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How to Focus on What Matters (S5) S14:E6 · Inspirations for Your Life

0:24
Well, hey guys, and welcome, welcome to Inspirations
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for Your Life.
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It is great to be with you today
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on the show.
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Thank you so much for deciding to join
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me.
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It really means a lot that you decided
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to be here.
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If this is your very first time, I
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want to say thank you, and of course,
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I want to say welcome.
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If you've been here many times before, well,
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welcome back, and thank you for joining me
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again.
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It's always great to have you here.
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If you're thirsty, feel free to go grab
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yourself a snack, an R.O. water, some
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fruit, or anything else that you'd like, whether
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it's healthy or not, that's totally up to
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you.
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So guys, yeah, it's so great to be
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with you, as we've got one more day
1:01
left in the master topic before we change.
1:05
Again, today is April 2nd, 2026, it is
1:08
Thursday, and it's great to have all of
1:11
you here with me on the show.
1:13
If you don't know about BelieveMeAchieved.com, well,
1:17
go check that out after the show is
1:19
over.
1:20
I think you will find that pretty interesting.
1:24
And yeah, you can get short-form content,
1:26
long-form content, articles, reels, and so much
1:29
more.
1:30
So guys, without any further ado, I'm going
1:31
to go ahead and kick this show off.
1:34
So I'm John C.
1:35
Morley, serial entrepreneur.
1:36
I'm an engineer, marketing specialist, video producer, podcast
1:40
host, coach, keynote speaker, graduate student, and a
1:45
passionate lifelong learner.
1:46
And pretty soon, guys, I will be a
1:47
published author.
1:48
On today's episode of Inspirations for Your Life,
1:51
I'm going to explore how to sharpen your
1:53
focus, prioritize what truly matters, and turn, well,
1:59
intentional energy into consistent progress.
2:01
I'm going to cover 30 actionable strategies to
2:04
help you cut distractions, amplify results, and live
2:08
deliberately every day.
2:10
Again, today is Thursday, ladies and gentlemen.
2:13
This is How to Focus on What Matters,
2:15
Series 5, Show 14, Episode 6.
2:18
So guys, focus creates results.
2:24
Concentrate on what moves the needle, and your
2:28
outcomes will reflect your effort.
2:30
That's number one, is how we do that.
2:35
Number two, guys, prioritize your life.
2:38
So priorities will shape your life.
2:40
Clear priorities guide daily decision and maximize impact.
2:45
I think that's a very, very important thing
2:48
to do.
2:49
Number three, guys, cut distractions.
2:51
Remove interruptions to reclaim attention in your life.
2:55
And of course, the energy.
2:57
I think that's an important one to definitely
3:03
understand.
3:04
Our next point is focus energy strategically.
3:08
Direct your efforts where they create the most
3:11
value.
3:12
That's another key important thing that many people
3:15
forget because they're so hung up in the
3:17
moment that they forget about all the other
3:20
possibilities.
3:23
So that's really important to understand.
3:28
What you focus, guys, grows.
3:30
Attention fuels growth.
3:32
Guard it carefully.
3:33
Clarity improves outcomes.
3:35
And know your goals to make smarter choices.
3:38
Estimate time wasters and eliminate them.
3:43
Stop low-value tasks from diluting your progress.
3:47
And I think that's an important thing.
3:49
We don't always know what a low-value
3:51
task is.
3:51
But once we figure it out, it's important
3:53
that we get it out of our life
3:55
immediately.
3:57
Focus builds momentum, guys.
3:59
It builds the momentum every single day.
4:02
So make sure that you continue to focus,
4:05
okay?
4:06
Consistent effort, guys, compounds into unstoppable action.
4:11
So let's keep doing that.
4:13
And know that direction beats busyness, okay?
4:17
A lot of us say, you know, I'm
4:18
busy.
4:19
Being busy doesn't mean you're successful.
