Nick:Young Entrepreneur Lifestyle podcast, episode number nine.
Hello and welcome to the Young Entrepreneur Lifestyle podcast, the show where we help you build a life and a business on your terms. I’m your host, Nick Palkowski, and in each episode we’ll be learning from a mentor, speaker, and serial entrepreneur, Peter Voogd.
Peter, I am fired up for this episode of the podcast. How are you doing this week?
Peter:I am awesome, exceptional, blessed, excited, energetic, ambitious, all those.
Nick:Oh I love it, I love it. So this week on the podcast episode we are going to be actually be talking about consistent energy and motivation. Why is that something so important for young entrepreneurs?
Peter:Good question. Well the reality is life is energy, you’re nothing without energy. You could have all the success, you could have all the money, all the flexibility, but if you don’t have energy, you can’t get anything done. You’re not going to be at your productive best, you’re not going to produce, you’re not going to add value, you’re not going to connect with people well, you’re not going to be there for your family. So as far as the importance goes, it’s not an option. It’s crucial to achievement in this new economy. So it’s just super important, Nick.
Nick:Oh I couldn’t agree more, I couldn’t agree more. So how do we actually go about kind of, because I know many of those entrepreneurs out there, I’m sure they’ve had the feeling where they’re really full of energy on a high, they’re on that peak of that roller coaster. But then at other times they just seem to be dragging their feet and can barely get out of bed. So how do you actually maintain a high level of energy?
Peter:Yeah, good question. So, I think the major problem people are facing is they don’t have the energy to really go after their biggest dreams and goals. And they’re tired during the day, they don’t want to wake up, they’re lethargic. So the first thing I tell somebody is they need to write down everything in their head and prioritize.
So stress, worry, and not having clarity causes a massive drain of your energy. So when you have a lot of stuff in your head, Nick, you have to do a lot of stuff or you have things that you haven’t finished yet that you have to get done and people nagging at you, that takes a lot of energy. People don’t think about energy that way but when you’re stressed out, your energy goes way down. So the first I tell them is write everything down and prioritize into what’s important to them so they can get it out of their head, and that’s huge.
Nick:Yeah, I totally agree, I love that action step. I actually, every week, do what I call a 50-minute focus finder. So basically set a timer, sit down, couple sheets of paper, and just for 50 minutes I’m writing down everything, every project, everything that comes to my head and it’s such a game changer for me.
Peter:Oh it’s, yeah, it’s day and night difference too. It is huge, so I’m glad you do that and I’m sure it’s made a big difference for you, huh?
Nick:Oh completely.
Peter:So, what happens is when you clear out your mind and when you get everything out of your head, it’s just something happens, you just have this sense of relief, right? And once you right everything down, start to prioritize what matters by these four things, here’s what I do.
First it’s cross out what you can’t change or you can’t control. It’s a waste of worry. Brian Tracy says, “The two worst things in life are excuses and worrying.” So just of you can’t control it, get it out of your head, don’t worry about it.
Next is that you can delegate to somebody else, right? What you can delegate or what you can give to your assistant, your team, your spouse, whatever you can delegate and not do yourself, that’s not maybe as important.
And then you have to figure out what you have in your head that has to get done by a certain date, so put in your schedule when it’s going to get done and forget about it. And then you need the items that are take action right away. So after you have everything organized and you put it into your schedule, this will refocus your mind at what matters and you can start building momentum. So, that’s the first thing.
But the second, Nick, is eat healthier, period. What you put in your body is how you feel, what you put in your mind is what you do. So instead of eating two or three big meals a day, and I’ve studied this for years now and I’ve never had more energy in my life than I have the last year or two. So eat four to five times a day but eat smaller portions, this will increase your metabolism, and eat a lot more live greens.
Don’t eat big portions because if you eat big portions, it’s very challenging to stay energized because your body has to absorb that and is taking a lot of energy from your body. So I usually eat 60 to 70 percent greens with every meal.
