11 Apr, 2023

Pete Cohen  0:00

Happy beautiful day. It's Pete Cohen. It is the Future Self Podcast. Today's podcast is called the 1% effect. I'll see you after the theme tune.

Happy beautiful day. Thank you so much for joining me for the podcast. I really appreciate all of you that listen to this podcast all over the world and you know what we have only just got started the Future Self Podcast this morning. I was looking on the stock one stock one app, which is something that we released earlier this year. And we we piloted it it really is a vehicle. It's a device. It's an app an application that can help people become their future self by bringing pages into play and stopping behaviors because ultimately I think we will know that everything we do is moving us in a particular direction. And I don't know how many people actually believe that there are certain things that will take us way off course. And there are certain things that will keep us on course. But I think ultimately we have to decide where it is that we're actually going. And it's one of the most fascinating conversations where you ask people to talk about the future. Because it's a challenge for a lot of people. We could talk about the future in terms of you know what we're doing today are what we're doing at the weekend. But beyond that, for a lot of people, it's a distant shore. They don't know themselves in the future. And this is one of the main reasons I started the Future Self Podcast is when I woke up to the reality of the new science of psychology, which clearly shows that we were wrong. Many things that people have said and people disagree with that now. I'm one of those people who's obsessed with looking for the solutions. Looking for the answers to the problems that people have. That's that's who I am. I'm a coach. So as a coach, it's pretty obvious what you're doing. You're coaching someone to go from where they are, to where they want to be or to help them get a result. I mean, that's just ridiculously obvious, right? I mean, if you think about something that's obvious, what is more obvious than that? If you are a coach, or a teacher, or a trainer or a consultant, but for me, Coach, I do teach I have been a teacher. But for me teaching is about instruction. It's about telling. Coaching is much more about asking questions that are based on a result and outcome. I've learned over the years, it's not the outcome that's important. I think the outcome is Well, if that's what you wanted, who would you actually need to be? Who is that person using your imagination to identify with the person that has the results that you're looking for? You know, for years, how many people do you know or have you ever done a vision board? Right? So you've cut things out of the magazine and what you've drawn something you've put up on the board. So that's my vision is my goals. If I want to live as a car I want to drive and that's the holiday and that's the yacht I want to have. And it's often just one thing that's missing from that vision. And it's you actually having a relationship to that person. And when we think about all of the great relationships we have, what's the greatest relationship you have? What's the relationship you have with yourself? Because as a coach, which is why I am we've got to stop before we go anywhere and just look at where we are. We can judge it, we can criticize it, we can it this is where we are. And that would always be my first port of call. Let's not talk about what you want us to talk about where you are. You want and then people wouldn't even tell me what they want. They tell me what they didn't want me to know what the problem was. I don't want to feel like this. I don't want this to happen anymore. But as a coach and that word coach comes from a Hungarian word, which means a Coach and Horses. So why would anyone want to coach a horse? Do you want to coach and also Excuse me? Can you just take me anywhere apart from here? And that's what most people are doing with their life is I just don't wanna be here. Like where I am. So a lot of people will numb themselves from where they are by behaving in ways which give them something in the moment. But deep down I think a lot of people know that they're living fairly unfulfilled life. They know that they're living a default future. And what the science shows about this and if it's true, if it's true that you know for 100 years even more, we thought what drove behavior was our past. We all are our past. And I don't know about that. Part of me that nonsense. But then it's just my opinion. I think we're affected by our past and unless we look at our past and maybe we can form a different relationship to it, so that we could look at it from the point of view of this has happened for me as opposed to to me then maybe we'll keep firing off the same emotions related to past events. And that's not easy for a lot of people to work through. And that's why working with a therapist or a counselor or just having a good person where you can talk through the experience of being you wake up to the reality of how you're thinking how you're feeling. But what we now know more than ever, that everything that we do in life is governed by our view of the future. And we know that the future that we see is a choice. If I said what are you doing today? What are you doing tomorrow? Do you have to do any of those things? You might say yes, but still is a choice. We have this thing and psychological prescription which is our ability to see multiple futures but the futures that we see it's a wonderful conversation to have if you've ever worked with people like I have, as I look to my left in the room right now and I look at a picture with my arm around seven times snooker World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, and when he won the World title for the second time that journey of two years was a real challenge. I'm very proud of that moment because it was when for me this whole area of future self really started to take off because I remember having a conversation with him around. You know, Ronnie, what do you want? And he wasn't in a good way