Do you ever struggle with motivation? In this episode, Jimmy and Lori share their best tactics for staying motivated during times of stress and disruption.
Episode Keys
- Why you should identify a reward for your completion of BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals).
- When you should review your biggest goals to evaluate progress and what to do when sidetracked by life.
- Why you must learn to “grow” through the challenging times you “go” through!
- How inspirational books about great leaders and thinkers keep you motivated.
- Why Lori uses an accountability partner and learns from others who have accomplished greatness around her.
Podcast Transcript
JW:
Good morning, everyone in this whole wide world! Man, I tell it’s been a great weekend. You know that weather’s finally got to where it’s 90+ degrees. Yes, you heard it here. The white legs have shown this weekend. Time to get a little sun on those legs I have with me today, one of the most charming, the most talented, most brilliant of people that I know. And it’s the co-host with the most. Good morning, Lori Few!
LF:
Good morning! I almost did not make it through that intro. When you said white legs, I’d lost it. Because listen, it’s so true. It’s warm. It’s muggy. It’s great. We went straight from spring – very little spring – to summer, but I am that person that is so pasty white, see through transparent, opaque, all the words. And so it just cracks me up that we’re leading off this morning with white legs.
JW:
Well, I’m not certain, I’m not certain I’m a little pale, but as I was in California a couple weeks ago to bring our daughter home, I went to the beach and had just a pair of shorts on, you know, my swim trunks. And I almost as if vampire like was having to shield my eyes and face from the brightness of the sun. I thought maybe I’m gonna burn up here.
LF:
And you know, I don’t think it’s funny. I really don’t, I’m not making fun of anybody, but if you’re a white pale person trying to get started on your tan and all you’re doing is lying down on the sand, trying to relax. I don’t believe children should try to push you back in the ocean to save your life. You know what I mean? They think you’re like a whale, a porpoise that floated on shore. I mean, whatever happened, but anyway.
LF:
Hey, safety first.
JW:
Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for joining us today here on Live a Life By Design. Man, our one time of the week, we want to give you motivation on moments of Mondays. I gotta tell you what, coming to you today is just, I don’t know, Lori, I am just pumped on this topic. I guess you could say I’m motivated.
LF:
Motivated. It’s Monday – well, it’s the Triple M – Monday morning motivation. That’s what we’re focusing on this morning.
JW:
Absolutely folks. There’s nothing on our agenda today, but to help you have a bigger, better and bolder week as only you can have after listening to this. So we’re focusing on one area. You heard me mention that we all struggle with, except for Lori. She never struggles with this, but I struggle with this.
LF:
Not true! I struggle.
JW:
Struggle, struggle in life, right? Lori are particularly now. I hate to say what they call it the dog days of summer. So we’re gonna talk today, how you can stay motivated. The things that we utilize to keep us motivated. And it cause motivation to me is critical to reaching those big, hairy, audacious goals. And without them, we can’t be our bigger, better, bolder self. We have to take ourselves to a period and place of discomfort to get us to the point where we’re most confident and that’s the key today. So to be our best requires that we stay focused and motivated to accomplish these goals. So, you know, I gotta be honest with you, Lori. I am just psyched up today.
LF:
Psyched up. Why? Because of the topic?
JW:
Because of this topic, you know, I get motivated talking and thinking about motivation that isn’t that crazy.
LF:
Well, you know how we love our quotes around here. Right? Right. And why do we love our quotes? Because they inspire us. So, okay. I’ve got one to start the morning. This one is from or Woodward, more powerful than the will to win is the courage to begin. Mm. So we all know that procrastination is the dread of starting something that may be a little bit challenging, starting a new job, starting a new habit, starting a new routine change is inevitable, but to summon the courage, we need to start with that big, hairy, audacious goal in our life. And we must remain motivated with the end in mind. We talk a lot on this podcast about seeing things through to the end. Having tunnel vision sometimes is not always a great way to start, but you have to be able to start with the end in mind.
JW:
You know, I love this story. So I was listening to Zig Ziglar one time. And he said, until you can paint yourself with the accomplishment in your mind of getting the goal done, it’ll be very difficult to start.
LF:
True.
