself a little more
you know the difference in the great
coaches and the average and ordinary
coaches is the ability to get momentum
and to keep momentum think about this
folks al Williams for 20 consecutive
years grew now during those 20
consecutive years we changed companies
five times I had to terminate the number
one producer in our company on two
different occasions and it was almost
impossible to get terminated you know
from a Oh Williams we had wars with the
regulators we were kicked out of
Mississippi for two weeks
Canada pass through where there was no
part-time recruits Texas limited the
number of recruits we could 350 a year
and with all of that al Williams grew
for 20 straight
years now how do you grow this is the
difference in a pro a real pro and an
average and ordinary coach there are
three things you do now to guarantee you
keep momentum when you get it going
number one you grow by multiplication
you’ve got to always be promoting people
the district leader to division leader
to our VP okay because once you get
things growing by multiplication then
what you have or you have hundreds then
hundreds are thousands of people that
are doing what you are trying to do okay
building friends praise and recognizing
people recruiting best friends does that
make sense and see once you have once
your growing my multiplication that’s
the greatest opportunity to you to keep
that momentum that you’ve killed okay
that makes sense alright number two the
second thing and keeping this momentum
once you have it is you’ve got to have
an enemy you’ve got to have some kind of
injustice out there you’re trying to
create you know you’ve got to have an
edge I don’t care if you in the root in
in the real estate business right
if somebody’s charging it’s charging a
let’s say a ten percent commission on
just raw land that you sell out there
then you do it for eight and a half
percent or something right you’ve got to
have an edge over the enemy you got to
have an enemy you’re trying to beat out
there right now we were fortunate to
have the worst enemy in old history of
the world right the trash value guys
right but but you’re selling a crusade
there’s nothing that energizes people
and keep that momentum going like a like
a crusade right you’re out there trying
to save the world you’re trying to make
a difference with your life right and
then the third thing is you have
competition competition inside the
company I was a master at promoting
competition inside the company right
like Lawrence Walker I get him taking on
a dick Walker you know down in Tampa
Florida you know I mean I was I had I
had a
of always egging people alone long a
little bit okay so if you want to if you
want to keep momentum once you get it
there are three keys you grow by
multiplication you keep recruiting this
folks for twenty years it’s present al
Williams the first thing I look for
every day on my desk
Cathy hearing my secretary the first
thing I did when I went in the office
before I talked to boo or anybody and
gotten and got in my million things I
needed to do okay the first thing I did
every morning was look at recruiting
numbers first thing I did every morning
the second thing I did was sign 200 gogo
letters that’s the first thing I did and
got that out of the way first thing
every morning right and so you’ve got to
have a women talk to you about that in
the morning to monitoring this kind of
stuff so when you know you can tissa
pate when you are slowing down right
when you’re you’re fixing hit a brick
wall down the road correct so if you if
you are growing by multiplication if
you’ve got people out there recruiting
best friends you’re picking up policies
of best friends you know making
presentations to best friends building
friends were there recruits praising
recognizing people promoting district
managers promoting division manager
promoting our DPS and you’ve got people
you’re teaching people how to do all
these same kind of things to build these
powerful relationships right then you’re
guaranteed that you’re going to keep
that momentum going if you have an enemy
you’ve got to have an enemy you’ve got
to have something you get people riled
up about and then the third thing is you
create competition inside your own
you can either live your dreams or live
your fears and I think the majority of
people actually are not living their
dreams but a living their fears so I
want to ask you a question what are your
fears what are you afraid of what are
you scared of because we all have fears
don’t we we all have something that’s
blocking us that’s holding us back and
as we begin to look at life what we
realize is that the reason that most
people are not living out their true
potential and not doing all of the
things that they would really like to do
it’s because of fear some people called
fear false evidence or expectations
appearing real
I had a real momentum going from college
on through all these roles and plays
that I just mentioned right up until
doing Carbon Copy in 1980-81 and I
didn’t get any work for about six months
and I thought it’s always work at the
post I better go back down to the City
Council meeting and but I got a small
play a one-act play about two guys when
