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

“Lying in that hospital bed... I did a lot of soul searching...if I'm dying, am I the man I wanted to be?” ~John Lingham Few people truly represent the American dream like John Lingham: Paying his own way through college while working as a busboy, and then ultimately becoming the owner of not one, but two restaurants. Today John Lingham has approximately 100 employees and is recognized throughout his community for his charitable giving. The lessons John shares are many and the road hasn't been easy, but John continued to seek and learn, adapt and overcome, despite the many difficulties. John then takes us inside a recent health scare/medical emergency he experienced as a side effect of medication for a skin rash. The experience left him helpless, with a white blood cell count of zero. He would spend 10 days tied to an IV that was keeping him alive. While the experience nearly killed him, he also shares how it provided many amazing insights about himself and the life he wants to live going forward. MG and John

"If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster." ~Clint Eastwood Martin kicks off this episode with his GTR, (good things report) what he believes might just be a great trick to help him remember names. Henry's GTR is about his recent trip to the desert with the family to see the amazing desert bloom. The spring flowers are flourishing as a result of the recent and heavy rainfall in California. Jumping into today's topic; "Staying on your toes" they both share how easy it is to fall back into "comfort" and "security". To become complacent and then before one realizes it they are "playing" defense" and have fallen back into "protection mode" rather than pushing forward and continuing to learn and challenge themselves. It's easy to fall back on your heels, become tentative, hesitant and insecure. And, Henry and MG use the old sports analogy that is almost cliche these days. That of the football team with a big lead who will go into a "Prevent Defense". If you saw the most recent Superbowl many contend that is precis

"How can I be more proactive?" MG and HE tackle this powerful and common question from a number of vantage points, starting with the late, great Dr. Stephen Covey and his all-important "Effectiveness Quadrant". Martin shares that by drawing out this diagram yourself it can provide a very basic and visual framework for anyone to organize those things in their life that are IMPORTANT but NOT urgent. And, addressing those consistently is the KEY to effectiveness. The challenge for most of us is that we spend so much time in the "URGENT" and "IMPORTANT" quadrant, which is Quadrant #1. And ultimately, we begin to confuse "busyness" for effectiveness and then, unfortunately the really import work we need to be addressing is neglected. Henry uses the example of personal goals and how it is that we must be able to add a sense of urgency to those projects that are most important to us but lack a sense of urgency. Then both MG and HE get into various techniques, strategies and tools to use to help anyone be more proact

“It begins with making sure your audience knows WHY they should care in the first place.” ~Fia Fasbinder It appears as though Fia's entire career was leading her towards her current vocation, a professional speaking coach. After years in New York working as a trained actor she began working with the 52nd street playhouse which taught arts, dance and theater to inner-city youth in Harlem. Then, with her masters she began teaching at UCSD and was asked to help develop their public speaking curriculum. Today, Fia is a regular columnist for Inc. magazine online and she runs her company, The Moxie Institute which is a powerful resource for businesses and executives looking to become better speakers. In this episode Fia recounts her natural progression to her current career and covers all those natural challenges most speakers share, including how evolution has us wired to naturally fear public speaking. Then of course, Fia shares some great tips about how we can address and overcome those fears. Check out this fun

"Habit; A shackle for the free." ~Ambrose Bierce Martin shares how his latest experiment, abstaining from alcohol for just one month (unable to have a beer or two a night) then evolved into another behavior experiment, a modified low carb/diet. Both of these he explains were fairly painful yet, the fruits— the rewards of each have been fantastic! "It's kinda like the frogs that are boiled to death in the pot as they are slowly cooked. The temperature rises slowly, one degree at a time and they never notice or try to escape until it's too late. The frogs are just too comfortable until, of course, they are dead." "There are two great pains in life," Jim Rohn is famous for saying. "The pain of discipline or the pain of regret." "Discipline" he assures us "weighs ounces but regret weighs tons." The bad news is there is no escaping the pain. The good news is we have a choice. And, the best news is; you should know that there is tremendous FRUIT on the other side of that pain and challenge you put yourself under! I

Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe What are the right goals for a person to set? The essence of great goal setting begins with "starting with your own house" There happen to be four essential quadrants that truly reflect and indicate whether your own well being is in order: Mind, Body, Spiritual and Social. In fact, MG recalls, this is precisely the way The Habit Factor® app has been setup with specific "habit” categories. Remember, “Health is the first wealth” as Ralph Waldo Emerson has famously said. Recalling the wellness / oneness circle: It's an important exercise to divide your well being into these 4 Quadrants and then identify which of them needs immediate attention. Set your goal there first. There's another fantastic byproduct of goal setting! "30% of the time you are going to set the wrong goal… and that is actually GOLD! Think about it; had you not set the goal, you wouldn’t have known it was the wrong one!" "You're wasting

“I can now generate heat and then move it throughout my body.” ~Reis Paluso Brian Tracy has famously said, "Comfort is the great enemy of success." So, the question is, "HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU?" Reis Paluso is an amazing young man. Martin knows this well as Reis was one of his first "campers" way, way back in 1994-5 at Kreative Kids Computer Camp (Poway/San Diego). Martin recounts Reis' amazing computer skills as a young lad and reflects on the joy and challenge of his first "real" entrepreneurial venture with his amazing partners (partners MG still has to this day). Reis shares in the Kreative Kids memory; learning HTML, multi-media skills (in the early days of the internet) and of course how he became a 46 wpm typist, at age 12! However, the MEAT of the this episode is all about Reis' and his recent voyage into the icy mountains of POLAND (bordering on Czech Republic). He ventured there in a quest to learn and experience the Wim Hof Method at an advanced level retreat. And, Reis confirms, this experience r

"We do not learn, and that what we call learning is only a process of recollection." ~Plato It seems we address certain types of learning differently than say preparing to perform. In other words, to prepare for a performance we will practice, practice, and practice some more. But, when it comes to learning something we expect to see or hear it once and completely know it and be able to recall it. Crazier still, we tend to think we're not too smart if we need to relearn the same lesson over and over again. MG and HE challenge this idea. MG recalls how some of the audio lessons on his playlist he’s heard "hundreds" of times! The EXACT SAME lesson. And, he says, here's the “crazy” thing— each time he seems to pickup and learn something new. Why is that? How can you or I hear the same message three times, for instance, and learn or pickup something different each time? They cover the various reasons behind this phenomena and then, ultimately, propose this is precisely what higher education is about— for instan

Today's topic involves the age-old quest for humans to BE HAPPY! That's it! "How can I be more happy?" Or as the title of the show suggests, "What's the quickest way to happiness?" As you might guess MG and HE have a few thoughts on the matter. Henry starts with a great recount of friend who "wasn't particularly happy" and gives him an exercise to perform. MG recounts a semi-related parallel story shared by the late, great Dr. Wayne Dyer. Then they go off. The list of tips gets long enough for Henry to exclaim, "I think there's a formula here!" Give this FAF a listen and let us know if you don't (or, do) come a way a little happier! ; ) Thanks for checking out this episode and we're always grateful when you share us w/ your friends and write a review ; ) Be sure to subscribe! ----------- More Resources (FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template) The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools and other resources) The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindle) The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle) The Habit Fa

“Even in the most difficult times you are the one who gives your situation power by attaching a story to it”. ~Klyn Elsbury Klyn Elsbury is one of the real change-makers of her generation! She's written a bestselling book, taught a Zumba class, runs a recruiting firm and perhaps most incredibly has done ALL of these things while battling Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs. In fact, Klyn made her battle with Cystic Fibrosis public in 2015 in an effort to combat big pharma and make a critical drug affordable. "I was already taking about 20 other different medications daily, there was no way I could afford that $259,000 price tag so I wrote a heartfelt blog post and that ended up going viral." Klyn touches on all of this and shares with Martin a handful of key mindsets that allow her to stay strong and push through the tough days. Klyn also shares how her company has uniquely positioned itself in the recruiting space, her take on "success", her best habits, favorite app, and a grea

"Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming." ~Coach John Wooden What is success? How do you define it? Henry and Martin get DEEP into the subject of SUCCESS. What is it really? And, crazier still, how do YOU define it!? Don't think it's important? This about this: It's a given that 100% of people want to become a “success”. Yet, the large majority of people haven’t even taken the time to define what success means. Do you have your own definition of success? Have you refined it and studied it? Remember, it's very difficult to hit a target that you can’t see! SEE John Wooden "The Wizard of Westwood" and his success pyramid. FREE DOWNLOAD  Other definitions of success are explored: Earl Nightingale's "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal." And, Thoreau's "If one advances confidently in the direction of their dreams and endeavors to live the life they imagine, they

The subject of this FAF (Frequently Asked Friday) rolls right out of MG's GTR, "Good Things Report" which involves his recent visit to Dallas for Russell Brunson's Funnelhacking live event. If you're not familiar, Clickfunnels is a powerful marketing/selling software solution developed to provide business owners (really anyone who sells anything online) an easy to build, and in many cases, a pre-built sales "funnel" — a tool that drives prospects through a friendly sales process. However, the question comes up, "What was the BIG takeaway from the 3 day event?" Martin's response has almost nothing to do with the Clickfunnels software itself!  It's an inspiring takeaway though and it should fire-up anyone who's interested in promoting and selling their service/solution and/or products online. Martin shares that a couple of the speakers at the event who used RB's Clickfunnels software had sold upwards of $100,000 before they were 15. One of the key messages from the kids who presented was "Adults just over-think

“You can change your destiny if you really understand marketing”.” ~Henry Evans A reintroduction of our favorite co-host is in order since there have been many new subscribers and listeners between seasons. While Henry was interviewed in depth in Season II, we take some time in this short interview to chat with Henry about his expertise (marketing) and background as well as book and some thoughts on business and money! Henry bounced around quite a bit as a kid, as his family moved about he ended up going to three different high schools! He attributes that experience to his outgoing personality. As a professional marketer, Henry recounts many of the key lessons learned (and those he wrote about in his book, "The Hour a Day Entrepreneur") and how he was able to make the leap from the corporate world to full-time entrepreneur. Henry drops a nugget at the end of the show, something Martin hadn't heard before! Check out this fun and powerful episode! MOVIE Mentioned (Trailer) The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kin

“Before fear becomes fear it is pressure.” ~Grunburg Martin and Henry have a blast (so to speak) with this topic! How do you get unstuck? What should you do when you feel like your life is in a "rut"? How does ANYONE get unstuck? Well, the answer is a bit counter-intuitive. Martin recounts a little plumbing episode over the holidays. After fighting with a clogged drain for hours (blogpost here) he finally resorts to another tactic / tool offered by his neighbor to remove the clog. The plumbing episode leaves him shaking his head as he realizes that the same physics required to unclog the drain (getting it unstuck) ought to be used when someone whats to get their lives "unstuck"! Check out this fun and powerful episode! The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Thanks for checking out, sharing and subscribing to this podcast!   More Resources (FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template) The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools and other resources) The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindl

“Habit lies at the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire." ~Dr. Stephen Covey Martin and Henry discuss a topic that has many of even the top behavioral psychologists in the world have a difficult time addressing, that is, how habit and skill differ. Think about it, is tying your shoes a skill or a habit? Or, is it both? Martin argues that rather that trying to explain their differences we ought to put more emphasis on why they are almost the same, fraternal twins so to speak. This matters because when we do that we can quickly dispel so many of the silly myths around habit development. For instance, that you need a reward to develop a habit or you have to perform the behavior every day or the classic myth, it takes 21 days to develop a habit. Just insert the word "skill" for habit and you can see how silly that becomes. Do you need a "reward" to develop a skill? Or, we know we can learn any skill without practicing/learning it daily. Or, imagine telling anyone you'll have that skill in 21 days. So, rat

