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4 Principles to Build Lasting Change in your Business and Life
99 Plays2 months ago
Want to actually make big changes in 2026? Then you need to listen to this podcast. Most New Year’s resolutions fail because they’re built on motivation instead of discipline. You start strong in January, fade by March, and end up right back where you started. That yo-yo cycle doesn’t build real momentum in business, fitness, or life. In this episode, Brent breaks down four principles that help contractors and entrepreneurs create permanent progress, not short-term hype, in business and in life.
#ContractorLeadership #BusinessDiscipline #EntrepreneurMindset #LeadershipDevelopment #BusinessGrowth #NonNegotiables #DisciplineOverMotivation #DailyExecution #FocusAndExecute #TakeAction #TheBetterContractor #Business #Entrepreneur
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Transcript
Overcoming the To-Do List Paralysis
00:00:00
Speaker
the paralysis of having this huge list of things to do. They're not moving the ball forward because they just feel like they're drowning. But the reality is there's so much of that little, that stuff that is just small things that if you just deal with it right now, then you've opened up yourself. You've opened up your mind to be able to tackle the bigger stuff.
00:00:19
Speaker
So guys, every time you delay something, you know, you need to do you're also weakening your personal discipline muscle. You're failing yourself and you know you are. Great leaders and high level performers will operate from this specific mindset, which is decide.
Making Resolutions Permanent
00:00:47
Speaker
Welcome back to another edition of the Better Contractor Podcast. So this is the first podcast of 2026 and also our 70th episode. So I started these exactly two years ago this month in 2024.
00:01:02
Speaker
So averaging around 35 a year, so not too bad for a newer podcast, but Should be doing more, but hey, this episode here, let's talk about a little bit about New Year's resolutions, but more specifically, let's talk about how to make those permanent and not necessarily a short-term resolution. So if you listen to me a few times or if you know me very well, I'm very much against yo-yoing, which is kind of what I call like the New Year's resolutions. You see these people maybe in the gym, you see these people, maybe you've been one, I've been one a couple of times, where you have these resolutions, you do them in January, February, March hits, and you're done.
00:01:39
Speaker
So that obviously does not create an ideal upward trajectory. So if you're serious about business, if you're serious about fitness, all the things we kind of preach on our podcast, if you yo-yo, it is very difficult to keep that trajectory moving upwards long-term. And that is the point of this podcast is we want to help you make that a lifestyle. not a new year's resolution that stops two or three months in, if even that long. So this episode is not about the resolutions. We're going to talk about four bigger things that you can do to take action and get long-term results.
00:02:14
Speaker
I'll kind of
The Four Crucial Actions: Non-negotiables, Distractions, Immediate Action, Discipline
00:02:15
Speaker
preview those. Number one, it is setting non-negotiables. Number two, it is removing distractions. Number three, it is acting immediately on problems. So take massive action quick.
00:02:26
Speaker
And the number four is building a disciplined muscle and not relying on motivation alone. So let's first look at the power of non-negotiables. So first we should define what a non-negotiable is.
00:02:38
Speaker
These are daily actions that directly move you towards your goals, things that you do all the time with no exceptions. Now, these need to be big ticket items, big things. These can't be very small things like brush your teeth and do all these those type. You know, that's obviously something you need to do.
00:02:54
Speaker
it shouldn't be a negotiable, but what I'm talking about here is big items. So things that, What I'm wanting you to do is think towards what is a big goal I have for a year from now, three years from now, five years from now, for yourself personally, for your business, whatever that is.
00:03:10
Speaker
And then the idea here is to break that down into monthly and then daily goals. that If you do these specific things and you keep doing them every single day, that reaches that goal in a year, in three years, in five years. And we'll go a little bit more into detail on this.
00:03:28
Speaker
So why do these matter? Number one, they build momentum. They create identity that you're someone who gets things done. And the reason that is important is that is what compounds into massive results. So if you think about this is just doing an analogy to the gym.
00:03:44
Speaker
So you go to the gym, you do it for two or three weeks. You don't really see any progress. That makes it difficult to keep showing up. Once you've done it for two, three, five, six months, all of a sudden you look in the mirror and you notice a change.
