Mastering the Reset Mindset with Penny Zenker: Transform Your Approach to Business and Life

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I took what I call a reset moment and it can happen in a split second where I took a deep breath because I needed to control my physiology, because my heart felt like it was going to beat outside my chest and I took a deep breath and it helped me just calm down a little bit right, lower the heart rate, so that I could mentally step back and say what's going on here, like how do I need to show up?

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Hey, uncommon Leaders.

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Leaders, welcome back.

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This is the Uncommon Leader Podcast and I'm your host, john Gallagher.

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I'm thrilled to bring you episode 131 of the Uncommon Leader Podcast today.

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I've got Penny Zenker joining us.

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Penny's not just an acclaimed author and speaker, but also a true expert on the mindset shifts necessary for sustaining success in both business and life the double win.

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We'll dive deep into her new book, the Reset Mindset a blueprint for a better life and explore how the concept of a reset mindset can help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of challenges and opportunities.

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So, whether you're a seasoned leader or just starting on your journey, this episode's filled with actionable strategies to help you become an Uncommon Leader.

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Let's get started.

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Penny Zenker, welcome to the Uncommon Leader podcast.

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It's great to have you on the show today, looking forward to our conversation.

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How are you doing?

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I'm fantastic.

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Thank you, John, for having me.

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Absolutely.

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I'm looking forward again to discuss your book that's come out, the Reset Mindset.

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We're going to have a fun conversation there.

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I love that having your book ready to go.

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I wish I would have had that hard copy to put behind me as well, but I read, I would say, 90% of it and it was an easy read and I think is really powerful and certainly aligned with some of the things that I know that the listeners of the Uncommon Leader podcast are going to like.

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But before we get into your book, I'm going to give you the first question I always give my first-time guests, and that's to tell me a story from your childhood that still impacts who you are today as a person or as a leader.

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I was trying to think of something that that, uh, was not in my book, so it would be more, more interesting.

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I do tell the most impactful story to my leadership and um, you know so, um, but I'm going to tell a different story.

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Okay, uh, I'm going to tell a story.

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You know I'm going to tell a story.

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You know, what's interesting is I've always had a really strong work ethic.

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It's always been about value.

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You know, how do I recognize value?

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How do I create value?

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How do I see value?

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And you know, if I, if I, the first job that I can remember having, actually it must not have been the first job, because I can remember having, um, actually it must not have been the first job cause I was driving, but it was.

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It was probably one of the most unique jobs is I?

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I was actually delivering Donnelly directories and, uh, and I was all by myself, uh, and they would, they just had this big truck in a parking lot and my job was to fill up my car and drive it around, you know, and, and throw the directories and come back and refill and, you know, just do that over and over again.

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And, you know, one could think that that's super boring.

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You know we can get so caught up in wow and people would say to me oh, that's so boring, it's so hot, you don't have any air conditioning and all this kind of stuff.

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But I think it set something for me that showed me there's, if you put your mind to it, you, there's always an opportunity to make money, there's always an opportunity to make something out of it.

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Like, okay, it was no big deal, but like I felt pride in doing it and and I even like felt pride in optimizing it, right.

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So it was like, okay, each time I filled up my car, it was how could I do that faster?

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You know, what kind of technique could I use that would make it a little faster?

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And and and.

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So I think that those initial you know positions that I had, you know, helped me to see how could I, you know how could I do that, how could I deliver more value, how could I optimize the process, and and I think I became an optimizer from that, like somebody who's always looking to see how I can make things better, see how I can find more opportunity, and and that just grew from there.

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But I think it is some of our first experiences right that sort of shape us.

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Do we sit there and do we complain about how boring this job is, or do we make the most of it and make something out of it?

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in your story, but I think of the word gamification of it, though, and how can I make it just a little bit better each time?

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And the picture that came to my mind, especially since you use the car, was the old Garmin device or whatever it is.

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And now it's just on your phone Apple maps or ways, or whatever you use and you put where you're going in and it gives you an estimated time of arrival.

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Well, that's always really just about how do I beat that time to get there?

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and make sure I can get there faster, so helping improve it.

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But, yes, gamifying it, put a goal in place to it.

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Helping to improve it each time, I think is an awesome way to go at it.

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I appreciate you sharing that Now Donnelly directories, though I got to admit that would be tough to find the motivation behind it.

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I know that I end up with these, still end up with these little phone books in my driveway every once in a while and I just want to throw them back at the person who drove by.

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That's why you've got to speed out of there and you've got to do it really fast.

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You've got to throw it, whip it out and then keep moving.

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I actually did not stop.

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I was able to throw it out the other window if it was the other side.

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You really get a technique going.

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I love that.

