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

"Habit: A shackle for the free."~Ambrose Bierce In 2009, MG was tasked with developing a logo for The Habit Factor® app. The vision of the infinity symbol was one that he couldn't escape.  He proceeded to integrate the infinity symbol as the cross-beam within the letter "H". The reason for the infinity symbol? The more he reflected upon habit, the more the idea of universal patterns came to mind. MG shared these ideas when he was invited to present at TEDx in the United Arab Emerits, back in 2011. It turns out habit patterns are everywhere and for good reason. Energy has a tendency toward pattern and rhythm. That means even our human energy—our behavior—forms into patterns (for better or worse). Think of how you drive to work, brush your teeth and even the meals you eat. The only important distinction MG was intent on sharing; unlike other creatures, humans have the capacity to establish new habits patterns and even break others, at will. Thus, the infinity symbol within the logo had to be broken, symbolizing

"Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such."~Henry Miller What's the main difference between "successful" people and "failures"? Arguably, it's that they've simply compiled more daily "wins" over their lifetime than loses. It's actually a bit more nuanced than that, as any given day may provides critical defining "moments". What's an example of a critical defining moment? Let's say someone or something disappoints you. Now you're angry and frustrated. How are you going to respond? Each moment presents a bifurcation point; an opportunity to stay on the path or, to fall off the path. In short, "successful" people stay on "the path" from one moment to the next, more often than not. How do they do that? To stay on The PATH (prior episode), they respond rather than react! When problems arise, expectations are dashed, in short, when "sh*t happens", "successful" people choose to respond better;  more positively, most of the time. It's the "unsuccessful"—the ones that react emo

"If work expands to fill the time allotted, then you can count on 'stuff'  expanding to fill the space allotted." Aristotle once observed, "Nature abhors a vacuum." This week, MG combines A's brilliant observation with Cyrile Northcote Parkinson's "law," known as "Parkinson's Law" — "Work expands to fill the time allotted." The resultant corollary: "Stuff expands to fill the space allotted." To illustrate his point, MG shares a couple of quick stories from his home: "The Drawer of Death" and the "Closet of Death." While nobody actually died in either, these spaces are consummed with "STUFF"! They are filled with everything, and yet, whenever you go looking for something, you can't find it. The reason for sharing this? YOUR MIND is the drawer and closet—your mind is SPACE to be filled. While keeping an 'empty' mind is a noble pursuit, it's impossible for extended periods of time. Even the awareness of possessing an empty mind, paradoxically, produces a thought, which proves it cannot be empty! The beauty is,

"Give someone just 30 seconds, and if they're being honest, they can tell you the one or two skills that, when crafted to excellence, could change their life." Last week's episode, How Can I Use This?, was all about the 3 R's—being Responsible, Resourceful, and Resilient. This week, MG explores a concept he learned when training for his first Ironman: limiters. The Ironman is a triathlon comprised of three separate skills (in order): Swimming, Cycling, and Running. In Going Long!, a great book that was recommended to MG, the author advises focusing most of your training time on your key limiter—that is, the one weakness likely to hold you back or most significantly impact your finish. For MG, the limiter was obvious right away: running! Accordingly, he spent 80% of his training time trying to improve his running technique—his limiter. By doing this, he became a better runner, and the conditioning the running provided became a nice overlap effect for the other two events, swimming and cycling. You can

Chances are very good that your greatest problem at this moment could become your greatest asset in the future! "How can I use this?" That's a question you ought to develop the habit of asking. It can be an incredibly valuable question. Chances are very good that the biggest problem you are facing right now may represent your biggest opportunity and future breakthrough. Are you "poor," perhaps having a hard time making money? Terrific! How can you use that? Are you having a problem gaining and keeping friends? Terrific! How can you use that? Are you overweight and out of shape? Terrific! How can you use that? The fact is, your current problems and weaknesses are excellent opportunities in disguise—if approached with the proper mindset, encapsulated in the 3 R's. ResponsibleIt's your problem. You own it, and nobody is going to solve it for you. Resourceful You are a creature—a creative individual who is capable of coming up with novel solutions! Resilient Failure is just an opportunity to begin anew,