“I was facing some rejection from a lot of areas in my life... everything kinda caved in all at the same time.” Meet Cathey F! An amazing woman and a long-time THF reader, app user and podcast listener. MG begged her to share her story about her semi-recent struggles and how she was able to breakthrough. Cathey was in "total overwhelm"... trying to start a new business in the midst of a potential health crises, changes in her community, social circle and other difficulties made even tracking a few habits just too much. Then, she signed up for a "Focus & Discipline" webinar hosted by MG and shares how some of that content combined with tracking certain key habits proved to help feed her ongoing breakthrough. Every reader/listener is going through a challenge or will be! Her willingness to share her experience is likely to help others and bring great value to the audience! Brilliant job — thank you again Cathey! Thanks for checking out, sharing and subscribing to this podcast! ----------- More Resources (FR

“All knowledge is based upon perceptual experience” ~Aristotle Empiricism is a theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. Here’s a couple questions to ponder deeply…  "How real are certain “truths”? "How accurate is your knowledge particularly as it relates to the stories you tell yourself about your desires, goals and intentions?" For instance, the US Supreme Court has nine justices? Why not just one? The reason is all nine people can and often see the same data, same experience and same "truth" differently. It turns out that their unique perception reveals to each a different story. So, the question becomes, what story are you crafting about yourself? Which ones impose limits on you? How “real” are they? Are you certain that you can’t change the story to better support your ideals and goals.  Knowledge is rarely static. Rather, we find that knowledge shifts around often throughout history. For instance, we know today that the world is round. There was a time that k

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things." ~Einstein Why is it that we (humans) have this innate capacity to set goals for ourselves? If success can be defined as "creating your ideal future" then how anyone can go about achieving "success" is via GOALS. Goals provide people a sense of control and self-efficacy as well as purpose. The challenge is, most people don't know how to effectively go about goal achievement so unfortunately they give up or think it's futile. Henry and Martin review a few definitions and theories about "success" and realize that if we're trying to simply become better people, it is goals that help provides us the vehicle! And, any progress along the road is "success". It turns out though that success is NOT really an event or a destination but should rather be this idea of constant improvement — the journey. Check out this episode and set a big goal today! Here's a video explaining P.A.R.R. and HabitStrength™ >> Meet BILL Thanks for checking out, s

“My goals are posted on my website for the world to see, JackDaly.net” At 59, Jack Daly did his first Ironman Triathlon! Today's he's closing in on 100 marathons and has the goal to complete one on every continent! When Martin catches up with him in this H2G interview he's preparing to go compete at the USA Triathlon "nationals". Jack wasn't always an athlete and that's at least one of the many lessons in this entertaining and educational episode. Jack Daly has an extensive list of "Bucket List experiences" an MBA and his sales expertise makes him a sought after speaker and consultant. Although Jack's real specialty (as far as Martin is concerned) is his philosophy of "lifestyle by design" and throughout the episode you will learn the important lessons and mindsets, tools and tactics that helped him craft his unique and inspiring life. Yes, YOU GUESSED IT, it comes down to his HABITS and GOALS! ; )   Jack's Bestselling Books! Hyper Sales Growth! The Sales Playbook Paper Napkin Wisdom   Thanks for checking out

"Habit is a cobweb at first and a cable at last." ~Chinese Proverb Let's say you have a habit of doing push-ups every morning. At what point does a habit cease to become a habit? Well, it turns out that psychologist, Clark C. Hull introduced something he labeled "habit strength" many years ago. As Martin puts it, his "formula" was a little eccentric, perhaps too complicated and Martin set out to reintroduce HabitStrength™ but make it much easier to apply and understand. Just like a muscle, habit is strengthened with consistency over time. By following the P.A.R.R. methodology anyone is able to increase their HabitStrength™ Plan. Act. Record. Reassess. P.A.R.R. is The Habit Factor's proprietary methodology to help anyone develop habits and increase their HabitStrength™. After each successive 28 day period (4 weeks) the participant, if they've registered 85% or better against their targets can "raise the bar." The fact is HABIT DEVELOPMENT demands three core elements/ ingredients... Knowledge, Skill (capacity t