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That is so funny.

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You get to get your throat going to spin so they can't get it back at you on the way through.

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All right, we're not here to talk about Donnelly directories or speeding through neighborhoods, but we are here to talk about your new book, the Reset Mindset how to Get Unstuck, focus on what Matters Most and Reach your Goals Faster.

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So the traditional question, I'll ask it anyway who did you write this for and why did you write it?

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Now the traditional question.

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I'll ask it anyway.

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Who did you write this for and why did you write it now?

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Well, I wrote it I think I wrote it as much for myself to really, you know, during it was during the pandemic that I was also struggling.

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Many of the things that I had done that worked for me weren't working anymore, or I wasn't doing the things that worked before anymore.

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It's like why?

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And then I was trying to pick out what's my process, how did I get through this, more gracefully, maybe, than some other people?

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What can I share and add a value to other people during this time?

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And so I wrote it for them, and I wrote it for myself is to recognize what is it that I do?

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How could I do it even better for myself?

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Just to get specific, the book is about the reset practice and how to build a reset mindset.

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I realized as I looked back on my life is that that has been the strategy that I've always used to help me to get to the next level, to help me to let go of the tug of war, the rope, so that I could move to the next level.

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And it's just about the more that we reset, the more quickly we can learn, adapt and grow.

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And why now?

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It's because we need it now more than ever.

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The whole concept is about dynamic reassessment and a willingness to reinvent, and we are just in an environment that if we are not able to be more flexible and adaptable with ourselves in any area of our lives, then we're going to struggle and in our businesses, we're going to lose, not only not have a competitive advantage, but we're going to struggle to survive.

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So it's essential today.

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Look, I love the why, I love the reasoning you talked about and writing for yourself and others, and as I read through the book, let's define reset mindset and we're going to story it a little bit because I think your stories in your book are awesome in terms of your life experiences that have driven this thought process as well.

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But you did a comparison in the book between fixed mindset, growth mindset and now you've defined this new category of reset mindset.

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So tell me about that, those three things and how the mindset relates to both of those and how it's different.

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Definitely Well.

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I've given it some new language since I've been talking about it a lot since the book's been released is, I think the best way to look at is the next generation of the growth mindset.

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So I mentioned on the one side that the reset mindset is about dynamic reassessment.

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Let's go back and look at Carol Dweck's work that she brought in 2006.

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Her book was called Mindset the Psychology of Success, and it really dove into and brought science behind this definition of these two types of mindsets and how, when we have a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset, that we see tremendous trust in an organization, collaboration, all the things that lead to greater performance and so really showing productivity figures.

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When people are living in a growth mindset and how she defines it, is that it's about learning and growing over time, so, with persistence and effort, and having this mindset is that we're there and we have the ability and the desire to grow and to learn.

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We're there and we have the ability and the desire to grow and to learn.

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The fixed mindset is a place where we feel like we don't have any control to change anything right.

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So we're like, oh well, why bother?

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It is the way that it is, it's sticking to what you know.

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So when we're in a fixed mindset, no, we really experience better, very little growth.

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And and so that's why, when we can shift into what we can control and understand that with effort and persistence we can, focusing on what we can control, that we actually can influence and change our outcome, our circumstances and even approach a situation in a different way.

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And where the reset mindset differs.

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And why dynamic reassessment is more important today is because what we're talking about is real-time adaptation.

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Right, the dynamic reassessment means that we're not waiting as long to process what we learned and turn information into insights.

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We're doing it as we go, and it's essential today because things change so fast Before we know it.

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I mean, ai right now is on the rise and it's going to be changing the whole workforce traumatically, so we need to be ready and adapting already now.

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And many, many companies I forget the percentage, but the percentage is pretty high of the companies that are already integrating AI into their business, and those companies that are doing that, they're going to survive and they're going to thrive in the future if they continue to adapt.

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But those that don't, they're probably not going to survive and they're going to thrive in the future if they continue to adapt.

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But those that don't, they're probably not going to be here.

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I appreciate that and in the introduction of that mindset I think you just did a great job throughout the book with story.

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But there's a story that really framed it for you really well, with a friend in an airplane.

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Tell the story because I think the listeners have to hear it.

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Like I said, I'll tell my part of it afterward.

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Well, so I'll keep the short version of it.

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So my friend Lisa and I, we were going skydiving and we got onto the plane last, thinking that we would go last because we were the last to get on.

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But the instructors pointed us to sit right there in the front, in front of the door.

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So, you know, joke was on us.

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We thought we were going last and we were really going first.

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Whatever excitement was there, you know, quickly turned into that fear, like any choice that we make, even though we might choose to do something and involve in change, when it really happens and it gets hard, you know, that's where resistance sets in, even if we chose it.

