This Idea Will Make Your Business Unstoppable

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of thorough preparation for success in various professional contexts, such as sales, marketing, and customer success. They share personal anecdotes and examples from high achievers to illustrate the significant amount of work and effort required to excel. The talk highlights the concept that preparation is a skill in itself, which can be honed through repetition and practice. The speaker also discusses the difference between preparing for one-time events versus routine tasks, advocating for 'cramping' or last-minute focused preparation for unique performances, while suggesting a 4:1 ratio of preparation to performance time for regular tasks. The overarching message is that under-preparation is often mistaken for anxiety, and true confidence comes from extensive preparation, which ultimately leads to impressive performance and recognition.

Takeaways

• 🔄 Preparation is crucial for achieving excellence in various professional contexts such as sales, marketing, content creation, and customer success.
• 📈 High achievers often spend an extraordinary amount of time and effort preparing, which can be orders of magnitude greater than the average person's preparation.
• 🎥 Success in content creation, as illustrated by a YouTube creator with millions of subscribers, involves extensive preparation like 22 pages for a 15-minute video.
• 💼 The importance of preparation is emphasized through the story of a consulting day where 4 hours of preparation led to a highly effective and appreciated session.
• 🚀 To stand out and be exceptional, one must be prepared to work much harder than the competition, often to the power of ten or even a hundred.
• 📊 The concept of 'reps' or repetitions is vital in sales, where volume and consistent effort are key to overcoming luck and achieving success.
• 📝 Prepping for meetings or presentations with a high level of detail can lead to significantly better outcomes and leave a lasting impression of professionalism.
• 📉 In the world of advertising, creating a high volume of ads is essential for finding the ones that truly scale and perform well.
• 🤝 Building relationships and closing deals can be significantly enhanced by demonstrating thorough preparation and understanding of the client's needs.
• 🏆 Surrounding oneself with a 'championship team' or individuals who excel in their fields can elevate one's own standards and expectations for preparation and work ethic.
• 🧠 Parkinson's Law is referenced to highlight that work expands to fill the time allotted, suggesting that last-minute preparation or 'crammed' preparation can be highly effective.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is the importance of preparation in various professional contexts, such as sales, marketing, and content creation, and how high achievers prepare differently.

What did the speaker learn from ARAK, the content creator with millions of YouTube subscribers?

The speaker learned that ARAK spends an extensive amount of time preparing for his videos, with a 22-page prep case for a 15-minute video, which significantly reset the speaker's understanding of what it takes to achieve excellence.

How does the speaker describe the relationship between volume of work and success in sales?

The speaker emphasizes that 'volume negates luck' and that the highest achieving salespeople understand the importance of the number of repetitions (reps) in their work, which is a key principle on their team wall.

What is the significance of the '4:1 ratio' mentioned in the script?

The '4:1 ratio' refers to the time spent preparing for a task relative to the task's duration. For example, spending 15 minutes preparing for a 60-minute meeting to make it more effective.

What does the speaker suggest is the key to standing out in a meeting?

The speaker suggests that spending a few minutes preparing before a meeting, understanding the participants, the agenda, and the problems to be solved, can significantly improve one's performance and make them a driver in the meeting.

How does the speaker use the example of paid ads to illustrate the importance of preparation?

The speaker explains that creating a high volume of ads (30 a week) and spending more time on preparation leads to better results. A mediocre ad might work for a small audience but won't scale, whereas a high-quality ad requires more preparation and can reach a larger audience.

What is the speaker's advice on how to prepare for a one-time performance or presentation?

The speaker advises that for one-time performances, the preparation should be extensive and tailored to approximate the actual performance as closely as possible, often involving many hours of preparation for each hour of the performance.

Why does the speaker believe that being well-prepared can help overcome initial impressions or appearances?

The speaker believes that being well-prepared demonstrates professionalism, knowledge, and respect for the other party's time, which can lead to a more successful interaction regardless of one's initial appearance or status.

What is the speaker's view on the relationship between preparation and nervousness?

The speaker posits that nervousness is often a sign of being underprepared. By thoroughly preparing, one can reduce anxiety and perform better, as they have already habituated to the stressor.

How does the speaker relate the concept of 'cramping' to business preparation?

The speaker views 'cramping' as a valuable strategy in business, suggesting that last-minute focused preparation can yield high returns on time invested, especially for one-time events or presentations.

What advice does the speaker give for impressing high-achieving individuals?

The speaker advises that to impress high-achieving individuals, one should focus on outworking them rather than trying to impress with material possessions or outward displays of wealth.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Redefining Preparation Standards

The speaker emphasizes the importance of preparation in achieving excellence, particularly in professional contexts like sales, marketing, and customer success. They aim to redefine the audience's perception of what it takes to prepare at the highest level by sharing insights from successful individuals. The speaker discusses the concept of 'reps' or repetitions as a key to success, as well as personal experiences that have reset their understanding of preparation, such as a conversation with a successful YouTube content creator who spent an extensive amount of time preparing for a short video. This highlights the significant effort and dedication required to excel in any field.

