Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast With Martin Grunburg | Goal Achievement, Productivity & Success Simplified

"Bring your energy to the here and now.” ~Roz Savage For this Mind Bullet Monday, we explore the idea of taking things one stroke at a time. A little backstory: Eco-activist Roz Savage wrote the foreword for The Habit Factor after using the app to reach her goal of rowing across the Atlantic Ocean (she subsequently rowed across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well).  When discussing with a friend how someone can tackle the enormous task of rowing across an ocean, the answer was readily apparent: one stroke at a time. This idea has ramifications throughout life and its challenges. Roz writes about the overwhelming obstacles she faced in her Atlantic journey and being flooded with despair—until she decided to regain her focus, take control of the here and now, and inch closer to her goal by focusing on the process. Listen in to hear more about the idea of tackling challenges one stroke at a time, how Roz Savage regained focused on her goal, and how we can all learn the lessons of overcoming the obstacles of l

"Many successful people get up before 6 am in the morning. They have rituals. They exercise, stretch, organize their day, and walk through that series of rituals.”  ~Brian Tracy Today's Frequently Asked Friday (FAF) tackles a basic yet important question: What's the difference between habits and rituals? A ritual is simply a series of habits. For example, your morning ritual may consist of healthy habits such as brushing your teeth, exercising, meditating, and eating breakfast.  Another more subtle distinction: Rituals involve a spiritual quality. Habits don't often get credit for spirituality, but they too have a spiritual component—after all, there's nothing more spiritual than the evolution and growth of your character. Listen in for more on the differences between rituals and habits, how the two are interlinked, and how the first hour of the day is a powerful time to create a wellness ritual. Enjoy the episode! *** ** New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will

"If you're not tracking you're slacking!” Episode #4 in our 2020 Vision & Wellness series brings us to the all-important concept of tracking our behaviors to form good, supportive habits of our goals! After many thought exercises in the first three episodes, we find ourselves here, diving into the mechanism that bridges the gap - from vision to reality. In this episode, MG shares a handful of reasons to track your habits. 1) It enhances one's belief and drives momentum, 2) it improves one's focus and concentration and, 3) it helps you to stay on track/get back on track as well as creates efficacy. Finally, MG challenges the listener to add a secondary, physical goal to fuel better energy, health, and wellness. New listeners are encouraged to follow the P.A.R.R. method to track and develop new habits (Plan, Act, Record & Reassess) and to visit http://thehabitfactor.com/templates where they can download the free habits and goals tracking template. Be sure to subscribe as we head into week #5 of our 2020

"Practice!? You talking about Practice!?” ~Allen Iverson In today's MBM, yes, we're talking about PRACTICE! Practice, the art of strengthening a habit or skill is in itself, an overlooked skill. The question for you is, "What are you practicing today?" Practice precedes results in all areas of our lives. The more often and better we practice with intention, the better our results. The problem is so many people think of "practice" as something that applies only to professional athletes. What could you begin to practice today to improve the results in those areas that are important to you? A few examples of skills/habits to practice; saving money, breathing, stretching, drinking water, exercising, just to name a few. The beauty for long-time habit factor users is the process to improve one's practice habit follows the very same principles within P.A.R.R.; Plan, Act, Record & Reassess! Listen in to hear more about the significance of incorporating a mindset of daily practice to produce the results you

"Worrying is like paying interest on a loan that may never come due." Today's Frequently Asked Friday (FAF) attempts to grapple the all-to-common problem over chronic worrying. It makes sense to worry, right? Pick your topic; government, climate, work, the economy, family, friends, etc. The list of valid things to worry about is endless. The reality though is worrying about things we can't control or influence is a waste of precious time and valuable energy. Further, it's bad for one's health. Too much worrying and we'll head to an early grave. Rephrasing a classic Plato quote MG offers this: "There are two things you should never worry about, those things you can help and those things you cannot help." Finally, MG suggests a simple hack to thwart the worry habit for good by using each worry thought as a trigger to develop the gratitude habit! Enjoy the episode! *** New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit develo

