The Next Level

Have you ever felt like you've tried it all but just can't seem to grow in one particular area of your life or business? If you're into growth but you find yourself still stuck in the same situation or just not growing in the way that you want to in any area of life or business this is for you. In this episode you'll learn why you feel like you're going through the motions, how to break the cycle and start to see results, why you're falling prey to distraction and saying yes to everything, what it takes to switch from the short game to the long game mentality, how to effectively choose the right activities for a specific outcome, and more...

Do you value learning and growth, but sense that it could actually be getting in your way more than it's helping you? While learning and growth are two values that absolutely make you the amazing coach and entrepreneur that you are, they can also have their down side. In this episode you'll learn how we have different levels of doing and learning, What is decision fatigue and how to make sure we're not using all your bandwidth in learning, Learning and growth and why it can be your greatest weakness and your greatest strength, How assuming 100% responsibility can manifest as taking on too much and saying yes to everything, and more...

Coaches and Entrepreneurs, Have you ever felt like everything you do should have some kind of return? This episode talks about what happens when we think from the mindset of instant gratification, where it comes from, and what to do about it.

One really bad habit of most coaches and creative entrepreneurs I know is the tendency to multitask which usually leads to dropping the ball somewhere AND making mistakes. You definitely want to be able to really look under the hood and see why you're spreading yourself too thin, but here's what you can do to start creating the right structures so things get done more effectively. Look at these 3 things... Where am I spending my time? What activities are related to my craft and what is related to generating business? How can I adjust to create more of what I want? In this episode, I'll dive into these in-depth and show you some ways to unpack each of them so you can start owning your time and create more structure in your life.

With the state of the world right now it's more important than ever to understand how to be with heightened emotions, how to truly understand them, and what to do with them. In this episode you'll learn how there are 2 different ways people respond to anxiety and how they show up in people, why kids are often trying to operate against their natural type, how to effectively communicate what you're feeling and what to do with it, how to tell the difference between panic and anxiety, the practice of burning contracts to become aware of where you've agreed to do things in a certain way that no longer serves you and resolve it, how to understand what's your emotional response and what you're taking on from others, effectively dealing with anger and pain and injustice, what role shame plays in anxiety, and more...

Today I sit down with Dr. Benjamin Hardy to talk about his new book Personality Isn't Permanent. Today you'll learn why Ben got deeper into writing about and getting into the conversation around trauma, what he found most surprising about personality, how people describe themselves and why that's blocking change, why we have come into more of a test and assessment culture when it comes to personality, how overly defining your personality is a synonym for your comfort zone, and so much more.

There is one thing that keeps coming to the top of my list of what keeps coaches from fully leading themselves and their clients. It's actually a mix of a few things, but they have one thing in common. Our inability to when needed take our own medicine and continue growing. Too may of us think that we need to have it all figured out before we can help people at the level we want. But the truth is that we are constantly learning the thing we need to learn most and the thing we typically work with our clients on. Today I unpack the The #1 Thing That Keeps Coaches From Leading and why we get to consistently take our own medicine.

In today's episode I unpack why we tend to make things harder than they have to be and what you can do to bring more ease into your life and work. This episode is for you if you are realizing or starting to see that you put too much effort into work. That you have to put in a lot of effort in order to get a very small return. My hope with this is that it gives you an insight into how you can change that pace and start to invite more ease into the way that you operate so that things don't have to be as hard and that you can use a different metric and use a different modality for how approach life and business so you can not work off having to always trade time for money or race against the clock and you can start to operate on some different principles.

All emotions serve a purpose. I know it's hard to see that at times. Believe me, I still get taken out by intense emotions too. But when I can receive the message and surrender to the action (or inaction) that get's to happen, that emotion moves. In today's show I talk about why anger is showing up a lot right now in the current pandemic and what to do about it.

Dr. Brian currently owns and operates Nourish and Flourish which provides an integrated environment for you to discover and experience a wealth of modalities, wisdom, and products to live your most outstanding life possible. From the highest level of Network Care to enlivening workshops and programs, organic juice and tea, to a carefully curated selection of books and hand crafted body products here in Asheville, NC. Brian dives into topics like How the fight and flight energy dissipates through movement and breathe, Literal and figurative stress, The response of our nervous system to fear, How the muscles around our spine are reptilian brain based, The whole spinal chord as a global phenomenon, If we don't honor the lower brain levels we don't get to the higher levels...