05:02

🔄 The Power of Preparation and Scaling Effort

This paragraph delves into the disparity between the perceived effort and the actual effort required to achieve exceptional results. The speaker uses the example of YouTube content creators who invest an immense amount of time to produce a single video, illustrating that success is not about working slightly harder but rather about an order of magnitude greater effort. The speaker also shares a personal anecdote about a consulting day, where extensive preparation led to a highly effective and impactful session, underscoring the idea that exceeding the norm in preparation can significantly outperform the competition.

10:03

📈 The Impact of Preparation on Performance and Scaling

The speaker discusses the concept of scaling preparation efforts, particularly in the context of advertising and content creation. They highlight the importance of creating a high volume of ads to increase the chances of success and the necessity of improving the quality of ads to scale to larger audiences. The speaker also emphasizes the value of surrounding oneself with successful individuals to understand and adopt the level of preparation required to win. They invite the audience to join a community for further development and share the idea that joining a 'championship team' can elevate one's own standards and work ethic.

15:04

💼 Prioritizing and Allocating Resources for Success

In this paragraph, the speaker focuses on the importance of prioritizing and focusing on the tasks that matter most. They discuss the concept of Parkinson's Law in the context of preparation, suggesting that work can expand to fill the time allotted but also shrink when time is limited, advocating for efficient and targeted preparation. The speaker encourages the audience to identify key areas of leverage for their business and to concentrate their efforts there, using the example of advertising to illustrate the point that a high volume of prepared work can lead to superior outcomes.

20:04

🎯 Targeted Preparation for One-Time Performances

The speaker discusses the strategy of preparation for one-time events, suggesting that the amount of preparation should be based on the potential return and the stakes involved. They differentiate between preparation for recurring tasks, where efficiency can improve over time, and unique events that require extensive and detailed preparation. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of approximating the conditions of the performance during preparation to ensure a smooth and effective outcome.

25:06

🧳 Overcoming Anxiety Through Thorough Preparation

In the final paragraph, the speaker addresses the common issue of anxiety associated with public speaking or performance by attributing it to under-preparation. They argue that thorough preparation can alleviate nervousness and allow individuals to focus on the uncontrollable elements during a performance. The speaker encourages the audience to prepare as if each event is not their first time, to demonstrate professionalism and experience. They conclude by referencing Sun Tzu to emphasize that success is determined by preparation, not just talent or natural ability.

Keywords

💡Preparation

Preparation is the act of making ready or setting up in advance for a particular purpose or task. In the context of the video, it is highlighted as a critical component for success in various professional domains such as sales, marketing, and content creation. The speaker emphasizes that high achievers invest significantly in preparation, which is a key to their exceptional performance. For instance, the video mentions a content creator who spends weeks preparing for a single video, illustrating the depth of effort that goes into exceptional work.

💡Volume

Volume, in this context, refers to the quantity or amount of work done. The speaker uses the term to convey the idea that 'volume negates luck,' meaning that success is more a product of consistent effort and high output rather than chance. The concept is used to underscore the importance of doing a large number of 'reps' or repetitions in sales, which is a way to increase the likelihood of success through sheer volume of attempts.

💡Repetition

Repetition is the act of repeating something, in this case, beliefs or actions, to reinforce them in one's mind. The video discusses how repetition of beliefs can drive individuals to remember and act on those beliefs. It is used as a tool to instill the importance of consistent effort in sales teams, where the mantra of 'it's just about the reps' is repeated to emphasize the value of volume in achieving success.

💡Content Creation

Content creation is the process of generating, planning, and producing digital or traditional media content. The video uses content creation as an example to illustrate the level of preparation required to excel. It discusses how top YouTubers spend an extensive amount of time preparing for their videos, which is a key factor in their success and the quality of their content.

💡Consulting

Consulting refers to the profession of providing expert advice or services to individuals, groups, or organizations. In the video, the speaker shares a personal anecdote about consulting work where he spent several hours preparing for a meeting with a client. This preparation allowed him to offer valuable insights and demonstrate a high level of professionalism and commitment to his client.

💡Effort

Effort is the energy or labor required to achieve a result or to do something. The video emphasizes that those who are more successful are not just working slightly harder, but rather exponentially harder than others. It uses the metaphor of 'a hundred times the work' to illustrate the massive amount of effort put in by high achievers to produce exceptional outcomes.

💡Scaling

Scaling refers to the ability to increase the size, scope, or volume of an operation or process. In the context of the video, scaling is discussed in relation to advertising, where the speaker explains that the quality and quantity of creative work (ads) must be scaled up to reach higher levels of profitability and audience engagement.

