EP 1029 — 3 Ways to Be More Persistent | Steven Kotler

Alright, today let's talk about three ways to be more persistent. And I love this subject because I think in life and in sales we wish we were we were more persistent in certain things. And you just kind of think about it in your life like what if I were more persistent in certain areas, where would I be today? Um and it's kind of haunting, but the good news is you can you can change it. Today I'm gonna rock out of Stephen Cotler's book, The Art of Impossible. I've been kind of hovering around. I love to do random reading, but sometimes, man, I just I just stay on a on a book. And uh those of you who uh if you haven't listened to the habit of ferocity, that is a concept or phrase that Stephen Kotler uses. Um I just did an episode 1028. I would tell you to go back and listen to that because therefore there are some useful uh tips that you can apply in small ways to the habit of ferocity. But let's talk about persistence. And persistence is nothing more than the ability to continue on, despite what the obstacles are, you just continue on with that. And Collar says there are three characteristics, psychological characteristics of persistence. When it's psychological, that's a good thing because that means I don't have to depend on any external factors to go my way. That being persistent or more persistent is completely within my control. It's up to me. So the psychological part is a mental and emotional state. That's all that is. So if it's mental and emotional, that means I can control it. That means I can apply persistence to different areas of my life. And like I said, I think we need it in sales, but I also believe that we need it in life. So as you listen to this, think about ways that you have kind of peeled off in certain ways. Maybe you don't like where you are in your relationship. Maybe you don't like where you are in your finances, maybe you're not growing fast enough in your profession. Maybe it's just you kind of dulled out in sales and you're like, I just I tend to get off off the train and I go on this vicious loop, you could be more persistent. And I'm gonna talk, um, I'm gonna I'm gonna teach you three ways to actually do that. So the three psychological traits to be more persistent. It takes willpower, it takes mindset, and it takes passion. Now, when I say that, you're probably like uh duh. Okay, but let me unpack this and I think it's going to reframe it for you. So the first thing let's talk about is willpower. Cotler says willpower is self-control, it's the ability to resist distractions, stay focused, and delay gratification. God knows we all wish that we had more willpower. Okay. How many times have you been like straight as an arrow during the day, and then you just crash and burn mentally at night, and then you just destroy all of your hard work. You kept your diet tight, and at the end of the night, man, you just you crash and burn. We've all done that because you don't realize what willpower is. Willpower is a finite source. Okay, it's not infinite. Think of the analogy sands in the hourglass. You flip the sands over in the hourglass, and as the sands go out, so too does your willpower. You can game the system with willpower. Knowing that it's a finite source, you game the system by doing the hard things first. One thing that I like that Kotler says not only do you do the hard things first, but also you do the second thing, the second hard thing next before you take a break. That way you build this momentum. You feel good internally about yourself because you're like, okay, I'm starting to get these things done. And you you just walk a little taller, you feel a little better because now you're starting to get things off your list. The second way to be more persistent is mindset. Now, mindset is a buzzword. Everybody says mindset. Get it. Mindset is your attitude toward learning. There's fixed mindset and then there's growth mindset. That's the buzzword. Everybody talks about it. Without reading Carol Dweck's book, let me tell you what a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset is. Fixed mindset is you think it's just not in the cards. You're not talented enough. Woe is me. That's what a fixed mindset. Ball doesn't bounce your way, you just kind of give up. Growth mindset, this is how you get more persistent. The willpower, you gain the system. And then that growth mindset means literally that you're open-minded. When you are open-minded, you are curious. Now, how do you get a growth mindset? Cotler says, number one, you got to stay curious. This is why curiosity is one of the five C's that I always coach on. It's curiosity, but then you pair it with confrontation, meaning you confront the curiosity or more so chase the curiosity all throughout the day. Think about how many mental statements you make. Think about how many assumptions you make. When you are curious, you're not worried about how it looks or what the answer is going to be. You just chase the curiosity. Like you just, it's a you just follow this thing and you find these little threads and you chase that curiosity. The second way to have a growth mindset is recognizing and leveraging your skills. So many