"Here's some 'realism' for you: You're rotating around the sun at 67,000 mph as the Earth spins at 1,000mph ...You're in the middle of a miracle sandwich." Realism comes in many forms. Is it realistic that if you jump off a 10-story building you'll hit the ground—"splat!"? Absolutely! Don't do that! But what about when it comes to setting and pursuing your goals and ideals? A recent comment on The Habit Factor's Facebook page said, "I prefer to set 'realistic' goals." When it comes to your goals, be careful what stories you subscribe to about what is "realistic". Steve Jobs was famously known for his "reality distortion field." When lead engineers at Apple told him something was "impossible", he refused to accept that as the final answer. Instead, he challenged the story. Engineers told him the Mac could not boot any faster; ultimately, it booted 3x faster. When they told him it was impossible to develop a phone with just one button, he challenged them. Today's iPhone model has no buttons. When it comes to y

"If you don't get it here, right now, you won't get it anywhere." ~Dr. Wayne Dyer Building off prior episodes, "Time: The Priceless Asset" and "The Game within The Game," this episode underscores an important awareness: Your time is limited, and THE Event is happening, right now! After a recent six-mile run, MG shared his run data with a good friend—a running buddy. The friend responded with a simple question, "Are you training for an event?" MG's response: “Nope.” Upon returning home, MG realized his mistake. He should have responded, "Yes!" The reality is, THE EVENT is happening right now, for everyone! Which begs the question: "How are you training for THE EVENT?" THE Event is LIFE!! Dr. Wayne Dyer used to say, “If you don’t get it here [the concept] right now, you're not going to get it anywhere." Your time is limited. Realizing that THE Event is live, right now, is your first step toward moving toward your most important goals and ideals. How are you participating in THE Event? As a spectator? As a comp

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." ~Henry Ford Arguably, a goal really isn't a goal if there are no obstacles. The pursuit of any worthwhile goal is sure to reveal a handful of challenges and obstacles along the way. Further, when you overcome an obstacle, several more tend to present themselves. While many Goo-Roos will tell you to focus exclusively on the process—NOT the outcome—they are only partially right. Focusing exclusively on the process tends to yield—exclusively—challenges. Too many obstacles, therefore, become totally overwhelming for anyone, even the grittiest of people. Occasionally, it's important to lift your gaze and focus on the ideal end-state: THE GOAL! Remind yourself why you undertook the endeavor in the first place! Since your emotions guide your focus and attention, too many obstacles can quickly drain your emotional reserves, grinding you to a halt! Lack of energy equates to no desire to push onward through the challenges, pain, and o

"When you don't have goals, you're telling the universe that you don't really value your time." Even if a person has no money, no job, and only fair health, they possess the one miraculous asset required to achieve any goal: TIME! Time spent purposefully affirms this observation: Setting goals is NOT optional. With time, anyone with worthy goals and ideals has the potential to succeed. However, when we don't have clear goals, ideals, or objectives, time is simply wasted. Drifting aimlessly for too long is one of the greatest time-wasters of all. Arguably, even the pursuit of an incorrect goal or one that changes over time is more valuable than drifting for too long. Time is the one asset that enables anyone, from one day to the next, to pursue their ideal future—their success. Thus, the opposite must be true: Wasting time—squandering the priceless asset of time—is the one universal characteristic of all "failures." Lollygagging and aimlessly drifting is painless in the short term, but it's really the fast-lan

"Within every game, there are tasks and objectives along the way; your life is no different. Tracking your habits from one day to the next helps you to win the game-within-the-game each and every day!" Anytime you're about to play a game, be it a computer, board, or sport, the very first thing you'll want to do is understand the game's objectives. That is: How are you going to win the game? It turns out, life is nearly identical. This is all the proof you need to fully understand the statement, "Intelligence is goal-directed behavior." The good – and bad – news is that we have to determine the main objectives for ourselves. Those who take the time to establish clear goals and objectives for their lives know where they're trying to go, even if specific goals and objectives change along the way. This is why we admire those who set goals for themselves and go after them; they know where they are going, and they know from one day to the next if they are "winning." Unfortunately, too many people struggle if they