the name Malcolm and the other named
Elijah I was even saying Elijah when I
first good big big big big role and that
really jumped started my career again
because the play went over very well we
did it down at the new federal theater
Henry Street Settlement and that led I
went right from that play to a soldier’s
play off Broadway and right from a
soldier’s play to st. elsewhere
[Music]
in an actor or even being an artist and
I had studied the school behind the
camera was not even in the vernacular of
my dreams I was raised 9 to 5 you go to
work your work you work your way up a
scale yeah and that was all I was able
to even like I said dream about so the
idea of living life and having a career
that was in the arms that was in the
storytelling business it was something
that’s really fun it was not something
that like I said I even dreamed up I was
in the right place right time right bar
guy found me and said you want to come
in and read for a part in a movie I’m
here producing Dazed & Confused I said
sure I got to read for the part it’s got
three lines three lines turns in three
weeks work they’re paying me 325 bucks a
day people were telling me I’m pretty
good at it and I think I’m getting away
with something and I still do feel like
I’m getting away with something
everybody’s problem comes down to one
pattern you’re repeating that you can’t
see and that pattern is getting
triggered by something that happened in
your past that left you with this
emotional scar and so for me the thing
that I always always always have to deal
with and myself is the fear of
disappointing somebody so if I’m in a
situation where I start to feel that
it’s an old trigger and so when you
finally have a word that describes in a
visceral way this thing you hate about
yourself or this thing that triggers you
or whatever it may be that’s where the
power comes because now you can name the
thing that was once controlling you and
so if you can identify first of all the
pattern you keep repeating that makes
you miserable or doesn’t serve you or
makes you lose your power or has you go
numb then you can start to go back and
say well where did I where did I first
start doing this and what was the
experience that triggered it because
that’s the root of the problem right
there and when you expose all of that
the trigger and the emotional button
like my I’m afraid of disappointing
people I’m afraid of disappointing
people I’m not worthy I’m not worthy
you know I’m pissed off that I that this
is happening to me now you have the
every problem the problem itself
presents an opportunity that Dwarfs the
problem and that is to say that if I had
only looked at my failure with the audio
book and viewed it as a failure in the
product let’s say and not in the process
I wouldn’t have taken away much instead
I realized that my approach wasn’t right
fixed by a person that has led to a lot
of great successes professional sports
everybody always said oh he’s a closer
and they said that’s the top level of a
competitor and I always thought while
working with Michael I said comparing
him to everybody else and putting him in
a category as a closer along with all
the other players
I said that’s an insult I see what this
man goes through I’ve seen his
preparation you know I don’t like to use
the word legendary with him because he’s
not a legend he’s an icon there’s a lot
of legends out there there’s only one
icon he’s an icon a cleaner is an
individual what we call a don’t think
person they’re so well-prepared at what
they do they spend hours and hours of
time years of getting prepared that no
matter what’s thrown at them they’re
going to deliver that end result over
and over again their instincts are so
dead on that no matter what variable
what problem they can adjust on the fly
and they’ll have the ability to get
themselves in what we call the zone the
problem is in order to be able to put
yourself in the zone preparation is the
so deciding as you look at your life as
you look into the future and say what
fears am i holding on to what fears that
I’m allowing to imprison me that’s
keeping me from breaking out that’s
keeping me from living up to my true
potential that’s keeping me from really
being happy that’s keeping me from
having a sense of adventure and
excitement in my life what’s what’s
keeping me from controlling my destiny
what fears and I’m giving that
permission to notice what I said that we
must give our permission to fear to
immobilizes because whatever discomfort
you experience whatever challenges a
difficulty that it is you got to handle
it
got to go up in there and wrestle with
it will it be easy no will it be
challenging yes friend of mine who’s
going into recovery
he’s been addicted to crack cocaine for
years and alcohol he was talking about
how challenging it was and while he was
dreading going on going into cold turkey
I said what do you want me to tell you
that it’s gonna be a picnic no it’s not
he’s gonna kick your butt yes it is are
you gonna want to die yes yes that’s a
part of it but that’s just what you must
go through in order to get where you
want to go and guess what you are strong
enough to do it you’re strong enough and
your life is worth whatever you have to