4:22
Being busy doesn't equal progress.
4:24
Purposeful focus does.
4:27
Focus creates power.
4:29
Focused individuals influence more and achieve faster, okay?
4:35
Choose meaningful actions.
4:39
Every choice either builds or drains you.
4:43
So I invite you guys to, yes, guys,
4:46
choose wisely.
4:48
And I know that sounds like something that
4:50
is a little cliche, but it's not.
4:56
It's something we have to appreciate.
4:59
And we have to understand how do we
5:01
move forward through that?
5:02
Because I think a lot of people, let's
5:05
face it, I think they get stuck.
5:07
And then they're like, oh my gosh, like,
5:08
what am I supposed to do now?
5:10
Like, I've gone this far, but where do
5:12
I go from here?
5:13
And what am I supposed to do?
5:14
And if I don't know what to do,
5:16
then like, what's going to happen?
5:19
And I think those are pretty much all
5:21
important things that a lot of people just
5:25
don't get for whatever reason.
5:28
And so when I think about these things,
5:32
I want to say something very important to
5:33
you.
5:34
And that is the concept that we have
5:38
to be grounded, guys.
5:39
So again, protect your time, boundaries, preserve your
5:45
mental bandwidth for what matters.
5:47
You know, if you just take everything out
5:49
there, I feel that you're going to get
5:51
so inundated and so lost because, well, you're
5:56
going to lose the direction of where you
5:58
want to go.
5:59
And I think that harms not only ourself,
6:03
but it harms other people.
6:05
And so when we think about these things,
6:08
hopefully they'll get you to understand that focus
6:10
generates clarity.
6:11
Attention to priorities reduces confusion.
6:14
And of course, guys, indecision.
6:18
Yeah, indecision.
6:20
That's a real cool one.
6:22
Energy follows attention.
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Where you look, your energy flows.
6:27
Manage both.
6:28
Less is more.
6:29
Simplify your commitments to amplify your results.
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I think that's a very important one to
6:38
realize.
6:39
But I think it's one that a lot
6:40
of people, I'm going to say they get
6:43
lost with.
6:45
And the reason they get lost is because,
6:48
well, they're not necessarily sure how things are
6:53
going or how they're transbonding or how they're
6:56
even moving forward.
6:58
And so when we think about all that,
7:00
hopefully that can get us to appreciate things
7:02
like focus strengthens willpower.
7:06
Practicing attention builds internal discipline.
7:09
Remove distractions daily.
7:10
Make clearing clutter a habit, not a chore.
7:17
Prioritize growth.
7:19
Invest in your skills, your knowledge, and your
7:23
influence.
7:24
Focus creates progress.
7:26
Small intentional steps consistently drive measurable outcomes.
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Stay on what matters.
7:33
Avoid tangents.
7:34
And invest in the essential things in your
7:37
life.
7:38
Attention drives impact, guys.
7:40
Your influence grows where you place sustained attention.
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And that's not just something I'm saying.
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That's something that we can prove with science
7:49
and a lot of different research.
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So we have to be aware of that.
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Concentrate effort.
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Outperform scattered attempts.
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We know this.
8:00
But yet people still do that because like,
8:02
oh, I think I'm doing something.
8:03
I appear that I'm busy.
8:05
So I guess I'm doing something.
8:06
We're deceiving ourselves, right?
8:08
We're being illusionist.
8:11
Protect your concentration.
8:13
Guard your focus against multitasking and digital noise.
8:18
You know, there are a lot of companies
8:19
that want people to work through multiple chats
8:23
at one time.
8:23
But you know what?
8:25
It's actually diluting the quality of the work,
8:30
the customer service, the client service.
8:32
And that's a big problem.
8:33
And a lot of these big companies don't
8:34
get that.
8:35
So guard your focus against multitasking immediately and
8:39
lots of the digital noise.
8:42
Choose wisely, guys.