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And if we didn't choose it, the resistance might be even greater.

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So, anyway, the door opens up as we get to 10,000 feet and my friend Lisa is right there and her hair is flying back and the blood drained from her face and and she was panicking and she totally resisted and she's struggling, and she gets to the door, she grabs the sides of the door to try to hold on and uh, and you know she was, actually we were going tandem, so we had, she had an instructor on her back and he's seen this before, right?

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So he just like just tossed her right out the door and you know you could hear her fear though all the way down right.

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The resistance continued, fuck you know like and and I'm like watching this, like, oh, my goodness, I didn't want that to be me.

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So I explained some of the concepts that are coming forth in the book is I took what I call a reset moment, and it can happen in a split second where I took a deep breath because I needed to control my physiology, because my heart felt like it was going to beat outside my chest.

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And I did a deep breath and it helped me just calm down a little bit right, lower the heart rate, so that I could mentally step back and say what's going on here, like how do I need to show up?

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What do I need to remember?

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I need to remember that this guy's done this a thousand times before.

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I'm in good hands and my whole intention for this experience was to step outside of my comfort zone and, you know, experience something incredible like this.

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So, you know, with that simple shift right, that shift in my mindset to shift away from focusing on the fear and dying, I shifted it to know that he's got my back and that I'm good.

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And we can do that in any moment.

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We can shift that because both can be true at the same time.

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It can be scary and, yes, people die, but I don't need to focus on that because I'm not.

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You know, that's not a healthy place for me to focus at that moment, so you know.

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So I jumped and and Lisa was pushed and I think that that kind of that metaphor right is how we understand how we have control over a lot more than we think that we do.

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And and that is really the premise of the reset mindset the more of these reset moments that we take in our life to help ourselves to calm down, to get some perspective right and step away from that emotion and then to realign around what's important, our goals, our values and our intentions and make sure that we're showing up and taking action that are in alignment with our goals.

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And that's just a fun story to sort of bring the whole aspect of mindset to the forefront, that it's there in everything we do, whether we're jumping from an airplane, we're looking to grow our business, we want to raise a family.

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It's there and we have challenges and our lives are complex, but it's up to us to build that reset mindset.

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So I love to build that reset mindset and I love the concept of the reset moment.

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And, again, aside from the fact that as I read that story in your book, it was kind of written so well that it made my feet hurt because I have this fear of heights and just thinking about it and being pushed out of the plane myself and wondering if I could take that perspective to switch that mindset over and reset it, because, look, I agree, and I think it's probably one of the biggest barriers that people have to overcome, I believe is a Mark Twain quote where he talked about, you know, the things that we make up in our minds, especially really bad.

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90% plus of those things never really happen.

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Right, something to that effect in terms of what he said.

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But we are really good at thinking about the worst thing that can happen and that keeping us from taking the opportunities that we have at hand versus resetting our minds that get there.

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So, aside, go ahead.

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Let me just add, so, just so you know, that wasn't the first time that I ever took a reset moment, right?

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If we think that we're going to reframe and accurately do a reset in a really high pressure moment and we've never done it before it's unlikely, right?

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It's when we practice it in the smaller moments, when we don't need it, as crucially, that it becomes a habit of the way that we think, and so the only reason why I was able to do that and I was able to smile, which is another way that changed my physiology and changed the hormones that were running through my brain is because I had done it many times before, and so I think that's an important thing as well.

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To know is that we have to do it in moments before we actually need it the most.

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I so appreciate that.

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Again, I love pulling quotes from others.

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Nick Saban would say you don't practice things till you get it right.

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You practice till you can't get it wrong, and so you're talking about actually practicing those moments as well.

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In your book you talk about three steps of the reset practice Step back, get perspective, perspective and realign.

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I would imagine that you use that in your teaching and your coaching and your writing to help folks overcome what is those things?

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The fears to keep them from even practicing?

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What other things does that practice help them to overcome?

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Well, I mean, if we think about it, everything and I hate to make it like over you know, like magnify it but it's true because it's a simple like what we do for each of those items, what we do to help us to step back, to get perspective and realign, might be different depending on the situation, but the thinking system right.

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This is a, this is a mental model for thinking that when we are, I constantly use this.

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So, if I'm right now, my my book is is launching in a couple of weeks, there's a couple of things that blew up at the last minute.

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And, like I'm in a reset moment right now where I have to step back and step away from the emotion, because there's a lot of emotions that come up when you've invested a lot of yourself in something.

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So and we can relate to that in any area of our life Maybe it's an Olympic athlete Right, we just had the Olympics who've invested years and years in training and there's a last minute injury that might keep them.