💡Prioritization

Prioritization is the process of deciding the importance of tasks or objectives and arranging them in order of priority. The video mentions that understanding the amount of work required to excel at something leads to the realization that one can only excel at a few things. This realization necessitates prioritization, focusing on the most important tasks or goals to achieve success.

💡Impression

Impression refers to the effect, feeling, or image retained as a consequence of experience or contact with someone or something. The video discusses how being well-prepared can create a strong impression on others, such as clients or colleagues. It highlights that preparation is a form of non-verbal communication that demonstrates professionalism and respect for the people involved.

💡Cramming

Cramming is the act of studying or preparing intensively for a short period just before an event, such as an exam or presentation. The video speaker suggests that there is a high return on investment for cramming, especially in business contexts where last-minute preparation can significantly enhance performance and effectiveness.

💡Parkinson's Law

Parkinson's Law is a concept that states 'work expands to fill the time available for its completion.' The video uses this law to discuss the relationship between the amount of time allocated for preparation and the quality of work produced. It suggests that by limiting the time for preparation, one can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the work done.

💡Habituation

Habituation is the process of becoming accustomed to a particular situation, environment, or stimulus. The video speaker uses the concept of habituation to explain how overcoming nervousness and achieving success in performance is about becoming accustomed to the stressor through extensive preparation and practice.

💡Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern where individuals doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a 'fraud.' The video speaker argues that what is often mistaken for impostor syndrome is actually a result of being underprepared, and that thorough preparation can alleviate these feelings of inadequacy.

💡Wealth

Wealth, in the context of the video, refers not only to material riches but also to the qualities and characteristics associated with successful individuals. The speaker discusses how true wealth is demonstrated through hard work and effort, rather than through material possessions or outward displays of affluence.

Highlights

The importance of preparation in achieving excellence in various professional contexts such as sales, marketing, and customer success.

Two different ways to prepare and the significance of repetition in reinforcing beliefs and driving results.

The speaker's personal experience of resetting their bar for preparation after seeing a content creator's extensive preparation for a 15-minute video.

Insights from a YouTube creator meetup revealing the extensive time and effort invested in creating exceptional content.

The concept that high achievers are not just working moderately harder, but rather exponentially harder than others.

A consulting story illustrating the impact of spending 4 hours preparing for a single day of work.

The idea that the bar for preparation is often much lower than people realize, leading to subpar performance.

The strategy of surrounding oneself with high-achieving individuals to elevate one's own standards and performance.

The value of focusing on a single point of leverage and allocating resources to achieve excellence in that area.

The speaker's experience advising a billionaire on social media content creation and the importance of posting frequency.

The concept of Parkinson's Law and its implications for preparation, suggesting that work expands to fill the time allotted.

The effectiveness of 'cramming' or last-minute preparation in certain contexts, such as business meetings.

Differentiating between preparation for one-time events versus repeated tasks and adjusting the preparation time accordingly.

The importance of approximating the performance environment during preparation to ensure effective performance.

The idea that nervousness often stems from being underprepared rather than from inherent anxiety or stage fright.

The concept of impressing others not through material possessions but through the demonstration of hard work and preparation.

The final message emphasizing that most people are underprepared and that even a small amount of preparation can significantly improve performance.

