Do you have a method in place to make sure that you accomplish everything that you want to get done? Is there a reliable system to guarantee that you are accomplishing what you set out to, thereby making progress on the big goals in your life? Or do you find that you get stuck on meaningless activities, on a human hamster-wheel, constantly working but rarely making progress?

Michael Sandler knows a thing or two about getting things done. He’s the host of one of the top ranked self-help podcasts in iTunes, Inspire Nation, has completed a 5,000 mile, 40 day, solo, unsupported bike ride across the country, was a successful businessman, became a leading barefoot running coach, and so much more. He’s mastered the ability to see a goal through to fulfillment, and he’s paid careful attention along the way to the things that have allowed him to see such success.

This episode of The James Swanwick Show is all about how to put processes into place that, over time, allow you to accomplish incredible things. Michael talks about techniques to skip intermediate steps on the way to success, essentially jumping to the top rung of the ladder. We get into Michael’s 5-step method to accelerate success, how to build tasks into a brainless system that help get them done without you even thinking about it, and how looking at time as blocks and putting the most important thing you have to do into the very next available block can help you be productive even through an unpredictable schedule.

But one of the most poignant moments of the show comes when Michael makes the statement that “fear has never killed anyone. What kills you is knowing that you didn’t go for it.” And you can see that Michael truly lives his life this way. Being afraid is not a problem. The problem is in allowing fear to hold you back from really going for what you want to accomplish in this life. Don’t be someone who looks back on their life with regret about the things that they didn’t even attempt to accomplish. Give it a shot! Take the initial first steps, and use Michael’s 5-step method to make progress on your dreams.

So listen up and pay attention to this episode, in order to learn how to accomplish more faster, to not get burnt out, to work harder and smarter than everyone, and to ultimately accomplish your goals and live the life that you want on this episode of the James Swanwick Show!

“Don’t climb the ladder, jump to the top rung.” - Michael Sandler

(click to tweet)

Notes on the Show:

• You don’t always have to start from the bottom of something. Look at what the people at the top are doing, and emulate them to skip intermediate steps

• When we truly believe that we can be the best, we will not only practice, but we will visualize. This process of believing and visualize is extremely powerful in accomplishing goals

• Be fearless in taking steps toward your goal. They don’t have to be big steps, but they need to be headed the right direction

• Take a small step toward what you have to do (something like putting it in your calendar) to make sure that it actually happens

• Taking action will often help you to adjust your vision for where you want to go and how you want to get there

• When there is an obstacle in front of you, before you try to overcome it, take a second and try to understand why it’s there and if it means you should course-correct

• You must be aligned personally with the work you are doing. Otherwise, you will get burned out on it

• Build the things that you must get done into a brainless system

• Look at your time as blocks of time. Then make a commitment to grab the first block that becomes available to get the stuff that you have to do done

5 Ways to Accelerate Your Success

1. Write it down. Don’t underestimate the power of journaling as if it has already happened. Burn this visualization into your brain, including all the details, with a lot of emotion

2. Initiate. Get started!

3. Take small baby steps at the beginning, which eventually start to turn into larger steps

4. Have a plan. Know where you want to go. Have a goal in mind, and adjust your sails as you go

5. Work harder and smarter than anyone else. Put in the time and effort.

“Fear has never killed anyone. What kills you is knowing that you didn’t go for it.” - Michael Sandler

(click to tweet)

Resources:

InspireNationShow.com

Inspire Nation Show on iTunes

Barefoot Running

Mindful Running

Full Show Notes: JamesSwanwick.com/124

“You are your own walking billboard. If you want to make a good impression, take care of your appearance.” - Andy Hnilo

(click to tweet)

Do you take care of your skin? Do you exfoliate on a regular basis? Do you use a good, nutrient dense mask? Do you even know what any of this means? Maybe you think that skin care is for women and ‘girly’ men, and that you’re too tough and badass to use any of that. If that’s you, pay attention to this episode of the James Swanwick Show, because our guest today, Andy Hnilo is here to change your mind.

Women understand that the way you feel about yourself and how you look affects your performance and how your personality comes across to others in dramatic ways. While this fact is often lost on men, the truth is that when your skin is vibrant with life you not only look better, but you feel and perform better. You’re at your optimal best, and that state of performance and vibrance is worth striving to attain.