go through to get past this addiction
whatever you have to do this dream
you’ve got whatever you want to do will
it be easy to just run out then do it no
what’ll happen overnight now what a bit
struggle yes will there be times when
you can’t make ends meet yes that’s a
part of it will there be times you won’t
someone always be detached okay
straightforward question the answer is
no someone shouldn’t always be detached
because otherwise you aren’t enjoying
anything in your life so don’t always be
attached detached no but at the same
time that being said you should be aware
all the time if you are getting sucked
into the emotional vortex right you’ve
got to be aware of that once you have
that awareness you don’t need to be
attached all the time at all yeah you
can I’m not always detached at all but
but I’ve got clear warning signs when
things start going sideways
and I start going down some vortex I
know immediately I just attach so it’s
really easy it’s but it does take
practice and eventually you realize that
you know when you’re feeling overwhelmed
when you’re feeling emotional and you’re
feeling angry or you’re feeling
frustrated when you start feeling those
things and you’ve sent them really
quickly and you recognize them you just
detach boom you’re done yeah
so that’s what you got to do is start
recognizing those red flags so that you
can enjoy the good things and when
something starts getting crazy you can
detach yes so it’s like a overall skill
of being able to control when to detach
and when you don’t have to being able to
identify yeah when you need to detach
yeah then being able to detach then your
good habits good habits will give you
results that stick bad habits will
destroy everything I have some bad
habits that’s right all my habits are
not great so if you’ve got some bad
habits
don’t feel bad so does your next-door
neighbor so does your mentor your coach
so does your mother and father if
they’re alive so does everyone and the
trick of life is to replace a bad habit
with a good habit I used to hang around
bars all the time and one day I went in
I picked up a glass and I looked around
and I thought they’re all bums in here
and then it dawned on me I’m always here
I learned something
I put the glass down they said I’m never
coming back here again and I’m never
gonna drink this and I never did it was
a long time ago but you know what I did
I went from spending all my money in the
bar to a race track and I started to bet
it all on horses so I went from making
somebody with a bar get wealthy and then
I started to feed the horses and one day
I woke up and I learned something if you
don’t consciously and deliberately
replace a bad habit with a good habit
you will automatically create another
bad
now what is a habit a habit is an idea
that has been planted in the garden of
your subconscious mind and then
repetitively fed for a sufficient period
of time that you act on it without
giving any thought to it I’ll give you
an example I want you to right now
mentally imagine you’re pulling on your
underwear in the morning what what do
you put in first I put my right foot in
if I tried to put my left foot in my
underwear first I’d stagger and I’d fall
over let me say what’s this got to do
with it it’s got everything to do with
it why do I put my right foot you may
put your left certainly a lot of people
do well when I was just a little gaffer
didn’t have a clue of how to put
underwear on my mother or my grandmother
and my father or somebody came along and
they had the underwear ad put your foot
in here you’re rather fuck what did they
do they had the underwear prepared as if
they were gonna put it on and so pretty
soon I was doing it like they were doing
it they through repetition plans of the
idea in my hand
in my mind well now think of this you
don’t just form habits of how to get
dressed you form habits to do everything
that you do and some of them are not
that productive any idea that you keep
dwelling on and impressing upon your
subconscious mind becomes fixed in the
subconscious mind a habit is nothing but
an idea that’s fixed in the subconscious
mind that you act on without giving any
conscious thought many years ago I went
in to train the Prudential Insurance
Company of America their agents I ended
up training all of their agents and I
only got them to do two things this is
in the early 70s I got them to form the
habit of being in front of a prospect
before 9:00 a.m. and ask everybody they
talked to to purchase $100,000 worth of
insurance I said you don’t have to sell
them just give them the opportunity to
say no do you know the sales in that
company went up by hundreds of millions
of dollars I to rewire a retired VP told
me he thought it was a billion
just change in two habits what habit you
want to change I’m forever chest and out
habits I’ve got I’m in the habit right
now I’m changing my diet and you know
something I’ve been doing it for going
on three weeks it’s getting easier but
it’s still not that easy I’d still like
to reach or burn eat some of that when
nobody’s looking
doesn’t work doesn’t work I’m looking
what habit are you gonna form and you
shouldn’t drive for more than two it
once it’ll become too big and too heavy