Transcripts

today's topic is going to be preparation

within the context of work and so what I

want to do today is actually reset your

bar for what preparation looks like for

the highest achieving people that I know

within different context so whether

that's sales whe that's marketing

content whatever customer success all of

these contexts have different types of

prep there's two different ways to prep

that I'll talk about and give you some

tactics that you can use and maybe send

to your team as well because hey if they

prep more you'll make more I'll give you

uh an example of like a resetting that

just recently happened for me so I'm

obviously very big on uh the amount of

reps that it takes like volume negates

luck is uh is the is the number one uh

quote that we have in the sales team

wall so that the guys understand like

it's just about the Reps and we just say

it all the time it's repeated over and

over again because we also believe uh

repetition of the same beliefs is

something that will drive them to

remember this thing because we need to

be reminded more than we need to be

taught but recently even getting into

this content game this is about a year

ago um I was talking to arak and so

arak's a um a content creator who has I

don't know 10 15 million subscribers

something like that on YouTube and we

were saying I was like hey what can we

do to make our you know make our YouTube

YouTube videos better and so he said oh

just send me over your your your prep

case for the videos and I was like

um what do you mean I was like you mean

like the notes on my phone he was like

uh no and I was like can you send me one

of yours so I know what you're talking

about and so he sends me his most recent

crap for one of his videos and it was

like 22 Pages for like a 15minute video

and I was like

oh okay so my understanding of how much

work it takes to do something at this

level is wildly under what the reality

of it is at at that level and so I

attended something he invited me to like

a little Creator meet up with some of

the the biggest guys on YouTube I'll

just I'll just say it this way you would

know everybody in the room um

and when we were there they were all

discussing how much time it took them to

prep for videos and a lot of these guys

were spending two three four straight

weeks of 12 hours a day to make one

video per month and I will tell you this

is that it was in no way surprising to

me after going there for two days what

it took and why those guys were the

number one in that industry for making

content that was exceptional and so it

completely reset my standard reset my

bar for how much preparation was

required to be exceptional and it was

because and this is why it's so silly

for me cuz I feel like I keep learning

and relearning the same lessons but just

in new domains is that the people who

are doing way better than you are just

working so much harder and the thing is

that people think that someone's working

like two times as hard or three times as

hard because we tend to think in

increments we're like okay well I work I

work this much someone must be doing

twice as much work but it's not even

close to that these guys are doing like

literally a hundred times the work and

it's not only that they have a team of

10 people spending four weeks to prepare

one 15minute video like the order of

magnitude in terms of effort there you

multiply by 10 times times 12 hours a

daytimes 4 weeks all of a sudden you

really are at a thousand times the work

1,500 times the work to create to be

fair an outcome that is 1,500 or 10,000

times better than the average YouTube

video or whatever it is that you're

making and obviously I'm just using this

as a Content example but it applies to

anything applies to sales meetings it

applies to how you prep for a date

applies to how you meet the parents or

the in-laws and so I'll tell you a

second story so I um I used to do uh

some consulting stuff um and I had a guy

who uh was uh a friend or was you know

business acquaintance who said hey man I

would love it if we could spend a day

together and I was like I really do that

and he's like just name her price and I

said fine um actually total fun side

note story with this um I was like fine

I'll do it for 50 grand um this was ages

ago and he said uh he said uh how about

how about 35 and I said how about 75 and

he was like all right 50 is cool and I

was like all right and so just a a side

note when someone says hey can you do it

for Less you can always say hey I can do

it for more and every single time I've

used that overcome it has worked so

right now it's like 100% overcome for

using that highly recommend using it in

a sales uh situation because people were

like okay I got it understood like I'll

that's your price so that was first half

of Story number two with the Consulting

day so when I when I did that day um

what I did was I started that morning I

think that we were going to start

meeting at at uh 9:00 and so I woke up

at 5: and I spent 4 hours reviewing his

business right cuz I figured my day was

going to be shot this is going to be my

day like I'm not going to try to do

anything else and so I spent the four

hours prepping um and I I came in to the

day with I think four or five pages of

notes of like okay here are things we

could do here that would be better

here's things on your follow-up sequence

here's things on the on on your on your

on your landing pages here things that

you can do from a Content here's how I

think your CT could be better all of

this stuff right and so I came in with

it and the next like 4 hours I just

spent showing him what I had spent the

morning going over and at the end of the

day he was like I have genuinely never

had anyone come this prepared to

something and to me I was like it was 4

hours of prep it wasn't like a crazy you

know I me to me 4 hours perhaps nothing

you know what I mean in terms of work

but it was really confirming because

this guy obviously had the money to to

spend 50 grand for a day or whatever and

um that he had not had that type I was

like it still bewilders me and I see

that more so that it is remarkable how

low the bar is to beat everyone else and

so that's what I take that my takeaway

from that um like on one hand you've got

aak and some of these super creators who

are spending thousands of hours on a one

single piece of content but I think if

you like do consulting or you do some

sort of work where you do the same thing

over and over again like you can have

like a 4:1 ratio if I go into a meeting

and it's a 60-minute meeting you can

take 15 minutes before you get into the

meeting and I think like a 4 to1 ratio

is really are 1 to four ratio like if