"There's never enough time to do everything and there is always enough time to do the most important things." ~Brian Tracy Happy 2022! Few things will make your New Year better and more enjoyable than hitting your most important goals. MG talks you through the top 7 tips and throws in a few extras. For more New Year Breakthrough Tips: Be sure to download ALL 9 Episodes of the 2018 New Year Breakthrough SERIES. Search "How to make 2018 a Breakthrough Year" or find the series at https://podcast.thehabitfactor.com. Enjoy the episode! Habits & Goals MASTERY is NOW On-Demand! **** Feedspot's "Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021" New listeners: By texting the word "HABITS" to the mobile phone number "33444" you will instantly receive your "hack"/habit tracker/habit development template, or you can download it here: thehabitfactor.com/templates. Feel free to share the episode and leave a review on iTunes! Grab your FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh ***** Subscribe iT

"The speed of concentration is slow and/or stopped!" A perfectly timed New Year's episode. What do you think you are – in essence? A soul? The chemicals that make up your composition? What is it that comprises your "WHO?" It turns out, WHO we are is WHAT we do consistently. We're really just a compilation of our thought and behavior habits. Your habitual actions, behaviors, and decisions forge your CHARACTER. Thus, in order for anyone to change their RESULTS, the first thing they must do is alter their patterns of thought and behavior—their habits. The very best way to do that is to STOP! STOP for a moment. STOP moving. STOP thinking. STOP acting out of habit. Just press pause and STOP! Anytime you don't like the results you are getting, it's time to STOP! In the computing world, A STOP code, is a way to identify a "BUG" in the program. If a computer encounters a problem, it STOPS! Our results are the product of our INPUT. Our input is our thought and behavior HABITS. How are you going to identify the new i

"Any character trait, be it courage or honesty, even humility, can be cultivated." Another Goo-Roo-inspired Mind-Bullet. To be fair, the Goo-Roo thought there was a catch-22 that prevented someone from intentionally cultivating the HUMILITY trait. In other words, if you were too prideful about developing humility, how could you truly be humble? First, to be proud, privately, about your accomplishments doesn't preclude you from being humble. Second, had the Goo-Roo read Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, he'd understand that HUMILITY was actually the 13th virtue Ben cultivated via a lifetime of habit-tracking. Though Ben was circumspect about the very same concern, he wrote, "I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavor, a better and happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it." Third, too much humility leads to other issues, as MG learned from a Navy SEAL who cautioned against it. This SEAL insisted that th

"Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another." Juvenal Today's episode is inspired by a little home improvement project, as MG caps some sprinklers and removes a small amount of grass to make his patio eco/water-friendly. The project is delayed and becomes much tougher than expected due to the appearance of multiple roots underground. The significant difference between ROOTS and WEEDS becomes striking, particularly in the context of personal development. Roots vs. Weeds. First, roots grow imperceptibly slowly. It's impossible to notice their growth from one day to the next. However, return in several months or years, and it's impossible not to notice. Roots are substantial, incredibly strong, and very difficult to extract. Finally, roots grow underground, in silence, and out of the spotlight; roots aren't flashy. Weeds, on the other hand, possess the exact opposite traits. Weeds grow incredibly fast—almost "flashy" in their growth (not unlike certain personalities on Instagram). They're almost impossib

"Good habits happen when planned; bad habits on their own." Today's episode is about CONTROL and understanding four core aspects of control relative to our behaviors. The first component of control is our THINKING. Do you think you have the ability to control what you think, most of the time? With practice, you can absolutely control and direct your thinking most of the time. That doesn't mean controlling your thinking is easy, but it is possible. In fact, it could be argued that controlling your thinking is the first skill required to guide your life with intention and purpose toward your goals and ideals. The second aspect of control is relative to your feelings and emotions. The fact is, control over our feelings and emotions comes with maturity and practice – after all, that is emotional maturity. We know that a 1-year-old has zero control over their feelings and emotions and that an eight-year-old will have far more control over their feelings and emotions. While control over your feelings and emotions m