00:03:57
Speaker
So that is what I'm referring to when I say it creates identity of someone who's getting things done. Once you do that enough and you become known as that person, the same effect applies. You will want to do it more because it's becoming who you are.
00:04:11
Speaker
and And the goal here is to build that momentum and then make this a massive result for you. So what are some examples?
Breaking Down Large Goals into Daily Tasks
00:04:18
Speaker
So earlier I talked about five things you can do to kind of make, you know, this big picture item. And then you're basically breaking that down into incremental steps. So let's say I have a goal. Let's just do easy math. So you have a million dollar goal. You you want to increase your sales by a million, for example.
00:04:34
Speaker
And then let's say, so then you break that down into monthly. So you need to do, whatever that comes out to a little over a hundred thousand a month. And you can break that down by week and by day. So in order to achieve those things, what do you need?
00:04:49
Speaker
you need to make sales. What is that for your company? for For some companies that may be, you make one sale a day. Maybe that also means to get that one sale, you have to make 10 phone calls per day. That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. So it's stuff that moves you towards your big goal. So in that example, you're going to put down that I'm making 10 calls, cold calls, and then hoping that that equals one sale. And obviously you'll have to change your matrix your your metrics as it goes along. But that's what I'm getting at is it is a big picture item that moves you towards this much larger goal that you're trying to achieve. Maybe it's the gym, maybe it's fitness. That's the case. If you're wanting to cut fat and build a little muscle, you probably need to be going to the four or five times a week. You probably need to not have a cheat meal more than once a week, if at all.
00:05:33
Speaker
It needs to be doable, obviously, but it needs to be something that's big. And then what I recommend is at the end of each day, hopefully you're crossing all of those off. And if you're doing that, then you've technically won that day, which you'll hear me talk about a fair amount on the podcast. It's actually my email signature as well, because that's how I view it. If you can win today, if you can win tomorrow, if you win the week, the month, the year, you've technically won at the game of life. And you'll hear, um so I'm in a business group with Andy Frisella that he runs with Ed Milet called R&T Syndicate.
00:06:06
Speaker
And this is something that's been prevalent in there from the beginning, something he's preached as well. um And I'm sharing it because it
Prioritizing Non-negotiables and High-Value Tasks
00:06:13
Speaker
is what works. you know I've seen a lot of people like him, like myself, lot of entrepreneurs are doing something like this.
00:06:19
Speaker
And the reason it works, it's simple, but you have to achieve things and get things done and knock things off your list in order to move forward. So it seems almost elementary, but I'm telling you, a lot of people do not do it and they struggle with getting those big picture things done. So the non-negotiables is essential and the negotiables are small things. So what what I'm saying with the non-negotiables is those are the items that you're going to do first. So and I wouldn't make your list 30 things long for every day as too much is overwhelming.
00:06:49
Speaker
Your non-negotiables, I'm saying maybe five or six. It needs to be, and those need to be the things you do first. So however that looks for your day, if you work eight to five, whatever that is, I would knock out those non-negotiables first and then move on to more negotiable items or things that maybe can take you can take action on maybe the next day if you have to. But try to get through that list at the end of that day. Hopefully you've crossed off that those non-negotiables are done and you're adding the next step towards that big goal for the next day. I would recommend doing it that night.
00:07:22
Speaker
The next one, we talked about removing distractions and taking immediate action. So this one here is just kind of doing a self audit. Most people fail not because of lack of ability, but because they allow distractions to run their day.
00:07:35
Speaker
They don't focus on big picture items they move the ball forward and then that doesn't move the ball forward towards their ultimate goal. So if you think about that, what's something for almost everyone that we all have? It's phone.
00:07:46
Speaker
We scroll, we scroll, we scroll. Whether that's social media, whether that's constant notifications going off. I know on my phone now, i have the only notifications I have on are obviously phone calls and text.