it's a 8 hour day spending 2 hours if

it's a 60-minute meeting spending 15

minutes if a 20-minute meeting spending

5 minutes before you get on um will'll

make the 20 minutes two three times more

effective by just having that little bit

of block to say who's on this meeting

what's the background of this what's the

agenda what problem are we trying to

solve it just it just absolutely focuses

you and makes you a driver in the

meeting I can just absolutely like

promise you that now um third one

when we have Founders who come into the

portfolio so when we invest in a company

one of the things that happens most

commonly is a lot of them are running

paid ads or they start running paid ads

so it's either way so either they're

running ads and they hit some sort of

plateau or they want to get into running

ads and so I'll tell you the story that

I explained to almost all of them which

is I say all right how many uh you know

what do you what do you guys spend in a

day and they're like all right we're

spending 5,000 a day okay fine so how

many new ads are you making per week and

a lot of time they're like oh record ads

once a month and I'm like okay well how

many ads do you make they're like

usually five or seven ads and I'm like

okay so let me give you some

context we make uh about 30 ads a

week new and that's new unique video now

that's not repurposing of that that's 30

core pieces which then get zillion out

in terms of like let's take the hook for

number one and put as number three and

then redo the same video those would be

permutations that go from 30 to like 100

pieces of creative

and as soon as I explain that they're

like oh and I was like so you're doing 5

to seven and you're complaining that you

can't scale but the reality is that you

just can't scale given this level of

creative like if your creative is a 5

out of 10 you can get to 5,000 a day

profitably but you're not going to get

to 50,000 a day profitably because

you're not getting that one out of a

hundred ad that can scale to colder

audiences or newer people and so it's

just the like if you have a mediocre ad

like many of you guys who start running

ads are like oh I get it to $100 a day

but I can't get it to be profitable at

$500 a day it's like yeah because your

ad is so bad it can only go to the

absolute hottest audience and then as

soon as it goes outside of that very hot

audience that kind of knows you a little

bit it stops working right and so if you

had if you went from a five out of 10 ad

to a seven out of 10 ad then all of a

sudden it's like oh I can get to $500 a

day and if you get to an eight out of a

10 ad you can go to a $5,000 a day right

but the nine out of 10 and the 10 out of

10 ads like that's what converts the

world but in order to get that 10 out of

10 ad you have to do so much more

preparation before you do the ads and

total volume of work of doing the ads

itself and so I share this stuff because

my entire goal of this right now is to

reset your expectations of the amount of

preparation that it takes to be

good because it's so easy it's like

mediocrity is the is is so easy to do

because you just do something and hey

anything's better than nothing so if

you're doing nothing then absolutely

start but what happens is people are

like why isn't it working for me and

it's not working for you because you're

not working nearly as much as you as

what is requ required to get that level

of output right so let me tell you a

different story so I had um a uh a buddy

of mine's a a billionaire and he's he

wants to start making content which is I

I'm I'm a huge proponent of this because

he actually has stuff to say um and but

he's still learning the content game

right and so he's like hey man can you

look at my Instagram and tell me or

sorry can you look at my he said can you

look at my social media and tell me what

I'm what what I'm doing wrong or what I

should be doing better and so before I

pulled up his thing I was like well how

many posts are you making a day across

all platforms and he was like one I'm

doing one a day right now um and he said

it like that kind of like he was like

yes I'm doing one a day right now and I

was like all right man um we make at the

time we were we were making 50 a day we

make more than that now and he just

looked at me and he was like you don't

need to say anymore he's like I got it

like he understood in that moment the

same thing I did when I when AR act told

showed me his prep case for his YouTube

videos I was like I get it like I'm I'm

I'm he said Thank you for resetting my

my uh my measuring stick that's what he

said he was like my you reset my bar

reset my expectations of how much how

much work it takes to get to that level

that I want to get to hey if you want to

get around people who are actually

winning who look like you who smell like

you who talk like you and are doing what

you want to do I'd like to invite you to

the the school games community at

school.com games I take calls in there I

put content that's like this and more

personalized inside of that community

and I drop a huge amount once a month in

eight hour training on how to actually

take this stuff and win anyways and so

if that's interesting school.com

forgames see you in there I share this

stuff because I think one of the biggest

Gifts of surrounding yourself in a

championship team so there's a book by

um Angela Duckworth called grit um which

is a good book um but one of the things

that uh they talk about in the book is

that one of the best ways to develop

grit is to surround yourself with people

who have grit so one of the for sure

ways to get better at a skill is

surround yourself with people who

already have that skill who are ahead of

you and so that's why joining a

championship team is one of the be best

things you can do to understand what is

required to win and so when you're the

the story that she tells in the book is

uh swimmers who want to get better at

swimming if you can make the the State

team or whatever of like a championship

team all of a sudden there's standards

of work that you didn't understand is

what everyone's doing so you go from

like oh well I'm swimming twice a week

and that's what you can do to be best in

your high school or whatever I'm making

up the the number

but when you go to the championship team

you realize that they do three hours a

day twice a day and all of a sudden

you're like oh and it's that same moment

I had with era I was like oh in the same

moment my friend had one when we talked

about the social media was like oh it's

just this massive bar reset of like oh

this isn't like a two times as as much

thing this is like a 50 100 times as