JW:
That makes a lot of sense to me now in my older age, but, you know, one of the best tactics I use, Lori, I’m gonna jump right in here and share with our audience cuz you know, that’s what I wanna get this pithy stuff at is, is to give myself a reward for completing the goal. Now it can depend on the goal, right? So I try to make my goals match with my rewards or vice versa. So if I’m wanting to get in shape and I meet a goal on doing something, that’s a physical activity or exercise shape I’m going to get in. I might put down a new running suit from Lulu lemons, right? Cause that’s where we all go. Now, even though I thought it was only for our daughters, it’s now for us, me. Hey don’t judge Lori. Okay.
JW:
Don’t judge. But Hey, I love that material. I love the fact you can’t tear this stuff up. So, so one of, one of my goals this year already, you know, first quarter’s done Lori we’re in the second quarter. Now it’s in the books, but one of my goals was a real tough. You I’m not gonna go into cause it was a deeply meaningful goal for me, but it was a tough one. It took me literally the three months of the first quarter to complete this. So it took some daily work and then it took some cleanup work toward the weekends and it just kept me going and piling on until I finally got it done. And what kept me moving forward in the face of that terrific challenge was that the goal had, and the reward that I really wanted now I could have don’t laugh. I could have gone out and bought this reward anytime I wanted, but I wanted to worry and see what I could do to make myself earn that reward. And there were times of adversity, there were challenges, there were walls that came up. I had to do some different things to get around it, to figure out how to get over it, to do what I had to do to get this done. And I was just determined, you know, as I say, Lori, it’s either my head or the wall, but something’s gonna give.
JW:
So don’t judge again now, Lori, but here it goes. My reward for this big time goal I had set was something that’s a vice I have, I’ll just be honest with you, I fed a vice.
LF:
It’s coming.
JW:
AIfed a and this vice is particularly costly. Provides great joy to me and is a legacy building vice. Now you’re wondering now what in the world could meet that criteria. I collect German engineered writing instruments, Mont Blanc limited series fountain and roller ball pins. That’s it.
LF:
Pens.
JW:
You’re gonna laugh. I’ve got about 52 of them now during my career.
LF:
50? Over 50? Jimmy, really?
JW:
It’s so bad that I have to list it as an item, especially covered on our insurance. So, you know, it says my wife’s jewelry and then Jimmy’s Mont Blanc pens seriously, but the, the oil. So I don’t even take some of these are so limited and serious and expensive. I don’t even take ’em out of the case. I leave them in this case. So dust won’t get on ’em I don’t touch them with my hands without some I have some white, very satin type gloves, soft gloves that won’t get the oils on the, on the barrels or on the gold. That’s on the pin. And I know this just sounds elitist and I know it sounds crazy, Mike, why would you do this? But you know, a lot of people collect different things, cars, I’ve got clients that collects old cars you know, I’ve got clients that collect fishing lures, believe it or not antique fishing lures, they’ll travel all over the century United States to go to shows about sporting goods to buy fishing LUS. I just think that’s cool. So here’s what I did. I recently this quarter rewarded myself in April with the John Fitzgerald Kennedy limited edition roller ball pin.
LF:
So what kept you motivated to get to this pin? Because it had to be something pretty important. I’m still pens. I’m just OK.
JW:
Okay. Now most of you know that listen, this podcast, I’m a pretty driven kind of guy. So I have my goals laminated and taped in my shower. I don’t mind sharing with you again. I did that. So I laminated this pen. I went on the website, printed it out and I, I took the printout to the office and I had the team laminate, this printout of what this pen looks like and taped it next to my goals in the shower. Now it’s getting weird, right. But anyway…
LF:
It took a dark turn. He just took a dark turn, hang on, stay with us.
JW:
Stay with us, here. And so what I did, you know, I just thought, wow, John F. Kennedy, the president of this country went through some of the most challenging decisions he had to make, you know, the bay of pigs. We had a potential nuclear war with Russia at the time, right? And, and he’s sitting there trying to take care of all of these challenges, our world facing him. And he had to make notes and write things and make decisions. And that pin just brings back all of that history where I read his biography, I’ve studied a lot on Kennedy. And I just said to myself, I think this pen would motivate me. So here’s what it’s done. It’s given me the opportunity that when I write to think bigger and bold thoughts and to be more creative in what I’m writing and doing. And I just love that from a reward. But my question to you, Laura, is what is one of your tactics for staying motivated?
LF:
well, I obviously don’t have I don’t have a pin. I’m not gonna call it collection. I’m gonna call it what it is, Jimmy. I don’t have a pin addiction problem. Yes.
JW:
Thank you.
LF:
We’re calling it out what it is really?
