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

"Are you willing to jump through the painful practice 'hoop' of conscious competence to truly become your best?" Henry J. Evans joins Habits2Goals this week to discuss an important topic in every aspect of life, including habit development: the four phases of learning.  To recap, the phases are: Unconscious incompetence. (You don't know what you don't know. ) Conscious incompetence. (You know you're bad.) Conscious competence. (You know you're kind of good, but it's painful and it hurts; think practice.) Unconscious competence. (You're automatic, thanks to thousands upon thousands of hours. "In the zone.") Since learning skills and developing habits are closely tied, these same phases of learning apply to habit development and goal achievement. It takes a process of awareness, consciousness, practice, and effort to create an automatic positive habit that can help you reach your goals. Listen in to hear more why there's no getting around the hours of effort and hard work it takes to reach unconscious compete

"Procrastination is the most common manifestation of resistance because it's the easiest to rationalize.” ~Steven Pressfield Today's Mind Bullet builds off last week's powerful episode, E-Brake, which explored the idea that our personal emergency brakes are holding us back from true success. Today we explore more about resistance and its profound effect on our goals. We often think our biggest problem is not finishing things we start. While this is often true, you can't overstate the importance of starting—overcoming that initial resistance and moving toward a goal.  Resistance is all around us. Psychological and physical barriers are plentiful. Psychological resistance visits us in the form of overthinking, finding a billion reasons not to start on a goal. There are real physical barriers to starting a goal, as well. In our interview with Fred Gratzon, author of The Lazy Way to Success, we learned about the "principle of least action." Everything trends toward not moving—a body not in motion tends to stay no

"Invest the first hour of the day, the 'Golden hour,' in yourself." ~Brian Tracy  On this Frequently Asked Friday, we tackle the question: What is the best way to start the day?  While everyone has their preferences, there are a few helpful habits everyone can benefit from. First, the prep for a great day tomorrow starts today. Set up your success for tomorrow with your choices today. Some swear by getting up early, but this depends on your own situation. But leave yourself at least an hour before you have to get going. That extra quiet time gets you organized, giving you time to prioritize your tasks and fit in those healthy morning habits.  Listen in for more tips on the best way to start your day, how gratitude comes into play, and how setting the tone for the rest of your day pays dividends in productivity and peace. Enjoy the episode! For more on this topic, check out our interview with Fred Gratzon, author of The Lazy Way to Success. *** New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone nu

"The universe is absolutely perfect. Everything you could want or envision already exists. But until you start out on the path, you won't see any evidence of it.” ~Brian Smith Habits2Goals is honored to present an inspirational and fascinating conversation with UGG® Australia founder, speaker, entrepreneur, and sought-after business leader Brian Smith.  Brian Smith was born in Australia, where he developed his passionate love of surfing. After studying at the UCLA Graduate School of Management, with just $500 in startup money, he founded UGG Imports to bring sheepskin footwear to America. After 17 years, as sales reached $15 million, he sold the business to Deckers Outdoor Corporation. The UGG brand has since exceeded several billion dollars in international sales. Brian is one of the most sought-after business leaders in the country today. As a media guest and inspiring speaker, he is committed to teaching his breakthrough business strategies to entrepreneurs and translating personal vision and spirituality

"When your personal emergency brake is on, you're not going to go as fast, as far, or as efficiently as you should.”  On today's episode, we greet the week with a powerful Mind Bullett: Find your e-brake.  If the emergency brake is on when you drive your car, the vehicle will feel slow and sluggish, held back by some unseen force. When you realize it's the emergency brake and release it, your car surges forward at full power. This is a great metaphor for when you're trying to make a change in your life and move forward in the right direction. Sometimes you have your goal in mind and you're working to align your habits with that goal, but something is out of whack—something is out of alignment and holding you back. When your personal emergency brake is on, you're not going to go as fast, as far, or as efficiently as you could. You can be doing so many things right, but one bad habit could be stuck in the process and stalling your progress. Maybe it's drinking too much, or smoking, or holding on to anger. Whate

"Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." ~Suzy Kassem "Life is risky! As soon as you were born things got risky. Just how risky? Nobody gets out alive." ~Jim Rohn  On this Frequently Asked Friday, we tackle the question: How can I kill my doubt?  Leading with Suzy's brilliant observation above, MG reminds us that failure is really a prerequisite for success and since that is the case, it's doubt that proves to be the real enemy! Since doubt is rooted in fear and often related to past experiences, step one is to recognize that the past doesn't equal the future. Step two is to change the picture (what we're associating and visualizing) to be more positive. Step three is to take ACTION since doubt creates inaction!  Listen in for more about killing doubt to set yourself up for real success! 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: theh

"You can be the strongest, most limber guy in the world, but if you don’t know how to go with the flow, you’ll get rejected every time.” ~Greg Rex Habits2Goals is proud to welcome author, wellness coach, speaker, and lifestyle entrepreneur Greg Rex. With a background in sales and marketing, Greg went from training and coaching sales professionals to becoming a health coach with OPTAVIA (the professional coaching division of Medifast), which now has over 2000 health coach professionals and partners serving over 80,000 clients.  Burnt out by the corporate grind, Greg reinvented himself, becoming an expert health coach for individuals and corporations as well as a wealth coach for physicians. He has just published his first book, Stoked: A Spiritual Journey from Employee to Lifestyle Entrepreneur. Listen in to hear more about how Greg mixes the spiritual with the corporate, being yourself no matter how others might react, and why sharing is actually having more. Enjoy the episode! LEARN MORE ABOUT GREG REX GregR

"When you find an upstream solution to the problems in your life, you change the downstream effects.”  Today's Mind Bullet is a powerful concept: Upstream.  In relation to problem-solving, "going upstream" means addressing the issue at its root cause, rather than just treating the ensuing symptoms. For example, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America goes upstream with the problem of incarcerated youth by providing kids with mentors early on to guide them. This comes at a fraction of the cost of prison.  Diet and exercise are upstream solutions to health problems. Upstream ways to reduce plastic waste, such as making straws optional and using reusable grocery bags, are making a huge impact on the environment.  What are some upstream solutions for your own life? If the downstream issue is a lack of savings, an upstream solution is checking your spending and saving. If your downstream issue is poor health, an upstream solution can be to change your diet or checking your alcohol intake.  Listen in to hear about find

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape one hundred days of sorrow." ~Chinese Proverb  On this Frequently Asked Friday, we tackle the question: How can I kill my negative emotions? Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. There's no winning with emotions such as hate, anger, jealousy, and fear. (Although as we learned in Season 3's episode, The Value of Negative Emotions, there is a useful place for some of these feelings.) When negative emotions infiltrate your mind, how can you change gears? Creating space and changing your environment—getting out of your own head—is key. When you take a moment to make a good choice, growth and freedom can come as a result. Listen in for more on tips and techniques to deal with negative emotions, releasing and moving on before you're swallowed by negative emotions, and developing the habit of eliminating these emotions by substituting them with positive emotions. Enjoy the episode! *** New listeners: By texting the word "HAB

"When you quiet the mind and think about developing a product, you realize there has to be a big idea behind the niche space you're targeting.” ~Mark Schmid Habits2Goals is proud to present a conversation with inventor, entrepreneur, and leader Mark Schmid, aka "Schmiddy." With 32 years of product design and brand launch experience, Mark has created multiple industry-leading companies in the action sports space. His current venture is Click Carabiners, which takes the foundational hardware rock climbers use to stay alive and turns it into niche skate, snowboard, and ski tools that clip right on to a belt loop or backpack.  Mark's entrepreneurial journey started right out of high school, with surf and skateboarding ventures fueled by his own passions. He soon began inventing and marketing skateboarding products in a world before YouTube, successfully expanding into more action-sports ventures.   Listen in to hear more about what sparked Mark's unique entrepreneurial journey, how to generate space for creative

