Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” ~Abraham Lincoln Today’s Mind Bullet explores the famous Abraham Lincoln quote above, and like many of our mind bullets, we'll tackle it from a few different angles. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People , the late, great Stephen Covey uses the above quote as part of the 7th habit, “Sharpen the Saw...

“A ship is safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.” – William Shedd Today’s MBM is a quick hitter that ponders the topic of motivation. What is it that REALLY gets us moving, helping us to take action and gain momentum toward our goals? We've hit this topic from many angles in the past, for example, asking ourselves WHY we seek out a goal, but the real litmus test is emotion ....

“A book holds a house of gold." - Chinese Proverb Learning is remembering, and mastery is repetition, so this episode circles back to some basic learning elements we should keep in mind as we continue our goal-achievement journey. We’ve covered the topic of learning in the past, notably with “ What's the Best Way to Learn? " (Season 6) and " Learning Mastery " (Season 3), but today we’re focusing...

“The ultimate guru is you." It’s almost inevitable that we’re revisiting the topic of Control, which we first pondered in 2019 and are now circling back to discuss. (Listen to our earlier thoughts on Control .) This MBM was sparked during a plane ride, where MG was listening to a podcast from a “guru” talking about control. He theorized that for our entire lives, we've deceived ourselves into the...

“Everything is difficult before it is easy.” ~Goethe It may be a big word, but automaticity is what we're looking for on the path to goal achievement, and it's why we practice (for more, check out our Practice episode). Automaticity is the process of turning the "difficult" into the "easy," and it's what guides our ideas about habit formation and HabitStrength.  Think about tying your shoes—a task...

“If the path is clear, we're probably on the wrong path.” Progress is rarely, if ever, a straight line. Rather, progress will often look more like a zig-zag—a bit of a back and forth—as refinements are made along the path to our goals. In this episode, MG shares how his recent goals have gone sideways as well as why and how he's taking it in stride. Even with habits aligned and a clearly envisione...

“The deeper truth is we act from underlying values and hopes and dreams when we become fulfilled human beings..." Today's episode features an in-depth interview with Justin Brown, founder of Ideapod , whose mission is to provide ecosystems of thought around important ideas and to raise provocative questions that aim to inspire personal growth and group-think. Justin grew up in Melbourne and was on...

“With any elite player, we see discipline, clarity and focus...specifically, what is the win? Then, there is a persistence, an energy, and a discipline with absolute accountability!" Today's episode features an interview with Holly Green, who uses brain science to coach executives in some of the world's best companies to be more effective. An experienced business leader and behavioral scientist, H...

“A good plan, violently executed now is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.” ~George Patton Ideas without execution are just dreams. Thus, our New Year mini-series ends with a few important thoughts about execution. To execute—to finalize ideas—to bring them to life is difficult and requires both consistency and persistence . The beauty is well executed ideas move from the realm of potential ener...

“You really only fail if you fail to learn the lesson." Today's episode continues the New Year mini-series, RESILIENCE! Resilience may be the ultimate superpower! Resilience is the beautiful combination of persistence plus adaptability plus resourcefulness. In short, resilience is GRIT! It's possessing an openness and willingness to consistently grow and adapt. Those who tend to fail lack resilien...

“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything." ~Dwight D. Eisenhower Today's episode continues the New Year mini-series, PLANNING! What does Eisenhower mean when he says, "Plans are worthless"? Well, in and of themselves, plans don't do anything— it's PEOPLE who put plans into action. Thus, Eisenhower's powerful observation underscores the importance of executing and following through on our p...

“Visualization is the master skill of intent." Today's episode continues the New Year mini-series, CLARITY! If "beginning with the end in mind" works to make for a productive and successful day or week, you can bet it works to make for a productive and successful lifetime. Thus, the homework for each listener is to complete the various clarity exercises MG discusses. Brian Tracy likes to say that...

“Your doubt about yourself and goal achievement is just a bullsh*t story you've bought into."  Today's episode continues our New Year mini-series, DO NOT PASS GO! , which simply means; It makes little sense to consume more info (podcasts, books, etc) and/or waste more energy and time pursing your goals and ideals if you cannot address these two important mindsets/questions in the affirmative: 1) A...