Another thing is drink a ton of water, even more than normal. There’s a lot of reasons, just trust me on this. But get a big water bottle and keep it with you all months and make sure it’s filled up. You drink it three to four times a day, the whole thing. Drink water before you go to bed, drink water first thing in the morning, it will decrease your chances of getting sick, increase your energy level, and kind of keep you hydrated.
So, what I do in the morning is our body is naturally dehydrated because it’s been working all night, right? And it’s tired, it hasn’t gotten any water. So I drink a huge glass of water right when I wake up and it just makes a pretty big difference.
And remember, nothing tastes as good as health feels. So this is the healthiest thing you could do during the day is drink a lot of water. I would put a lemon in it because it alkalizes it, and the more you consume, the more your energy increases water-wise. So, that the second thing.
Third is have a powerful morning routine. This is big and you know Mr. Hal Elrod, one of my good friends and business partner and you know him, he has a podcast as well, he is a master at morning routines. But how you start your day is one of the most important parts of your energy and success and ultimately it determines what you get done that day.
So the whole point of a morning routine is just a couple things. First it’s to give you courage and give you energy and confidence to start your day, so you go out on the world charged and excited, that’s the first thing. Second is you have intention, you know your priorities, so when you go out excited and courageous to start your day, you actually know exactly what you’re going to get done and it’s very intentional.
So for me, here’s my morning routine. I decide the night before when I’m going to wake up and I’ll tell you this is a big key, stop hitting the snooze button. When you do that you’re literally resisting life and I’ll tell you, you don’t want to be one of those people that hits the snooze button.
So, make a decision the night before, Nick, that, “Okay, I’m getting up at 6:00, 5:00, whatever. And when I wake up, I’m going to be excited, juiced, motivated, and inspired, period.” And if you go to sleep thinking about your goals and being excited, you’ll wake up inspired. The reason why people wake up tired is they go to bed tired. Does that make sense?
Nick:That does, yes.
Peter:And it’s huge. So the first thing I do when I wake up is drink a huge thing of water and I energize my body because you can’t separate your body from your mind. When you become stronger physically, you’re stronger mentally.
So I do a 20 to 25-minute workout usually six days a week. I don’t know why I said usually, it’s every week, six days a week, it became a habit now for me. And then I read for 25 to 30 minutes something positive, something that sparks my mind, something that makes me think and challenges me. And then I walk through my day and make sure my priorities are straight.
And you might ask, “Wait, why is he talking about walking through his day when we’re talking about energy?” Because when you walk through your day and you know your priorities and you ask yourself, “What are you grateful for, what are you excited about, what are you committed to making happen today?,” you get more energized and you want to go attack the day with focus and intention.
The last thing I do is I visualize and I don’t meditate, I haven’t got into that yet, I’ve done it a little bit and it’s helping but I need to get better at it. But I visualize and I look at my goals for the year and for the next couple years and I just think about hitting those. I think about my mission, “How can I add more value to more people, how can I make my Game Changers program the best program in the country, how can I add more value to my subscribers, how can I connect with higher level people so I can interview them and get it out to everybody?” I think about these things every morning and it’s exciting and it gets you more energized.
So eating a healthy meal in the morning is also huge, so after the morning routine, do you have any questions on that, Nick?
Nick:No, I think that’s perfect, I think it’s great. I love the flow of your morning, it’s similar to mine. I definitely have some of my own unique twists. But I completely agree that the morning is a key and very important thing for starting your day and being energized and maintaining that long-term energy.
Peter:Definitely. And when you get up and do inner work, when you get up early and focus on yourself, that’s the most important person in your life, believe it or not, is yourself. And when you do that and you go to bed on time and you wake up early, it not only gives you confidence but energy. So I’m glad you do that as well, so that’s huge.
The next thing, and I already talked about an elite diet, but you have to focus on consistently exercising every morning. I already talked about morning routines but it’s so important to your energy and what I do sometimes is sometimes I do two workouts in a day. When I’m getting tired, and you feel amazing, but I’ll work out at 5:00, I’ll do a quick like cardio or I’ll run for ten minutes just to kind of refocus myself.