Today I felt really compelled to talk about the conversation around pain and how we protect ourselves based on past experiences that caused some level of trauma. In The Untethered Soul, Michael Singer talks about something he calls "removing your inner thorn." He talks about how we build up the conditions in our life to protect the thorn from being brushed up against and how we in essence protect our pain and insecurities when we could just remove the thorn and experience life in a totally different way. Today I expand on what Singer talks about here and how this relates to what we're experiencing in the world right now and what we can do to remove those inner thorns to experience more of the life we actually want to experience.

Today I want to go beyond the physical and talk about faith. I'll dive into one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Joseph Murphy... “Every thought is the cause. Every Condition is the effect.” And how this is showing up right now in the coronavirus pandemic.

We've entered a funny time in history where we have more solutions to grow your business than ever before. The challenge that comes along with that is falling into the trap of believing we need something that's too many steps ahead of where we're at. As soon as I realized where I actually was and what I needed to do, things started moving much quicker and it was 10 times easier to tune out distractions and get to the work I know I needed to do to grow my business. Why focusing on scale is killing your business, your drive, and your confidence, Why we're being sold this idea, How many companies don't even start this way, Why you need to focus on building and then consider scale when you actually have something to scale, There are specific things that need to happen before you can scale and if you don't do them, then you're going to be building up complicated systems and then tearing them all down and starting all over again for a long time… if you make it that far.

The more we dive into self-isolation and social distancing the more I've had the opportunity to examine what comes up in response to the conditions. In this episode I walk through 4 steps you can take to make peace with what's coming up. Take 100 % responsibility for your actions and emotions, Examine past events that left a mark - In a safe container, Set goals based on the future version of yourself, Know what you value and realize it all get's to fit together. This time can be a proving ground for your limitations OR an opportunity to move through blocks and create an entirely new story for you and your family.

In today's show, I wanted to offer a few ways to see the current situation and what you can do to make it through to whatever's next. I outline 9 ways I'm looking at this to stay safe, sane, and forward moving.

If you've been in business for any length of time, you know that there are always competing forces for your attention. From marketing your business, to dropping into your creativity, to producing the assets you need for your business, the list seems to grow more and more by the minute. In this episode you'll learn: How to follow your own internal compass and stay true to that, Some common sources of distraction and how to fortify yourself against it, How your why can be one of your greatest assets to harness your attention, How you can see distraction in a new way, What to do first in your day so you stay focused on the most important things first, Where you may still be watering your attention down with multi-tasking and how to remedy it, and so much more...

At this point in my coaching journey, I'm pretty convinced that the majority of tension we experience comes from conflicting stories and emotions. For example, if we have the story that... Doing what I want to do will end in failure. And the stories and feelings associated with that belief go largely unexamined, then that belief is calling the shots. But when we can learn to acknowledge, validate, honor, and work with the emotions, they no longer control us and create drag. We need to tend to and clean up our emotional home because what we don't acknowledge controls us. Today I'll talk about what happens when we can free up that stuck energy, and what that journey looked like for different clients.

Today we unpack Erin's story, what it takes to be successful in being heard in outbound marketing and the digital area, and the nitty-gritty of Digital Persuasion. In this episode you'll learn How to translate your offline persona into the online space What the online disinhibition effect tells us about why we behave the way we do online, How to make better decisions before we post, What persuasion is, The way other people perceive us online and being more of a server or a friend, The goal of ethical persuasion and moving people to action, How to whittle down your message and what skill to focus on...

Mark England is the co-founder and lead presenter of Procabulary. He loves to travel, exchange empowering ideas and strategies and practice martial arts. Mark holds a Masters Degree in International Education and was an elementary sports teacher before developing Procabulary. Today we'll do a deep dive and unpack the Procabulary framework and show you how to make powerful language shifts. We dive into topics like Mark's story that got him into language and consciousness, The power of rewriting your story, How your language and thought process directly affect your breathing and body tension, Breaking down the Procabulary system, Conflict language and the antidote, Architect language...