8:44
Decisions aligned with purpose, OK?
8:47
They accelerate success.
8:49
Focus produces success.
8:52
Deliberate attention ensures attentions translate into results.
8:56
So stay intentional.
8:57
Every act matters.
8:59
Act with purpose.
9:00
Eliminate noise.
9:01
Filter unnecessary input.
9:03
And simplify your mental environment.
9:06
Focus powers action.
9:08
Clear attention converts ideas into execution.
9:11
What matters most?
9:13
Well, invest in high value activities that compound
9:17
over time, not in one day.
9:21
Focus defines your path.
9:25
Your attention shapes your life.
9:28
Choose focus daily, guys.
9:29
This is the key.
9:31
And I think if we don't choose focus
9:33
daily, we're going to be like, well, what
9:35
do I do now?
9:36
What am I supposed to say?
9:37
Where am I supposed to go?
9:39
And I feel that's a big problem for
9:42
a lot of people because, you know, right
9:44
away they're trying to do one thing.
9:46
But it's not exactly where you want to
9:50
be.
9:52
And that's because it's not going to lead
9:54
you to your promised land, OK?
9:58
It's going to lead you somewhere that's going
10:01
to be frustrating.
10:03
It's going to sound confusing.
10:06
And it's going to take a lot of
10:09
your energy.
10:11
You know, energy, it's not like a cell
10:13
phone.
10:13
We plug our cable in and we charge
10:17
our cell phone.
10:18
It's not like that.
10:19
So we don't just plug in and get
10:21
recharged.
10:22
We have to dial down.
10:24
We have to meditate.
10:26
We have to relax.
10:28
It's not just plug in and we charge
10:30
up.
10:31
The people we're around actually offset whether we're
10:36
going to have energy given to us or
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energy taken for us.
10:40
Sometimes there's people that cause that, let's say,
10:44
neutral flow, where they take energy but they
10:46
give it.
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So you don't feel like you've really lost
10:49
anything.
10:50
Then there's other people that give energy and
10:51
then you're like, this is great.
10:53
Other people that just drain your energy, they
10:55
don't give you anything.
10:56
So these are the things that we have
10:58
to be cognizant at, regardless of our age,
11:01
regardless of what discipline we're in.
11:02
These are very, very important things.
11:04
I think it's important to understand what's going
11:12
on, to what all this means, but it
11:16
means something pretty important.
11:23
I know that you get lost and you
11:33
get lost because of where you're going.
11:36
I think that's something that a lot of
11:38
people don't understand.
11:42
They don't understand that whole concept.
11:50
And maybe this is because people are expecting
11:58
something a certain way, maybe.
12:02
But then maybe again, it's not.
12:04
Maybe it's because the world's changed.
12:09
And I think that means a lot to
12:13
people, right?
12:15
I think it means a lot because it
12:23
means that you are somebody that is really
12:28
about you.
12:32
Somebody that understands and values life.
12:38
I think those are very, very important things
12:42
to understand.
12:43
And when you understand these things, it's like,
12:45
okay, now I get it.
12:49
Now it makes sense to me.
12:52
But in the beginning, it doesn't always click.
12:55
We're not given a book to tell us
13:00
how our human body works or how our
13:02
mind works.
13:03
We study, we learn through different types of
13:06
experiences.
13:08
And so when we find that focus in
13:11
our life is drifting, it's not because we
13:15
want it to drift.
13:16
No, it's because of a few things.
13:22
Could be stress.
13:24
It could be misdirection, right?
13:30
And I think when we can appreciate these
13:33
things, our life will basically shift.
13:41
Our life will basically shift.
13:44
And I say this to you in a
13:47
very interesting way because it's important.
13:54
And I say it's important for one main
13:57
reason.
13:57
You know what that reason is?
14:00
That reason is that people don't get it.
14:07
Why don't people get it?
14:09
Well, I'll tell you why.