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They have to make a critical decision Do they push it and risk injuring themselves for and not performing anymore, or do right?

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So we come to those moments where we have to step back away from the emotion that is the first thing that we need to do from our biases, from the way we've always done things, and then we get to be more objective in how we you know what's working, what's not working, what do we know, what don't we know.

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We take inventory in an objective way and that in itself helps us to get perspective.

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But sometimes we need to look for outside perspectives.

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What's happening in another industry, you know, for me right now is what are some other ways that I can look at this, because there's more ways to to do things than than just the one way.

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So you know what's most important.

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You know reconnect to what, that, what problem we're actually solving If we're in a team that we can all align around that.

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And that's where that last point comes.

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After we've looked at the different perspectives, here are my options and what now, seeing those options, knowing what's most important to me and what the ultimate goal is, what actions am I gonna take?

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What is the very best solution that I can align around or that my team can align around in this moment?

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So I use it when it comes to my family, right.

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I use it in raising my kids.

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I use it in interactions, in my relationships with my husband.

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I use it to make business decisions, I use it to make health decisions, so I think that it goes across the board.

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Hey listeners, I want to take a quick moment to share something special with you.

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Many of the topics and discussions we have on this podcast are areas where I provide coaching and consulting services for individuals and organizations.

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If you've been inspired by our conversation and are seeking a catalyst for change in your own life or within your team, and are seeking a catalyst for change in your own life or within your team, I invite you to visit coachjohngallaghercom forward slash free call to sign up for a free coaching call with me.

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It's an opportunity for us to connect, discuss your unique challenges and explore how coaching or consulting can benefit you and your team.

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Okay, let's get back to the show Love that.

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It reminds me of one of the quotes you said if you want to catch more rabbits, don't waste time perfecting the chase.

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I think I remember reading that.

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That's right.

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You want to focus on the catching process and not on the chasing process and in that practice you mentioned one of the sections is called the secret of the Rubik's Cube.

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Tell me about that.

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I loved the Rubik's cube.

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Tell me about that.

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I love the Rubik's cube as a kid.

00:21:47.537 --> 00:21:59.339
Well, I use the Rubik's cube as a as a metaphor for the complexities of our lives, right, cause it's a complex puzzle, but interesting enough it's there's an algorithm, right that solves the Rubik's cube.

00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:07.999
So you can take the Rubik's cube from anywhere that it is and with a few simple moves, done over and over again, it'll bring it to completion.

00:22:07.999 --> 00:22:17.240
It's a sequence, and so what I'm giving as that metaphor is the same is true for these three steps.

00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:27.249
It's a sequence that, when repeated over and over again at various different points in our lives and even in our day, those points are those reset moments.

00:22:27.249 --> 00:22:35.785
When we engage in that practice over and over again and we recognize those opportunities, we're making the complex simple.

00:22:35.785 --> 00:22:38.288
It simplifies things.

00:22:38.288 --> 00:22:43.532
It helps us to calm down, to get perspective, to find solutions and to reach our goals faster.

00:22:43.532 --> 00:22:50.644
And that's what dynamic reassessment is is doing that more often so that we can make better decisions faster.

00:22:51.688 --> 00:22:52.009
Love that.

00:22:52.009 --> 00:22:59.448
So that's the frequency that you're talking about and maybe that's where we kind of bring it all together as to how you do it.

00:22:59.448 --> 00:23:05.948
Then what are the important steps to, in essence, building that reset mindset?

00:23:05.948 --> 00:23:12.568
We talked about the practice, but what are the other steps that are so critical, and how do you lead someone to do that?

00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:15.304
Well, so first it is the steps.

00:23:15.304 --> 00:23:27.182
So the first thing is is to is to be aware of those opportunities to reset, because one of the biggest things that we do today is that we're we're too busy.

00:23:27.182 --> 00:23:36.603
I hear from leaders we don't have time to lead, right, we don't have time to invest in our one-on-ones, so very often I've heard from leaders they're canceling them.

00:23:36.603 --> 00:23:41.012
Right, I'm traveling, I can't do it, or whatever it is.

00:23:41.012 --> 00:23:56.299
And so it's to be aware of those reset moments when we are frustrated or we're making mistakes, or we're seeing things, deadlines not being met, right.

00:23:56.420 --> 00:24:11.845
What are the different trigger points that should say, hey, we need to take a reset moment to see that we're lost in the chase, right, that we're, we're so focused on the task that we're missing the bigger picture and we're headed in the wrong direction.

00:24:11.845 --> 00:24:21.319
Or missing the bigger picture and we're headed in the wrong direction, or we're not in alignment and we're all working towards a greater good, but not the same one, right?