really? What do you want? He didn't know what he wanted. He said I'm sick and tired of feeling this way and feeling depressed and feeling like I'm letting my dad down every time I lose because his dad was in prison for murder. You know, you can understand every time he lost when he was 14 when his dad went to prison Ronnie needed to work that out and just waking up to the reality of that's how he was feeling. We then have to stay running. Well. What about running 2.0? What about new running? What is running, I want to win I want to enjoy. I want to feel like I felt when I was younger. But really, you can feel like that. But you can't be that person because that person is gone. Who is the person you want to be? So I can't really let's work towards that. Let's work towards you becoming that person and we built that relationship we invested in that future. So it was like a rocky film. Two years of my life traveling with this person. It was it was now it started off with a massive app. He wants three tournaments back to back which he'd never done in his whole career. It was like to do doo doo doo doo doo. It was amazing. But then you know what certain things happened. And I remember saying to me, you have an entourage of people. I say, Ronnie, who are all these people, what value do they bring to you? And he said, Oh, you know what's gonna look out for them? Is it Ronnie? I'm not sure this is in the best interest of your future self, your future self. I'm sure your future self would be saying something different to you. What is your future self saying to you? Treat yourself I'm saying these people do not need to be here. They add no value to what we're doing right now. We need to clear the decks. So we got rid of all of those people but it was difficult for him because one of them didn't take it very well and really affected his performance in the world championship of the first year I was working with him and he lost in the first round of the massive Bender literally drugs alcohol for a few months and they decided to come back and work together. Again. And this time, we worked harder. We went further. We went bigger, we went better. And it was amazing. And it culminated in him becoming a world champion for the second time and now he's seven times world champion. How did we do this? We made small, tiny, incremental improvements. We invested 1%. So the question I have to ask you is are you ready? If you weren't ready, how would you know that? You were because let's face it, we are all in the story making business you listening to this podcast today. The fact that you've already been listening for almost 1% of your day. We're 11 minutes in and you haven't given up. You haven't got distracted Wow. Because that could be your secret weapon.

Of course this is the soundtrack to the Rocky films. It's called Going the Distance. And I just want you to take a moment right now and think to yourself, are you prepared to start investing in your future self? Are you prepared to get up every day and train mentally physically emotionally? Are you ready to start competing? Are you ready to start investing 1% 1% of your day? How many minutes are there in a day? That's 1400 minutes. So 1400 minutes 1% is 14 minutes and 24 seconds

what do you reckon? The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago right? When's the second best time is now right now. And what human beings and I laughed because I just I know it's hard to get started. I know it's hard to let go. I know that unless we decide to be the masters of our own fate. We will be a victim of our past we will be a victim of being victimized by people that want to control our attention. No your attention has been sold to the highest bidder right like never before. You know that's one of the biggest challenges in the world right now is we've never had such opposition in terms of underwriting you're wrong. I don't think in the history of man we've ever had that. And that's being fed by social media. So you gotta look at something on social media. And this has been picked up and the algorithms recognized and I'll keep feeding you the same. Is it not time for us to take control of our lives and I honestly believe that the future will see two types of people will see people that are just taking control and living life on their terms and being disciplined, being focused and others who just don't think we're gonna see more and more of that. So when we look about 1% Where could you start making some marginal gains where in your life right now, could you start making some gains? See, what happens is how many of us have had the experience of starting and not finishing? How many of us have had the experience of stopping but not continuing to stop or stopping for a bit and then starting in the behavior that we wanted to stop. We've all had that experience. But that's why I think it's important just let's just let's walk, stop, stop. Look at where we are. We can look at the life domains that if all I had to do was wave a magic wand, but you had to tell me what are the areas of your life you want to improve? I think there's only three areas that health and energy relationships with others with self and your wealth work and service the three categories How many of you would like to improve in those areas? Or how many people just like the results forget the improvement? I forgot Okay, I just want the results to me. Here's I don't wanna do anything. I just push a button and have it can you give me a six pack? Can you get you to give me a healthy vitality? Can you give me the relationships you just give it to me I don't want to do anything give me better related give me a relationship. I want to find I just want one. I want to I don't want to meet the person which I don't want the person of my dreams right here right now. Give me the money. Give me you know, how many people just say yes, because if that's what you want, you've come to the wrong place. If you say yeah, that's what I want. Show me how to get it. Or yeah, but I want to I want the feeling of doing it. Because what better feeling is there? I mean, there are great feelings that human