Charles Eisenstein is a speaker and writer focusing on themes of human culture and identity. He is the author of several books, most recently Sacred Economics and The More Beautiful World our Hearts Know is Possible. His background includes a degree in mathematics and philosophy from Yale, a decade in Taiwan as a translator, and stints as a college instructor, a yoga teacher, and a construction worker. He currently writes and speaks full-time. If you like what Charles has to share, all of his books are available "in the gift" on-line: http://charleseisenstein.net/books/ Also, you can read essays, watch videos, listen to some of the other podcasts he's done, all from the same site. We dives into topics like The old story of who we are, how to be a man, how to be a woman, how to be human, how to live a life, Different forms of rebellion, Charles interest in "the origin of the wrongness", Why he wrote Sacred Economics first, What is our true fundamental motivation and so much more...

Have you ever heard yourself say that you would never do something but then you ended up doing it and loved it? I was in a client session last week when I heard myself say this it took on a totally different meaning. High resistance equals high return. In today's episode I unpack resistance, why we feel it, and how to use it to our advantage. In this episode you'll learn Why resistance causes unnecessary pressure and procrastination, How the things we resistance most end up being exactly what we need to do, How to identify resistance and move through it, What the benefits are to confronting resistance and gathering the facts through action...

Clarity comes from taking action and sticking with what's working. Clarity does not come from thinking about what to do forever before you actually take the first step. Today I explore what this looks like and how to overcome the doubt and fear that inaction breeds. In this episode you'll learn How there is always a place where you can start, Where clarity actually comes from, Why we pretend to not know and what's actually at stake, Why it's actually easier to stay where we are, but why that's also the most destructive, How momentum and traction are your greatest assets, Where we tend to get tripped up in the process and take it too far. What can happen when you get into TOO much action, How to make getting into action and establishing clarity this a repeatable process. And so much more...

In today's interview I sit down with Kelly McGonigal to talk about her new book The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage. In this episode you'll learn: How what we call the runners high is actually more of a persistence high that helps us keep going, Why we are wired to persist, endure, and pursue what we want, Some people who are born with a vulnerability towards unhealthy addictions also are more likely to get hooked on exercise when they try it, The science behind the mental health benefits of exercise, The power of thought when it comes to exercise, How to view the purpose of movement differently so you naturally feel compelled to do it, Some of the science behind how movement and exercise can give you a sense of community and belonging, The surprising highlights for the ultra endurance athletes Kelly talked with, And so much more...

I was having a conversation with someone today at a meeting and after chatting with her this became super clear. We were talking about different phases of a business and how the start up phase can be super stressful and even how the success of the business can be measured by our ability to manage and hold that chaos long enough for it to turn into something that we can organize and delegate. Then we were talking about the next big milestone when revenue is consistently coming in the door but we're juggling so many projects that it is absolutely crazy-making! On today's show I dive into What this phase looks like and the emotions that show up, Why we stop ourselves and what to do to get over the hump, How to develop confidence and tactfully push up against your edges, Navigating the transition or reinvention...

I heard Dr. Joe Dispenza answer a student's question with this statement: "Focus on the effort, not the outcome." At first I thought that sounded a little strange. I always hear the opposite. But the more I practice this the more useful it's proving to be to get out of some of my old ways of being and focus on the task at hand. On today's show I talk about: Why focusing on the outcome too much can actually cause stress and panic, How to test this for yourself and how it works in slightly different ways for different people, How putting your focus on the effort can help you eliminate distraction, lack of focus, and even motivation, Why the desire to incessantly check your email, social media, text, or your phone is actually slowing you down and keeping what you want further away, How you know this practice is working or not, And more...

I'm just going to come right out and say it... If you're hoping things would just get easier then you're not cut out to be an entrepreneur. Ok, now that we got that out of the way... The truth is it's tough. Every day comes with a new set of problems...

I was doing my bi-weekly track workout with a buddy this morning and we were chatting about goals. A couple of years ago I set the intention to let running teach me about goals. MAN what a fricken teacher. Especially when you test the limits in the right way. But you know what one of the biggest lessons has been? Missing an important goal or deadline can be devastating if you don't know how to learn from it. Not only that, but it can leave an imprint that prevents you from committing to your future goals...