00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:23.605
So it's just that's.

00:24:23.605 --> 00:24:46.609
The first thing is really creating a heightened awareness as to where are the opportunities and making more opportunities that are proactive, so that you're not waiting until something happens, that you're being proactive in fixing these more often into our processes and certainly not avoiding them or not having time for them.

00:24:46.609 --> 00:24:52.407
Then we need to see what else needs to be reorganized or restructured so that we can do that.

00:24:52.407 --> 00:24:54.854
So awareness is definitely the first point.

00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:57.083
I think, you-.

00:24:57.083 --> 00:24:58.788
No, go ahead, Keep going.

00:24:58.839 --> 00:25:00.948
I was going to say I think you want to say something to that point.

00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:16.461
No, I think again that awareness it's half the battle, whether it's in alcoholism, whatever it is, first admitting that you need to have that, and the leader, when they can become aware to ultimately what they're trying to create.

00:25:16.461 --> 00:25:18.527
It can be something.

00:25:18.527 --> 00:25:27.582
If you're always busy, if your calendar is always packed, double booked and you don't get to the critical disciplines that you say are important, it'll be really good.

00:25:27.582 --> 00:25:36.712
Good intention without discipline is going to lead to excuses, but good discipline with good intention, in that space, in that intention, that awareness will lead to excellence.

00:25:36.712 --> 00:25:38.237
And I think that's where you have to go Absolutely.

00:25:38.979 --> 00:25:39.259
Absolutely.

00:25:39.780 --> 00:25:58.768
It's all about being intentional, and you can't be intentional if you're not aware if you're unconscious, if you're not really present to the challenges and the signals that are coming up, and you know, then you also have to have clarity on what it is that you're working towards.

00:25:58.768 --> 00:26:02.200
So that's, that's also absolutely critical.

00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:05.970
And all the things that I'm saying are nothing new, right, they're?

00:26:05.970 --> 00:26:10.911
They're nothing new, but they are the fundamentals, right, it's, it's just the way that it is.

00:26:10.911 --> 00:26:22.640
If you don't have awareness, if you don't have clarity as to what you're working towards, then you're not going to be able to create alignment, you're not going to be able to communicate that effectively, and so forth.

00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:41.661
So it's knowing the goal and, on each of these stages, is being able to use these three steps to get that awareness, to get the clarity of the goal and make sure that you're all solving the same problem or that you're clear on what your ultimate goal is.

00:26:41.661 --> 00:26:47.773
And maybe a good example here would be when I was working in a market research company.

00:26:47.773 --> 00:27:16.003
I came in new and out of the industry, so I was to the advantage that my curiosity was accepted, all the questions that I was asking around that, and they gave me an assignment for my first strategic project, which was to update the technology in the consumer panel that we were working on in the consumer panel that we were working on.

00:27:16.023 --> 00:27:23.547
So, and a consumer panel just means that we had many thousands of people that we would do a survey with and that that was our panel we would collect the information that of their purchases.

00:27:23.547 --> 00:27:34.907
But the truth is, when I started to ask questions is that we were so far behind in making updates that we were thinking that the goal was to update the technology.

00:27:34.907 --> 00:27:48.451
But the goal was to create a competitive advantage and in analyzing it is we were just going to bring ourselves back to being somewhat competitive.

00:27:48.451 --> 00:27:52.904
So I was like this doesn't make sense for us because that's not the goal.

00:27:52.904 --> 00:28:02.791
So, even though I was given the goal, because I asked a bunch of different questions, it brought it to everyone's awareness that actually we're focused on the wrong goal.

00:28:02.791 --> 00:28:20.314
And so, even though it might seem incredibly simple to say no the goal, it's incredibly complex if you've got a number of people who are working towards it and you're not asking questions and challenging it along the way.

00:28:21.736 --> 00:28:22.882
Absolutely so.

00:28:22.882 --> 00:28:24.729
Clarity you don't have certainly goals.

00:28:24.729 --> 00:28:34.536
We want them to be measurable as well, but if they're not the correct goal to your point, nothing like working really hard to get that done and finding out to get the ladder leaning up against the wrong wall when you get there, kind of thing.

00:28:34.536 --> 00:28:37.021
So important to understand that as well.

00:28:37.021 --> 00:28:49.742
When you think about how you've helped either leaders or organizations go through this, do you have a story that is kind of you know, a feel good moment for you as to how you've helped someone with that reset mindset?

00:28:54.031 --> 00:29:17.044
There's a lot of great stories, uh, you know, in a in a lot of different contexts, but uh, you know when, when that uh comes to my mind is the first thing that comes to my mind is uh, is uh one of my clients that I've worked with and we're constantly looking, I'm challenging and I'm asking those questions?

