The Most Profitable Habit

So a few months ago, a mentor of mine said something, when he was teaching and explaining the program that I didn't fully understand at the time, but it made sense, it almost like I knew what he was saying. But I didn't fully process it, you know, it's like one of those things where.

So, you know, it's like one of those things where it has to happen to you before you can fully realise it, right.

My high school teacher once said, you know, she slid on the snow. She didn't fall, but she slid on the snow and the shock, made her realise just how scary that is because she was at that age where she felt quite mature. And so she said it's one of those experiences where until it happens to you and someone else tells you you know I almost fell. You don't really think of it as a big deal, but when it happens to you, and you caught yourself, then you realise Yeah, I know that feeling, right. So, Yeah, so this was the same kind of feeling when my mentor told us something, and it kind of just lingered in the back of my head, I knew what he was saying but I didn't fully comprehend, so I'm going to tell you exactly what he said here.

And when you say that essentially back then at the time was that we had just finished building the business, and one of the goal here was that, you know, it was to go and start going ahead and then. So he began telling this story. Right.

And, by the way, if you're new to this podcast.

I am Herbert innocent and aren't, thank you for tuning in, into this episode of the virtual intrapreneur. And so, going on to the story. So the story that he was telling us was, you know how a lot of students come in and then tried to build a businesses trying to scale it up. But really, they're trying to raise, or maybe they're trying to do everything at once. They want to procrastinate and then try to do everything at once. Right. And so he began by telling telling this simple story about the two contestants, right, we're competing, eating. In the first one took the food and the players mashing it together in a beating it up trying to compress it. Right. And they start biting, you know, forcing it into his mom, biting trying to eat, and they're competing on seeing who can eat the most. Right. Well, the next contestant.

What he did was he took the food and said chopping it down into pieces. Just top chopping it down into tiny little pieces, taking his time making sure he's cutting it all down into little pieces. Right. And then what he did next was the shotgun part. He took the plate of food, and put the plate behind his back so he couldn't see how much food was on the plate. And then he started taking pieces by pieces and eating. Now before I go on and continue fishing the story.

This really clicked with me because when we were building businesses sometimes you see all the millions of steps I had, and you're thinking, oh my. How am I going to get all those steps done. And that's quite normal. Whether you're trying to scale it up, you just find yourself at the end of the day you have so much things to do and you're wondering how on earth am I one person is going to get all these tasks done. And that's quite normal, that's quite normal.

And so, just clicked with me because recently I was listening to corner, Neil, right corner is a TEDx speaker, right, and his talk was, he started his talk, asking who will do peak, right, and who was talking about the subject of investment. Right. If you had to invest 1000 euros or dollars into one person. And then you will get 10% of their income for the rest of their life, who would you pick, and that's a really beautiful, powerful question, because it asks you for the people that you know, who would you pick. And then he goes on to ask him, What are the criteria that you would use to pick.

And he really breaks it down. And the key idea here was that he was explaining that Warren Buffett, right, one of the richest men alive, does this every single day makes that simple decision every single day, who to invest in. He doesn't own a B, he doesn't own, you know, business. He doesn't sell anything, but he invests. And so, all his wealth from just this simple question, who would you pick, and I think really that question speaks because to multiple level of thinking, if I may use that phrase. And what I mean here is. It's one thing to pick someone to invest in. It's another thing to just stay so focused on that one thing is the thing that you're doing. Right. And I say focus here, as picking one road and sticking with that road to the very end. And the thing this really encompasses the whole topic of today. So going back to the story right. So, he was explaining how a lot of people try to do so much stuff, and it just doesn't work. And when I was watching corner Neil's top TED Talk.

One of the things that really spoke to me was how the key used example of some of the best performing athletes. People who push themselves to get results that other people haven't even began dreaming about. So he was talking about all these people.

And one thing I noticed, that was very, very clear was that there was this quality that allowed people to do more than anyone else. And this quality that allowed me to do more than anyone else was the simple quality of not trying to do too much. Which is strange to think about it, because I was heard a report that says, you know, everything you do will be insignificant, but you must do it anyway. And the other one said, you know, everything you do is significant but you must do it anyway.

And the other thing, and that the Pope said, you know, because we cannot do big things but we can do little things with big heart. Right. And that is the essence of what I'm trying to encompass here, right. And so, for us as you were starting business, it was Oh his challenges, you are doing this but you're not so sure what's the end goal. And so the ability to just take one little task, a task that will take you 10 to 15 minutes.