"The wave of change is coming. It's time to get on your 'New Habits' surfboard and surf with intention.” With the New Year comes a great opportunity to leverage the air of change and harness the force of habit for our benefit. This five-part Vision & Wellness series is designed to help you do just that! Today's episode, Part 4, is all about the great constant of CHANGE! Some of us hate change, and some of us never think things will change, yet the truth is everything is undergoing constant transformation. Take a look at a picture of yourself when you were just 10 years old. Is that really you? For many, such a reminder provides hope: The past doesn't determine the future, but the new habits and goals we set today (now) can. Today's exercises ask us to reflect upon our strengths and weaknesses and identify where we can put our attention and intention to forge new habits. Make sure you're subscribed as we get into part four of this powerful series to help you jump-start your 2020 to be your best year ever!

"You become what you think about all day long.” ~RW Emerson Where your attention goes, new habits and skills are developed. Obsession, by definition, is "an idea or thought that constantly preoccupies one's mind."  Obsession is arguably your greatest ally when it comes to goal achievement, as well as skill and habit development. Obsession is simply Desire 10.0. The question for you is, "What are you obsessed with?" What preoccupies your mind? When your desire for "IT" is so great that you wake up with "it" first thing, and it's the last thing you think of before you go to bed, then you will know your desire is sufficient. MG uses the example of writing both The Habit Factor® and The Pressure Paradox™. Each was years in the making, and during those years, MG was obsessed with these ideas — the concepts of HABIT and PRESSURE. Further, that obsession, he suggests, is what helps to inspire creativity via the subconscious mind! Listen in to hear the other four, key steps in the process of making feeling overw

"A wise man rules his habits, a fool obeys them." Today's Frequently Asked Friday (FAF) poses a classic question:  "How can habits help me achieve my goals?" This may be one of the most basic and fundamental concepts of the entire Habit Factor® ecosystem. First, the subject of habit is often confusing. Most people, sadly, only associate the word habit with negative actions, such as smoking, drinking, biting fingernails, doing drugs, etc. But habits are a force of energy and an incredibly efficient way to apply your behavior energy to help you move forward toward your goals more quickly and easily.  The Habit Factor teaches us to identify, craft, and implement habits that are essential to our goals. An author develops the habit of writing; a runner develops the habit of running. Someone on a health and fitness quest would craft habits of exercise, eating well, drinking water, etc.  Listen in for more on aligning habits to your goals, how following P.A.R.R. increases habitstrength incrementally over time, and

"The Habit Factor is always, always working! The question is, is it working for you or against you?”  With the New Year comes this five-part series to be released each Wednesday in January: 2020 Vision & Wellness. Today's episode helps us to step back, assess our current results, and then ask a few key questions with the understanding that what we've done in the past has led us to the present. Thus, the new habits that we begin to cultivate today will lead us to be better tomorrow! This week's exercises build upon the clarity developed in the last episode. If you haven't listened to last week's episode on clarity and done that homework, stop, and go listen to that episode first. These episodes are designed to be consumed in chronological order. Today's exercises have us reflect upon the past, assess our current results, and ask some simple yet powerful questions: "What's working?" "What's not working?" "What habits should I begin to develop?" "What habits should I quit?" And, finally, "What should I be do

"The man who moves mountains begins by carrying small stones.” ~Confucius Overwhelm by definition is to "bury or drown by a large mass". This is a topic we covered in Season 3, episode 10 when Martin invited Cathey Fisher to join H2G to share her experience with The Habit Factor and discuss the topic of being overwhelmed. Cathey and Martin review the Focus & Discipline webinar where the topic came up in the Q&A. In this episode, MG dishes out a five-part recipe regarding exactly how to address the feeling of overwhelm which begins with getting crystal clear on identifying the PRIORITY— what to address first. Loosely defined, a priority is one thing of great importance above all others.  Listen in to hear the other four, key steps in the process to  make feeling overwhelmed a thing of the past. Enjoy the episode! *** New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here