00:07:58
Speaker
All our notifications are completely turned off because I don't want my phone constantly interrupting every time I start a task or a project. My brain is actually focused. I want us to stay focused because a lot of times what I've seen, if we allow all those distractions to just constantly inundate us,
00:08:14
Speaker
That 30 minutes
Improving Focus Through Self-Audit and Delegation
00:08:15
Speaker
project takes us an hour and a half because we just cannot and do not focus and our quality of work that we're putting out is simply not as good. Maybe that means we're also putting off emails. Maybe we're avoiding the tough conversations. We're overthinking.
00:08:28
Speaker
We're choosing busy busyness instead of productivity. Busyness instead of productivity, I see a lot of people doing that where they are just constantly stressed out which means to me they're not delegating they're not delegating things well enough they're choosing to do everything themselves and what i would challenge you on that one if you are someone who maybe well you guys need to define your worth i guess so most of you are probably entrepreneurs listening to this podcast which means you don't necessarily have a set hourly rate but you know about what it is let's just say for example it's 100 an hour 200 an hour something like that
00:09:03
Speaker
If you can, hi let's say it's 200. So if you can hire someone to do whatever task you're doing for 50, 60, 100, then you should be delegating that out so that you are focusing on those $200 an hour task or higher. That is going to get rid of that dizziness, the stuff that maybe is drowning you, drowning your your mindset, drowning your productivity, your creativity, and focusing you up on what really matters, which is the big picture and moving your entire team and culture towards those items.
00:09:33
Speaker
Another one I see a lot, distraction killers is, at least in my world, so we work inside of emails all the time. We deal with a lot of corporate clients, large corporate clients, and email is just that's just where we live.
00:09:48
Speaker
And the one thing I see a lot of people fail at is putting off emails and all of a sudden their inbox has 2000 and some odd emails, some of which are important, some of which are probably sales. So when you delay those, you're basically saying, i don't really care about your business um and and I'm not responding to you in a fast way. And guess what they do? There's someone else that's hungry for their business and they're doing it right now, which leads me to my next point.
Cultivating a Mindset of Immediate Action for Discipline
00:10:12
Speaker
of immediate action. Immediate action is key, guys. If it is something you can just do it now and not delay, then you need to do it right now. And I see so many people go out and want to put something on a to-do list that honestly could have taken them two minutes, a minute to do. You know, I'm big on because we live in our inbox um and then we have a custom software that we just created that has like a to-do list.
00:10:39
Speaker
If something pops in my mind or if it is something that I can immediately take action on, I try not to put it in that list. I try not to email it to someone or if it's a task or delegate, then I will email it. But my point is i don't delay it. You need to do it now. Take those little steps, knock that stuff off your list immediately.
00:10:56
Speaker
um Guys, that's going to help you a bunch. A lot of the people I know that get a lot done, they're removing information. Little, I'm trying to think how to describe it. So a lot of people like the paralysis of having this huge list of things to do.
00:11:12
Speaker
They're not moving the ball forward because they just feel like they're drowning. But the reality is there's so much of that little that stuff that is just small things that if you just deal with it right now, then you've opened up yourself. You've opened up your mind to be able to tackle the bigger stuff.
00:11:27
Speaker
So guys, every time you delay something you know you need to do, you're also weakening your personal discipline muscle. You're failing yourself and you know you are. Great leaders and high level performers will operate from this specific mindset, which is decide, then act, and then adjust.
00:11:44
Speaker
What they do not do is this one, which is think, delay, doubt, and stall.
Effective Decision-Making and Problem Solving
00:11:49
Speaker
So a with that, if you think about running your day and you think hey my day i am going to take action i'm going to decide and that's where a lot of people fail right there alone is they do not do well at just making a decision and then moving forward so decide and then act upon that decision and then adjust it if you're wrong so don't let the decision be what keeps you from ever making any kind of action that day or making kind of steps forward
00:12:19
Speaker
The other side of that is what I mentioned earlier, there think, delay, doubt, and stall. So a lot of times they overthink it, which then delays it, which then sometimes means the opportunity has already passed, or they doubt it, so then they don't make the decision, they make the wrong one, and then that stalls the entire process. So no forward movement is made, and oftentimes that can result in not getting done what you actually wanted to do.