JW:
Yes.
LF:
Yes. Well, I think that one of my tactic tactics to stay motivated and, and it’s along those same lines, but I don’t collect things, obviously I probably need to start something. So, you know please let me know what you think I should start collecting or what would be something I could do because I need to do that. I don’t have, I don’t collect anything unless, well, I guess you can’t really count empty coffee cups that are everywhere, but sure. That’s not really, my motivation tactic has to do with growth. I, I make, in my mind I make motivation and growth kind of the same thing, because I feel like growing through motivation, keeping yourself motivated. So I always like to use the tactic that if I’m growing and helping other people grow in whatever realm they’re in, whatever space they’re in, whatever situation they’re in, then that keeps me motivated to continue to grow.
LF:
And so one of my favorite, you know, sayings and it’s plastered, it’s not in my shower, but it’s on my phone. It’s on my desk. It’s on my nightstand. Is, is the saying grow through what you go through. And I find that if you share a common experience with someone, something that you’ve been through, some experience or situation in the office or in a, in a friend group, or as a parent, something that you’ve experienced, sharing that alongside other people and getting their perspective about how did they handle that situation? What did they learn from it? How did they maybe react poorly and what they wish they had done, or if they’re in that situation again, how they would handle it differently. And I find great motivation in that, because one, I know I’m not alone. Two, there are other people facing the same situations in life that I am, because again, tunnel vision.
LF:
Sometimes we feel like we get into the situation where we are the only person looking through the tunnel and it’s very dark and it’s very scary. But, and, and finally, third, it’s just the fact that being part of a community or an office or a, a civic organization or group that there’s that commonality, that if we’re all going through something together that we can share and motivate each other, because there’s safety in numbers, you know, nobody wants to be singled out. Nobody wants to be alone. And so finding comfort in that, that motivation turns to growth, growth turns to motivation. So it’s kind of like a full circle moment. For me that that’s, that’s really, one of my tactics is, is growth. I find that being, having growth leads to motivation.
JW:
So really, I mean, you think about something, you grow into some place in some different if you will, realm of where you weren’t before either mentally, or even physically on your workouts or whatever. And then you say, you know what? That’s just a plateau. Now I’m gonna grow some more. And Hey man, I can see that, that, that motivates me. Just hearing you say that and how you say you grow through what you go through. To me, there are some challenging times that really carve us. If you think of us as the clay of life, carve us into the people we are and help motivate us. So it’s, we hired a new team member lately and she is just doing dynamite stuff. She’s our director of first impressions now. And she said to me, she said, she’s only been a couple weeks. And she goes, do you ever have a bad day?
LF:
And people ask me that all the time. They’re like Jimmy, for real. Does he ever have a bad day? Does he ever have a moment? And you know, I always tell people, yes, this is the real Jimmy, what you hear, what you see that is so authentic. And it’s, it’s important that it’s precious to me, that we find people in our lives that are like that. So yes, ladies and gentlemen, hundred percent great age, Jimmy Williams. That’s what you have all the time.
JW:
Well, we are sincere on this show. I assure you, we are not here to paint pictures and act out characters of which we are not truly living ourselves. I will assure you though what keeps me that away. And what I did to her is I handed her a couple of books and she looked at me funny, cuz I keep these books to the office for just this reason. And I go into my office and I grab ’em off the shelf and I go read these books and you’ll never have a bad day in your life. You’ll simply have some days that are better than others, but they’re all good. And she looked at me and she said sir, that is really deep, but I will read the book.
JW:
The young 20 year old. I mean, she’s very young. And so it’s just so funny. She looked at me and she said, sir that’s real deep, but I’ll read these books. Okay.
LF:
Well, honestly I wish I had had someone when I was 24, to say that to me here’s a different perspective. Here’s a different thought process. You know, don’t try to figure it out on your own. I spent so much time when I was younger, trying to figure out life because I had graduated from high school. I graduated from college. I was so motivated and desperate to get into the workforce, to carve my path and be part of the solution. If you will. That I, I, I lacked that mentorship. So I wish I’d had a Jimmy to give me a stack of books. I, I, would’ve probably gotten a whole lot better, a whole lot faster.