"No tomorrow. No today. No yesterday." ~Sheng-ts "Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.” ~Zen Proverb Today's Mind Bullet Monday takes us back...to the future. This subject matter is pulled directly from The Habit Factor®. Martin reads from the Epilogue sharing the story about the time his daughter, Eva (7), asked her mom, "When is the future created?" She then shared the question with Martin, who was left puzzled as though it were a Zen Koan. Ultimately, he shared the question on Facebook to which a friend responded, "Tomorrow! Tell Eva that the future is created tomorrow!" Gleaning insight shared by a great Zen master thousands of years ago, Martin realized the real answer. The true beauty, though, of the answer lies in the realization that it is our habits—NOW—regardless of our past, that plant the seeds of our future.  With this realization we can and should use the NOW to forge the habits that will lead us to our ideal future. Enjoy the episode!

"When the student is ready, the master appears." ~Buddha "Action is the real measure of intelligence.” ~Napoleon Hill On this Frequently Asked Friday, we tackle the question: What's the Best Way to Learn? This topic harkens back to Season 3's Learning Mastery, which explored the idea that our minds are more ripe at certain times, so continually studying a subject will yield new insights.  Today we explore whether it's better to learn something by studying or doing. In most cases, doing—gaining the experience—will teach you more than any book, podcast, or conference ever could.  Sometimes we're hesitant to take action because we want everything to be just right. We want to have all the answers before we take a risk. But this robs us of the great learning experiences we gain by diving right it. Doing begets learning; learning comes from experience.  Two key learning criteria to keep in mind are curiosity and pain (Check out this article on Fast Company.) We all understand why curiosity is important; it's a desi

"Getting through failures and coming out the other side makes you that much more confident — and believable to others.”  ~Drew Boyles Habits2Goals is proud to welcome Drew Boyles, a lifetime entrepreneur, avid world traveler, and passionate surfer—who just happens to be the mayor of El Segundo, California. Drew’s entrepreneurial adventures have included consolidating 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchises through an unprecedented three dozen mergers, acquisitions, and sales; owning You Move Me; and founding HazAwayToday.com, which is disrupting the hazardous waste industry. After serving as the chairman of the El Segundo Economic Development Advisory Council, Drew was elected to the El Segundo City Council in 2016 and then elected Mayor in 2018. Drew brings performance-based and private-industry techniques to government, driving economic growth and leading fiscal stewardship.  Drew is working hard to leave the world a better place while on his personal journey to surf every country in the world. Listen in to hear more ab

"The key to a healthy 'no' is to remember the 'yes' that the 'no' is making space for.” Alan Cohen Today's Mind Bullet, Yes and No, is inspired by online "wisdom" that says the key to success is learning to say no . . . or yes. Billionaire Warren Buffet is quoted as saying that the key to his success is saying no, because saying no creates focus and helps you set priorities. Richard Branson, on the other hand, attributes his success to saying yes to everything, because saying yes means you're learning and growing. So which is it? Yes or no? Don't fall into the trap of dichotomous thinking. It's not about always saying yes or always saying no. It's about knowing when to say yes and when to say no.  Listen in to hear more about the dangers of dichotomous thinking, using your intuition to figure out when to say yes or no, and why there is a place for binary thinking, especially when it comes to tracking habits.  *** New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly

"My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.”~Stephen Hawking On this Frequently Asked Friday, we tackle the question: What expectations should I set for myself? The topic of expectations builds on a couple of previous episodes. In season four, we addressed the idea of standards, and how raising your own standards—demanding more of yourself—can dramatically improve your life. Just last week, we discussed creating a personal culture for yourself based on values. Our culture episode touched on the culture created by the New England Patriots, where a sign includes the tenet: Manage Expectations. This goes against popular belief. We're often taught to set high expectations and live up to them, but in reality, high expectations can be self-defeating and self-deflating. Managing expectations, however, is key. Sometimes expectations should be high; sometimes it's best to set them low and understand the outcome is out of your control. Sometimes, with no expectations, yo