00:12:42
Speaker
So that brings me to the next one. Number three, seek to solve issues quickly. Great leaders do not let problems sit because we all know that issues get worse over time and not better.
00:12:54
Speaker
Bad communication grows into conflict. Small production delays a snowball. One piece of unclear direction leads into an entire week or more of mistakes. So guys, what are some just simple principles for solving issues quickly?
00:13:09
Speaker
Hit it head on, number one. ah Do not wait on it. So, you know, Dan is our safety director at Lando Corp. And him and I kind of have a joke going around between us, like, when's the time to do something? And we both say, now. Now's the time to do it.
00:13:24
Speaker
If you have something ah and it needs to be dealt with, delegate it to someone who is a special specialized in it and have them do it, but you have to address it and do it now.
00:13:35
Speaker
You've got to hit that problem head on. So if there's something that is staring at you and and you're getting ready to have a corporate meeting, for example, which this is kind of a rule that we also have at Lanta Corp.
00:13:47
Speaker
Let's say this big problem presents itself. Maybe you're a contractor, it's a safety issue. Maybe it's a personnel issue, something an HR, whatever it is. For the most part, if you have a meeting, let's say it's a 15 minute meeting, a lot of people wanna talk about the problem itself for majority of that meeting.
00:14:05
Speaker
And one thing I wanna challenge you with is something we try to do in house. If you got a 15 minute meeting, take a minute, and very quickly and precisely go through what the actual problem is, but it's spend the other 14 minutes on the solution.
00:14:19
Speaker
It does change the mindset. It does move your entire team and your culture away from being like a Debbie Downer that this is a problem. This is ruining my day. And it turns it into, we can get through this.
00:14:31
Speaker
There is a solution. We are brainstorming and we are going to come out on the other end of this. So guys, that is huge. Hitting it head on, addressing it now. The third point there was break problems down into one next step. So kind of goes along with what I just said.
00:14:47
Speaker
But basically, if you take this huge problem and it's overwhelming, typically speaking, You and your team can probably say, you know what, I can break this down into five steps that if we do these five steps, the problem probably is resolved, goes away, or we at least have taken care of it. And wanna challenge you to kind of think through, think that through the next time something like this comes your way with your team.
00:15:11
Speaker
Encourage your team to break it down into steps that make that problem not seem so large. And number four goes with that, simplify. Most problems are simply the result of unclear expectations.
00:15:24
Speaker
So if you have a big problem that came up a lot of times, it may have came about because there was never clear expectations set up front anyway. The team wasn't clear on what you wanted. Um,
00:15:35
Speaker
a You didn't have a fully developed idea or goal, period. And you didn't break that down into those simple steps. So what happened? Nothing happened.
Building Discipline Over Motivation
00:15:47
Speaker
In my role at Lantacorp, solving issues instantly leads to better operations. It leads to better production. It leads to better sales. and a stronger culture of can do. And guys, that's really what you're after. If you are leading a team is you want a team that views everything as you know what? We got this. We can do this. We can get through this.
00:16:07
Speaker
It is not that big of a deal. You do not want a team that dwells in the negative, that dwells in our life sucks. This is terrible. this is going to the end of our company. Whatever it is, they dwell too much on that and not enough on the solution.
00:16:24
Speaker
Next one, number four, discipline versus motivation. So we didn talked about this on a recent podcast, actually, and we're going to repeat it again because I think it's that important. If you're like me, a lot of what you follow online and what you see online is a lot of motivational content, and that's awesome.
00:16:41
Speaker
Not dissing motivational content. We all need a little bit of that in our life. However, that does not cross the finish line for you because motivation is temporary. It's based more on emotion. It's based on hype. It's based on current conditions, based on your mood.
00:16:57
Speaker
um Discipline is more permanent. It is a decision, a commitment and a lifestyle. So if you think about it that way, that is a muscle you can kind of develop a little bit. So,
00:17:08
Speaker
Let's try to tie that a little bit to real life. So maybe that discipline, maybe it is showing up early, even when you're tired, maybe it's leading when stressed or when others don't want to lead at all.