"A miracle is an event so unlikely as to be nearly impossible. It's probably worth reminding you right now that the probability of your existence is estimated to be 1 in 400 trillion." Today's Frequently Asked Friday (FAF), "How can I stop overthinking?" is the natural follow-up to Monday's Mind-Bullet, Overthinking. When it comes to our goals and ambitions, chances are good  that overthinking is keeping us from even getting out of the gate! Overthinking is typically just a disguise for a lack of confidence. The key to gaining confidence is to take action! Small steps toward your goal—tracking your habits, for example—following P.A.R.R. is a sure way to gain confidence. We can also stop overthinking by asking questions and challenging our perspective.  One of the best ways to reduce overthinking is to slow down, stop, and manage our thoughts better. One of the very best ways to do this is to begin a meditation practice. Listen in for more on why overthinking need not be a hurdle you create for yourself and le

"Don't die with your music still in you.” ~Dr. Wayne Dyer With the New Year comes a five-part series to be released each Wednesday in January: 2020 Vision & Wellness. Today's episode helps us to get clear about our goals and ambitions for the new year. We "begin with the end in mind", by identifying what we want to create in 2020 and beyond. To do this we review several vision and clarity exercises and Stephen Covey's, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to underscore the importance of clarity. MG shares the experience that was responsible for him to take action toward his most important goal (after wasting so many years) claims the same exercises are responsible for the creation of the book, app and podcast. Finally, with the theme of wellness, he urges listeners to consider challenging themselves physically in the new year which is likely to help them grow mentally and emotionally as well. Listen to the first part of the series and find out how you can propel yourself to get a great jumpstart in

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. Overthinking is often the biggest hurdle most of us encounter on the path to goal achievement. The irony;  it's a hurdle we create! Overthinking not only creates stress in our lives, it creates inaction, increases doubt, anxiety, fear and limits our potential. Overthinking impedes the very 3 P's MG writes about in The Pressure Paradox, namely; Productivity, Performance and Peace of Mind. To illustrate the point, he shares a recent Conan O'Brien interview with NPR's Terry Gross.  Enjoy the episode! *** New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates. Feel free to share the episode and leave a review on iTunes!  ***** Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android | RSS ***** TOOLS/BOOKS WE RECOMMEND: Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right h

"There are no accidents Shifu."  ~Oogway  Deepak Chopra likes to say, "There are no accidents . . .  there is only some purpose we haven't yet understood. Einstein said, "God does not play dice with the universe." Even the wisdom of the movie Kung Fu Panda asserts that everything happens for a reason.   But this line of thought leads us down a path of dichotomous thinking. Are there really NO accidents? There are entire industries devoted to accidents. Rather than believing everything is predetermined or destined to be, it is worth considering that it doesn't have to be an either/or situation. Consider sports and the games we play. There are rules AND there is random chance. In life we have rules; gravity, principles — things that are unwavering AND we also have the element of chance. We need not explain away accidents and simply assert they are all predetermined. Listen in for more on accepting both rules and accidents, why life is like a board game..  Enjoy the episode! *** New listeners: By texting the wor

"What could you be doing if you were operating at your full potential? If you're not, it's going to show up in your business and relationships.” ~Luke DePron As 2019 draws to a close and we're poised to welcome a new year, it's a great time to present this inspiring and insightful conversation with fitness and lifestyle coach Luke DePron, who's also the host of the Live Great Lifestyle podcast and an in-demand speaker.  Luke DePron grew up in the Midwest and followed his passion for fitness and health, earning a degree in exercise science and kinesiology. He wanted to make a difference in the lives of others and found a niche working with entrepreneurs and busy professionals, helping them achieve and maintain their health and fitness—matching their personal success to their business success. Luke passionately believes that real health and vibrancy is our natural state, and this level of energy and fitness is attainable for all. Listen in to hear more about Luke's mission to inspire others to get out of their