14:12
It has to do with the fact that
14:14
a lot of people are selfish, not because
14:16
they want to be selfish, okay?
14:19
But because of what's happening to them or
14:23
because of something that's going on.
14:26
And I think something going on becomes this
14:29
very, very big confusion.
14:33
And the confusion comes down to, well, what
14:37
am I doing?
14:39
What am I about?
14:41
And I think that's a very important thing
14:45
to understand.
14:46
We might not get all of this at
14:49
once.
14:49
We might not understand where it's coming from.
14:52
We also might not realize that it's going
14:56
to be more productive if I do one
14:59
thing at a time.
15:00
I mean, if I have had times in
15:03
the past where I'm like, oh, if I
15:04
do 10 things at once, I'm probably going
15:05
to be really, really good, okay?
15:07
But then again, am I going to be
15:11
really good?
15:12
Or is it an illusion?
15:14
It's an illusion, guys.
15:16
It's an illusion because we're thinking one way,
15:20
and all of a sudden we think another
15:22
way.
15:23
But then it's like, how does this work,
15:26
right?
15:27
How does this work?
15:29
And it works in a very unique way.
15:32
And that way is to get us to
15:36
find out ourselves.
15:39
I like to use a phrase, what makes
15:41
us tick and what makes others tick.
15:44
And so what that gets to the heart
15:46
of is saying that we're all different, okay?
15:50
And our drums all beat to a different
15:54
type of thing.
15:56
And now that we understand that, we can
15:58
appreciate diversity, differences, cultures, but it's not that
16:04
one's more important than another.
16:06
It's that we have an ecosystem of all
16:08
these different cultures and ethnicities all together.
16:12
So when we're thinking about focus, right?
16:16
A lot of times, what comes to mind
16:18
is the microscope, right?
16:20
And we have to dial in that microscope.
16:22
Whether it's an electron microscope or a plane
16:24
microscope, we have to dial in the knob
16:28
or the wheel so that we can get
16:31
something that is clear in sight.
16:33
But I know that a lot of people
16:35
will put on the slide.
16:37
I remember the very first time, I think
16:38
it was in, I actually think it was
16:41
in my, was it my fifth or sixth
16:44
grade science class?
16:45
We took a slide.
16:47
And then we basically took this sample.
16:55
Out of the chemical, and we took a
16:56
little eyedropper.
16:57
And then we dropped it on a slide.
16:59
And then we put a little bit of,
17:00
it was like a little plastic cover we
17:03
put over it.
17:04
And then we put that under the microscope.
17:07
And then we had to zoom in.
17:08
I remember the first type of microscope I
17:10
ever learned to use were the ones that
17:12
were not electric, okay?
17:15
They were just the basic ones, and they
17:16
would just have a focusing ring on them.
17:19
And you could zoom in.
17:19
But then the ones after that later on,
17:21
they had a bulb in them.
17:23
And then later on, actually more in high
17:27
school and college, we had electron microscopes.
17:29
And those are pretty cool.
17:32
So when we can see, ladies and gentlemen,
17:33
that there's an entire world, okay, beneath something
17:38
that's so small as what I do in
17:41
here, the tip of a screwdriver, the tip
17:44
of a pen, that becomes so large when
17:52
we know how to focus into it.
17:54
But again, the reason we don't focus on
17:57
things are because of others, distractions, right?
18:02
Other types of noise in the environment.
18:04
Maybe it's because of our own way.
18:08
Sometimes we need to get out of our
18:10
own way.
18:12
You might say, John, well, that's kind of
18:13
crazy.
18:13
No, I'm being serious.
18:15
If you don't get out of your own
18:17
way, you may not be successful.
18:23
What do you mean?
18:25
Well, sometimes we're analyzing things so much that
18:29
we don't give ourselves a chance to enjoy.
18:38
And by enjoy, I mean to experience life.