00:29:17.044 --> 00:29:25.005
And I think it was when I saw him start to use those questions and challenge his team in that way.

00:29:25.005 --> 00:29:28.071
So he's like, oh, I'm so proud of my team.

00:29:28.071 --> 00:29:33.952
He said you know, we had the second best month sales-wise than we've ever had.

00:29:33.952 --> 00:29:37.281
And he said and I knew I put my penny hat on.

00:29:37.281 --> 00:29:39.086
He was like you know, it's like you were on my shoulder.

00:29:39.086 --> 00:29:44.708
You know, it's always nice to hear that they're you know, they're still that.

00:29:44.708 --> 00:29:46.833
They're always in that thought process, right?

00:29:46.833 --> 00:29:47.800
And?

00:29:47.800 --> 00:29:54.354
And he said so I asked them not just how can we celebrate, but how did we get here?

00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:59.373
Like, very often, we only ask questions when something didn't go well.

00:29:59.373 --> 00:30:11.431
And so, before he jumped onto the next thing and set the next goal and everything, he said let's review what went well so that we can really be clear and make this success sustainable.

00:30:11.431 --> 00:30:18.082
Right, and so that that reset mindset was kicking in as he was recognizing.

00:30:18.082 --> 00:30:21.605
Here's a reset moment for me to make sure we're all aligned.

00:30:21.605 --> 00:30:26.310
We're all making sure that we understand what has led to this success.

00:30:26.310 --> 00:30:27.676
You know which?

00:30:27.676 --> 00:30:32.066
Which questions were we asking in the sales process that worked.

00:30:32.066 --> 00:30:39.347
You know where, where did we do something to service the client that we hadn't done in the past?

00:30:39.347 --> 00:30:41.439
You know what's the difference right and and it.

00:30:41.439 --> 00:30:42.682
And.

00:30:42.682 --> 00:30:44.988
He said that they, they loved the process.

00:30:44.988 --> 00:31:07.815
No-transcript.

00:31:08.395 --> 00:31:10.738
I love that reset moment as you talk about it, it might be something.

00:31:10.738 --> 00:31:24.242
A term I would use is lessons learned type activities what did we do well and what could we have done better, but especially to your point when we had a success, and how do we repeat or continue that success over time through that journey?

00:31:24.242 --> 00:31:29.510
So you talk about awareness, clarity, and I think that that third is just a practice to put it in motion.

00:31:29.510 --> 00:31:32.002
Right, that third step is to try it out.

00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:35.162
Yeah, so it's.

00:31:35.162 --> 00:31:44.240
I mean, you don't have them laid out like that in the book per se, but when I'm coaching somebody or working with them, yeah, then it's now, what's the plan?

00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:45.323
Right, what's the plan?

00:31:45.323 --> 00:31:53.498
And then the last point would be the actual action right, so when you know the goal, what are your next steps?

00:31:54.059 --> 00:31:59.134
But, as I said, it's got to be in that dynamic reassessment.

00:31:59.134 --> 00:32:03.657
Just because you have a plan, it's a working plan, right?

00:32:03.657 --> 00:32:06.000
I mean, I came from application development.

00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:07.941
I have my own technology company.

00:32:07.941 --> 00:32:17.968
It's all well and good to have a plan, but very often your development doesn't work.

00:32:17.968 --> 00:32:20.670
The code doesn't work like it says that it always should.

00:32:20.670 --> 00:32:24.673
So you have to constantly be looking at okay, where do I have to?

00:32:24.673 --> 00:32:31.240
Um, uh, work around something to make it work, and?

00:32:31.240 --> 00:32:36.236
And so you're constantly adapting and and having these small right.

00:32:36.236 --> 00:32:38.560
You, you've heard of agile development.

00:32:38.621 --> 00:32:41.227
Right these small sprints small sprints.

00:32:41.248 --> 00:32:49.805
So making these, these, each development chunk, and checking to see that it works and then going on to the next.

00:32:49.845 --> 00:32:50.665
Getting back together.

00:32:50.665 --> 00:32:51.286
What did we learn?

00:32:51.286 --> 00:32:53.249
Try the next steps Exactly.

00:32:53.249 --> 00:32:53.429
Go away.

00:32:53.429 --> 00:32:54.089
Go try it out again.

00:32:54.089 --> 00:32:55.070
Absolutely, that's scrum yeah.

00:32:55.815 --> 00:32:58.157
Those really long technology projects.

00:32:58.157 --> 00:33:06.830
They tend to fail because by the time you get to where you're going, the technology has already changed Right.

00:33:06.830 --> 00:33:14.286
So it's got to be through rapid prototyping and rapid development, and the same is true now in the whole of our business.

