Latest / The Strategize, Adapt, and Overcome Podcast by Brad Young / The Patient Warrior: Why Timing Beats Speed Every Time

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The Patient Warrior: Why Timing Beats Speed Every Time · The Strategize, Adapt, and Overcome Podcast by Brad Young

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Good morning, and welcome to strategize, adapt, and overcome. I
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: am brad young, and I'm glad you're here with me today.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Let me start with a question, and I want you
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: to sit with it for a second before you answer.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: When was the last time you rushed into something, chest out,
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  Speaker 1: full speed ahead, only to look back later and realize
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: the whole thing would have gone better if you had
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: simply waited, waited a week, waited a conversation, waited until
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the ground under your feet was solid instead of shaky.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: If you are being honest with yourself, you have a
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  Speaker 1: story like that. We all do, and that story is
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: exactly what today is about. And today we are talking
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: about timing, not speed timing, because somewhere along the way
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: we got sold a lie. We got told that the
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  Speaker 1: fastest person wins, the first one out the gate, the
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  Speaker 1: one who moves before anyone else even wakes up and listen,
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  Speaker 1: and speed has its place. I am not here to
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  Speaker 1: tell you to be slow, but speed without timing is
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  Speaker 1: just a fast way to run off a cliff. Sun
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Sue understood this more than two thousand years ago. In
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  Speaker 1: the Art of War. He wrote that the skilled warrior
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  Speaker 1: does not rush The skilled warrior waits, he positions, he watches,
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  Speaker 1: and then when the moment is exactly right, he moves
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  Speaker 1: with everything he has. Sun Sue said, the good fighters
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  Speaker 1: of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat,
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  Speaker 1: and then waited for the opportunity to defeat the enemy.
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  Speaker 1: Read that again. First they made themselves safe, then they waited.
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  Speaker 1: The victory came second, not first. That is the mind
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  Speaker 1: of the patient warrior, and that is the mind I
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  Speaker 1: want to build with you today. So let us get
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: into it. Here's the truth that took me years to understand.
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  Speaker 1: Patience is not weakness. Patience is not passivity. Patience is
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  Speaker 1: not sitting on your couch hoping something good falls into
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  Speaker 1: your lap. Real patience, strategic patience is one of the
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: most aggressive things you can do, because while everyone else
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: is burning their energy moving too early, the patient warrior
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  Speaker 1: is quietly getting ready, watching the board, reading the room,
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  Speaker 1: saving strength for the one moment that actually matters. Think
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: about a hawk. A hawk does not flap around the
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  Speaker 1: sky frantically grabbing at every little thing that moves. A
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  Speaker 1: hawk circles, it watches, It reads the wind and the
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  Speaker 1: ground below with a stillness that looks almost lazy from
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  Speaker 1: far away, and then in one clean strike, it drops,
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  Speaker 1: one movement, one target done. The hawk is not slow.
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  Speaker 1: The hawk is precise, and precision comes from patience. Now
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  Speaker 1: let me bring this out of the sky and into
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  Speaker 1: your real life. Let me tell you about two business
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  Speaker 1: owners I've known over the years. I'm going to change
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  Speaker 1: some details to protect them, but the lesson is real,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: and it happened. The first one. We will call him
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: the sprinter. The sprinter had energy for days. Every idea
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  Speaker 1: that crossed his mind he chased it. That same afternoon,
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  Speaker 1: he saw competitor make a move, and within an hour
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  Speaker 1: he was matching it, no matter whether it fit his
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  Speaker 1: business or not. He hired fast, he spent fast, he
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  Speaker 1: launched fast, and for a little while he looked like
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  Speaker 1: a genius. People admired his hustle, they admired his speed.
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  Speaker 1: But here's what happened. Because he moved on everything, he
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  Speaker 1: mastered nothing. He was always reacting, always chasing, always one
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  Speaker 1: step behind the very people he was trying to beat,
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  Speaker 1: because reacting to someone means they are already ahead of you.
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  Speaker 1: Within three years, the Sprinter had burned through his savings,
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  Speaker 1: his energy, and half his team. He confused motion for progress,
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  Speaker 1: and they are not the same thing. The second one,
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  Speaker 1: we will call her the patient warrior, because that is
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  Speaker 1: exactly what she was. She moved slower on the surface.
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  Speaker 1: When a trend came through, she did not chase it
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  Speaker 1: that day. She studied it. She asked whether whether it fitter,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: whether it fitter people, whether the timing was right for
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  Speaker 1: her specific situation. She let the sprinters of the world
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  Speaker 1: test the waters first, and she learned from their mistakes
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  Speaker 1: without paying for them. And when she finally moved, she
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  Speaker 1: moved with total commitment because she was not guessing. She
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  Speaker 1: was ready. Ten years later, her business is still standing,
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  Speaker 1: still growing, still strong, and the difference was never talent.