18:45
You know, when you go outside and you
18:47
take a walk, you go outside, you could
18:50
take a walk, do the walk and come
18:51
back and just go through the motions.
18:54
Or you could go outside, you could take
18:57
the walk, you could feel every step, you
19:02
can enjoy every breath, every scenery, whether that's
19:06
flowers, trees, grass, animals, even a sense of
19:12
the wind blowing gently at your shoulder or
19:16
vigorously at your back.
19:19
And becoming aware of these different sensations allows
19:25
us to dial into who we are.
19:30
You know, I was having a conversation with
19:33
someone the other day.
19:35
And I was telling them my book is
19:36
coming out.
19:36
And I'm not gonna let too much out
19:38
of the bag about the book.
19:38
But the book is basically in press right
19:43
now.
19:43
And it is going to be dedicated to
19:46
my parents on the 17th or 18th of
19:47
the month of April, that is.
19:50
And then right after that, it will be
19:51
available for public order online, as well as
19:54
starting May 1st is when my official book
19:57
tour starts.
19:58
But I was talking to somebody and we
20:02
were talking about that pivotal moment.
20:04
It was actually a doctor, it was at
20:06
a grand opening of our library in town.
20:10
And we're talking about that pivotal moment when
20:14
everything switches for you.
20:16
Now, before I tell you about mine, I'm
20:18
gonna tell you about theirs.
20:21
So one of the pivotal moments for this
20:23
doctor was a fight that he was in
20:26
when he was younger.
20:28
And that fight got him to wake up
20:31
and really sense and know who he is
20:34
and where he is in life.
20:39
His significant other, his wife, basically, she fell
20:44
and broke her arms.
20:45
And that was her special moment.
20:49
My special moment, ladies and gentlemen, I don't
20:51
wanna let too much out about the book.
20:53
It was a certain point when I was
20:54
in the hospital.
20:55
There was a moment, and I'll share that
20:57
in my book.
20:58
And that pivotal moment, I found out everyone
21:02
in life goes through a pivotal moment like
21:03
that.
21:06
And if they don't, they're not able to
21:10
grow.
21:12
It's not there to harm us.
21:14
It's not there to scare us.
21:16
It's there to get us to wake up.
21:18
It's there to get us to change the
21:20
way we are living.
21:22
And living is accomplished by acknowledging our perceptions.
21:30
Our perceptions, ladies and gentlemen, they create our
21:33
reality.
21:35
Our perceptions create our reality.
21:40
And as I thought about this, and I
21:42
was talking to this doctor and his wife
21:44
and a few other people, I started realizing
21:48
that that pivotal moment.
21:52
Not a lot of people talk about their
21:53
pivotal moment.
21:54
Maybe people haven't had the pivotal moment yet.
21:57
But when you've had it, it's like a
22:00
very big awakening of not only who you
22:02
are, but suddenly of your capabilities.
22:07
And of how the fact that you've lived
22:11
up till now, but maybe even going through
22:14
the motions, you haven't really been a dynamic,
22:19
powerful, intentional creator.
22:25
A lot of words there.
22:28
Intentional, my book centers a lot around that
22:31
too, by the way.
22:34
Intentional doing something with the sole cause that
22:39
aligns with your core values.
22:42
And your core values don't just get picked
22:43
as, gee, I think I'll go to Amazon
22:45
and pick some core values.
22:47
Go grab something that somebody else does.
22:50
It's not a core value.
22:51
A core value is something maybe you learn
22:53
about, you decide to adapt in your life
22:55
because you're like, hey, that fits who I
22:57
am.
22:59
Not there to chase you away.
23:02
But I realize some people basically don't get
23:06
that.
23:08
So the pivotal moment in life is when
23:11
you have that aha moment.
23:13
And we've all had aha moments, right?
23:16
But this is different.
23:17
This is a moment where not only one
23:21
thing changes, but like your whole life transforms
23:24
in the blink of an eye.