much and so it's just when you realize

how much work it takes to get good you

realize how few things you can get good

at and that's where the focus becomes so

important because the only way to get

that good is to do a few things and so

that's where the strategy of picking or

prioritizing the things that you want to

get good at becomes more important

because you just can't do a hundred

times the work on a hundred different

things and so making sure that you're

allocating your resources to the one

thing that matters most which then

forces you to prioritize what you're

spending your time on which by the way I

think is a really good activity if you

can spend a day or a week saying okay if

I could only have one thing be true

about our business if I could have like

if we have more traffic than anyone else

we will win based on this model or

whatever it is that we have if we have

more referrals than anyone else then we

will win no matter what if we have the

best advertising in terms of paid ads if

we just had that one thing we will win

if you can be very clear about that one

point of Leverage then you attack it

with absolute onslaught of hours of work

and repetition and preparation for those

repetitions that then yield you even

more and so it's like I'll give you the

ad example I was saying earlier if I if

I'm doing 100 ads a week and my

competitor's doing seven ads a month I'm

doing 400 to his seven all right so I'm

doing I don't know what the math is

there but a lot let's it's at Le 50

times 60 times more right um than he is

in terms of volume but not only that but

when I go into that advertising day what

am I doing beforehand I'm prepping all

the I want to prep all the hooks ahead

of time I want to do research of of past

ads that have done really well I want to

take different ad styles that I've seen

across social media in general that I

liked I'm like I wonder if we can make a

version of this for how we're going to

advertise our thing and by the way I

love taking from other spaces like

seeing a hotel ad or an Airbnb ad and be

like o that would work really well in

this software company that we have oh

we've got this you know we've got this

dry cleaning business that would work

really well this ad for a gym or

whatever right and I have this little

swipe file on my phone where whenever I

see an ad I like I I save it and then I

also screenshot it so that when I get

into my prep sessions I already have my

stuff that I want to use to prep in

front of me and so one of the one of the

big other things besides resetting your

bar of expectation of how much prep it

takes to win is that the more you

prepare for Stuff the more frequently

you do it the better you will get it

preparing so preparing in of itself is a

skill right and so like the first time

you prep for making ads the per time you

prep for making content you it's going

to take you longer and you're going to

be less efficient at it but if you know

for example this is your 100th time

preparing for making a podcast or

whatever like this is my prep for the

this little this little podcast here I

wrote this out ahead of time I was like

these are all the things I wanted to hit

on because I think they were important

right and so I think in terms of

resetting the bar start thinking in

hundreds rather than ones and twos so

it's not that somebody's doing twice as

much work or three times as much work

they're doing a hundred times the work

and in the example I gave earlier

sometimes way more than 100 times the

work two more quick things on this and

then I'll I'll let you go about your day

so you can start

preparing so Elon Musk recently talked

about something uh well not recently but

I've heard I heard an article or an

interview from him that he said um

he referenced Parkinson's law so

Parkinson law for those of you guys who

don't know is that work expands to the

time allotted right and so I think what

you don't want to do is over prepare for

the wrong thing and let me let me put my

caveat there is that I actually think

there's tremendous Roi to cramming

meaning he uses Parkinson's law in

Reverse which is that it also if if work

expands the time a lotted it can also

shrink to the time that you shrink to

and there's a reason that kids cram it's

because it's really high Roi on their

time right if they if they pref for

weeks and weeks and then they they take

the week before the exam off and don't

look at anything sometimes they do worse

than just cramming right before the test

and so people aren't idiots like we know

that cramming Works which is why we do

it but I think I'd highly encourage

thinking about prepping is cramming I

actually think it works amazingly well

in a business context but people somehow

somehow have said it's like a bad thing

because I don't even know why teachers

say it's a bad thing at the end of the

day like you either AC the test or you

didn't and so whatever now in terms of

longterm like I think you know not

sleeping the night before probably

impacts your if you like probably

impacts your uh performance more but if

you just study the day before and you

study the morning of I'll promise you

that the studying the morning of will

get you more than what you did the night

before in terms of immediate result on

the test more than long-term retention

which is different just to be clear but

the thing is is if you're doing a

meeting you're going to take notes and

then you're going to delegate stuff and

so you being able to run that meeting

effectively based on you cramming for

that meeting super high Roi on your time

and so I absolutely love the concept of

cramming within within the world of

business because a lot of times you do

have something you just need to do once

and you need to impress the client you

need to impress the boss you need to you

need to just come prepared for a company

uh presentation that you're doing in

front of a whole team or the a

department or the whole the whole

company entirely going back to the two

types of work there are is that or two

types of preparation you have you have

preparation for things you're going to

do that you do many many many times

which you get better and better at

preparing for it which means you can

actually shrink the amount of time you

need to prepare and I think the closer

you do the preparation to the event

itself the more valuable it is and so

that is why take the 5 minutes literally

actually take the five minutes before

the meeting to say okay this is John let

me look at his profile real quick okay

John's uh he's out of Milwaukee okay the

Bucks are doing well let me see if he if

he follows the Bucs okay he taged

something there and um and his wife's