JW:
So I understand it sounds geeky to say this, Lori, but I gotta be honest with you. I have found a lot of the solutions to my challenges in life, by reading certain books at certain times of those challenges. Now everyone laughs. They go, Jimmy, all you want us to do is read. That’s not true, but it wouldn’t hurt you for you to read several books a year. If it’ll give you some advice perhaps some of us need some of that. But what I often found was I’d read great books, biographies the Bible. I mean, I get a lot of stuff outta the Bible, right? And at the end of the day, the folks that are looking and searching have all of these available and in one building and their local community, typically, unless it’s very small called the public library, you don’t have to do what I do and go buy books.
JW:
You can go down and borrow them for free. I mean, how easy is that? Now? Some people go, well, wait a minute. I’m kind of, you know, lazy. Can they bring the book to me? Guess what? No, you gotta get up, go get the book. Right. But, but Lori, I gotta tell you that’s outstanding. I love that information. I’m gonna share with you now, one of my other motivation tips, because we’re talking about doing that is reading biographies. Oh man, what better way to learn from others’ mistakes? Right? My dad always told me that look for the ways that you can learn where others have failed or what they’ve gone through as a challenge that you can make it easier for you. Right? And particularly, I like these biographies of very successful people. I like business people ambassadors, successful presidents, things like that. Anything successful wise don’t laugh. Eddie van Haen one of my favorite auto biographies to read was Eddie van Haen. This guy grew up, came to the United States with his mom and dad and brother with 50 American dollars to their name and a piano. Now that’s pretty cool. And he left this earth at the age of 65 from Pasadena, California with a hundred million of net worth. They estimate that’s pretty inspiring to me. Right?
LF:
That’s amazing.
JW:
Well, the current books I’m reading though, you’re gonna laugh Lori A. Little bit outta my realm, cuz I like to read things sometimes that challenge me from what I’m doing and it’s called lifespan by David Sinclair. We’re gonna put that up on our PO on our website under Jimmy’s pop reads just shortly, but one of the tragedies that we have with this abundance of food and water and drinks and all these excess things we have in the United States is that we create a health span issue that really arises and shortens our lifespan potential. Does that make sense? So, so we’re, we’re not, we were hunters and gatherers when we were cave men and cave women and, and we stayed in shape cause we had to run all day to eat, right? You didn’t just eat all day. And so at the end of the day, we do now run to McDonald’s and get a Big Mac.
JW:
And that’s not probably as good for us as we should be. So one of the tragedies though, of having all this excess stuff was this health span was shortening. So I was intrigued with this book and the author’s a is a PhD studying these things about lifespan and he has such a great idea of how you can match your healthspan with your longevity for greater lifespan. And I have just so far been really, really intrigued with this book. I did finish one before this though. That has just got me with goosebumps, Lori. You’re gonna love it. The one before this. Yes. Okay. It’s it’s a great book. So one of my, one of my more favorite more recent, if you will, in history presidents was president Reagan. I’ve been to his library and I gotta be honest with you. It was just phenomenal. They actually have air force one in the library.
LF:
Oh, amazing. A plane inside a library.
JW:
I have seen where the man sat, I’ve been to his desk in the plane. I’ve been to his sleeping quarters. It, it was just phenomenal. But what I wanna tell you is the book was called the Reagan diaries. So president Reagan does like Jimmy and that’s where I learned this act a long time ago, Jim Roan said, you need to journals. I thought, well, why? And so I started love, it gives me a lot of introspection, but Reagan wrote every day what he had done that day or decisions he had to make and why he made them and how he made them. And, and you just gain so much substance from this book. And it just inspired me because I went behind the curtain. Right? You don’t tell y’all this on the news. All you hear is, well, the president ordered this today, an executive order, or he’s gonna get the Congress to do this. They don’t tell you what it takes to go through that process. This book does. So it has inspired me to go deeper in my thoughts with my journal entries, I put in my journals and what I’m leaving behind instead of what I’ve done today. Some thoughts about how I could be a better person for my neighbor, how I could be a better leader for my team, those kinds of things, and making my cognitive exercises a little bit more challenging for my children to read at some point.
LF:
Wow. And here I am over here in my corner with no book to read and looking at the motivational poster that you’ve all seen a thousand times, it’s the tiny little goldfish and he’s swimming around in the ocean and visualize this with me. He’s a tiny little goldfish. He thinks he’s in the ocean. He’s probably in a bowl, but he’s wearing a sharkfin. And then the poster says, mindset is everything.
JW:
I love that. I love that.