But if you’re convinced about skin care already, don’t go to the drug store and start grabbing the first skin care products you find! Throughout this episode, Andy Hnilo will walk you through the potholes of finding a healthy, natural product to put on your skin. One that will not be leaking chemicals and synthetic materials into your bloodstream through your skin, but that will bring you all the benefits of all-natural, earthy, healthy ingredients.

So try it! After you listen to this episode, pick up some of Andy’s Alitura skin care products, and give it a shot, especially if you never have before! You may just find your mind clearing, your vibrancy returning, and even your perspective on life improving as you feel better about yourself every day!

“When you put things on our skin, it’s escorted into our bloodstream even faster than if you eat it. Don’t put things on your skin you wouldn’t eat.” - Andy Hnilo

(click to tweet)

Notes on the Show:

• You’re your own biggest billboard. Make a good visible impression

• Your appearance, and how you feel about yourself, can have an effect in the way you act, and how good the impression you make on others is

• Exfoliate, nourish, and moisturize

• Exfoliate: Acure Facial Scrub

• Nourish: Use a good, nutrient dense mask: Alitura Clay Mask

• Moisturizer: The Alitura Moisturizer

• When products start getting into 20-30 ingredients, the likelihood of synthetic materials being part of it goes up

Resources:

AlituraNaturals.com

Acure Facial Scrub

Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast

Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Liquid Soap

For full shownotes, go to: JamesSwanwick.com/Podcast/Andy-Hnilo

“You are your own walking billboard. If you want to make a good impression, take care of your appearance.” - Andy Hnilo

(click to tweet)

Do you take care of your skin? Do you exfoliate on a regular basis? Do you use a good, nutrient dense mask? Do you even know what any of this means? Maybe you think that skin care is for women and ‘girly’ men, and that you’re too tough and badass to use any of that. If that’s you, pay attention to this episode of the James Swanwick Show, because our guest today, Andy Hnilo is here to change your mind.

Women understand that the way you feel about yourself and how you look affects your performance and how your personality comes across to others in dramatic ways. While this fact is often lost on men, the truth is that when your skin is vibrant with life you not only look better, but you feel and perform better. You’re at your optimal best, and that state of performance and vibrance is worth striving to attain.

But if you’re convinced about skin care already, don’t go to the drug store and start grabbing the first skin care products you find! Throughout this episode, Andy Hnilo will walk you through the potholes of finding a healthy, natural product to put on your skin. One that will not be leaking chemicals and synthetic materials into your bloodstream through your skin, but that will bring you all the benefits of all-natural, earthy, healthy ingredients.

So try it! After you listen to this episode, pick up some of Andy’s Alitura skin care products, and give it a shot, especially if you never have before! You may just find your mind clearing, your vibrancy returning, and even your perspective on life improving as you feel better about yourself every day!

“When you put things on our skin, it’s escorted into our bloodstream even faster than if you eat it. Don’t put things on your skin you wouldn’t eat.” - Andy Hnilo

(click to tweet)

Notes on the Show:

• You’re your own biggest billboard. Make a good visible impression

• Your appearance, and how you feel about yourself, can have an effect in the way you act, and how good the impression you make on others is

• Exfoliate, nourish, and moisturize

• Exfoliate: Acure Facial Scrub

• Nourish: Use a good, nutrient dense mask: Alitura Clay Mask

• Moisturizer: The Alitura Moisturizer

• When products start getting into 20-30 ingredients, the likelihood of synthetic materials being part of it goes up

Resources:

AlituraNaturals.com

Acure Facial Scrub

Ben Greenfield Fitness Podcast

Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Liquid Soap

For full shownotes, go to: JamesSwanwick.com/Podcast/Andy-Hnilo

Checkout James Swanwick's People Skills Course!

“Relationships are at the core of everything you want in life.”– Keith Ferrazzi

Relationships are at the core of everything you want in the life. Regardless of what your goals in life are, there are people in your life who will be instrumental in helping you achieve those goals. So how do you connect with those people? Who do you continually meet new people, and continue to deepen already existing relationships? In this interview, James gets to the 10 most important tips to keep in mind as you work on building your network. So sit up and take notes, because embracing these ten points will change the course of your future. Get ready to learn and implement!