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  Speaker 1: The difference was timing. Same market, same challenges, same opportunities
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  Speaker 1: floating past both of them, one rushed and lost, one
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  Speaker 1: waited and one. So ask yourself, honestly, which one are
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  Speaker 1: you right now? Are you the sprinter, exhausted from chasing everything?
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  Speaker 1: Or are you learning to become the patient warrior, calm, watchful,
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  Speaker 1: ready to strike when the moment is truly yours now.
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  Speaker 1: I want to be very clear, because this is where
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  Speaker 1: people get it wrong. Being patient does not mean being asleep.
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  Speaker 1: There is a massive difference between waiting and stalling. Waiting
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  Speaker 1: is active. Stalling is fear wearing a disguise. Let me
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  Speaker 1: explain what I mean. When the patient warrior waits, he
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  Speaker 1: is doing work. He is gathering information, he is building
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  Speaker 1: his strength. He is positioning himself so that when the
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  Speaker 1: door opens, he can walk right through it. He is
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  Speaker 1: not scared, he is prepared. But stalling is different. Stalling
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  Speaker 1: is when you tell yourself you are being patient, when
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  Speaker 1: the truth is you are just afraid to move it all.
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  Speaker 1: You know the moment has come, you feel it in
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  Speaker 1: your gut, and instead of stepping forward, you find one
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  Speaker 1: more reason to wait, one more thing to research, one
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  Speaker 1: more week to think about it. That is not patience,
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  Speaker 1: my friend. That is fear pretending to be wisdom. And
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  Speaker 1: I need you to be able to tell the difference,
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  Speaker 1: because one of the builds your life and the other
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  Speaker 1: one quietly steals it. So how do you know which
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  Speaker 1: one you are doing? Here's the honest test I use,
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  Speaker 1: and I want you to write it down somewhere. When
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  Speaker 1: you are truly being patient, you are moving toward the moment.
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  Speaker 1: You are getting more ready every single day when you
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  Speaker 1: are stalling, You are moving away from the moment. You
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  Speaker 1: are finding reasons not building readiness. Patience gets you closer,
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  Speaker 1: fear keeps you frozen. Learn to feel the difference in
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  Speaker 1: your own body, because your gut usually knows the truth
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  Speaker 1: long before your head admits it. This connects to something
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  Speaker 1: Sun Sou understood deeply, and it is one of the
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  Speaker 1: most powerful ideas in all of his teaching. He said
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  Speaker 1: that the wise leader wins the battle before it has
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  Speaker 1: ever fought. Think about that, the battle is one before
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  Speaker 1: the first move. How through preparation, through positioning, through timing,
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  Speaker 1: the patient warrior does not win because he fights harder
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  Speaker 1: in the moment. He wins because everything he did in
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  Speaker 1: the quiet waiting hours the outcome almost certain before he
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  Speaker 1: ever stepped onto the field. And that is what real
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  Speaker 1: patience buys you. It buys you a stacked deck. It
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: buys you a fight you have already won in your
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  Speaker 1: mind and your preparation, long before anyone else even sees
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  Speaker 1: it coming. And let me bring this into your career
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  Speaker 1: for a minute, because I know a lot of you
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  Speaker 1: are wrestling with this exact thing right now. Maybe you
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  Speaker 1: are sitting in a job and you know you are
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  Speaker 1: ready for more. You want the promotion, you want the recognition,
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  Speaker 1: you want the next level, and you want it now.
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  Speaker 1: And that hunger is good. Hold on to that hunger.
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  Speaker 1: But let me ask you something. Are you moving too early?
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  Speaker 1: Are you demanding the seat before you have proven you
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  Speaker 1: can carry the weight that comes with it. Because I
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  Speaker 1: have watched brilliant, talented people torch their own careers by
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  Speaker 1: pushing for something one beat too soon. They forced a
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  Speaker 1: conversation before they had built the case. They made a
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  Speaker 1: demand before they had earned the leverage, and they lost
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  Speaker 1: not because they were not good enough, but because they're
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  Speaker 1: time was wrong. The patient warrior, in that same situation
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  Speaker 1: does something different. He builds his case quietly. He becomes
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  Speaker 1: so good, so valuable, so undeniable, that when the moment
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  Speaker 1: comes out, he does not have to beg for the
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  Speaker 1: seat they hand it to him. Because he understood that
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  Speaker 1: timing is not about waiting forever. It is about waiting
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  Speaker 1: until you cannot be told no. There is a beautiful
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  Speaker 1: Stoic idea that pairs with this perfectly. The Stoics taught
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  Speaker 1: us to focus only on what is within our control
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  Speaker 1: and to release what is not and here is why
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  Speaker 1: that matters. For timing. So much of our rushing comes
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  Speaker 1: from trying to control things that were never ours to control.
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  Speaker 1: We try to force outcomes, We try to force other people.
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  Speaker 1: We try to force the world to move on our
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  Speaker 1: schedule instead of its own, and it wears us out.