Because when you’re building big business and when you really have goals to be the best entrepreneur you can be or create an amazing lifestyle, you’re not working the 9:00 to 5:00 like most people. They say 9:00 to 5:00 is when you make your living, after hours when you create your legacy. So, usually at 5:00, like after this, Nick, I’m going to be like, “I’m pretty tired.” I might work out for 15 minutes, walk around the block, do some push-ups, that kind of gives me my second wind.
Nick:And, Peter, do you know what I just did before we got on our podcast?
Peter:You ran a mile.
Nick:Close, I was actually at the gym today but yeah, I was having my workout because I’m two hours ahead of you so I have my workout time usually from 3:00 to 4:00.
Peter:I love it. I’m finding out, Nick, that you’re on your game.
Nick:Well thanks.
Peter:I love it. So what I would tell people is schedule your workouts now, schedule all your workouts for the rest of this month in your calendar right now. Make them nonnegotiable and they’re unmovable and the most important part of your week. So the most important appointment you can keep is the one you make to yourself.
So focus on how good you’re going to feel after each workout and the energy you’re going to have and knowing that you’re doing that for you and it’s best for you. So, I would tell you to right now put your workouts in your schedule.
Muhammad Ali said, “I didn’t like any of my early morning runs but I liked the idea of being a world champion.” So you don’t have to like the idea of waking up early but you should like the idea of living a world class life and being a world class entrepreneur.
Nick:All right, Peter, what do you want to talk about on the next episode of the podcast?
Peter:So there’s still a couple more that I think are crucial to maximizing your energy, so we’ll talk about those on the next podcast. And I’ll just give you two of them just to get you excited. One is creating a one-page productivity plan that has all your goals, your top five goals and vision for the year on there, and there’s nothing that creates more energy, Nick, than defining your dreams, goals, and vision.
And then the biggest energy sucker is the people around you that are toxic, that are negative, that don’t believe in you. That sucks your energy more than ever and I’ll teach you how to get rid of those and surround yourself with positive people and then I have a couple more surprises but I’ll let the next episode bring those to fruition.
Nick:I’m very excited for that next episode. It’s something that I definitely want to hear about.
Peter:Yep, I’m excited, we’ll talk soon.
Nick:Are you committed to being your best, are you looking to make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you? It’s time for you to become a game changer. The Game Changer System for Excellence is the premier community for young professionals and ambitious entrepreneurs, created by Peter Voogd. To learn more about the Game Changer System for Excellence, go to youngentrepreneurlifestyle.com/gamechangers. The world has enough followers, be a game changer.
And now it’s time for this episode’s five star review shout-out. This episode’s shout-out goes out to KayGillman90 and her review is titled “Amazing Info”, “This is the best content for those entrepreneurs who want the ultimate competitive edge. Peter is the realist, most authentic guy to learn from and the best thing you could do is download and listen to him.”
Thank you so much, Kay, for your review and if anyone else would like to participate in the five star review shout-out, all you have to do is go to , subscribe to the podcast, and leave a review there on the iTunes page, and you might hear your review read on air in next week’s episode.
And as always, thank you for tuning into Young Entrepreneur Lifestyle podcast. Hopefully you gained some great knowledge in this episode of the podcast and I think Peter gave some excellent advice on how to have more consistent energy in your life. So be sure to put those four steps that he laid out here in the podcast to work in your life.
If you need a reminder of what those are, you can go to the show notes page which can be found at youngentrepreneurlifestyle.com/009 for episode number nine.
And if you have a question that you would like Peter to answer on an upcoming episodes of the podcast, all you need to do is to go to youngentrepreneurlifestyle.com/question and you can leave a message right there on the page. Just click the little record button and you can talk your question right into your computer microphone, it’s an awesome service provided by SpeakPipe.
But lastly, I want you to go out and let us know if you have any suggestions for how to improve your energy because I’m sure many of you out there have found ways to have more consistent energy in your life. You have your own tips so why don’t you share some of those with our community by going to the show notes page, again youngentrepreneurlifestyle.com/009 and let us know in the comments.
Just leave your tips there, that way we can start building a community of young entrepreneurs who are ready to take advantage of their life and their business and truly live on their terms.
So until next time, go out and take action.