"Nobody can create their ideal future any faster than one day at a time." We last covered "LOST" as a Mind-Bullet to underscore the concept that feeling "lost" is often far more about not knowing where you want to go and less about not knowing where you are. Since life is highly dynamic, the experience of feeling "lost" is universal. In today's episode, we revisit the concept from the vantage point of two prior episodes: The QUEST and The PATH! Once we subscribe to the idea that our great Quest is to create our ideal future, we can simply ask ourselves each night, before retiring: "Was I on the PATH today? If intelligence is goal-directed behavior, then it's imperative to strive for the most important goals. Since few goals are more important than creating your ideal future, the sensation of being "LOST" confirms that you're not on the PATH. The moral is clear: Being "LOST" may seem frustrating, but it's an important and valuable awareness that can lead you toward your ideal future. Enjoy the episode! Habits

"Is it really about what we go through, or is it about something else? I don't want to be the guy people look at and say, 'Wow, that poor guy, he's been through a lot.'" ~Ted Ryce In this special episode of H2G, MG welcomes fitness expert Ted Ryce. Ted, a long-time physical and personal transformation coach who used to work with a handful of celebrities in Miami, now fills his time traveling the world, running his personal transformation coaching business, and hosting his own very popular podcast, "The Legendary Life." A great Japanese proverb states, "Adversity is the foundation of virtue." Few will experience the tragic, life-altering challenges Ted Ryce had to endure. At the age of 19, his younger brother was kidnapped and murdered. Later, his mother would die in a tragic car accident, and his sister would commit suicide. While Ted shares some of his best fitness, health, and well-being advice, he also shares many powerful life lessons. Rather than breaking his will or character, Ted accepted the tragedies

Q: How can I enjoy things I don't enjoy? MG fields a question that stood out from a recent survey. Maria wondered how she might enjoy some of the things she really doesn't, namely her job. MG recounts his experience – an early job out of college as a software support specialist. The only challenge? The job was never a challenge. MG was extremely bored by the work, which required no creativity. He was left feeling as though his contribution was insignificant. To answer Maria's question, he takes two tacks. First, MG leans on a great quote by Dr. Wayne Dyer, "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." While the job was not really enjoyable, MG shifted his perception to the assets the job provided: good pay and the ability to surf as often as he wanted. It also provided an opportunity to learn from a young millionaire software developer. The second part of the solution was found in "The Great Eight that Separate," something Napoleon Hill used to talk about. While anyone might be

"Feelings, and feelings and feelings. Let me try thinking instead." ~C.S. Lewis As sentient beings, our feelings wield remarkable influence over our behaviors and, therefore, our lives. As covered in a prior episode (Feelings and Focus), how well you concentrate and focus, at any given moment, is most often directly tied to your feelings. Our ability to manage, channel, and master our emotions has a powerful effect on our ability to achieve our long-term goals—as well as guide new habit formation. Today's episode offers a powerful reminder: What we do from one moment to the next, if we're not aware, is often guided by our feelings. This understanding of feelings is both GOOD and BAD news. The bad news: Behavior change and goal achievement efforts can be sabotaged for those who are unaware of their emotional states. The good news is actually two-fold. First, feelings are ephemeral—they do not last very long. Secondly, with practice, we have the ability to master and channel our feelings to empower our behavior

"If you fail to plan, are you planning to fail?" ~Benjamin Franklin As we continue The Quest—the pursuit of our ideal future—we recognize the journey requires that we step onto The Path! (previous episode) Once on The Path, we notice a powerful truth: Our ideal future only arrives ONE DAY AT A TIME. Thus, the essential question to ask daily is, "Was I on the path, today?" To make real progress along The Path conjures up another key question: What's The PLAN? The Plan is where the rubber meets the road. The Plan consists of two essential components: strategy and execution. What are you going to do today to make progress on The Path? How are you going to do it? And, importantly, how will you be held accountable? The strategy might be a model—copying a process by following someone who has already achieved what you're trying to achieve. There is a bit of caution when modelling; just realize, "No man can ever step into the same river twice." The second essential component of THE PLAN, execution, has two parts. How