S4-11: Fred Gratzon: The Lazy Way to Success
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
Release Date: 03/28/2018
28 Days!
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
“A key idea behind habit tracking is to use the week's rhythm. Thus, 28 days, not 30 days, should be the tracking period for each habit.” Many authors and behavior change 'experts' offer various ideas about habit development. Unfortunately, many are misleading. One such idea is that habit tracking is optional when it comes to habit development. While it’s true that people develop habits without tracking them, those habits tend to be negative. To develop good, positive habits, science has proven that tracking behaviors tends to be very beneficial. Here’s why: ...
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Aloneness
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
“You are born alone and you will die alone.” This week we investigate aloneness. Aloneness is different from loneliness. MG discusses a book he read in the early '90s while backpacking across Europe, Stephen Batchelor's, Alone with Others, an existential approach to Buddhism. After thirty-plus years, MG challenges that statement by adding a twist. While we are born alone, it is with and in spirit. When we die, it is the spirit that leaves our bodies. Thus, we are not entirely born alone, nor do we die entirely alone. Arguably it is our spirit that is either with us...
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John Rossman Interview – The Amazon Way
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
"People don't improve by hearing, 'Good job!'" Habits 2 Goals rings in 2023 with an educational and entertaining interview featuring John Rossman. John is the author of the bestselling book, The Amazon Way, Think Like Amazon and The Amazon Way on IoT. John is a business strategist, operator, and expert on digital transformation, leadership, and business reinvention. John has consulted with many great brands including Novartis, Fidelity Investments, Microsoft, Walmart, and Nordstrom. He served as senior innovation advisor at T-Mobile and senior technology advisor to the Gates Foundation. John...
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Energy Flows
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
"Energy flows where attention goes." This week we revisit a goal achievement first principle: EVERYTHING IS ENERGY. Suppose everything is energy (and it is). That means you are energy, and your goal will require energy. Interestingly, habits are the most efficient use of behavior energy and this is why The Habit Factor process of habit alignment is so effective. There are two key elements that impact one's behaviors the most over a long period of time; their environment and thinking, which is predominantly in the form of stories). To illustrate MG discusses the "3 Circles of Behavior...
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The HERO's Narrative
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
"Notice all the B.S. stories you tell yourself about EVERYTHING. Then, run them through the H.E.R.O.'s checklist." Your internal monologue is very active! Sometimes it's helpful, and other times, not so much. This internal chatter provides stories about EVERYTHING, from your career to your potential. You even have stories about your spouse, friends, etc. You also have stories about your goals, the ones you choose to pursue or not. These stories establish boundaries. They setup walls that become impenetrable until you notice them first. The more aware you can become of your internal dialogue...
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Goals are Not Optional!
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
"Goals are not optional!" Drifting – living an aimless life – might be fun for a week, a month, maybe even a year. However, drifting for too long is dangerous. Having a purpose – a big, vital goal – to pursue is essential to a fulfilling life. The fact is almost everyone already has goals. Unfortunately, as Tony Robbins likes to say, "they're mostly impotent." Weak goals like "make it to the end of the month" or, "get to happy hour after work" won't keep you inspired. It also helps to think of goals as "intelligence in action." We arrive at that definition by assessing the definition...
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It's not about the Marathon!
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
"You don't need to eat a piece of cake after you run 5 miles." Studies on habit development support the idea that self-efficacy – the ability to produce the desired result – is rewarding. By following P.A.R.R., (Plan, Act, Record & Reassess), The Habit Factor's method for habit development, users experience self-efficacy, often. Of course, the opposite is true. If a user does not follow through on their habit tracking plan they will be unhappy. Hence, the method encourages users start with low tracking parameters. By creating a habit plan, and then acting on that plan, you...
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Discipline is a Habit
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
"Discipline is a habit. Nobody is born disciplined." Too often, people say, "I'm just not disciplined enough." The truth is that nobody is born disciplined. Discipline is a habit that can and should be cultivated. Following The Habit Factor's simplified method for habit development, P.A.R.R., anyone can improve their discipline more quickly. A key aspect of P.A.R.R. is that it cultivates habitstrength. Just by tracking your habits and following P.A.R.R., you will improve your discipline. The key is to follow P.A.R.R. and begin with small "targets." Over time, you'll be eager to track...
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Killing Negative Habits
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
"A nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit. ~Desiderius Erasmus Visit: https://everythingastory.com "EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY" a recent #1 Amazon Hot New Release! When it comes to mastering your habits, knowing how to eliminate bad habits is essential. In Season 6, "," covered a few ways to kill negative habits. In this episode, MG reviews the critical importance of replacement as a core strategy for habit elimination. The listener is challenged to focus on developing a positive habit that will replace the negative one. "You should...
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Intentional Practice
Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg
"Isn't all practice intentional?" Visit: https://everythingastory.com "EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY" a recent #1 Amazon Hot New Release. EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY debuts as a "prequel" and completes a "trilogy" MG never knew existed. Martin began writing The Habit Factor® shortly before 2005; it was published in 2010. Then, in 2015, The Pressure Paradox™ was published. EVERYTHING culminates nearly 20 years of deliberation, collaboration, and meditation, all in the pursuit of deconstructing human behavior for the purposes of goal attainment. In this episode, MG shares...
info_outline"You can recognize truth by its beauty and simplicity."
~Dr. Richard Feynman
“I am lazy and anti-authoritarian. I have a short attention span, a shorter memory, and no intellect. I am devoid of marketable skills and I despise routine. I have never held a job for longer than two months and, in the entire history of the United States government, I am one of five people (at most) to have been fired from a civil service job. Fortunately, these are ideal qualifications for an
entrepreneur. ” Fred Gratzon
It seems as though Fred Gratzon has lived several amazing lives. Ask him how it's happened and to where the credit ought to go, he's quick to reference one thing; Transcendental Meditation.
In 1979 with no money, no business experience, and no knowledge whatsoever of how to make ice cream Fred founded, The Great Midwestern Ice Cream Company. 1984, it was judged by People Magazine as “the best ice cream in America”.
Fred had signed a non-compete clause with the investors of Great Midwestern Ice Cream which forbade him from working in the ice cream industry.
So again with no money and no knowledge or experience in anything else, Fred started Telegroup in a spare room of his house. He simply wanted to support his family (wife and one-year old son) while he thought of what to do with the rest of his life.
Over the next nine years, what started as a simple, one-man operation grew to become a global telecommunications company withw1100 employees, 250,000 customers, and over $300 million in annual sales. Fred took Telegroup public in 1997.
In this entertaining interview MG and Fred go deeper— much deeper. Covering many of the foundational principles — the physics— involved in the "Lazy Way to Success" as well as "success" itself which Fred defines as a "process". They discuss money, habits and even competitive athletics.
The lazyway.net website warns its visitors "This is not a joke!" The Lazy Way to Success really is no joke and as you'll hear there are some very important ideas to understand.
"If there's a choice between eating and meditating I'm going to meditate. It's that important to me." Fred Gratzon
Enjoy the show!
Note: Apologies on the occasional sound quality issues... some guests have better mics than others. ; ) Fred and his insights are brilliant and are worth a listen or three!
Fred's Favorite Books:
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad‑gita: A New Translation
Other: Episode resources:
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Resources mentioned in the show:
The Habit Factor®
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More Resources
(FREE! The Habit Factor's Tracking Template)
The Habit Factor® (website: BLOG, tips, tools and other resources)
The Habit Factor® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Pressure Paradox® Book (Amazon Kindle)
The Habit Factor app (iOS, Android)
The Habit Factor's Facebook (Private) Accountability Group