In this episode John and Kelly talk about human nature. How humans are wired for survival, not for success. And that plays out regarding the negatives in human nature. We tend to be self focused, we tend to be reactive. As humans, we tend to be lazy. We tend to be unfocused. Easily distracted. That’s human nature. But there is some good to human nature. We have an innate desire to help other people. And John made an interesting point. That all the negatives regarding human nature are all related to being wired for survival. By being wired for survival, that’s what kept us alive 5000 years ago when there was a danger around every corner. It causes us to be fear-based and reactive. Which is exactly the opposite of how we want to be if we want to be productive creative and happy. During this podcast John and Kelly point out that you have to intentionally and proactively override human nature if you want to be successful. And you do that through the think it be it 12 minute day morning routine.

In this episode John and Kelly talk the importance of having an intelligent plan for your life. John talked about going out to LA to see his stepson who is a musician. He is struggling to have an intelligent plan for his life regarding paying his bills. Kelly mentioned that there were times in her life where she didn’t have an intelligent plan. John said the same thing. Then John told about going to waffle house and giving the waitress at $300 tip. Along with a note that told her that he admired her. That she was hard-working and not a victim. That he bet she had an intelligent plan for her life. And at the end of the note John then went on to say “your life is going to work out. This is a message from God”. The advice to listeners was to evaluate whether you have an intelligent plan for your life. And in using our 12 minute a day methodology, you feed that intelligent plan to yourself every day. And if it doesn’t seem intelligent to you after dialing in what reality is telling you, then you change your plan.

In this episode John and Kelly talk about the benefits of aging. As Kelly is about to turn 50 in a couple months, she has spent a lot of time thinking about aging. And she really likes the wisdom that comes from aging. The increase confidence. Caring less what other people think. Then John discusses the fact that aging gives you perspective. He says that the older you get, the more you realize that most things don’t matter. Only a few things matter. John shared the observation in his own life that he sees cases of where he is evolving. He mentioned that when he was in his early 50s and met his wife Ginger, she commented on the fact that every once while he would throw F bombs around. John didn’t like that part of himself because that’s now how he was raised. Wasn’t very classy. So he immediately fixed it because it didn’t serve him. He also a few years later observed that sometimes he would get mad out loud. Oftentimes it was around technology. But he realized that what you say out loud is 10 times more powerful than what you think. He was only feeding the anger by venting out loud. So he stopped it. The lesson is that as you get older, you see ways to improve yourself and often times you do. John also mentioned that as he gets older, he gets more and more grateful. He also said that one of the latest things he’s begun doing is each evening after getting on the treadmill, he takes about 30 minutes and just writes down what he’s observing in life. He says it’s powerful when you can articulate what your observing rather than just thinking what you’re observing.

In this episode John and Kelly talk about the importance of having a “system” for growing. A weekly system that is both consistent as well as strategic relative to what you want to accomplish. When you have such a system, you become what they call a “conduit of learning”. Kelly talks about how every Sunday she figures out what she’s going to listen to during the coming week. And then sets it up so she can listen to the content. John then explains his system. He sources three different podcast hosts. And every Monday morning he looks at the latest podcast from those three hosts. He then decides the two specific episodes he wants to listen to during the coming week and downloads them. And then he listens to them why he is exercising or driving. So it takes no additional time out of his busy schedule. John also notes that he takes notes on what he learns. And then at the start of each new quarter, he reviews his notes from the prior quarter. John mentions that the two biggest things he learned last quarter is the critical importance regarding tuning into reality. What is reality telling him regarding what he’s doing. He also talks about learning the power of doing what you say you’re going to do.

In this episode John and Kelly talk about how you answer the daily question “how are you doing “. It has a huge impact on how you influence others as well as how you influence yourself. Kelly says that when she is asked that question, her standard response is “EXCELLENT”. For John, he answers “living the dream”. Regarding influencing yourself with your answer, John says it sets the tone for your inner world and how you view your life. John also points out that life is a state of mind. So his reply to this daily question is really important. And it’s way better to have a unique reply other than “FINE” as most people answer. Kelly then explains the powerful impact your answer has on other people. It’s truly an exchange of energy. And when you answer in a nontraditional way with energy, it has a very positive effect on other people. John also points out that what you say out loud has 10 times the impact of what you think. And this is based on a Harvard study.

