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Don’t Prepare for Everything, Prepare for What’s Next

Shark Theory

Release Date: 12/11/2025

Stop Discounting Your Worth show art Stop Discounting Your Worth

Shark Theory

Sometimes nothing about you changes. The only thing that changes is where you are. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor uses a simple travel habit to unpack a powerful lesson about self-worth. Every time he travels internationally, he checks exchange rates. The same dollar that leaves the United States suddenly becomes more valuable the moment he lands somewhere else. Nothing about the dollar changes. The location does. That idea becomes the framework for a deeper conversation about feeling undervalued in life, work, and relationships. If you feel unseen or underappreciated, it...

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Why Finishing One Thing Changes Everything show art Why Finishing One Thing Changes Everything

Shark Theory

Being busy feels productive. Completion actually is. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor breaks down a word that’s shaping his entire year: completion. Not hustle. Not multitasking. Not being busy. Actually finishing things. We live in a culture that rewards motion more than results. Full calendars. Long to-do lists. Constant activity. But Baylor challenges the idea that busy equals productive and calls out one of the most dangerous traps we fall into: almost. Almost replied. Almost finished. Almost followed through. Almost feels like progress, but it produces nothing. Baylor...

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Mental Medals Nobody Can Take From You show art Mental Medals Nobody Can Take From You

Shark Theory

Sometimes the wins that matter most are the ones nobody else understands. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor shares a personal win that might seem small to the outside world but meant everything to him. Two weeks into learning piano, he earned an official music certificate that normally takes three to four months to achieve. And even with advanced degrees and professional accolades behind him, this moment hit different. Why? Because it was hard. It mattered. And it was something he did purely for himself. Baylor breaks down why personal pride is one of the most overlooked...

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Stop Watching Life and Start Living It show art Stop Watching Life and Start Living It

Shark Theory

If you’re not careful, you can spend your entire life consuming screens instead of actually living your own story. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor tackles a reality that should stop all of us in our tracks. We wake up staring at a phone. We work staring at a computer. We relax staring at a TV. Then we fall asleep staring at our phone again. Day after day. Screen after screen. And the danger isn’t technology itself. The danger is losing control of your attention, your thoughts, and ultimately your life. Baylor breaks down how easy it is to become a spectator in your own...

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Purposeful Steps Win Every Time show art Purposeful Steps Win Every Time

Shark Theory

Sometimes the advantage you need isn’t more strength, more size, or more effort. It’s knowing how to use what you already have. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor shares an unexpected lesson from a massage experience that turned into a powerful reminder about leverage, mastery, and intentional action. At first glance, the situation didn’t make sense. A bigger body, a smaller masseuse, and a request for deep pressure. By all appearances, the odds didn’t line up. But what followed was one of the most precise and effective massages Baylor had ever experienced. Not because...

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Mental Grip Strength: How Winners Stay in the Game show art Mental Grip Strength: How Winners Stay in the Game

Shark Theory

Most people don’t fail because they’re incapable. They fail because they let go too early. Today is Quitters Day. Here’s why it matters and why you’re still in this. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor breaks down National Quitters Day, the second Friday of the year, when motivation collapses for the majority of people. By today, nearly 80 percent of people have already abandoned their New Year’s resolutions. About 29 percent quit specifically on this day alone. The adrenaline is gone. The dopamine rush of “new year, new me” has faded. And most people quietly slip...

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The Mile That Changed Everything show art The Mile That Changed Everything

Shark Theory

Sometimes the breakthrough you’re looking for doesn’t come from more discipline. It comes from who you’re willing to run with. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor shares an unexpected lesson that came from an impromptu run with his dog, Bear. What started as a normal run quickly turned into the fastest mile he’s run in years, beating his previous time by over a minute. The surprising part wasn’t just the speed. It was how it happened. Running alongside someone who made it look effortless changed everything. While Baylor was pushing his limits, Bear was relaxed,...

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Give Yourself Permission to Be New show art Give Yourself Permission to Be New

Shark Theory

Growth doesn’t always come from doing more of what you’re already good at. Sometimes it comes from being willing to be new again. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor challenges the way most people approach goals and asks a simple but powerful question. What are you doing in 2026 that is actually new? We spend so much time trying to optimize, refine, and improve the things we already do that we forget the energy that comes from starting something completely different. For Baylor, that new thing is learning piano, a goal he has talked about for years but finally decided to act...

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Don’t Chase Goals You Don’t Care About show art Don’t Chase Goals You Don’t Care About

Shark Theory

Quitting isn’t the real danger. The real danger is chasing a goal you don’t actually want. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor shares a candid realization from his Ironman training that sparked a deeper conversation about goals, passion, and honesty with yourself. While training for an upcoming Ironman race in March, Baylor found himself asking a simple but uncomfortable question. Why am I doing this race? The answer surprised him. There was no emotional connection. No deeper meaning. It was simply the first Ironman offered in Dallas, and he signed up caught up in the...

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Champions Don’t Panic in Defeat show art Champions Don’t Panic in Defeat

Shark Theory

Winning is easy to celebrate. Losing is where character shows up. How you handle defeat determines whether you are a contender or just passing time. Show Notes In this episode of Shark Theory, Baylor dives into a moment from the college football playoffs that had nothing to do with a win and everything to do with mindset. After Ole Miss upset Georgia, Baylor noticed something powerful in the postgame moment. Kirby Smart, head coach of the losing team, did not sulk, blame, or deflect. Instead, he walked over, smiled, and genuinely congratulated the opposing coach. That moment revealed what real...

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More Episodes

When you try to prepare for every possible scenario, you don’t become more effective. You just become slower. Progress requires clarity, not clutter.

Show Notes — Don’t Prepare for Everything, Prepare for What’s Next
In this episode, Baylor revisits a story from Extreme Ownership about Navy SEALs who weighed themselves down by over-preparing for a mission. They were trying to be ready for everything, but the extra load only slowed them down.

Baylor breaks down why the same thing happens in real life. People think they’re being strategic, but they’re really hiding behind preparation as a socially acceptable form of procrastination. Whether it’s a business plan rewritten a hundred times or a life goal waiting for the perfect moment, the cost of inaction is almost always higher than the cost of taking the first step.

He challenges listeners to carry only what is needed for the next level, not for every possible scenario. Level ten tools don’t matter when you’re still on level one. As you grow, you can retool. As you evolve, you can reassess. But momentum requires movement.

This episode reframes overthinking as dead weight and encourages you to step into 2026 lighter, faster, and more focused on action than imagined obstacles.

What You’ll Learn
Why over-preparing slows progress
How preparation becomes a disguised form of fear
The importance of knowing only what you need for the next step
Why you shouldn’t solve tomorrow’s problems today
How to identify the things weighing you down
Why adapting as you go beats trying to prepare for every outcome

Featured Quote
“The cost of inaction is almost always higher than the cost of taking action.”