00:33:14.595 --> 00:33:26.490
Well, to your point, especially with the onslaught of AI and changing the way we do things, we better be thinking and repeating that cycle over and over again to stay ahead and, to be to your point, create that competitive advantage.

00:33:26.490 --> 00:33:32.357
The only way we're going to do that is to improve against our competition at a rate faster than they do.

00:33:32.357 --> 00:33:33.801
They're trying to improve as well.

00:33:33.801 --> 00:33:35.105
Whoever that is.

00:33:36.776 --> 00:33:45.807
John, I don't know if you've seen the statistic, but there was a statistics by McKinsey, which I was surprised at, that 75% of digital transformations fail.

00:33:46.785 --> 00:33:47.335
I did not see that.

00:33:47.335 --> 00:33:58.246
And there's a number of different statistics that I've seen about also general change management efforts and it really comes down to mindset, because people resist change.

00:33:58.246 --> 00:34:14.608
So we have to change or transform the way that we approach change so that, like you said, it's more gamified, it's more dynamic in the way that we interact with it, knowing that it's going to change.

00:34:14.608 --> 00:34:15.737
Change is constant.

00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:17.320
Absolutely.

00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:23.356
That's our biggest challenge I had a conversation with a client just last week and I said if things are going to remain the same they're talking about the success they had.

00:34:23.356 --> 00:34:26.023
I said things are going to have to change because it's not going to.

00:34:26.023 --> 00:34:30.065
You're not going to be operating the same way in a year as you are today and expect to get the same results.

00:34:30.065 --> 00:34:32.342
It's just not going to happen, penny.

00:34:32.342 --> 00:34:32.682
I think the.

00:34:32.682 --> 00:34:33.726
I think the book's going to be a hit.

00:34:33.726 --> 00:34:35.456
I'm looking forward to getting my hard copy as well.

00:34:35.456 --> 00:34:38.438
I've just gone through the digital copy via PDF.

00:34:38.438 --> 00:34:43.184
When you think it's going to come, folks are going to read it and I think it is going to be a hit.

00:34:43.184 --> 00:34:52.391
They're going to set it on a bookshelf, just like this behind me today, and they're going to be sifting through their books a year from now and they're going to see your book.

00:34:52.391 --> 00:34:57.257
What do you?

00:34:59.646 --> 00:35:01.635
want them to think when they see the reset mindset sitting on their shelf.

00:35:01.635 --> 00:35:03.217
Well, a couple of things come to mind.

00:35:03.217 --> 00:35:13.967
The first thing I'd like them to think is make more reset moments, that it's sticky, that they have a language that makes it more accessible and that they say that made a difference in my life.

00:35:13.967 --> 00:35:16.398
That simple little thing.

00:35:16.398 --> 00:35:20.989
It stuck and now I'm doing it and it's part of who I am.

00:35:20.989 --> 00:35:28.985
And maybe they say because I think this is a sign of a great book and then I would know that it was a great book they'd say it's time to read it again.

00:35:29.614 --> 00:35:30.818
Oh yeah, very cool.

00:35:30.818 --> 00:35:34.856
I love that you have a few of those books that are on your shelf that you say.

00:35:34.856 --> 00:35:38.505
You got to read it again and I appreciate what you're saying about those moments.

00:35:38.505 --> 00:35:42.425
I think we've got to be as I read through these and listen to what you're saying.

00:35:42.425 --> 00:35:43.947
We've got to be as I read through these and listen to what you're saying.

00:35:43.967 --> 00:35:57.266
We've got to be intentional creating those moments, whether it's in our personal lives or whether it's in our, whether it's in our workplace, whatever that means to develop ourselves and develop our teams, create the systems and processes that we need to make the impact that we want to have.

00:35:57.266 --> 00:36:00.902
It's very important to be intentional at creating those moments.

00:36:00.902 --> 00:36:11.056
So, penny, I think, like I said, I think it's going to be a hit.

00:36:11.056 --> 00:36:11.818
I think it's going to be a bestseller.

00:36:11.818 --> 00:36:15.208
I know when we're interviewing this just before the book comes out, but we'll know pretty quickly after it's released how successful it's going to be.

00:36:15.208 --> 00:36:21.387
I want to ask how do you want folks to get the book and to be in touch with you as well?

00:36:22.335 --> 00:36:22.976
Yeah for sure.

00:36:22.976 --> 00:36:28.715
Well, they can go to the reset mindsetnet and there, uh, they can get a little bit more information.

00:36:28.715 --> 00:36:43.440
They can see some some really great things have been said by uh, mel Robbins and even Covey and Marshall Goldsmith, so I'm blessed to have some, some, some great endorsements there, uh and uh they also there's a number of great bonuses that I'm offering.

