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

How does the behavior scale?  **NEW: Text MG direct your toughest #habits and #goals questions now: 619-547-1915 The Habit Factor® " 5-Day Challenge " ENDS THIS WEDNESDAY 10-28-20! Because all exercises and live sessions are recorded, you can still sign up today: https://thehabitfactor.com/challenge Today's MBM brings us to the idea of compounding behaviors. It's fairly trendy to hear entrepreneur...

"The map is not the territory." ~ Alfred Korzybski **NEW: Text MG direct your toughest #habits and #goals questions now: 619-547-1915 The Habit Factor® " 5-Day Challenge " starts THIS THURSDAY 10-22-20! Sign-up today: https://thehabitfactor.com/challenge Alfred Korzybski was a Polish-American independent scholar who developed general semantics, which he viewed as both distinct from, and more encom...

"The greatest give you can give your loved ones is your own personal development." Text me your toughest #habits and #goals questions right now... directly to: 619-547-1915 and say hi today! This is a very special Habits 2 Goals, Thursday episode about the upcoming " GET UNSTUCK 5-Day Challenge " starting NEXT THURSDAY 10-22-20! You can learn more and sign-up here: https://thehabitfactor.com/chall...

"The greatest give you can give your loved ones is your own personal development." This is a very special Habits 2 Goals, Thursday episode about the upcoming " GET UNSTUCK 5-Day Challenge " starting NEXT THURSDAY 10-22-20! You can learn more and sign-up here: https://thehabitfactor.com/challenge This has been called a Master Class in Goal Achievement so even if you're not stuck, you know that mast...

"The mind is for having ideas, not holding them." ~David Allen *Important Note*: The " GET UNSTUCK 5-Day Challenge " begins 10-22-20! Sign up today: https://thehabitfactor.com/challenge A cup is designed to be empty, not full. Its value comes from being able to fill it up. This is true for minds, as well. Keeping an open and empty mind allows for creativity, innovation, and learning. MG shares the...

"To go far you must begin near, and the nearest step is the most important one."  ~Jiddu Krishnamurti One of the reasons it's called, The Habit Factor® is because the habits we perform most often, powerfully compound over time. Where you are right now, is the result of your habits compounding. Nobody becomes rich or fat overnight. (lottery aside) Small actions compounded (over time) reveal massive...

"The smarter the person, and the smarter the device, the greater the complications. This episode's original title was "Simple Truths," because wherever you find real challenges in your life, the answers are often simple. Instead, we decided to call it "Complications," inspired by the Apple Watch, which refers to its smart device apps as "complications" when they're displayed on the watch face. Why...

"Where is your error log?" A number of professions require error logs. The way programmers improve their software is to review the error logs. The way pilots become better is to review logbooks. To keep and review a personal "error log" is just another way to affirm the importance tracking our habits, journaling and documenting our efforts as we move toward our goals. Without a log of our efforts,...

"What he wanted most of all was a large waste basket to which he could consign all his false starts and mistakes." ~Walter Isaacson (Einstein: The Man, the Genius and the Theory of Relativity) How big is your wastebasket? How many false starts and mistakes do you create on any given day? [Excerpt] When shown his corner office at the institute (Princeton) Einstein was asked to indicate what he may...

"Always do the things you fear the most. Courage is an acquired taste, like caviar." ~Erica Jong The interesting thing about acquired tastes is they can apply to seemingly every aspect of our life. Whether it's beer, whiskey, running a marathon or managing frustration, it's all an acquired taste. The first key to developing any acquired taste is to have an open mind. Too often people shun ideas im...

"I can think. I can wait. I can fast." ~Siddhartha ***WARNING** Please do your own research and consult your doctor before altering your diet.*** MG resumes the fasting discussion after recognizing there were a few items left on the "table." Beginning with this passage from Siddhartha: "I can think, I can wait, I can fast." The statement raised the question, "Can I really fast?" More Siddhartha ex...

