Story time with Keith Kalfas

Today’s episode will be a bit different. This is a trendy thing. A lot of people liked it when I would read books. I called it “Story time with Keith.” And I haven't done it in a long time. And here we are; I'm going to be reading about fear setting and escaping paralysis. If you have analysis paralysis and are paralyzed by fear, this is for you. It may not be apparent to you, but this could change your life. This is such a great piece that I just felt my heart calling me to share it with you. It might inspire you to take the leap of faith and take action to do something you've been procrastinating and putting off in your life. So come along with me as I share this powerful book called "Tools of Titans."

"A person's success in life and I'm going to circle on this can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have resolved to do one thing every day that you fear."

Why do you have to listen to today's episode.

5:40 - “These days, he often sees his former self, and the underemployed and overworked professionals. He takes out on the waves, waiting for the swell, and the true emotions come out. “God, I wish I could do what you do.” His reply is always the same. You can.”

It proves that fear has no place in the pursuit of your dreams. A person can only overcome their fears by facing them head-on.

12:35 - “Then a funny thing happened in my undying quest to make myself miserable. I accidentally began to backpedal. As soon as I cut through the vague unease and ambiguous anxiety by defining my nightmare, the worst-case scenario, I wasn't as worried about taking a trip; suddenly, I started thinking of simple steps I could do to salvage my remaining resources and get back on track.”

In times of trial, fear can help you understand what you should do with your life.

13:19 - “I realized that it wouldn't be that hard to get back to where I was, let alone survive. None of these things would be fatal, not even close to mere panty pinches on life's journey.”

This only proved that in the event of a failure, getting back to the starting point would not be a problem.

14:43 - “I started planning my adventures and eliminating my physical and psychological baggage.”

You need to start planning your life. Don't hold on to your emotional baggage. There is no point in trying to fix your problems this way.

There are a few questions the author has for you. Answer the questions honestly and wholeheartedly using a pen and paper. Reading your answers afterward allows you to understand them and uncover what is hindering you in achieving your goals...

15:36 - Number One “ To find your nightmare. What's the absolute worst that could happen? If you did what you were considering? What doubts, fears, and what ifs would pop up? As you consider the big changes? You can or need to make envision them in painstaking detail. Would it be the end of your life? What would be the permanent impact? If any, on a scale of one to 10? Are these things really permanent? How likely do you think it is that they would actually happen?”

15:59 - Number two “What steps could you take to repair the damage? Or get the things back on the upswing? Even if temporarily? Chances are, it's easier than you imagine?”

16:16 - Number three “What are the outcomes or benefits? Both temporary and permanent? Have more probable scenarios? Now that you've defined the nightmare? What are the more probable or definite positive outcomes? Whether internal confidence, self-esteem, etc.? or external? What would be the impact of these more likely outcomes? What would they be on a scale of one to 10? How likely is it that you could produce at least a moderately good outcome? Have less intelligent people done this before and pulled it off?”

16:45 - Number four -“If you were fired from your job today? What would you do to get things under financial control? Imagine the scenario and run questions one through three above. If you quit your job to test other options, how could you get back on the same career check if you absolutely had to?”

16:59 - Number five “if you were putting it off out of fear, what are you putting off out of fear? Usually, what we fear most doing is what we most need to do, define the worst case, accept it and do it.”

18:36 - Number six “What does it cost? You don't only evaluate the potential downside of action. It is equally important to measure the atrocious cost of inaction if you don't pursue those things that excite you. Where will you be in one year, five, and ten years? How will you feel having allowed circumstance to impose itself upon you and having allowed ten more years of your finite life to pass, doing what you know will not fulfill you? If you telescope out ten years and know with 100% certainty that it is the path of disappointment and regret. And if we define risk as the likelihood of an irreversible negative outcome, action is the greatest risk of all.”

19:15 - Number seven “What are you waiting for? If you cannot answer this without resorting to the BS concept of good timing? The answer is simple. You're afraid, just like the rest of the world, to measure the cost of inaction, realize the unlikelihood and repairability of most missteps and develop the most important habit of those who excel in the joy of doing so action.”

Key Takeaways

“I repeat something you might consider tattooing on your forehead. What we fear doing most is actually what we most need to do. As I have heard said, a person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”

“And there's a saying that I love, where you'll be in five years is directly proportional to the people you associate with, the books that you read, and the uncomfortable conversations that you're willing to have.”

“A person's success in life, and I'm going to circle on this, can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have resolved to do one thing every day that you fear.”

Connect with Keith

Resources/People Mentioned:

My Podcast Page: The UNTRAPPED Podcast

James Clear: Atomic Habits

Greg McKeown: Essentialism

Tim Ferris: Tools of Titans

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