Do you want to know how to get your business moving in the right direction? Stop standing still. While stillness is an essential step in the process of creation, staying in the same place for too long can lead to the all too common problem of paralysis by analysis. Especially for my spiritual folk and heart centered entrepreneurs out there because to us... everything means something. We've conditioned ourselves to over-interpret EVERYTHING. Oops! But when you're standing still for too long and you're not taking the next step, especially when it scares the crap out of you, then you're making meaning from the emotions of doubt, uncertainty, fear, and all the like...

Want to easily attract the perfect clients… those people who are MEANT to find you… without having to pretend to be confident and successful? Then you've gotta find the NOW version of you. If you fake it till you make it… you'll never make it. And if you do buy into the myth that you need to be someone else, that you have to have it all figured out, and that everything needs to be perfect in order to be successful you're likely experiencing these things…

I know I'm not the only one that's had dreams of turning all these devices off and moving to some remote tropical island. Although that would be nice for a hot second, it's definitely not the solution. But finding a way that works for you to reign back your attention is an absolute game changer! You see, in this day and age it can seem like a luxury to turn off your phone. And not even turning it off completely, but making it so that you're not constantly gripped with panic hearing the ding that strikes you out of your current train of thought...

So many times we attach a negative meaning to situations, circumstances and feelings. This causes unnecessary suffering and more often than not, being in a standoff with ourselves. Unable to move forward. And it's not just in that moment. It's pervasive. That moment of meaning gets transposed on everything and before you know it, you're doing from that level of defeat, frustration, and mixed meaning. You're not being intentional. You're not choosing. In fact, you're just going through the motions...

Coping is how we adjust to stress in order to make the situation bearable. But when a coping mechanism (healthy or unhealthy) becomes a habit, we've missing the message that the situation and resulting emotion is trying to teach us. And when we try to cope our way through we don't make our way through. Just like physical pain, emotional pain is telling us to adjust something. To let go of something, to set a healthy boundary, to speak up, or to show up in a new way...

When you focus on mastery you foster depth. Seriously though… if you can't get into the training zone and practice your craft enough to continue learning, make distinctions, and further refine your craft, then you're not giving it the time it deserves. You're not executing with mastery. Yes, there are other things you need to focus on in your business. For instance, you need to market and stay on top of projects and timelines. But if you're just focused on those things and you're not focused on your craft, you will lose steam...

I picked up lacrosse really quick. And after playing from only my sophomore year in high school, I got a scholarship to a Division 1 college my senior year. Up until this point I had never injured anything. And so I had no reason to think that that would happen. And in all fairness, I was overly confident. Some may say I was cocky. It's true. But after getting injured it was almost as if my brain worked differently. I started second guessing myself when in the past I would just rock it. I was quick. I was super nimble. And I was ballzy...

It's easy to lose steam when you lose sight of why you're doing what you're doing. How many times have you done this? How many times have you started a project, a new business, a new offer… and you were off to the races. You hit the ground running with sheer optimism. But over time you start to lose steam because it wasn't the instant success you hoped it would be. Instead of keeping your eye on the prize and continuing to adjust, you start noticing what's not working, feeling defeated, and question what you're doing. When this starts happening it's easy to fall into bad habits of being. Laziness, cutting corners, snide optimism, and the kind of hope that is less than the 51% needed to keep the engine running and moving full steam ahead...

Life is always teaching you what you need to learn. But the majority of us, myself included, try to fight with reality. We either outwardly attack our current circumstances and judge the ever living shit out of them OR we blame other people, God, the universe, or any other creative source you want to conjure up. But fighting with some imaginary external opponent is not your best use of time. In fact, in my own experience and with a lot of people I work with, trying to fight reality is the biggest source of unnecessary AND prolonged suffering...