beings can have, but it's not one of the greatest feelings that we can have is the feeling of progress. I can explain it to you in a way that I think is so profoundly important. And if you can understand this, you'll probably realize that what our brains favor is what is familiar. And what if you think about a plate if the plane took off and it had a destination, but it forgot what the destination was, the pilots wasn't really focused, and it's didn't realize it was slowly moving off track. But before you know it, it could be so far away from where it was going. And that's why I think it's really important. It's not always easy just to stop and be honest with where you are. Because when we look at marginal gains, and I looked at these numbers again this morning, and I've mentioned it before, on this podcast, I'm gonna say it again every one of you, but you've got three seconds to answer. Ready? I will give you 5 million pounds, dollars, whatever currency you want, 5 million, or I'll give you one penny doubled every day. For a month when do you want now the first thing to say pit stop, stop. Stop. How many days in a month? Because if it was 28 days, you wouldn't want 28 days. I'll tell you because you'd have 1,340,177 pounds and 28 cents that harsh. I wish I'd taken the 5 million if it was 30 days. This is the thing that people don't see a return on their investment. And that's why they don't do it. People go to the gym. Well, where's my where's the return on my investment? Where's my fitness? I've joined with my fitness. I've paid money to boys and I think this excuse me, I've exercised I haven't enjoyed it haven't really been focused on it. Where's my fitness, please? Hello. And you wouldn't really notice too much difference. But you could actually change your focus of attention, rather than the feeling of having done something you didn't want to do. And by the way, just as an aside, one of the reasons people don't exercise is they don't identify with the person that has the results that they want. And I'm not talking about other people. They're not using their imagination to imagine Okay, let's imagine I do this for a year who would that person be? Who would meet me if I was fitter? stronger, healthier with more energy? How about if I just practice becoming that person by making small 1% investments? You can make 2% But 1% is 14 minutes in 24 seconds. Imagine if you exercise every single day. The numbers are crazy because if you said the doubling Penny, one P would be the first day to pee the next day is it oh my god. What am I doing? He offered me 5 million and I've only got two p now I've got four p now I've got eight p 16. P 32. P after six days, then 64 They're not one pound 28 two pound 56 Five pounds. Well 10 pounds 2420 pounds 48 Pence, 40 pounds and 96 p 81 pounds and 92 P after 15 days you'd have 163 pounds and 84 pence. Most people give up 163 pounds. You could have had 5 million you could have you could have picked up the donor. You could watch the series on Netflix you could have literally just got the you could have got the return on on what you want because we are wanting creatures, human beings what we are we are wanting creatures that you have the ability to produce dopamine, which allows you to survive so we would produce dopamine to survive that you produce it so that you go and not just think about water and have the feeling of water that you don't get it and you wouldn't turn off the dopamine into you actually start drinking. So if you've ever just been right now as you listen to this, you are producing a small amount of dopamine right now. But if you thought of something like iced coffee, latte, latte or you thought of a doughnut if I have more dopamine it's just not enough. It doesn't satisfy you until you pick up the dopamine. You pick up the cigarette, you pick up the alcohol you pick up and take a line of cocaine, whatever it is you're taking a massive spike of dopamine and then the wanting goes off. And most people just don't want to be the best they can be enough. They just don't know that person. But the crazy thing is that on the 16th day is where the number starts to take off. Because on the 16th day of the doubling penny they have 320 768 Pence and you'd have 654 and then fast forward to 28 days you'd have 1,342,177 and 28 cents and then go to 30 days you'd have 5,368,709 pounds and 12 P So this is where the magic takes off because on the 31st day, you're gonna have 10,737,480 418 and 24 cents. I find it difficult to say those numbers personally but it doesn't really matter. The fact is, and this is where the habits and I know about this, because I wrote a book on this years ago, published in multiple languages around the world, I realized that habits are the compound interest of personal development. That's That's what personal development. That's what habits are in terms of personal development. Just how you know your money multiplies through compound interest. It's whether you want to put in the work, then you can take those numbers to another level if you want to. And if you could go crazy because if you think about if you improve 1% every day for a year, 365 days, right? Well, you'd be 37 times better. But then if after two years you'd be 14 100% better. Then after 1400 times better after three years. It'd be 53,405. After four years, you'd be 2 million. I can't even say what the numbers are after five years would be 76 million after 10 years. You'd be trillion times better. Now people don't get that because it's very hard to see. And this is why it's a bit sad that we often have to wait and rely on something bad to happen for us to change but unless we change the way we view what we're doing and we view where that's going if we continue to do it and view that if we did things differently, what we could get as a result of that, then all of a sudden, the whole thing about life will never ever be the same, never live