In this episode John and Kelly talk about the importance of having perspective in life. John gives the example regarding the evolution over the last three years of think it be it. Initially he and Kelly thought think it be it was for everyone. Everyone wants to be successful – right? Wrong. For most people, more success is merely a preference. John says he and Kelly came to appreciate that think it be it is only for people that are driven. Then they discovered a further refinement. It’s for people that really want to play at their full potential, rather than play the game of life at 10 to 20% of their potential – as most people do.

In this episode John and Kelly talk about the importance of one’s morning routine. In fact, John says that a person’s morning routine will determine their success in life. That one thing more than anything else. And he talks about the think it be it 12 minute a day technique. John and Kelly’s morning routine is simply applying the 12 minute a day technique to their respective lives. Reading the succinct articulation of their life from the life GPS template each day. John talks about how simple the concept is. Step one is you create immense clarity about your life. Exactly the person you want to be, exactly what you want to accomplish, and precisely how you can achieve your clearly defined goals. Then step two is feed that clarity to yourself each day – using the think it be it template. That’s what makes everything succinct so it only takes 12 minutes a day to read. And then the third step. After 21 days of feeding that clarity to yourself each day, it then influences your daily thoughts and actions. And those upgraded daily actions then create the life you want. Powerfully simple. John and Kelly laugh about why people can’t get what seems to be so profoundly simple.

In this episode John and Kelly talk about growing intellectually. And how important it is to make your personal growth both consistent (every week) as well as strategic relative to what you want to accomplish. Kelly describes a great system she’s created for herself. Every Sunday she defines the things she’s going to listen to during the week. Listening to the content primarily when she’s exercising. And it’s always strategic relative to what you want to accomplish. As an example, she wanted to get government contracts for her recruitment business. So she listened to content on government contracts. Very strategic. John talks about when he was 50 years old he realized that he wasn’t growing intellectually. He was too busy for personal growth. Big mistake. He fixed it with the system he created. And it made him a conduit of learning. With the wisdom of experts coming into his head every week. At the end John talks about how he articulates his personal growth plan in his life GPS template that he reads each day.

In this episode John and Kelly talk about moments in their life where it changed their trajectory. Kelly talks about when she first became an entrepreneur in the employment field. What drove her to make the leap. And Kelly talks about the lessons she learned. John talks about when he launched into being an entrepreneur in the real estate development field when he was 30 years old. After starting out as a CPA. How he learned that not everyone has the same sense of fairness and the desire to be fair with everyone. Kelly then talks about the life-changing moment when she met John and he taught her the 12 minute a day technique that applies the full secret of the book think and grow Rich. How that gave her control over her life. It took an outsider to enlighten Kelly. John also talks about when he was frustrated with his life at 50. Not as successful as he thought he should be. So he decides go find the top book the world on success and apply that book literally Word for Word to his life. That book is think and grow Rich. It’s been read by over 100 million people. In the book it says there’s a secret for success. But the author only gives us half the secret. John figures out the full secret and a 12 minute a day technique to apply it. It causes his income to go up by 25 times over what he was making the prior 20 years. John talks about looking for a true success formula throughout his life. He knew if you ever found one, it had to be simple. And sure enough, it was simple. Create immense clarity about your life, feed it to yourself every day, it then impacts your daily actions and those upgraded daily actions then creates life you want. Powerfully simple. The big take away is when you feel stuck in your life, getting unstuck will require the input of someone else. For Kelly it was meeting John. For John, it was reading the book think and grow Rich at the exact right time.

In this episode John and Kelly talk about how we are all in the influence business. And influence has two components to it. First, influencing yourself. That means getting yourself to do the key habits required to be successful. Having discipline. John talks about how this is leadership of self. Which means having the mindset of I can achieve anything I set my mind to. I own my results and am never a victim. Being able to summon up grit and perseverance when things don’t go well. Kelly then talked about how she influences other people like her team. By being authentic and doing what she says she’s going to do. John talks about the book how to win friends and influence people. This classic book. The power of seeing people’s first name in conversations. The power of seeing things from the other person’s point of view. Smiling. The wrap-up to this podcast explains how you can make influencing both yourself and other people happen automatically without thinking using our 12 minute day technique.