This isn't something I normally dive into outside of my private client interactions, but it's such a game changer that I wanted to pull back the curtain and give you a glimpse into how this works. The majority of people I work with are doing. They're not sitting around waiting for something to happen. In most cases, the things they're doing aren't producing the desired results. They've read the books, taken online courses, listened to podcasts, but the strategies fail to meet their needs of the moment. When the strategy isn't working, our instinct tells us to push harder and do more. But what happens is we just consume more, do more, and more often than not, do more of the same thing that's not working hoping that if we do enough, we'll get a different result...

What seemed like another lifetime ago I was a live in private chef. I'd live in someone's home anywhere from 2 weeks to a few months. In the beginning, the majority of these people had stage 3 or 4 cancer and the food and lifestyle approach was their last straw. The interesting thing about it was that some of these folks were way gone. They were coming to the end. I noticed there were two different types of people. There were those still holding onto their old ways, still pushing to go to work, still treating other people like crap, and just all around had a bad attitude...

Regret is what happens when we wait too long to get started. We buy into the self-doubt, procrastination, the “someday I will(s).” But someday never comes and the vision of life becomes something hoped for instead of something being moved toward. The unimportant and the inconsequential find their way into the day and the pull of our heart gets pushed aside. Waiting too long turns into regret. And when it gets to that point, there's no getting that time back...

Striving to be perfect is nothing new. We get it pretty early on. Every family has their dos and don'ts. What they talk about and what they don't. What you need to do in order to be accepted and loved. But it's not for the reason you think. Usually there's shame or guilt attached it. In an attempt to save face, look good, and pretend our shit doesn't stink, we start to create our life to avoid those things that bring up our feelings of imperfection… of not being enough...

After working with a client yesterday I've been reflecting on this one a bit. Have you ever told yourself on a continual basis that you needed to get better at time management, generate more leads, or consistently create content? You know you need to be more consistent generating leads or being more active producing useful messages but you tell yourself the same thing over and over again… I've gotta master this time thing … I have to generate more leads…

Something always bothered me about how we approach goal setting and achievement. There is this seeming contrast of setting goals to be attained and charging forward at all costs verses intending what you want and attracting outcomes. In the past 12 years or so...

One of the most frustrating things about wanting to achieve so much and feeling compelled to make a difference is the side effect of feeling overwhelmed and being worn out. Always anticipating the next thing. And on top of all that… feeling like it will never get done...

Today I talk about 3 subtle but powerful shifts that will completely change the way you work. These shifts made consistently accumulate over time. In this show, I dive into how we can start listening to our environment and our internal queues so we can stop trying to just power through and achieving with more ease. These shifts are: Give because you can, not because you expect something in return, stop doubting and checking and start trusting and giving, and defy gravity - find out what you do when your energy dips and replace it with something else.

In this episode I dive into how to harness the power of emotion, why we wrestle with emotions and making hard decisions, where that comes from, what effect it has in our lives and business, and what to do instead. See the full show notes at https://jeffagostinelli.com/podcast/how-to-harness-the-power-of-emotion/‎

Today I start off with how to think about time and attention and then go into 3 specific ways you can start to master your time and attention. - Everything exists in context. Nothing is a stand alone. - I don't necessarily buy into the myth that you have to sacrifice in order to be successful, but I do believe that there is only so much we can do. So choosing is important. Know what you value. - You being you doing what you are here to do is you being on purpose. - The more you can keep coming back to that with a beautiful blend of patience and urgency the better. - The more you can keep your focus on feeling good the better. For the full show notes from today's episode visit https://jeffagostinelli.com/152

In this episode, I dive into How to Feel Content and Satisfied Now. I also outline what I'm going to talk about for the next handful of shows. This is in line with the handful of entrepreneurs I worked with this past year. Helping them overcome anxiety and overwhelm so they can grow their business while building a life they're proud of. I get into: I talk about my own journey with anxiety and overwhelm. How to start feeling content now and what to expect when you can drop into the present moment. Why using the stress and pressure of your current circumstances is the hardest place to create from. What to do when you get caught up in fear, doubt, and worry. And more… For the full show notes go to https://jeffagostinelli.com/151

Welcome Back! This is the restart of the show after a little over a year off. In this episode I'll dive into why I put the show on pause and what's happened in the last year that led me to turn the show back on and what to expect from the podcast moving forward. You'll also hear about the decision process and how often times things don't make sense until we take the next big step. I get into what drives us to achieve goals and how we need to truly get in touch with what we value in order to know that we are doing the right thing for us and doing them for the right reason. Check out the full show notes and sign up for email updates at https://jeffagostinelli.com