and you won’t form any make up your mind
you’re gonna do it every day every day
every day until you don’t have to think
about it and then you’ll automatically
do it I guarantee you this idea will
change your life think about it all day
because that is definitely an idea that
will give you results that will stick me
type of danger right gives you this
flight-or-fight response so train starts
with training jujitsu boxing Muay Thai
wrestling shooting competing competing
right you get used to those butterflies
when you compete you get those
butterflies and you get used to them and
so train and get used to seeing how that
reaction what that adrenalin feels like
and and also get used to understanding
what the superior action is right fight
or flight
because sometimes flight is the correct
response sometimes fight is the correct
response but what you want to do is you
want to be able to assess and dictate
which response you’re gonna give and not
just do whatever your instinct tells you
because sometimes your instinct might be
wrong and so again I don’t know what
you’re actually you’re the situation
where you’re going into but whatever it
is because people get the
fight-or-flight response to to everyday
things to like public speaking right
rock climbing and and that’s why I say
do you know do these things training
them so public speaking rock climbing
you know if you want to get good at rock
Michael are you gonna get over that
fight-or-flight response when you get
out go go rock climbing you are used to
it you scared of heights good to go
start parachuting you know you’ll get
used to it you’re scared of the water
get worked up and go through swimming
and then him come scuba certified just
well the things that you’re not
comfortable with get comfortable with
being uncomfortable what’s the next
piece is that you accept yourself then
you accept the fear as a fact and not a
force so when you accept yourself and
you accept fear as a fact that means
that it’s something that happens it’s
something that you’re going to
experience but it is not a force to hold
you back it doesn’t have any special
power other than that that you give it
so you accept the fact that you are
afraid and then you move on anyhow you
move on past it and you do whatever
talk to you about where you’re going and
what you want to do with your life you
see most people never go after what they
want because they don’t know every step
they have to take to get there I want
you to think of a person going up the
side of a wall of ice now the only rule
for reaching a goal that you have to
know is knowing where you’re going and
knowing that you’re going to get there
you do not have to know how you’re going
to get there
now pay attention to this for a moment
imagine the climber has all his
equipment he’s got his crampons he’s got
his climbing rope his hardware his ice
access how does he get to the top he’s
standing on the ground and he’s looking
at maybe a hundred foot vertical wall of
ice he looks up and he has absolutely no
idea the path that he’s going to take he
just sees himself at the top he reaches
up and he puts one pick in and then
another pick then he raises one foot and
then the other now he’s not standing on
the ground any longer he’s suspended on
the wall on a vertical wall of ice that
goes up 400 feet he adapts to the
changes that is taking place in his
environment and then and only then does
he see the next step and he moves this
pick then this pick then this foot then
this foot now that’s how he gets to the
top a step at a time and that’s how
you’re going to get to your goal you
just have to know the first step to take
and when you take that step you’re going
to find that your conditions your
circumstance and environment will change
then you see how you have to make the
next step it’s a matter of adapting all
the time you only have to know two
things you have to know where you’re
going and you have to know
that you’re going to get there you’ve
got to see it in your mind now this is
the beautiful scenario this is what it’s
all about
save that in your mind and think of it
often think every time you think of your
goal and you’re trying to figure out how
you’re gonna do it think of that
vertical wall of ice what’s the next
step that’s all you really have to know
one step at a time and you’ll get to
wherever you’re going that’s how Hillary
got to the top of Mount Everest and I
don’t think that it’s optional for us to
sit on what we have see if you’re
sitting on what you have what you’ve
been given I think everybody has been
given something to bring to the planet
that only you can do that only you can
perform that only you can initiate that
activity and if you don’t do that if
you’re not filling in your life with
your life work or your mission then
there are gaps in your life and what we
do when we’re not living out our true
identity we begin to fill the gaps we
fill the holes with garbage alcohol
drugs worry self-destructive behavior so
when you begin to look at your life and
you know that that you’re not doing what
you can do because you have allowed
yourself to be held captive by your
fears now
when you don’t have a true appreciation
and acceptance for who you are and you
