Why Working Harder Won't Save You (And What Will) | Price Pritchett

0:00It's smart to always have a few financial goals. And a really smart one you can set? Earning cash back on what you buy every day. And with Discover, you can. Get this. Discover automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Seriously, all of it. And we trust you to make smart decisions. After all, you listen to this show. See terms at discover.com slash credit card. Hi, my name is Lewis Howes and welcome to the Daily Motivation Show.

0:39Here's a story from your book that I love that I'm going to read. It's a true story. It says, I'm sitting in a quiet room at the Microsoft Inn, a peaceful little place hidden back among the pine trees about an hour out of Toronto. It's just past noon late july and i'm listening to a desperate sound to the desperate sounds of a life or death struggle Going on a few feet away There's a small fly Burning out the last of his short life's energies in a futile attempt to fly through the glass of the window pane The the the whining wings tell the poignant story of the fly's strategy try harder I'm just going to push through this window.

1:21And we've all seen this story. We've all seen and witnessed flies just pounding against a window. But it's not working. The frenzied effort offers no hope for survival. Ironically, the struggle is part of the trap. It is impossible for the fly to try hard enough to succeed at breaking through the glass. No fly will ever be able to break through that glass. Nevertheless, this little insect has staked its life on reaching its goal through raw effort and determination. The fly is doomed. It will die there on the windowsill. And across the room, ten steps away, the doors open. Ten seconds of flying time and this small creature could reach the outside world it seeks.

2:05With only a fraction of the effort now being wasted, it could be free of this self-imposed trap. The breakthrough possibility is right there. It could be so easy. You go on to finish the story, but when you talk about why doesn't the fly just turn around and see a different possibility 10 feet away and just fly into freedom and, and he doesn't, or she doesn't, this fly doesn't do this. Most of the time it never happens. Why is that reflective to human beings where we try to just, We see a wall, we just try to push through it. We just hurt ourselves. We just grind it out. We hustle harder. But all we need to do is turn around or do a 360 and see a different possibility and walk more effortlessly towards our desired future and our desired vision.

2:59But at the same hand, there is effort and consistent hard work that creates results as well. So how do we think of that paradox? and move towards something in an unconventional way rather than a conventional hard way. Well, you highlight a real important thing here in the book. Selective persistence is very important. And so how do we know that we're being smartly, selectively persisting? As opposed to just being dumb, you know, and at best shooting for incremental improvement of some kind or other. I think this is the crux of a quantum leap. It's so hard for people. I think it's harder than the doubt thing.

3:55Wow. Although they're kind of married, I guess, in a way. It is so hard for people to change their approach. It's easier for somebody to start something brand spanking new. like we're going to start a rock and roll band. Well, that was outrageous. That's unconventional, yeah, yeah. I mean, that was a rabid dream of some kind. But it wasn't like changing from something else in that same genre, so to speak.

4:31I find it's hard even for me and our company to really change the game. That's why your goal needs to be really, really a stretch goal. Because if it requires it, there's no way on earth I could do it with this same approach. And so it forces innovation. It forces creativity. It forces you toward the fast lane.

5:02And then people fall into that thing of, yeah, I don't have this, and I don't have this, and I don't have this. Yeah, that's okay. We're teaching you how to play the hand. Your cards suck. But, man, you've got good enough cards if you will play the hand right. But I think that really is a tough one for people. Really what you're asking them to do is take a new set of risks. And immediately, what happens? Just like Daniel Kahneman says, we start weighing the losses heavier than the potential gains. Well, if I did that, God, the downside, what if I did this? What if I lose it all? What if I lose it all?

5:39What if I make an absolute idiot of myself? What if my mate leaves me? You know, I don't know. And we go into that catastrophizing stuff, usually, and we lose sight of the goal. We quit romancing that stone. OK, you know, and so it's a tricky thing. And it goes back to that core issue you talked about, Lewis, self-belief. And we're asking people to become childlike again.

6:17I have a brand new book called Make Money Easy. and if you're looking to create more financial freedom in your life, you want abundance in your life and you want to stop making money hard in your life, but you wanna make it easier, you wanna make it flow, you wanna feel abundant, then make sure to go to makemoneyeasybook.com right now and get yourself a copy. I really think this is gonna help you transform your relationship with money this moment moving forward. We have some big guests and content coming up. Make sure you're following and stay tuned to this episode of The Daily Motivation Show.

6:58Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of The Daily Motivation, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to click the link in the description. That will take you to the full episode of our main podcast on The School of Greatness. And if you are loving the daily motivation, please follow us over on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts right now. And if you want more exclusive content and ad-free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcasts right now. And if you want to get even more inspiration from our world-class guests and learn how to improve your life and take it to the next level, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter.

7:48Again, have an amazing day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another episode of the Daily Motivation Show.

8:00Price Pritchett:For those crazy busy, crazy hungry days when cooking family dinner is off the table, there's Applebee's All You Can Eat, a table full of unlimited favorites for just$15.99. You get all the tender signature riblets, all the crispy boneless wings, all the golden brown double crunch shrimp, and endless classic fries at a family-friendly price. Applebee's All You Can Eat for just$15.99 per person, per order. Now that's eating good in the neighborhood. Limited time only, so hurry into your nearest Applebee's today.