times, man, we look at someone else's abilities, their skill set, and we wish they had theirs, yet we don't take stock in our own skill set. So when you list your skills out and you're intensely curious and you chase that curiosity, you leverage your skills with that curiosity. And this is how you start leapfrogging through everything. Now, also you have Kotler says, invisible skills. I love this. Invisible skills are these niches that maybe it doesn't show up on an aptitude test, but you can sure as shit use it in life, in everyday life. And so there are invisible skills that you like, these are things like you're that go-to guy. What do people go to you for? And you're just like, well, what's the big deal? That's a niche set that you have, and you can harness that and pair that with curiosity, and this is how you have that growth mindset. Cotler says this in the book. Once we believe we can learn, we can become curious about what we can learn. And suddenly we're deploying a growth mindset on a regular basis for maximum benefit. See, this is why I love random reading, because this is how I train my growth mindset. Every day I read for 15 minutes. I write about what I read, I share that, and so that way I can teach it better, and then I go live it. Three ways I'm gonna go live it. I'm gonna be more persistent. How? It's all psychological. So I'm going to harness my willpower, understanding it's a finite source. I'm also going to, which I already have, uh trained my growth mindset. I read something random today. I wrote about it. I'm teaching it to you now so that way I understand it deeper. And then the third part is passion. Passion is a buzzword. Oh, you got to have passion for what you do. Passion is you got to have passion in something because eventually you're just the newness, the shininess, the uh all those things are gonna wear off. And let me tell you what my definition of passion is. Passion is intense curiosity applied to something for a very long time. That's my definition of it. Meaning that it doesn't mean it's all always gonna be playful. Sometimes it's gonna be frustrating. And so that passion is where you wrestle with these things. Things don't, it just doesn't seem to be working, and you're like, you know what? That's it, I quit. Yet tomorrow you rise back up and you're like, okay, let me see what I can do with this. And see, it's that curiosity. Like you get off of it, you're frustrated, you give up, you you you punch the air, you walk off, and you're like, but you still are thinking about it. See, that's that curiosity. And you gotta have that that passion, that intense curiosity. And then you sit down and you go at it again. This is what I do every single day. A lot of podcasts that I do, they just didn't really come out very good. But I continue to chase this because I want to become a better thinker, I want to become a better communicator, and I want to be more successful in life. I want to see the results in my life. It's not enough to just talk about it on some microphone. So Kotler says this the passion produces the winds. The winds produce, I want to say secrete, the the winds produce the dopamine. The dopamine cements the growth mindset. See, this is how all that works. So let me tell it to you again. The passion produces these small winds these small winds produce the dopamine. The dopamine, continuously done over a long period of time, cements that growth mindset. Literally, all open-minded. See that dopamine also has some neurological chemicals as well, Kotler says, that actually increases your focus and your drive. And this is what produces grit. We all wish we were more gritty. So let's just end it right there. I got more to share on this, but we'll talk about uh ways of grit, which is what he's about to talk about in the next section. Hopefully, I get something out of it so that way I can share it with you. But the three ways, let's just tie this up. Three ways that you could be more persistent today. You wish, and whether it be in sales or whether it be in life. Number one, willpower. Understand it's a finite source. Do the hard thing first, and then do the next hard thing before you take a break. Sands in the hourglass. Remember, don't let those sands run out. Number two, mindset. It's your attitude toward learning. Growth mindset, always open-minded. Curiosity, always. Three ways to cultivate your growth mindset is curiosity. You chase the curiosity, leveraging your skills with the curiosity, recognizing your invisible skills, the things that you're just naturally good at. That's your niche skills. It doesn't really, you can't really put it on a resume, but you can sure as hell use it in everyday life. That's it. And then passion. You gotta have that passion. Passion, in my definition, is intense curiosity applied to something for a very long time. Because you gotta have that to be able to withstand the frustrating times. And with that curiosity, that intense curiosity, some days you're frustrated, you throw your hands up, yet you just come back to it every single time. Think about recognize ways that you can be more persistent today. All right, let's get out of here. Keep it simple, keep it moving, never settle, stay tough. Peace.