LF:
So not be shallow this morning, but that’s the thing that comes to my mind when we talk about tactics and strategy and motivation, it’s, it’s a lot to do with mindset. The things that we read, the things that we see, the things that we’re influenced by all can lead to great motivational things. It doesn’t necessarily have to be profound or heavy or historic, but it just sometimes can be that lighthearted thing that you look at it and go, huh. And you have an aha moment. So as Jimmy’s telling you about his story and his diaries, which I totally now want to Gove Clinton, the library and I that’s closes drive to it it’s, it is it’s about mindset it, and it’s about finding that balance of knowing that motivation can sometimes come from anywhere and lack of motivation can sometimes come from anywhere when you get stagnant.
LF:
You know, we talk about big, hairy audacious goals, a lot on this podcast. And you know, I had never heard of a B a before, honestly, until I met Jimmy. And I, I remember telling him at the beginning of this year, in a previous episode, we were talking about new year’s resolutions and goals. And my goal was to be my B a for this year was to be more financially savvy. You know, I, I don’t, I don’t do numbers very well. So for the first quarter of this year, I am happy to report that my motivation I didn’t have a, I didn’t have a prize. I didn’t have, you know, a Mo block pin at the end of my reward.
JW:
We can make that happen. Okay.
LF:
But I, I learned and I listened and I took some information and made myself better. I really like, and it was hard. I had to stay focused and I had to be willing to learn and to listen to acronyms and financial terms and retirement and benefits and investments and all the 401k, 401ks and IRAs and all of those letters and acronyms. But at the end of the first quarter, I felt so much better about my financial savvy because I stayed motivated and I stayed focused and it was all about the mindset of, if I can get better at it, then I’m going to be more financially sound for my family. And so having to impart that wisdom upon some friends of mine what are you doing? What are you studying? What’s up, what’s going on? What you know, happening in your life.
LF:
And I would say I’m crunching numbers. And of course the, the look of shock and awe on everyone’s face. I mean, there was like an audible gas from my friend group. Like, what that’s are you okay, do we need to your temperature? You stayed with it. And I, I learned a lot and I’m because I stayed motivated. I’m going to continue now that we’re in second quarter, but I definitely have to find a reward. I didn’t realize that like I should reward myself other than just a good job, you know, in my mind, Lori, you did it. I’m thinking a trip. I don’t know. I, I might need to get in on these ink pen business. Suggestions, I’m open.
JW:
So you’re gonna laugh. One thing I’m doing now for my second quarter is I have a pretty good goal, but it’s about community. So I’m trying to do some things for the community there. As we go into the summer months, you know, our kids are outta school. People need to have something to do. And I want them to do things that are are fun, but also maybe a learning experience and challenging. So I’m actually gonna do something that’s crazy here. It goes. I’m not rewarding myself. I’m hoping to reward the community. So as I accomplish the goal, when I do, I’m gonna send out 10 envelopes with a letter in that’s strictly gonna say something like this. Enclos a $20 bill for your use to in some way, invest in others around you. That would make a very positive, productive, and powerful statement in our community.
JW:
That’s all I’m doing. I’ve I love it. It’s just 200 bucks, not a big deal. I’m just wanting to give that to people around. And I’m, I’ve got 10 people identified that I think will do just the right thing. Now they can put it in their pocket and all that. I have no accountability here. All I’m saying is I’m asking them to do the, pay it forward in some way that gives someone else an opportunity, chance do something that’s lightening up someone else. But anyway, that’s just a reward. So your reward doesn’t have to be for you, particularly in tangible means it could give you a greater reward by doing something intangible is my point I’m making.
LF:
I love that. And potentially who knows it can potentially motivate other people to continue doing those things and then to invest in other people and to invest in the community.
JW:
So what happens if you take $20 and you take it 20 times, right? So now we got some pretty good money. Here we are. 20 bucks, times 20, we got $400. So at the end of the day, what if we do, if we have 200 people, you see, that’s all I’m getting at. It just, it grows and grows and exponentially grows. But you know, this week let’s challenge our listeners to something really neat this week, Lori and I want each of you to find a tactic or strategy to keep your eyes on the goal that you set and stay motivated by invoking that tactic or strategy every day of the week. Since we started this episode, Lori, with a quote, why don’t we finish with one?
LF:
Oh, I’ve got a good one. I’m who this one, but this, this was really, this is a good one. And mindset is what separates the best from the rest. So be your best this week and go out in the world and conquer one of your big, hairy, audacious goals.
JW:
Ooh, I like that. See you next week here on Live a Life By Design.