That is all. And then just doing that simple task was the key to getting to the next step. You wouldn't know what is the next step until you did the task that you're required to do, which will just take you by the way, it will just take you 10 to 15 minutes. And that was the key. And this was also evident in some of the top performing athletes, who eventually ran for, I think it was 39 hours 39 hours, non stop.

Think about that. And so because they tried to run the longest distance. He explained that this athlete was able to do this because whenever he is running, the only thing he thinks about is running 10 minutes, and then stopping. If he can, if he can't keep going, he stops, if he can, he keeps going. 15 minutes each and every single time. And so, this type of thinking, you know, after facing a wall of how do I do all this thing, which causes procrastination, just so you know, becomes a very counter intuitive, but really the key to getting it all done. That makes sense. So that was a very fascinating

talk but also learning, in terms of. So this is what they do. This is how they've done it, this is how they do it. Right. They take a lot of tasks, and just do that on a task, forgetting everything else. And this brings us back to the book that I was reading and I'll give you my personal example. This brings us back to the book that we were reading earlier on in this podcast which was, you should not try and do tomorrow's work, or in a day, or try and do a week's work in a single day. Just do today's work well. And then tomorrow will take care of itself.

Right. And so, and this gave me this reminded me of something, but it also gave me an epiphany, right. And one of the things that I've learned recently, was that. See, this is my second time actually starting a podcast, maybe third time starting a podcast. My first time I started a podcast was a podcast on poetry. Right, I love poetry.

It's a way of expressing yourself, being able to, you know, clear your mind. And so I started a podcast around that area, about a year or two years ago. Right. And when I started that podcast something interesting happened maybe not very interesting but not what I wanted happen. I kept creating themes for every week. And my goal in creating themes was to come up with something to say, poem to read. And then I did that, I went on for a little while, but it always felt like a lot of work going to search for a lot of poems. A lot of poems, so I can come and perform them. And so it was very tiring, it was very labour intensive.

And so, what, what I ended up doing was I actually ended up stopping it altogether. Cause, searching for themes searching for a job, just seemed like a lot of work. Right. And so, when I started this new podcast. One of the things that I tried to do was wing it on every single episode just to wing it. So what I would do is, before I started recording the episode I would sit down for 15 to 20 minutes and decide what I was gonna write. And that was it, I create my content for the podcast in 15-20 minutes, brainstorming and writing down the framework. And then, the 10 15-20, or 30 minutes recording it. And that is it, I'm done.

That editing, Maybe if I really edit. I just upload it and then send it. And that is it. And one of the biggest things that I learned was doing this allows you to get two types of results. The first result is you get to practice. Right, you get practice and build up that momentum build up that habit. Write the habit of publishing every single day. And that is very powerful. It's so powerful that if you stop for a day. It feels weird. Right. And so when I began interviewing guests.

One of the things that I noticed was it felt really strange, not having to record a podcast for that day. Even though I had interviewed a guest are so used to having already, you know, I have quite a podcast, in this specific way. And so that's the first thing that I learned. The next thing that I learned is, the more obstacle you remove in your process of creating content, or doing whatever it is that you want to do, the better for you. And what I mean here is, let's say you want to record. One of the biggest things that stands in the way of recording is if your room is not set up for soundproof, and all these are things, then the first thing to start to think about is, oh I have to set up the room.

I have to set up the microphone, or I have to do this, and then I have to edit, I have to go and research content, they have to come and write it down the structure, they have to do the intro, they have to do the outro, and by thinking about all these things before we even start doing it, you've already created yourself so much anxiety and stress, sweating, not wanting to do it anymore. Right. And so, this thinking, all of these mind labour intensive thinking, This is what kills your productivity. This is what stops you from going ahead.

However, if you just say, I'm going to do it in the least amount possible in, basically I'm just going to do it. That is it. I'm just going to record it, and that is it. I'm going to improve one thing each time you pick up two things from that you pick up, first of all the momentum. And the next thing that you pick up is the habit because the habit is very important to get into the routine, right, to set your mind up to prepare you for this so that it's natural, but also for clarity for yourself and your thinking. And so these are the two things that are beginning to learn, but I'm beginning to notice. And I ended up stopping that a podcast, but I also noticed when I tried to set up the theme for this podcast, you know, setting up the theme every single week. It became so labour intensive. It wasn't fun anymore.

It wasn't, inspiring, even when I do it just felt like, okay I try and think about something in this theme, and that's a lot of work, thinking is a lot of work, avoid thinking at all costs.