allow yourself to be immobilized by fear
what happens in the process is that you
begin to abuse yourself you begin to
sabotage your life you begin to sabotage
your dreams you begin to unconsciously
work against yourself you become your
own worst enemy so what do you do about
that well you you begin to realize that
your dream and your gifts have so much
meaning and so much value for you till
your hunger for them
we’ll begin to push you past the fear
your hunger to have them will give you a
special drive as you work on yourself as
you begin to acknowledge your true
identity the true power that you have
the true capacity you have to bring
about change the miracle-working power
that you have within yourself to do the
things that you want to do your present
or past results have absolutely nothing
to do with what’s going to happen from
this point forward now that was the
point that really stand for it drilled
into my head you see I kept thinking
well gee I such a mess up you know I’ve
done everything wrong up till now I’m 26
I’m broke I’m not happy everything was
he said every moment is a new moment we
shouldn’t condemn ourself and he said
what you were yesterday you paid for
what you are today you decide what
that’s exactly what true words say this
even in a creative state we sometimes
don’t understand that you know why
airplanes right up to today almost have
wings on them because birds have wings
birds fly they have wings it’s gonna get
a plane to fly you got to put wings on
it
do you know we’ve got planes flying
without wings today you know I never did
need wings but you see the thinking was
to a degree limited by precedent birds
fly with wings planes have to have wings
planes do not have to have wings you’re
creative if you can visualize it you can
do it it doesn’t matter what it is
that’s what he’ll said and in mind can
conceive and believe it can achieve the
main reasons that people do get what
they want is because they don’t actually
figure out what it is
and the probability that you’re going to
get what would be good for you let’s say
which would even be better than what you
want right because you know you might be
what wrong about what you want easily
but maybe you could get what would
really be good for you well why don’t
you well cuz you don’t try you don’t
think okay
here’s what I would like if I could have
it and and I don’t mean I don’t mean in
a way that you manipulate the world to
force it to deliver you goods for status
or something like that that isn’t what I
mean I mean something like imagine that
you are taking care of yourself like you
were someone you actually cared for and
then you thought okay I I’m caring for
this person I would like things to go as
well for them as possible
what would their life have to be like in
order for that to be the case well
people don’t do that they don’t sit down
and think alright you know let’s let’s
figure it out you’ve got a life it’s
hard obviously it’s like three years
from now you can have what you need you
got to be careful about it you can’t
have everything you can have what would
be good for you but you have to figure
out what it is and then you have to aim
at it well my experience with people as
being is if they figure out what it is
that would be good for them and then
they aim at it then they get it and it’s
strange because they don’t Ness
it’s a strange thing it’s not quite that
simple because you know you may
formulate an idea about what would be
good for you and then you take ten steps
towards that and you find out that your
formulation was a bit off and so you
have to reformulate your goal you know
you’re kind of going like this as you
move towards the goal but a huge part of
the reason that people fail is because
they don’t ever set up the criteria for
success and so since success is a very
narrow line and very unlikely the
probability that you’re going to stumble
on it randomly is zero and so there’s a
proposition here in the proposition is
if you actually want something you can
have it now the question then would be
well what do you mean by actually want
and the answer is that you reorient your
life in every possible way
to make the probability that that will
occur
as certain as possible and that’s a
sacrificial idea right it’s like you
don’t get everything obviously you
obviously but maybe you can have what
you need and maybe all you have to do to
get it is ask but asking isn’t a whim or
today’s wish it’s like you have to be
deadly serious about it you have to
think okay like I’m taking stock of
myself and if I was going to live
properly in the world and I was going to
set myself up such that being would
justify itself in my estimation and I
don’t mean as a harsh judge exactly what
is it that I would aim at sit on your
bed one day and ask yourself what’s what
remarkably stupid things am i doing on a
regular basis to absolutely screw up my
life and if you actually ask that
question but you have to want to know
the answer right because that’s actually
what asking the question means it
doesn’t mean just mouthing the words it
means you have to decide that you want
to know you’ll figure that’s out so fast it’ll make your hair curl
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