Keith Ferrazzi’s Top 10 Tips for Connecting with People

1. Always ask: “How can I help?”

2. Always ask “Who?” – Who are the most important people to your life-success in the coming year

3. Do your homework: Research and know the person before you reach out to them

4. Never look back and say, “What if.” Never say “Woulda, coulda, shoulda.” Step up do the thing that scares you

5. Always be working on improving one hard skill and one soft skill

6. Build your own faculty for learning. Find out who the people are that can teach you those skill that you are constantly working on

7. Find people who are your lifeline. Must include these four characteristics: Intimacy, candidacy, candor, accountability

8. Embrace candor in your life. Make it safe for people to give you feedback, and also for you to give feedback by wrapping your feedback in honesty, understanding, and compassion

9. Spend time and effort building your personal brand

10. Making serving a habit in your life

Resources:

KeithFerrazzi.com

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

James Swanwick's People Skills Course

“If you’re doing the things you want to do, people will hone in on that energy, and you’ll attract the right relationships into your life.” - Dr. Michael Friedman

(click to tweet)

Are you the sort of person who is constantly looking to better yourself? The kind of person with boundless energy for improvement, who wants and plans to do really big things in the world? Will you stop at nothing to accomplish your goals? And one last question: Do you really think that spending the weekend hungover is helping you get there?

Today’s guest on the James Swanwick show is Dr. Michael Friedman. Dr. Friedman is a clinical psychologist, and today’s show is all about how that drinking habit of yours, which may be no major problem, might not be helping you in any way, and may in fact be hampering your success in more significant ways than you realize.

One of the most powerful tools that Dr. Friedman recommends is what he calls “motivational interviewing.” This process consists of laying out, in a very honest fashion, the pros and cons of drinking. And, as Dr. Friedman points out, it is essential that the pros be adequately represented - as there are in fact pros to drinking! Things like being less inhibited, feeling more accepted by groups, and other aspects, should be considered real and significant pros! But then reposition and look with equal honest at the cons, because when the cons of drinking are approaching with this level of honesty, most will find that alcohol is indeed a net loss for them in their life.

This episode is all about the importance of taking a careful inventory of yourself and your relationship with alcohol. Ask yourself why you’re drinking, and choosing to get drunk. For most people, the answer is that they want to be more sociable, and maybe even find a mate. But consider the absurdness of this plan! To think that you will be able to attract and cultivate better relationships, whether romantic or platonic, in a state of drunken stupor is ludicrous!

So prepare to be enlightened about alcohol in society! Dr. Michael Friedman will help you understand when it does and does not make sense for you specifically, and how you can really start to take control of this area of your life. All of this, of course, leading you to a better, healthier and happier life, on this episode of the James Swanwick Show!

“One of the dangerous things about moderate drinking is that you can end up being dependent on it in a very subtle way.” Dr. Michael Friedman

(click to tweet)

Notes on the Show

• Alcohol might not be a major evil force in your life. But is it helping you in any way?
• Motivational interviewing is the process of asking yourself honestly: What are the pros and cons of drinking?
• When doing the motivational interview, don’t hold back about the pros - because there are pros!
• But also be honest about the cons 
• Ask yourself: How much drinking should you do to get all the pros, while limiting the cons?
• That number (number of drinks), which may be zero, is what you should shoot for
• Calculate the cost of drinking, including more than alcohol, such as taxi’s, binge eating, etc…
• Experiment on yourself, and document the results, to really understand what is working
• Ask yourself: What is your purpose in going out? Then ask yourself if alcohol is truly helping you accomplish that purpose
• If you’re spending time around people who are not supportive of you trying to be your best self and continually improve, maybe it’s time to get around other people
• Moderate drinking can be harmful in a sneaky way: When you use alcohol as a crutch to help you relax or be social, over time you can’t accomplish it without alcohol, and then you’re dependent
• Choose to spend your time with people who are like what you want to become

Jame’s Method to Get Unstuck: Ask Yourself...