"As a businessman and a human, I have every opportunity to start fresh, take advantage of new opportunities, and to attack life with renewed vigor.” ~Kevin Daum Habits2Goals is delighted to welcome media strategist, serial entrepreneur, theater arts champion, and bestselling author Kevin Daum.  Kevin’s marketing approach as an Inc. 500 entrepreneur delivered more than $1 billion in sales. As a serial entrepreneur, he built several companies and now leads an experienced team of Gazelles International coaches who help fast-growth companies apply Scaling Up principles. Kevin is also a contributing editor for the YPO global leadership community and garners several hundred thousand monthly views for his column on Inc.com. He is a consistently high-rated speaker. Kevin is a champion for liberal arts education and has facilitated unique arts-based learning programs for Fortune 500 companies.  Listen in to learn about Kevin's entrepreneurial journey, how to strategically plan to create a personal awesome future, and

"Shaping your own personal culture means identifying your values and crafting an environment that is aligned to those values." This Monday brings a massive mind bullet that brings up a new topic for Habits2Goals: culture. This mind bullet was inspired by a Monday Night Football broadcast where the New England Patriots destroyed the New York Jets. The game was so boring the announcers had to fill the time with a history of the Patriots' greatness and how the team's culture played a huge role. Values and culture are interwoven; business leaders who get this tend to have amazing organizations, and the Patriots are a great example. Their culture is articulated at the very entrance of the players' locker room on a sign that reads:  Do Your Job Team First Work Hard Be Attentive Upon exit, another sign reads: Don't Believe the Hype Speak for Yourself Ignore the Noise Manage Expectations This is a great reminder to take a few minutes to articulate your values, which guide your thinking, affect your behavior, and

"Knowledge is knowing tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it into a fruit salad.” ~Miles Kington On this Frequently Asked Friday, we tackle the age-old question: What's the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Earlier this season we tackled wisdom as a standalone topic. This time, though, a LinkedIn post inspires Martin to revisit the question and review some of the common myths and misunderstandings. A key distinction is that wisdom—much like principles—does not waiver. The wisdom of thousands of years ago is as true today as it was then. Knowledge, on the other hand, is not static; it changes from one day to the next. Eggs are bad for you, then they are good for you. There were nine planets in our solar system, now there are eight. Knowledge is backward-looking and evolves over time. In fact, understanding that knowledge is backward-looking inspired one of the most knowledgeable people ever, Albert Einstein, to proclaim, "imagination is more important than knowledge." Listen in to learn more about

"If Artificial Intelligence (AI) is goal-directed behavior, then setting meaningful and worthwhile goals is a true sign of real intelligence." Henry J. Evans joins Habits2Goals to pick up where last week's episode, Goal-Setting 101, left off, continuing our discussion of the massive topic of goal-setting.  Last week we discussed the what, why, and how of goal-setting, among other things learning why SMART goals aren't smart, how to become the best version yourself that you can imagine, how to stay motivated, and how habits and tracking are game-changers when you're creating your own vision of yourself.  This week, we look at the importance of setting goals, managing the inevitable setbacks that come with goal setting, how accountability plays a role, and why tracking habits is the magic secret sauce in goal achievement. Listen in to hear more on why goal-directed behavior is the very definition of intelligence, why goals are mostly about your capacity to set the goal and go after it, how tracking is key, and

"If everything is energy—and it is—what do you think happens when you flap your gums?"  Today's Mind Bullet is a bit brutal but necessary: Shut Your Freaking Mouth! In other words, silence.  We talked about this idea in a blog post called "Shut Your Pie Hole," discussing oversharing as a personal development hurdle, and it is eloquently explained in this TED Talk: Derek Sivers, Keep Your Goals to Yourself. This MBM was sparked by a Facebook post by someone who continually complains. When good things happen, such as finally getting a new job, there's yet more griping and rambling about downsides, even on day one.  Their story is on repeat; it's habitual complaining. Where's the gratitude? Where's the personal responsibility? So shut up!  It's not just about constant complainers. We lose focus and dissipate our energy every time we mindlessly overshare, especially when it comes to goals.  Sometimes it seems like everyone needs to tweet or express publicly whatever sound bite is in their head. Keeping quiet and