In times of uncertainty and transition, finding a semblance of peace in the unfolding can be difficult. There have been many times on my own journey where I've questioned my choices, even though it seemed like the right thing to do at the moment. Any time I'm in the midst of change, or speak with someone who is, I revisit one particular episode of the show and even offer it as sort of a prescription for those finding their way. A while back I had Charles Eisenstein on to talk about the space between stories. Charles is a super modest guy and will even tell you himself that "I know that my books and other work comes from a deep, inspired source, but that source is not me! It is more like I'm connecting to a field of knowledge, or to a story that wants to be told. This knowledge is as much my teacher as it is anyone else's. I'm kind of ordinary, compared to some of the amazing people I keep meeting. I'm just as much in the learning as anyone else, wandering as best I can toward “the more beautiful world my heart knows is possible,” encumbered by the programming and the wounds of our civilization." Charles Eisenstein is a speaker and writer focusing on themes of human culture and identity. He is the author of several books, including Sacred Economics, The More Beautiful World our Hearts Know is Possible, and Climate: A New Story which hits the shelves September 18, 2018. This short episode dives into a few concepts I found very useful when navigating the space between stories, which at times can feel like a smashing of an old identity and the land grab for who we will become. This episode is a clip from our previous conversation. We talk about True surrender, letting go, and trusting the process of life Understanding different aspects of letting go of the old story like regret, going back to the familiar, being in utter stillness, and getting excited about one thing after another and dropping them How no action is insignificant The illusion of power and impact How the heart and the mind have their own opinion The concept of morphic resonance

Inspired by his best friend's battle with cancer, Dr. Frank Merritt has engineered the fasting protocol, The 17 Hour Fast, which offers maximum benefits from a minimum fast that promotes an enriching mind, body and soul experience. Drawing on years of medical practice as well as VitalityPro research protocols developed with iconic athletes, respected nutritionists, and behavioral/exercise psychologists, The 17 Hour Fast embodies a minimum effective dose (MED) strategy harnessing powerful health and performance advantages of longer fasts while avoiding many of their pitfalls. Furthermore, The 17 Hour Fast is carefully synchronized and choreographed with diurnal/nocturnal hormone patterns, sleep hygiene, personal growth and relationship building techniques and suggested training/recovery activities to create a potent combination for success. The 17-Hour Fast is founded on a bedrock of cutting-edge scientific data and presented in an intuitive and approachable way by Dr. Merritt and acclaimed writer Phil White (Unplugged, Game Changer, and Flight Plan). Today we'll dive into The 17 Hour Fast and how to get started making it a habit. In this episode you'll learn Fasting as a an effective reset button The power and accessibility of a minimum effective dose when it comes to a fast The problem with some fasts and how that affects an individual in the long term How the fast fosters accountability and sustainability Easing into the fast and coming off the fast The disadvantage of all the time on 24/7 news, social media, and outside influences and how the vacation night of the fast can keep that in check Switching from sympathetic active mode to rest and repair parasympathetic mode

Stop. Catch your breath. Do you feel that? Most likely right up until now, you were chasing something. Success, love, achievement, your social media feed, your to do list, or even your kids. I'm not sure where it happened in the evolution of humanity, but the vast majority of the human race seems to be in that exact frame of mind. A race. We're constantly in a never ending battle with time. Trying to use it wisely. Hoping for more of it. Swearing we don't have enough. In those moments of stress, rushing from one thing to the next in the existential race against time, our body replies. The stress-handling systems get triggered and the body prepares for response. Our digestion slows down. Blood flow goes to the extremities. Adrenaline and cortisol are produced. It's primal as fuck. It's our biological defense. This can happen from the subtle stress of information overload, someone cutting you off in traffic, an argument with your partner, getting caught in comparison, or an unexpected change of plans that sends you spinning into anger, blame, and pointing the finger. Often times, months or years go by before we ever notice that something's wrong, or that a change is needed. We're simply just too busy.