00:36:43.440 --> 00:37:03.748
So if they get the book, or when they get the book, they can put the product purchase number in there and then they'll get access to my learning center, which has a number of great bonuses, including I'm giving away the audio and the PDF version together with the purchase of the hardcover book.

00:37:03.748 --> 00:37:13.059
So, um, there is no uh ebook that's available for another month or so, or the audible, but they will come for free with uh with their purchase.

00:37:13.480 --> 00:37:15.487
Excellent, so you've read your audio already.

00:37:16.311 --> 00:37:17.094
I'm in the process.

00:37:18.438 --> 00:37:19.659
How do you like about that process?

00:37:19.659 --> 00:37:20.643
What do you think about it?

00:37:21.565 --> 00:37:23.128
Uh, you know it's, uh, it's.

00:37:23.128 --> 00:37:38.085
It's not an easy process, but, uh, since, since I wrote it and I looked at it a thousand times uh it, some of it comes quickly off the tongue, um, while others you're like, oh man, I didn't should have written this differently.

00:37:38.085 --> 00:37:38.907
So it's, it's also.

00:37:38.907 --> 00:37:40.760
You know it.

00:37:40.760 --> 00:37:49.784
It shows you where where you could have, uh, made some changes or where you talk about it differently now, since we stopped writing a number of months ago.

00:37:50.005 --> 00:37:51.916
I like that, Jim Quick.

00:37:51.916 --> 00:37:52.938
I read his book.

00:37:52.938 --> 00:37:56.447
Limitless, I believe, is the name of it, is the revised edition of it.

00:37:56.447 --> 00:37:59.121
I just love the book.

00:37:59.121 --> 00:38:04.157
I was all through it, but the one part of the book that I didn't quite agree and I don't worry about reading faster, I like to read but I don't.

00:38:04.157 --> 00:38:11.101
He says to not sub vocalize in the reader's voice when you're reading, or anybody's voice, your own voice, when you're reading.

00:38:11.101 --> 00:38:16.864
I just love to read a book and so when I know when I read it I'll hear your voice as I go through, even it'll be in my head.

00:38:16.864 --> 00:38:18.525
So I appreciate that.

00:38:18.525 --> 00:38:23.266
Or listening to the author's voice and then being able to read the book just has a bigger impact for me.

00:38:23.266 --> 00:38:23.726
But that's me.

00:38:23.726 --> 00:38:25.648
Maybe not Jim quick, Maybe Jim quick.

00:38:25.668 --> 00:38:39.297
Well you know, we all have different senses right Some people are more audibly oriented, some people more visually oriented, so maybe he was not, you know maybe not Penny.

00:38:39.318 --> 00:38:39.802
Great conversation today.

00:38:39.802 --> 00:38:40.206
I wish you the best.

00:38:40.206 --> 00:38:42.217
As you go out, I'm going to give you the last word as a question.

00:38:42.217 --> 00:38:56.501
I always ask my guests as we, as we leave, but I'm going to give you a billboard and you can put any message that you want to on that billboard for folks to see what's the message you put on there and why do you put that on there, so I'm going to go back to what I said earlier, make more recent moments.

00:38:58.505 --> 00:38:59.588
It's quick, it's simple.

00:38:59.588 --> 00:39:12.786
It's what is going to help us to be more successful in our lives, to reach greater fulfillment, have deeper relationships, just be more intentional and be checking in more often with ourselves and with others.

00:39:13.347 --> 00:39:13.626
Excellent.

00:39:13.626 --> 00:39:14.648
Thank you very much, penny.

00:39:14.648 --> 00:39:15.110
I enjoyed it.

00:39:15.110 --> 00:39:16.500
Best wishes on the launch okay.

00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:17.543
Thank you so much.

00:39:20.936 --> 00:39:23.666
And that wraps up another episode of the Uncommon Leader Podcast.

00:39:23.666 --> 00:39:24.856
Thanks for tuning in today.

00:39:24.856 --> 00:39:29.143
If you found value in this episode, I encourage you to share it with your friends, colleagues.

00:39:29.143 --> 00:39:31.027
And that wraps up another episode of the Uncommon Leader Podcast.

00:39:31.027 --> 00:39:31.608
Thanks for tuning in today.

00:39:31.608 --> 00:39:36.155
If you found value in this episode, I encourage you to share it with your friends, colleagues or anyone else who could benefit from the insights and inspiration we've shared.

00:39:36.155 --> 00:39:39.246
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00:39:39.246 --> 00:39:46.804
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00:39:46.804 --> 00:39:49.943
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