I just got back from New York, and went to a really cool event. It was a one day event hosted by Dan Meredith, Ryan Lee, and Ben Settle. I really got a lot out of this event because where I’m at right now is…kind of personal life rut, I guess you would call it. That’s part of the reason why I started this podcast too, sometimes we get complacent. One of my business coaches called it, we get in a happy little rut where things are going good, you have things kind of figured out, but then you’re still trying to figure out what you want to do next or how you want to improve…things like that.

This weekend I was all about business and improving myself, and I really got a lot out of it by, basically, talking to people, and being more out there. A lot of times I’ll go to these events, do my stuff and then I go implement. I really don’t spend a lot of time talking to people I don’t know. I made it a personal mission this weekend to talk to complete strangers at this event. There were probably…I think there were a hundred people there.

I tried to talk to as many people as I could at the event during breaks and at the reception afterwards. Just talking and getting to understand where they’re at in their business, things they’re doing that I’m maybe not doing, and things that I’m doing that maybe they’re not doing.

At the end of it I was really happy with where I’m at. I’m doing the things I need to do to get better. It’s a marathon and not a sprint. When you go to events like this and you meet people, I recommend going out there, talking to people, and figuring out what they’re doing that you’re not doing, or somebody is doing better than you obviously. Try to talk to people that are running the events and see what they’re doing to achieve the success they’re doing. Even if it’s at your job, and you’re not an entrepreneur. Who’s the top sales guy? Who’s the top whatever? See what they’re doing and emulate that. The big thing I got out of this weekend is a quote that I actually shared on my Facebook this weekend, “The person you’ll be in five years is based on the books you read and the people you surround yourself with today.

I really believe that in 2016 I made it a big mission to improve myself; and personal development wise, I started reading a lot more books that I hadn’t read in a long time, listened to a lot more podcasts, and I don’t watch the news. If it’s drama I just cut it out of my life. I’ve had to unfollow so many people on Facebook because right or wrong everybody has got a negative opinion. I don’t want to listen to it, and I don’t have time for it. I get sucked into it and then you end up talking about people instead of talking about things you want to accomplish, things you want to do.

Really think about that. The next five years, where do you want to be? We talked about that earlier, in a previous podcast, about goals and dreams, things like that. Where do you want to be in five years? Where do you want to be? Where do you want to be at this point? Okay, well, how do I get there? Who’s where I want to be so I can see their plan and what they did.

Half the time if you contact them they’ll tell you how they did it, what they did. Successful people, I’ve learned, are willing to share what they did to get to where they’re at. To me, that’s awesome. You can find all the motivation you want in the world, it’s all out there.

Don’t be afraid to talk with people and listening to books on audio books. Listen to books if you don’t have time to read in the car. You don’t have to listen to the radio, listen to audio books, or listen to podcasts.

There’s something about just reading a book, an actual physical book, it just sticks. You retain more. I know I get a lot more out of it. I started doing that with audio books. I’ll listen to an audio book, and then I’ll write down my own summary in a little notepad so that way I can always go back, review my summary, add to it, things like that so it sticks.

Write things down, just like with our goals. Put it on paper, write it down…it’s just so much different then just thinking about it or even typing it in your phone. Physically write it down in a journal. If you’re not journaling, start journaling now. Just think about that.

Where do you want to be in five years. Even for me, I’ve had a hard time figuring out what I want to do next. What my next evolution is. I’m getting more clear on my direction of what I want to do and who I want to be. I’m really having a lot of fun, more than I thought I would have, just getting out, experiencing, talking to people, and just doing the things that I used to get a little uncomfortable with. If I know you, I’m pretty social, but if I don’t know, I kind of keep to myself.

I’m trying to break out of that shell and talk to people, ask questions, learn more, and get better. Just like we said, keep improving and building momentum. Build momentum in every area of your life. That’s my goal this year, for 2017. I’m excited to look back at the end of the year, see what I’ve accomplished and the people whose lives I’ve impacted have accomplished since I’ve started doing the podcast and the Momentum Monday with the Paul group on Facebook.

I’ve gotten so many messages from people I hadn’t spoken to in years, or people that I know. They don’t want to post it on social media and public. That’s fine, but it’s like I’ve gotten so many messages about how this helped a lot or I really liked that tip or that was really cool. To me, that was awesome. To be able to impact people is something I really like and I’ve really enjoyed. Get out there and just get after it. This is Paul with Momentum Monday. I hope you enjoy this episode. Please make sure to share it, also make sure to subscribe, and have a great week. Get out there and keep getting it done!