that's why we created step one. Step one, we literally created it to help you get some momentum. Because if you think about everyone's a spaceship that takes off a space rocket, it's estimated 80% of its energy is used just to get the thing off the ground. Why? Why is something called gravity? And this is the thing that there's something pulling us back. And what do you think it is that pulls people back? Because everybody's different. Everyone's wired differently. But I'd say the main reason is because we don't feel like you know, think about it. Think about it. What in your life. Have you done something that you needed to do and how you felt had absolutely no consequence? What if you could learn to think greater than you feel? Who would you be if you could learn to think greater than you feel? And you know, how to do it. It's just a question of and people have spoken about this for centuries, I was reading a quote by Aristotle. He said, you know, half of the result is just starting. Because what we know is that when we think about things that are difficult meditating or exercising or writing a book or whatever these things are that when we often think about them, we fire off pain receptors, we feel pain in our body, which then convinces our head not to do something. But what we know is that once we get started, life will never be the same again, especially if you keep getting started every single day, which is a term that's known as habit, suicide. And most of us have done that we've killed our habits, because we stopped them when when life got in the way, or we just didn't feel like it. Are you ready? Are you ready? Seriously, are you ready like never before to start making investments 1% investments as you identify with your future self and that's what will help you do it's not one stop and we can't do it for you. We can help you identify who is my future self. Then, let's get ready to rumble. We can go out and rumble every single day. Go out there to the battlefield of life. Cop Out as we wrap up the podcast let me ask you the question what will be the greatest achievement of your life? What's the best thing you're ever going to do? Is it putting a dent on your mouth? That might be a wonderful experience. But what we know is human beings I think we often overestimate significant experiences in our life. You know, like these epiphanies, right? We overestimate those sometimes. And we massively underestimate the power of compounding something over time. You know, it's the greatest feeling or at least it's one of the greatest feelings of feeling of accomplishment. And if you think about the Garden of Life garden, the natural state of that garden is weeds. Its weeds if you just leave the weeds it becomes harder and harder to prove you get you get. It gets tougher, right rather than being optimistic. And thinking, You know what, every single day, I'm gonna pull out the weeds and I'm gonna plant the seeds and let the magic happen. It's called the calm pounding effect. This is why we created Stop One Start One it's absolutely free. But the first two weeks there's so much more than just a tracking system that you can decide certain starts and stops that you do. You can decide what starts What stops you can do as many as you want. Where you could just simplify, go for one or two, and just get really good at doing what you say you're going to do. Because once you get really good at doing that, you'll find that that compounding interest of something starts to really take on a life of its own so that eventually what was something that was hard to do becomes something that you just can't wait to do because he can't wait to continue to invest in something where you're seeing a return on the greatest returns are often a little delayed. But with the app, you can start to see a return immediately. Plus you can join other people's challenges plus you can use a journal. If life is worth living. I think it's essential to be able to journal it to make sense of it to learn to reflect as you can even write a letter to your to your future self you can build that compelling relationship but there is a learning zone where you can go through my 30 Day Kickstart program and other programs. You know what? That was the point I was making right back at the beginning of this podcast 28 minutes ago and 41 seconds that means you've invested 2% of your life 2% of your day, not 2% of your life. 2% of your day has gone into listening to this podcast, but I was going through the 30 day Kickstart program. And I went through day 10 today and that 30 Day program is part of Stop One and Start One and obviously that program has literally revolutionized so many people's lives. I was looking at day 10 And I was looking at when I remember making that 30 Day program and it was two years ago. I made it because my mom had just been diagnosed with lung cancer. And I couldn't see her because we were right in the midst of COVID and weren't allowed to see you have to stick to the rules. So I had to do something I have to do something. And I decided to make this incredible program that I looked at I looked at it as look at me some data and I was looking at I can tell you were struggling back then. But I could also tell that you needed to do something to myself then I said to myself two years ago this morning. I'm really proud of what you did on the back of something really difficult because it was difficult. And my mom isn't here anymore. She was the one who showed me there is answer to everything. I just realized how far I've come and how I'm more committed than ever to helping people get to where they are where they want to be and the people's coach so everyone has a place at the table. Just don't do it for you. I can support you. I want to thank you because you've just taken 2% of your day. Wow. I wonder how many people stopped listening to this and stopped for whatever reason, maybe something happened? Or maybe they just got bored and wanted to look at something else. There's something about you don't want it is it's magic. Download the app you can go to the App Store, Google Play, or the Apple App Store. And you can engage in the most powerful app in the world, bringing about behavioral change. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast. Please subscribe and spread the word as well. We'll see you next time.