"No man is free who cannot command himself." ~Pythagoras ***WARNING** NOT medical advice. Do your own research and consult your doctor before altering your diet.*** In long-form, discussion format, MG shares his experience with fasting for 36 hours, once-a-week (for 26 weeks). Like the Burpee experiment that arose from a mediation last year, an early February mediation this year brought forth the...

"You are energy and achieving your goal will require energy. Therefore, putting your energy toward creating and aligning habits that support your goals is the most efficient means to achieve them." In the business world the phrase "return on investment" is fairly ubiquitous. People want to understand, for instance, how spending $1,000 on marketing or advertising will translate into greater sales....

"Remember this: The trend is your friend." In Earnest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rise s, there's a scene where Bill asks Mike, "How did you go bankrupt?" "Two ways," Mike responds, "Gradually, then suddenly." We can find this, "The Law of Gradually, then Suddenly," nearly everywhere. How does one get old? How did the oak tree get so big? How did you get fit or fat or wealthy or broke? Gradually, the...

"A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit." ~ Desiderius Erasmus The first answer is provided by Desiderius' insightful comment above, rather than tracking a negative habit one should focus on building a new, positive habit in its place. For instance, if you wanted to stop and/or reduce your beer consumption, you should focus on tracking your water or other beverage consump...

"We're drowning in information and starving for wisdom."  We live in the information age. In an instant you can have top technical and scholarly articles on nearly any subject. Information is easily attained. That's the good news. The bad news is we love to consume information: news, books, movies, podcasts (irony recognized), social media, etc. On and on it goes. Information. Information. Informa...

"Day one or one day. It's your choice."  A single day is a powerful concept. In a single day our world can truly begin to transform. All it takes is one day! Just one day for us to make a life-long, lasting commitment to begin to develop new habits. Transformation and positive change can begin in a moment --on any given day YOU decide. Jim Rohn used to say, "We cannot change our destiny overnight...

"The best way to change someone else's behavior is to change your own."  People often want their near-and-dear friends and family members to cultivate new, positive habits. Yet, the unfortunate reality is that behavior change can't be forced upon another. We can try to bribe, coerce, or even threaten but, without the cooperation and sincere desire of the individual, those efforts will prove futile...

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." ~Albert Einstein. Thought experiments come in many varieties and you don't have to be a theoretical physicist to put them to use. A good thought experiment can drive behavior change, goal achievement and even habit development! Albert Einstein was famous for his breakthrough "thought experiments". Even though he struggled...

"Good solutions can lead us to better—and even the best—solutions, but only when we take action."  Theodore Roosevelt put it this way: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Many intelligent people are bound by inaction and indecision. It's a trap created by overthinking and the awareness that there is always a better—or even, a best— solution "out there." Life, though, keeps moving...

"What you focus on expands within your awareness."  Managing your environment, with some planning and forethought is one of the best ways to influence your behavior. If you want to focus better, eliminate potential distractions ahead of time. If you want to eat better, control what is in your pantry and refrigerator and change your shopping habits. If you want to quit smoking, ensure you are not h...

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ~Thoreau Most people aren't aware just how hard-wired they are toward the negative. In other words, something very positive will typically have far less of an impact on one's behavior and emotions than something equally negative. Theories vary, but most psychologists agree that negativity bias is a derivative of our long-evolved survival...

"Never complain, about anything, to anyone, not even yourself." The quote above caught MG totally off guard when he was reading a book, so he took it as a literal challenge and wondered if he could do it for just a day. Less than a few hours later, he was at nearly twelve complaints! Why is the toothpaste cap not on? Who would post such a stupid thing on Facebook? Why is the broom there!? Why is t...

"There are only three requirements for success. First, decide exactly what it is you want in life. Second, determine the price you are going to have to pay to get what you want. And third, and this is the most important, resolve to pay that price." ~H. L. Hunt When it comes to goal achievement and success there is always a price to pay. Did you become a better reader or student? Did you learn a ne...

"When you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe, then you will be successful." ~Eric Thomas Last week's episode was, "What do you want?" This week, the question is "How hungry are you?" Hunger is an interesting concept because taken in its most literal sense, there are few driving forces quite as primal. Hunger gets people to take action and immediately. Hunger is very binary. You either...