name is Joyce okay got it so you get on

the meeting you're like dude John how's

it going dude the Bucks are killing it

oh that's fantastic how's Joyce doing

she's good great and uh I saw um do is

this Mike is this he's your uh he's your

VP of customer success hey Mike nice to

meet you man um I was just looking you

guys up before before I got on uh um

really cool stuff that you guys are

doing to XYZ Corp right as soon as I say

that they're like immediately in 60

seconds they're like this guy prepared

and that's what it communicates and the

thing is is that the idea that someone

knows that you prepare literally

separates you from so many other people

who just show up and they're like oh

what are we going to do today right and

so sure you should absolutely have be

prepared in terms of the agenda in terms

of your scripting for how you run these

meetings but you get so much return on

demonstrating that you prepared like

people know if you prepared it just it

completely blows them away and I still

to this day I get people are so they're

like dude thank you so much for taking

the time like you I feel like you knew

our our company I feel like you knew our

business like even better than people

that I've spent you know I've had all

you know had vendors who did all this

stuff and I was like yeah I mean I'm not

going to walk into a meeting not knowing

who I'm talking

to like what are we going to do spend

the whole the whole time fact finding

before I can actually make a

recommendation around something well

that's such a waste of time for you and

me because I know what I'm looking for

and it's going to be really inefficient

for you to exchange it via VIA verbal

and I can just click around and find out

what I need to do especially if you're

looking at it from an external way in to

like okay why are prospects not

converting well I don't need to talk to

you I should look at what somebody who

doesn't talk to you would see so that I

can make the recomendations or

conclusions and sometimes that kind of

is more valuable because they're not

going to color they're not going to give

me the wise and the why it's difficult

because I don't care I'm a prospect

right at least I'm going to put those

glasses on and so back to the the The

onetime Thing versus the many time thing

if you do it a lot of times you're going

to get better better at prepping and I

would say prep as as as close to the

event as you can and I think a 4:1 ratio

in the beginning is good 15 minutes to

60 1 hour to four hours in terms of prep

to how much work you're going to do for

whatever the thing is and over time it

can shrink a little bit so you can be

like one to 10 so it's 5 minutes for a

60-minute meeting um but for the things

that you're going to do one time that

you have never done before that's where

it actually expands the other way it

goes like 10 20 hours of prep for one

hour of presenting and so the to

determining how much you're willing to

prepare for something that you're only

going to do once rather than something

that you do all the time in my opinion

comes up to the stakes and the returns

and so if you're going to go do a speech

in front of a thousand people and you've

never spoken before and it's a ideally

hopefully it's a topic that you do

understand but you just haven't spoken

in that environment before then I want

to control for every other variable that

can approximate me speaking in front so

one I want to know I want to master the

material for sure if you're getting up

there and you don't know what you're

what you're talking about or like the

things you're going to talk about well

dear God you know like no wonder that

you suck at talking right now beyond

that it's how many ways can I

approximate this like for example going

live on social media can help you

approximate a live audience in person is

it perfect no but is it better than just

talking to the mirror probably now if

you aren't going to now this is a real

one this is actually from the Fitness

World if you get used to squatting for

example I'll I'll bring it home if you

squat in the mirror every day and you

can see yourself and you're squatting if

you go to a competition this actually

happened to me in my first competition I

I worked out at a gym that had a mirror

in front of the squat rack and so I just

I just always squatted there I didn't

think about it when I got to a

competition I had the squat rack and

when I looked out there was no mirror it

was just a crowd of people watching me

Squat and I was like oh oh this is weird

cuz I didn't even realize but I I it was

actually so different from how I trained

and so from that point going forward I

turned around in the rack so that I

would be facing the gym at least so that

I wasn't looking at the mirror so that

it was closer approximation to

competition and so as many of those

variables as you can control for you

want to have in the prep so that the

prep as closely as possible approximates

the performance and so there's cramming

for for like you having information

that'll better arm you for Consulting

sales customer success whatever which by

the way if you're in customer success

like spending 5 minutes before you get

on the call with a customer like

reviewing the call notes reviewing the

the notes from the sales team looking

the person's profile before you get on

dear God will they think it's absolutely

amazing and it takes this much work like

you'll you'll like they will think

you're three times cooler with 5 minutes

of work for a 60-minute call like I

almost think that you saying hey give me

five minutes at the beginning of the

call and starting 5 minutes late will

still even though I hate starting late

would still yield you a better outcome

at the end of the 60 minutes than

starting on time and not being prepared

it comes down to the return on effort

and return on time and so if you're

going to talk to a thousand people and

this and these are let's say your ideal

customers well if I was going to have a,

101 meetings how much would I prepare

for each of those one-one meetings that

was 60 minutes I might prepare 10

minutes right well if I have 10 minutes

times a thousand that's like I don't

know 167 hours right something like that

and so if 167 hours of prep for that one

thing now realistically that might not

make sense because you do have

diminishing returns and so that's why

speaking one to many is higher return

but just to give yourself a context is

like when we did the the book launch I

was like dear God how much do I prep for

a thousand person audience and I'm going

to have half a million people there I'm

going 500,000 have 500 times well I

better not waste anyone's time while I'm