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  Speaker 1: Because you cannot force a season to change before it
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  Speaker 1: is ready. The patient warrior lets go of that. He
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  Speaker 1: controls his own preparation, his own discipline, his own readiness,
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  Speaker 1: and he releases the rest. He plants the seed, he
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  Speaker 1: waters it, and he does not stand over the soil
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  Speaker 1: screaming at it to grow faster. He trusts the timing,
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  Speaker 1: He does the work, and he lets the moment arrive
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  Speaker 1: when the moment is ready to arrive. And now I
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  Speaker 1: can hear some of you thinking, Brad, this sounds nice,
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  Speaker 1: But what about all the times moving fast actually mattered?
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  Speaker 1: What about the opportunities that only last a second? Great question,
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  Speaker 1: and here's my answer. The person who is prepared is
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  Speaker 1: the person who can move fast when speed truly counts.
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  Speaker 1: Do you see the connection? The patient warrior spends his
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  Speaker 1: quiet time getting ready so that when the rare moment
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  Speaker 1: demands lightning speed, he already has the sword sharpened in
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  Speaker 1: the plan in place. Speed and patients are not enemies,
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  Speaker 1: they are partners. Patience earns you the right to be
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  Speaker 1: fast at exactly the right time. The sprinter cannot do
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  Speaker 1: this because the sprinter is always tired, always scattered, always reacting.
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  Speaker 1: But the pa warrior has energy and reserve, He has clarity,
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  Speaker 1: and when the true moment flashes by, he is the
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  Speaker 1: only one calm enough and ready enough to catch it.
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  Speaker 1: So let me give you something practical to carry out
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  Speaker 1: of here today, because I never want to just fill
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  Speaker 1: your head with ideas and send you off with nothing
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  Speaker 1: to actually do. Here's your challenge for this week. Pick
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: one decision you have been rushing, Just one. Maybe it
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  Speaker 1: is a hard conversation you keep forcing. Maybe it is
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  Speaker 1: a business move you feel pressured to make. Maybe it
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  Speaker 1: is a reaction to someone who upsets you and every
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  Speaker 1: fiber of your being wants to fire back right now,
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  Speaker 1: whatever it is, I want you to pause, not stall,
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  Speaker 1: pause and ask yourself three questions. First, am I moving
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  Speaker 1: toward the moment? Or am I running from my fear? Second?
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  Speaker 1: Have I done the work to make this move almost
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  Speaker 1: certain to succeed? Or am I just guessing and hoping.
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  Speaker 1: And third, what would the patient warrior due right here,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: right now, in my exact situation. Sit with those three questions,
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  Speaker 1: let them do their work, and I promise you will
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  Speaker 1: start to feel the difference between the moves that come
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  Speaker 1: from strength and the moves that come from panic. That
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  Speaker 1: awareness alone will change your life. Because most people go
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  Speaker 1: their entire lives never once asking whether their timing is right.
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  Speaker 1: They just move, and then they wonder why the world
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  Speaker 1: keeps beating them. You are not going to be one
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  Speaker 1: of those people anymore. Starting today, you are becoming the
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  Speaker 1: one who waits with purpose, prepares with discipline, and strikes
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  Speaker 1: with precision. Let me leave you with this before we close.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: The world will always try to rush you. It will
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  Speaker 1: tell you that you are falling behind. It will show
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  Speaker 1: you everyone else moving fast, and it will whisper that
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  Speaker 1: you need to move faster. But remember the hawk, Remember
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  Speaker 1: the patient warrior. Remember that Sun Soue twenty five centuries ago,
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: already knew the secret that most people today still have
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  Speaker 1: not learned. The victory does not go to the fastest.
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  Speaker 1: The victory goes to the one who knows exactly when
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  Speaker 1: to move and has the discipline to wait until that
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  Speaker 1: moment arrives. You do not have to win every race.
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  Speaker 1: You just have to win the ones that matter, and
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  Speaker 1: you win those not by being first, but by being ready.
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  Speaker 1: So this week, slow down where you have been rushing,
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  Speaker 1: prepare where you have been guessing, and trust yourself enough
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  Speaker 1: to wait for the moment that is truly yours because
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  Speaker 1: it is coming. And when it does, I want you
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  Speaker 1: standing there, calm, sharp and completely prepared, ready to move
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  Speaker 1: like the hawk who has been circling all along. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you so much for spending this time with me today.
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  Speaker 1: If this episode gave you something to think about, do
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: me a favor and share it with someone in your
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: life who has been rushing lately, someone who needs to
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: hear that patience is a strength and not a weakness.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: And make sure you follow the show because you are
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: not going to want to miss what comes next. In
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: the next episode, we go somewhere a little uncomfortable but
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: a little necessary. We are going to talk about the
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: toughest opponent you will ever face. And it is not
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: your competitor, and it is not the market. It is
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: the voice inside your own head. We're going to break
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: down the fear, the ego and the emotion that hijack
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: your best decisions right when the stakes are highest. And
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: I'm going to show you how to win that inner
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: war with a calm and clear mind. Until then, prepare
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: it with purpose, move with precision, and keep moving forward.