• How - am I going to get out of this situation?
• What - am I going to do?
• Who - am I going to get to help me?
• When - am I going to do it?

“The best way to convince anyone to do anything is to be the best example yourself.” - James Swanwick

(click to tweet)

Resources Mentioned:

30daynoalcoholchallenge.com

James Swanwick’s Interview on Brick by Brick

Learn More About Dr. Michael Friedman:

MichaelFriedmanPhd.com

Psychology Today Blog: Brick by Brick by Dr. Michael Friedman

Full show notes available at: http://jamesswanwick.com/podcast/michael-friedman

“If you’re doing the things you want to do, people will hone in on that energy, and you’ll attract the right relationships into your life.” - Dr. Michael Friedman

(click to tweet)

Are you the sort of person who is constantly looking to better yourself? The kind of person with boundless energy for improvement, who wants and plans to do really big things in the world? Will you stop at nothing to accomplish your goals? And one last question: Do you really think that spending the weekend hungover is helping you get there?

Today’s guest on the James Swanwick show is Dr. Michael Friedman. Dr. Friedman is a clinical psychologist, and today’s show is all about how that drinking habit of yours, which may be no major problem, might not be helping you in any way, and may in fact be hampering your success in more significant ways than you realize.

One of the most powerful tools that Dr. Friedman recommends is what he calls “motivational interviewing.” This process consists of laying out, in a very honest fashion, the pros and cons of drinking. And, as Dr. Friedman points out, it is essential that the pros be adequately represented - as there are in fact pros to drinking! Things like being less inhibited, feeling more accepted by groups, and other aspects, should be considered real and significant pros! But then reposition and look with equal honest at the cons, because when the cons of drinking are approaching with this level of honesty, most will find that alcohol is indeed a net loss for them in their life.

This episode is all about the importance of taking a careful inventory of yourself and your relationship with alcohol. Ask yourself why you’re drinking, and choosing to get drunk. For most people, the answer is that they want to be more sociable, and maybe even find a mate. But consider the absurdness of this plan! To think that you will be able to attract and cultivate better relationships, whether romantic or platonic, in a state of drunken stupor is ludicrous!

So prepare to be enlightened about alcohol in society! Dr. Michael Friedman will help you understand when it does and does not make sense for you specifically, and how you can really start to take control of this area of your life. All of this, of course, leading you to a better, healthier and happier life, on this episode of the James Swanwick Show!

“One of the dangerous things about moderate drinking is that you can end up being dependent on it in a very subtle way.” Dr. Michael Friedman

(click to tweet)

Notes on the Show

• Alcohol might not be a major evil force in your life. But is it helping you in any way?
• Motivational interviewing is the process of asking yourself honestly: What are the pros and cons of drinking?
• When doing the motivational interview, don’t hold back about the pros - because there are pros!
• But also be honest about the cons 
• Ask yourself: How much drinking should you do to get all the pros, while limiting the cons?
• That number (number of drinks), which may be zero, is what you should shoot for
• Calculate the cost of drinking, including more than alcohol, such as taxi’s, binge eating, etc…
• Experiment on yourself, and document the results, to really understand what is working
• Ask yourself: What is your purpose in going out? Then ask yourself if alcohol is truly helping you accomplish that purpose
• If you’re spending time around people who are not supportive of you trying to be your best self and continually improve, maybe it’s time to get around other people
• Moderate drinking can be harmful in a sneaky way: When you use alcohol as a crutch to help you relax or be social, over time you can’t accomplish it without alcohol, and then you’re dependent
• Choose to spend your time with people who are like what you want to become

Jame’s Method to Get Unstuck: Ask Yourself...

• How - am I going to get out of this situation?
• What - am I going to do?
• Who - am I going to get to help me?
• When - am I going to do it?

“The best way to convince anyone to do anything is to be the best example yourself.” - James Swanwick

(click to tweet)

Resources Mentioned:

30daynoalcoholchallenge.com

James Swanwick’s Interview on Brick by Brick

Learn More About Dr. Michael Friedman:

MichaelFriedmanPhd.com

Psychology Today Blog: Brick by Brick by Dr. Michael Friedman

Full show notes available at: http://jamesswanwick.com/podcast/michael-friedman