00:17:20
Speaker
Maybe it's eating right when you don't want to, you you get a piece of dessert front of you, want to eat it. Maybe it's having the hard conversations when it's uncomfortable nobody else wants to deal with it with that person. Maybe it's taking accountability when it would be easier to actually just hide behind it.
00:17:33
Speaker
Maybe it's finishing the project details, even when the motivation is wore off. And the reason I say all of those things It's because when you consistently do those things over and over and over, even when you do not want to, you're basically building that discipline muscle that makes you do that even when you don't want to without having so much thought, without having that, you know what, that little voice in your head that says, and let's go Netflix tonight. Let's go do this tonight instead because that's more fun.
00:17:59
Speaker
That discipline muscle is going to help you eventually just keep showing up without as much thought being put into it. And i I've heard some people say, you know, anywhere from three months to a year is what I've heard, where if you do something over and over and over, that is how long it takes to make it more of just a routine.
00:18:18
Speaker
But I think this is one of those things, guys. If you are solely relied upon motivation to get you through, it will fail you eventually because you cannot keep up that motivation all the time.
00:18:29
Speaker
um I know, well, actually, sometimes it can lead to paralysis. I can think of ah some of the business groups I've been over the years. I call them fangirls, which may be, don't know if it's accurate, but people who basically just kind of almost get off on the motivation of everything. So they just, they constantly consume, consume, consume, consume. And I've watched them on Instagram and Facebook after these big events, you you friend them. You just kind of keep in contact and you'll notice two different types of people.
00:18:59
Speaker
Type one is that person who consumes and consumes, but then you don't see any forward movement and wins really. They're very positive and they've done some things right, but what you don't see necessarily is all that motivation being put into something that actually resulted from it.
00:19:16
Speaker
The other type of person I've seen from these events and stuff is someone who took really good notes and then walked away from that event and actually took action on all of those things. And that me may mean that they actually even stopped consuming content for a little while so they could focus up so hard on what they already consumed, knock that stuff out, and then go back to the table and learn some more stuff.
00:19:39
Speaker
I think you should always be learning. That's one of our core values Landicorp, but you have to give yourself time to actually do it, do it right, and create that discipline to actually go through it and keep that ball and that momentum going forward.
Driving Success with Key Habits
00:19:53
Speaker
So guys, how do these four things or four pillars work together? Non-negotiables create structure. Removing distraction protects your focus. Solving issues keeps you in motion. It gives you that identity.
00:20:07
Speaker
And discipline ensures consistency even when motivation disappears. so Those four things together, guys, is what it's really, really, really all about.
00:20:18
Speaker
um What are some practical takeaways that we can take from that? So want to kind of give you guys a little bit of a challenge on that front. I want you to pick three non-negotiables and commit to them for 30, 60 days, but let that become a habit. And again, those non-negotiables need to be things that drive you towards a much, much larger goal, and they should change every day, and they should change every day because you completed it the day before.
00:20:44
Speaker
Second one challenge is to remove one distraction from your life immediately. So maybe that is how much time your phone, you're scrolling on your phone on social media. If using social media to grow your business, to gain a following, that is a little bit different than just doom scrolling and not really getting anything out of it.
00:21:01
Speaker
um Maybe it is turning off some notifications so your phone is just quieter. Maybe it's switching from an Apple watch to just a regular watch so your wrist isn't constantly vibrating. Whatever it is for you, pick something that is distracting you from being intentional with what is directly in front of you and that is keeping you from those big ticket items. Remember, if you're worth 200 an hour, you should be doing 200 plus dollar an hour projects and tasks. You should not be doing minus the 200.
00:21:31
Speaker
Third challenge, fix one issue today that you've been avoiding, whatever that is. Maybe that is, well, it's New Year's, it's January. So maybe that means you haven't been in the gym and this was the month you were going to start.
00:21:44
Speaker
Do it today. That's one thing i want you to do is pick one of those things that you've been avoiding for the past several months. Maybe it is changing up your diet. Whatever it is, I'll give you an example. So Noah has tasked me to do legs. So I love doing upper body.