“There is an expiration date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you." ~J. K. Rowling Today's episode continues our New Year series with Responsibility , which simply means; YOU are the programmer. Humans are remarkable achievement machines capable of  extraordinary results but only when the corr...

“Every great success is the culmination of a thousand tiny victories nobody ever notices or appreciates."~ Brian Tracy Nobody wins a game of chess in one move. Any victory in war is the result of several battles won. If your goal is to sail around the world, the attainment of that goal will involve many smaller wins/milestones along the way. As we prepare to kick off the 2021 New Year and identify...

“Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.” ~ Nathanael Emmons One Saturday, driving to the office before a Habit Factor Group Challenge event, MG records this quick episode to underscore what seems to elude so many of us: that habit should be used as a tool, one that is consciously constructed, with practice, (following P.A.R.R.) to serve us unconsciously. This is what is mean...

"Unfortunately, we're all not going to be lucky enough to have a near-death experience." During a recent interview (which has yet to air) for another habit-related podcast, host Brian Conroy said something interesting: "You know, I don't mean to sound skeptical, but these other authors, what's interesting...is they've all had near-death experiences." While the interviewer's point was not lost, the...

Q: How long should I be tracking my habits? A: How long do you plan on living? After a recent presentation to an entrepreneur group, the question came up, "How long should I be tracking my habits?" MG's response, "How long do you plan on living?" Coming on the heels of recent episodes, "Habit Tracking is for Humans" and "What are the Most Important Habits?" the realization is this; we should track...

"You cannot change your destiny overnight but you can change your destination." Why do we feel the urge to create new years resolutions? Why do we so often struggle to keep them. What is it about the end of a year that makes us reflect and assess our achievements? MG and Jen discuss, from their personal experience, a few key ideas about why we setup goals and then are unable to follow through. If...

"When it comes to habit development, humans can, and should, leverage their innate capacities of choice, intention and reflection." Today's Mind-Bullet is about why habit tracking is beneficial. AGAIN. After being interviewed for a habit-specific podcast recently, the host was left a bit befuddled as MG challenged much of what the host was told were "best practices" around habit development. At on...

"If you can't explain it simply, you do not understand it." ~Einstein Today's Mind-Bullet investigates the significance of simplicity and its application in life. It's been said that simplicity is a symbol of sophistication and elegance, and many great thinkers have touted its importance. Consider Apple products and their legendary simplicity in design and use. Steve Jobs lauded simplicity many ti...

"A problem well stated is half solved." ~Charles Kettering Still time to jump into the LIVE, Five-Day, Get Unstuck Habit Factor Challenge! How are you going to improve your results in 2021? Visit: https://thehabitfactor.com/challenge Today's Mind-Bullet investigates the significance of questions. Arguably, a person's level of "success" may come down to the quality of the questions they ask themsel...

"Creativity demands space, time and most of all energy." How are you going to improve your results in 2021? The Habit Factor® " 5-Day Challenge " Begins this Thursday, November 12, 2020! Visit: https://thehabitfactor.com/challenge Today's Mind-Bullet investigates the requirements for a creative life! Since life tends to be a mass of problems, one after the other, it's essential to view creativity...

"Learning Zen is a phenomenon of gold and dung. Before you understand it, it's like gold; after you understand it, it's like dung." ~Zen Saying The Habit Factor® " 5-Day Challenge " Begins Thursday, November 12, 2020! Visit: https://thehabitfactor.com/challenge **TEXT your toughest #habits and #goals questions now to MG and be eligible for weekly prizes! 619-547-1915 GOLD and DUNG! Today's special...

"The extraordinary life demands extraordinary effort." The Habit Factor® " 5-Day Challenge " Begins Wednesday, 11-12-20! Visit: https://thehabitfactor.com/challenge **It's twu, it's twu! TEXT MG direct your toughest #habits and #goals questions now: 619-547-1915 Extraordinary Adj: Very unusual or remarkable. Today's MBM sheds light on the idea that "different," "unusual," and "remarkable" not only...