there and make sure that every second

the value per second is super high and

so I think again we have to reset our

expectations of how much work it takes

to prepare for the one-time performances

based on what you expect to get from it

so if it's if if you're going to do a

one time performance to 10 people then

maybe maybe you prepare for 4 hours

right but if you're going to talk to a

th000 people then maybe you prepare for

40 hours and if you're going to talk to

10,000 people then maybe you do prepare

for 400 hours or it does have a

diminishing term so maybe it's 200 hours

right but I think what most people miss

out on is they get up and they say their

talk once and they do it once to their

wife and once to their dog and they're

like you know I'm super nervous and so

I'll leave you with this

you are not nervous you're

underprepared it's not that you have

anxiety it's that you didn't do the work

that you know you should have done and

so if I have anxiety about something

that's coming up that has become my

Telltale sign that I am underprepared

that I didn't do the work that I know I

should have done and that's when you get

nervous when you can get up on stage and

you can do or whatever whatever your

your your version of the performance is

and have absolutely zero anxiety it's

because you absolutely

habituated to the stressor and so for

example if you want to get someone to

stop being afraid of spiders the fastest

way to do that is get them into a room

with spiders and let them sit there have

a panic attack pass out wake up

again pass out wake up again until

eventually they habituate they just

realize that they don't die and they're

still there and there are spiders and

they keep living and then the phobia is

gone they habituate and so what you want

to do or at least I like to do it is I

want to habituate to the stressor which

is if I'm stressed about this thing then

it means I haven't prepared enough and

so it's it's it's not impostor syndrome

you're just inexperienced you're just

not good enough yet and so I want to

make sure that I can control for all the

controllables first and then leave room

for the uncontrollables but have all of

my bandwidth available so that when the

mic cuts out or the the presentation

isn't working or my clicker runs out of

battery all of these things have

happened that I still I'm still prepared

enough that people then are like damn he

handled that really well it's because

this wasn't my first time

and that's the difference is that like

when you you don't want people to think

it's your first rodeo and so many of you

are going into every meeting every call

every appointment like it's your first

rodeo and they can tell everyone can

tell and the people who can tell the

most are the people who you want to

impress the most like it's very easy to

impress poor people because they don't

know any better much more difficult to

impress a wealthy person because they

know how the game works and so I see

this with the uh like the the Rolex Flex

or the I rented the lambo for the day

and look at my Instagram picture anybody

who's really in the game is like dude my

jet cost 500 Lamborghinis like I could

give a what you drive right like

the way you impress them is you outwork

them so to impress poor people you

outspend them to impress wealthy people

you outwork

them that's the difference so if I see a

kid who's not flexing any of that stuff

but I see how hard this kid's working

that's what impresses me if I if

anything I see a younger guy who's like

blowing cash to like

Flex I'm I'm not even neutral I'm less

impressed I'm like dude what are you

play like who immediately I'm like who

you trying to impress and then whatever

they say I'm like it's the wrong person

man cuz the right girl also is impressed

by how hard you

work because they know what that leads

because people take wealth as an

approximation for character and that's

not true they say I have this

Lamborghini therefore I work hard but if

you just Way Beyond your means which is

what I see it as especially if you're

younger I just see that as irresponsible

and

insecure and so it's making sure that

you're putting the right bait out and

the best bait for getting the right

people is the effort that they know you

put in when they weren't looking and you

only do that by when you show up the

first time it looks like it's your 100th

time and they know it's the only meaning

you have with them and that you took 20

hours to prep for it they're like all

right this kid's got it or this guy's

got it this gal's got it she gets it

like that's all I look I'm like

immediately it's just like I had that

conversation with my billionaire buddy

he was like you don't need to say

anymore I get it and I feel that way

with vendors so if I get on the phone

with someone and they have clearly 10

hours of preparation 20 hours of

preparation for that call they don't

need to sell me that hard I'm like I get

it you've demonstrated in advance the

value that you want to provide before

started working together like I get it

like whatever the bill is send the

invoice team will take care of it let's

start working together when someone

spends all their time trying to sell me

and I'm like what did you do to prepare

and they're trying to overcome with

their words you already lost and so so

many of you guys are

losing before you step into the arena

you're trying to ride a bull for the

first time on your first rodeo and then

thinking that you need to have some

special talent or some natural whatever

that's going to make it make it work

like why why so so is different or

better it's because that guy has spent 3

hours a day morning and afternoon every

day for the last 2 years riding bulls

and so he doesn't have to think about

that his only thing that he's thinking

about when he's on the ring is the

uncontrollable so that he can use 100%

of his bandwidth for oh I had the

meeting and then he brought two people I

didn't expect well tell me more about

that oh that would work well with page

two if you turn to page two in the in

the in the prep file I have I think this

will be really applicable for you and

when we get there I'll I'll definitely

need your Insight oh wow he included the

but if I didn't have that prep ahead of

time I'd be like oh wow I had a game

plan and now it's totally screwed

because there's two other people who are

stakeholders so

tldr you're

underprepared most of the time most of

you and I'm saying this because I talk

to you guys a

lot five minutes of prep for a 60-minute

meeting will do more than trying

to razzled Dazzle your way through with

your words once you're on I think Sun Su

said every battle is won before the

battle begins