"It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.” ~Zig Ziglar Today's Mind Bullet focuses on a topic of great importance in many Habits2Goals episodes, but it's time to look at it in-depth, by itself: attitude. Attitude is defined as a "settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior." Attitudes are ingrained habits of thought that are reflected in our behavior.  We have attitudes about everything —friends, jobs, learning, work, spouses, families, and more. Are these attitudes fostering positivity or negativity? The good news is that our thoughts control our attitudes—and we can control our thinking.  Listen in for more on using attitude to grow skills, how controlling your thoughts drive a positive attitude, and why the ceiling on our achievement and success is limited only by your attitude.  Enjoy the episode! *** New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly recei

"The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet, and Doctor Merryman." ~Jonathan Swift  Today's Frequently Asked Friday tackles an important question: What are the habits that make the biggest difference in life?   When thinking about the habits that have the biggest ROI, focus on the four, core quadrants of well-being: Mind, Body, Social, and Spiritual.  Mind habits include meditation, reading, thinking, etc. Body habits examples include drinking water, eating healthy, and exercise. Spiritual habits are subjective and can include church, meditation, or even the ocean. Social habits can include reaching out to people important to us. Find out why balancing your habits will lead to better health, well-being and peace of mind. Enjoy the episode! *** New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates. Feel free to share the episode and

"Without the luxury of planning, preparing and practicing, pressure can be the enemy of success. " Henry J. Evans joins Habits2Goals this week for an insightful discussion of a multi-faceted topic: how to deal with pressure.  No one gets out of dealing with pressure. We all experience pressure, whether it's related to family, relationships, health, job, or finances. It starts early and never lets up; there's no escaping pressure.  Some "experts" say pressure is the enemy of success. Yet great success comes from facing down pressure and coming out ahead. Like habit, pressure is neither good nor bad. It's a force that you can make work for you or let work against you. Growth doesn't happen in your comfort zone. It comes from pressure, challenges, and deadlines. Listen in to learn the formula for dealing with pressure and maintaining balance, understanding the three P's of handling pressure, and why habit is a critical tool for turning pressure into growth. Enjoy the episode! For more on pressure, check out Mart

"Feast upon uncertainty. Fatten upon disappointment. Enthuse over apparent defeat, and invigorate in the presence of difficulties.” Today's Mind Bullet is about setting a new mindset: Start clapping! When misfortune hits, we tend to think in extremes. Didn't get the job? I'll be homeless in three weeks! It's easy to spin out into the worst scenario. But there's an infinite spectrum of possibilities, and staying optimistic is a great tool to steady yourself in the face of adversity to recalibrate your course. The great NFL coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks is in a near-constant state of clapping during the game. Seahawks missed a field goal? He claps. They fumble. He claps. The other team scores a touchdown? He claps. He's constantly showing his team that they're fine, there's plenty of time, and it's not panic time.  This mindset goes beyond football into all aspects of life. Didn't get the job? It's OK, start clapping. Things not turning out as you expected? There's still time; it's not over yet. Yo

"When coaching kids, above all, be kind, and focus on giving them constructive, positive labels about themselves."   Today's Frequently Asked Friday seems to come out of left field, but it has deep implications: How do you coach kids?   How to coach kids is a frequent Google search, so plenty of people are wondering about the best way to coach, teach, and guide the children in our lives.  The simple answer is to be kind. Tell them the good things you see in them and their potential. Kids' mindsets are just beginning to form and the labels about themselves are becoming fastened. Adults are often unaware of the effects—both positive and negative—their words can have over the long term. What will they remember from their interaction with you in say 20 years? Listen in for more tips on the importance of kindness when interacting with kids in a coaching or teaching capacity; why emphasizing development, potential, and fun is critical; and how to have the kids in our care come away with positive labels.  Enjoy the