And what I mean by avoid thinking is if you're going to do something. What's the fastest way to do it quick, funny story. When I was in college, one of the things that I learned very very quickly was this thing about procrastination and waiting until the last minute to do something, it has its benefits. And it has its downsides, one of its benefits, is it forces you to do work in a very short time. And when you're doing work, a lot of work in a short time, you become very efficient. You ignore a lot of things. If it's not important, you ignore it, you try to answer the questions without going too creative.

And when it comes to creating content, or building a business. This same mindset is very useful and it's useful for two things, focusing only on sales and ignoring everything else, means that you're focused on getting results, and focusing only on the things that will get you to where you want to be means that everything else can be dedicated to a team.

And that is the basis for building that foundation that you really need get to be able to set down your fit. Start hit the ground running. Right. So, these are the two things that I've learned over the past few months, and it's been really mind opening in terms of what else you do and how to avoid the thing standing in the way, so you can get what you want to do done. So, that has been the learning, and I hope you enjoyed that. If you want to go and watch Coronas talk. I think it's called Who would you invest in, or who would you pick.

So that's kind of Neil he his TED talk is, you know, on the TED X Talk website as well as YouTube, you can find that I think is very informative he's going to really change the way you think about yourself. Just a quick highlight on the three things, three criterias that he talked about that I thought were very useful for every intrapreneur for every entrepreneur in building businesses. The key highlight the key takeaways on the criteria for investing in a person was that you know, first of all, they are very adaptable and adaptable. It just simply means something happens all the time every time there's a lot of things that are happening. How quickly are you to adapt to that change, and continue to progress towards your results that you want.

And being able to do that really means that you can handle setup, you know setbacks, and all this stuff. And then the next thing that he talks about is quick to action. And I think that's a really beautiful, powerful point that is you don't sit down on your thoughts thinking too much. You take action. It's better to learn faster and progress than to just contemplate, you know, sitting down just thinking and thinking and thinking, and I know I am super guilty of this. I am really guilty of just sitting and thinking on ideas, you know, planning and planning and planning, you know, my plans have planned, which is really really weird, but just acting is better you act, And then you refine as you go along. And another thing that he talked that was the last key point that I saw from the top.

The key takeaway was integrity, really, and integrity, it just means, what do you stand for,

what do you say no to. Right. and this is really important because if you can't say no. People will walk all over you. Even the people that you wanted to respect, even all these other people. People will, you know, ignore that you have all these goals for yourself, so you need to stand up for yourself. Say no to things that you don't need things that don't benefit you and that what he meant by Integrity, which I also must say, it takes a while to build from what I'm learning. It takes a while to build.

If you're that kind of person who always feels that you're friendly and always want to offer help, it takes a while to build that ability to say no thank you. Oh, that doesn't suit, and one of the things that I've learned that really helps you with this, please, if you know if you're in business sense.

And if you know your customers, your client very well. If somebody asks you a question. All you need to do is briefly pre frame, whatever they asked into your ideal customer, will it benefit them because you are to serve your ideal customers. And if it, if it doesn't benefit them it's easier to say no, it's so much easier. It's guilt free.

It feels even sweeter to just say no, because that's one less thing you have to think about or worry about, and keeps your mind so clear. Right. and it's so easy to ignore what is irrelevant. When you know exactly who your ideal clients are, who your ideal customers are and I think it's very fundamental in helping you become more productive, doing the things that benefit you and your clients and get you a better result.

Look, I hope you've enjoyed this and I hope you got some value from it. And the key takeaway is, would you invest in yourself. Would you invest in yourself. Did you pick yourself. I hope you did, because you, only you can apply these skills to yourself, being adaptable being quick to act, and being able to say no. Keeping integrity. Right. So being adaptable, or intelligent being picked act, you know, you take action, you know, one step at a time. And I'm quick to say no.

The best thing is the guy who was taking piece of food from the plate behind him, he couldn't tell how much was left, and he was when he ate. And the guy who ran the longest distance. He never focused on the long-distance that he has to finish. He just kept touching the leaves and the plans, the things his, his, he runs along thinking just about 15 minutes I had never let his mind, think for more than 15 minutes ahead of time.

And this is what Connor said, and this is what my mantra said, and from reading the books I'm reading, I'm noticing there's a pattern here. And the pattern is, the more you try to do, the more mental work, you put for yourself, and the higher, a task, it becomes for you. So now that you know all this, your call to action is really break down your tasks, so that you can do one at a time, or when you keep setting up that B milestone and hope for the best. Listen, thank you so much for tuning in on this episode of the virtual entrepreneur. And as always, I will talk to you on our next episode. Have a wonderful evening.