23:26
That happened for me in the hospital.
23:28
Again, I'll tell about that story in my
23:29
book.
23:31
What is your pivotal moment?
23:33
Have you had one?
23:34
Has there been a defining moment when life
23:38
suddenly became different?
23:41
Hopefully became better for you.
23:44
When you realize that your potential is not
23:49
limited.
23:51
When your life is about bringing your desires
23:58
to reality.
24:01
Now, this is something a lot of people
24:03
don't do because they don't work on their
24:07
own plan.
24:10
They're always working on someone else's.
24:14
A wise person once said to me, John,
24:16
have dreams, live them, and get other people
24:19
to help you fulfill them.
24:21
For if you don't, you'll be just fulfilling
24:24
others.
24:26
Now, it's okay to help other people fulfill
24:27
their dreams.
24:29
But I think if we don't have our
24:31
own dreams, then we're getting robbed of something
24:34
very priceless in life.
24:40
We're not being able to experience things.
24:45
Focus, what else has focus?
24:47
Well, if something is not in focus, you
24:51
can't see it clearly.
24:53
If you can't see something clearly, you can't
24:56
understand it.
24:56
If you can't understand it, you're not able
25:00
to change it, not able to incorporate it
25:06
into your life.
25:09
Those are priceless things, guys.
25:12
I mean, priceless.
25:14
These aren't things you just snap out of
25:16
your head.
25:18
So I'm gonna ask you right now, what
25:20
is your defining moment in life?
25:22
And if you haven't had one, that's okay.
25:25
Be aware for your defining moment because when
25:28
it hits, you'll know.
25:30
And you'll be able to take that moment
25:33
and apply it to almost every area of
25:37
your life.
25:38
That's pretty amazing, if you ask me.
25:41
Like, really, really amazing.
25:44
So ladies and gentlemen, I am really grateful
25:46
for all of you here.
25:47
I'm grateful for all your support, and hopefully
25:48
many of you get a lot of insight
25:54
out of it.
25:54
Because I think when we can hear and
25:59
experience someone else's journey, it motivates us to
26:04
wanna make our journey better.
26:10
How can you make your journey better today,
26:12
guys?
26:13
Can you listen more?
26:16
Can you experience things through your sight, your
26:21
ears, your touch, your taste, your smell, your
26:26
proprioception we've talked about before?
26:28
Can you?
26:29
The answer is not can you, but will
26:32
you?
26:33
Everyone is given this ability.
26:36
People just don't access it.
26:40
They don't think that they need to do
26:42
anything more than what's in the box, right?
26:45
They just stay in the box.
26:47
How about you?
26:48
But I don't like to live in a
26:49
box.
26:50
I like to expand.
26:52
I like to grow beyond it.
26:56
In my world, I like to crush the
26:58
box and really change the world.
27:05
Well, ladies and gentlemen, this has been another
27:07
amazing show of the Inspirations for Your Life.
27:10
I thank you for joining me today on
27:13
the Inspirations for Your Life show.
27:16
Remember, ladies and gentlemen, focus isn't just about
27:19
working harder.
27:21
It's about choosing to work smarter, protecting your
27:25
attention and acting intentionally.
27:28
If you choose, ladies and gentlemen, to apply
27:31
these strategies daily, observe your progress and watch
27:36
your momentum build.
27:40
That's key, guys.
27:41
I don't know if you know this, but
27:42
you can catch every one of these episodes,
27:44
not just this one, but every single one,
27:46
as well as my short-form content, long
27:48
-form content on yesbelievemeachieve.com.
27:55
So I hope you have a great rest
27:57
of your evening.
27:58
Explore more actionable insights, bonus content, and inspirations
28:02
at believemeachieve.com, your resource for clarity, courage,
28:07
and momentum.
28:08
Let's make your life better right now.
28:11
What are you waiting for?
28:35
♪ Oh, oh,
29:39
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
29:39
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