00:22:00
Speaker
absolutely hate doing lower body. So I've been putting it off. That's that's me. Noah challenged me to do legs, so I started doing legs this week. I'm hoping and hoping that I do what I just practiced and said 30 to 60 days nonstop will build that momentum. So that's what I'm trying to do.
00:22:16
Speaker
So that is one for me because I just keep putting it off because I honestly just don't like it. And the fourth challenge, plan your day before the day owns you. So one thing I try to do is break up my day into
Enhancing Productivity with Planning and Visualization
00:22:31
Speaker
segments.
00:22:31
Speaker
So the first thing in the morning, I usually get up before my wife, and I usually work from home, especially first thing in the morning. And what I'm doing is trying to knock out everything in that first two hours that someone else is waiting on me for an approval, for my input, whatever, so that my team doesn't have to ever wait on me. And so that they are able to keep taking action on the stuff that they need. So I try to do that first. And then I move into some more email type stuff or task of my own.
00:23:01
Speaker
But my day, for the most part, I keep it fluid because I have the ability to work whenever I want to. So if I want to quit at 5 or if I'm fine working until 8, then I can do that. But my point is i am planning out that day in a way that I'm taking action on those non-negotiables because I know that is what matters.
00:23:22
Speaker
So, guys, as we close this podcast out, You guys have to take action. You have to have discipline over motivation. You need to have those non-negotiables that you do not negotiate essentially. Um,
00:23:36
Speaker
write those things down and then actually cross them off so you can see that forward momentum. And what I would recommend if you have like a Moleskine notebook or whatever it is, something that actually looks nice and you enjoy carrying around, but I would on the very, very last page of that book, write out some of these big items that you have.
00:23:56
Speaker
the big goals. You'll hear some people talk about like these vision boards. If that works for you, maybe throw in some photos or examples of that towards the end of that book. But the reason being, when you're writing out these goals, just flip to the back, have that vision moment, look at those big goals and imagine yourself in those goals.
00:24:15
Speaker
And then go back to your task list and say, what do I need to do? What can I do today specifically to move that ball forward to that goal? So guys, think about that.
00:24:26
Speaker
Please make your new year's resolutions permanent. Do not yo-yo them. I think all of you, if you're listening to this podcast or wanting a little bit more out of your business, you're wanting a little bit more out of life.
00:24:36
Speaker
And like I said, you Your goal is an upward, gradual trajectory towards greatness, not this up and down, up and down to where you do not achieve
Sustaining Success Through Consistent Effort
00:24:49
Speaker
it nearly as quick. If you think about every time you fall off, but and again, fitness is an easy one because we all get it. We've all probably been there.
00:24:56
Speaker
That's such an easy example, but it applies to dollars. It applies to ah growth in your business. But if you work out for two months, And you probably already already know where I'm going with this. If you work out solid for two months, you've seen a lot of gains, hopefully.
00:25:11
Speaker
If you take two weeks off, what do you feel like? You feel like those two weeks just undone the two months you just had. That happens in a lot of things in life. Did you really undo two months worth? No, but it does visually look different.
00:25:24
Speaker
However, if you're able to not have those little two-week periods every two or three months, and that line just gradually goes upwards, you're going to see much better levels of success in whatever your endeavor is. So guys, do this. Do it long-term. Become the person that does what they say that people know, hey, if this person said they're going to do it, they're probably going to do it, and your life will show.
00:25:47
Speaker
So guys, if you like this podcast, if it resonated with you, please do share it with others.
Community Support for Contractors
00:25:53
Speaker
Also, we have a private Facebook group for contractors, really entrepreneurs in general, but mostly contractors.
00:26:00
Speaker
But if you're a contractor and you're trying to find a group on Facebook that maybe you have questions, maybe you have issues, maybe you're trying to scale, whatever it is, and you need to ask questions to people who've hopefully been in those shoes before, jump in that group, ask those questions.
00:26:15
Speaker
Likewise, you've been where someone else is trying to go and you've walked probably in their shoes. So jump in there too. Don't just take, but also give. So help other people out in that group as well. But please do join that private Facebook group, the Better Contractor.
00:26:30
Speaker
And guys, again, share the show and we'll talk to you next time.