Mat Lock
Annie welcome to the podcast. It is great to have you here. Why don't we kick off with you giving us a little bit about who and is where in the world you are. And just tell us a bit about yourself.
Annie O'niel
Well, hey, everyone, Matt, I'm so happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me on. You know, right now I'm in Miami, Florida, I moved to Southeast Florida about eight years ago. And I'm originally from Iowa. And Iowa is is kind of close to Chicago. But it's very, very cold. And I grew up there and I wanted to be closer to the sun, and the warmth. So I had so I live down here in South Florida and a little bit of Batman about my background. Like I mentioned, I grew up in Iowa. But I was a student athlete my whole life. So I was very curious about sports, and just anything about the World Animals, biking, you know, basketball, soccer, swimming, I just tried to try it all. And so that's kind of how I started as a kid and very, you know, interested in anything, and then kind of found my way towards basketball. And so I ended up, you know, playing division one basketball, I got drafted in the WNBA, which, you know, there's lots of stories there. But it was kind of my pre career before my business career where I work as a performance consultant now in a in a cybersecurity firm.
Mat Lock
Sure, thank you. It's, um, there's so much to talk about in there. But in particular, I mean, I the obvious correlation between your sporting and your highly successful sporting background, and your transition into the business world and the C suite environment. And I'm pretty interested, I know that when we talked before, we talked about how you sort of reverse engineered your, and navigated your way through the introduction to the business world and have continued to do so. And brought with you a lot of the learnings around performance and peak performance and elite performance from your sporting to I'd love to, let's just maybe park here for a while and talk about how that look.
Annie O'niel
Oh, that's, that's great. You know, it was something that started very early on, I couldn't even say, like in middle school. So I mentioned, you know, that I was into a ton of different activities as kids are just kind of finding their way and curious about the world. And I found my way towards basketball. So much so that I, I received my first collegiate recruiting letter when I was in the sixth grade, so probably about 13 years old. And it was from the University of Northern Iowa. And at that age, I was just so impressionable. And I couldn't believe that a college university a division one here in the States was recruiting me to be on their team, and you know, another five or six years. And so at that point, I went from being, you know, really enjoyed basketball into being committed to basketball. And when you speak about reverse engineering, I really look at it like you have that point in the future that you're looking towards, like a division one scholarship, at that time when I was in middle school that I really wanted to achieve. And then I started working my way backwards from that goal. And so I set myself in the future, you know, four or five years down the line, and then how do I move my way towards that goal, and become that person. And the funny thing is, with reverse engineering and setting a future, you know, goal or vision for yourself, is that the minute you do that, and you start taking even tiny actions, you kind of start becoming that person and being that person, you are the person who wakes up and goes to the gym and does dribbling drills at 6am or goes to the workout room after school, you know, and like we said, it was just a non negotiable for me, because it was part of who I had set my goals out to be. So reverse engineering for me started at a young age that way. And when I finished playing collegiate basketball at Iowa State University, and you know, we can fill in a few of those different, different stories. But even that time period, when I finished being an athlete was another major milestone where you had to look a little bit bigger and see what I wanted to do with my career and work on that reverse engineering of what businesses do I want to learn and what new skill sets do I want to learn who are the people I want to be around, and just kind of filling in that blank so I can start moving a little bit closer towards being that person and that's how reverse engineering has been for me as this as a student athlete, and then you know, throughout my career,
Mat Lock
yeah, fascinating. Is that something you figured out for yourself? Or Did did you have help with that? Because as you just quite touched on briefly, almost because it's a given for you was was also who to associate yourself with who to be around? Who to look up to, in a mentor, role, who, yeah, and so on. So, as a 13 year old, young lady Is that something you just figured out? It was just logical to you that well, that's where I want to get. So, alright, let's work backwards, how do I get?
Annie O'niel
You know, right. And I think at that age, we have so many great people that are just in the two or three years ahead of us, or we're able to go to like a college collegiate game and watch some of the athletes there. And one of the things that I always like, you know, really looked at was like, wow, these people are so skilled, any kind of athlete, I mean, I even watched Michael Jordan, but even if they were three years ahead of me, you know, they could dribble better, they could jump higher, they could shoot better, and they were definitely you know, they were getting great grades, everything that I wanted to check off the box. But it's like, how do I do that, and the only way to really get better at something is to put in the time. And so I just it was natural for me to be like taking the ball and going and doing like I would say a behind the back dribble, because I could watch these other players, players do it without even thinking, you know, they just did it, it was natural for them. And so I did it over and over and over again until it became natural for me. So I think seeing that vision of something you want to become, whether it's role models, mentors, you know, you know, just even the idea of having like a great grade, or you're walking across the stage, it was just so big for me to be able to see that vision, and then put myself in those shoes in those sneakers. And then what did I need to do each and every day to become that. So having those those mentors was huge. I also am a big visual learner. And you know, people talk about vision boards, right? You know, and, you know, how do you want to become one of those things, I even take a lot of photos, I put them in an album, a specific album, that's like Ann's mind movie. And so I'll just, you know, scroll through that, you know, in case I get too lost in Instagram or something silly, and I'll remember the person I want to be and that's what I do, like now. But when I was about when I was a kid, you know, I was so fortunate I had incredible parents that were so supportive on on so many different levels. But I was able to put posters and pictures and quotes all over all of my room, the ceilings had to toe was covered in visions of like what I wanted to do. And I, of course, I had some animals or some art and stuff like that, that I still love. But everything was just kind of like embodying what, what that future could look like, and who those people were like, What were their attributes. So that definitely helps me too. So in case I couldn't just see them in the gym, or, you know, watch them on TV all the time. I felt like I had their pictures around me. And you know, the vision of what it looks like to be a top performer, whether it was in the classroom or on the basketball court.
Mat Lock
Yeah, sure. I'm fantastic. And I'm assuming I mean, over there, we were talking about what a five year period from 13, up to when you began to university and starting to get interest already from those universities, which also speaks to your level of ability and commitment at that time, even even at the age of 13. But that's a quite a long time, isn't it? So did. Did you break that five years down into small and modest sort of bite sized pieces? I mean, often, certainly, in the programs that we run, absolutely. Talk about this, talk about this long term goal, then yeah, absolutely work backwards, reverse engineering, how to get there and put in mini goals so that you can celebrate many wins, very easy to somehow lose, lose your way a little bit and lose the intensity of that drive and purpose.
Annie O'niel
Right? Absolutely. Yeah. So you know, the middle school years, were just all about like skill sets, the little things that I could do on my own and get better at and, you know, when when whenever we had practice or games, you know, try to see if, you know, my first step was quicker or my I could release my shot better, you know, so it was really kind of the testing period where I was just practicing all the fundamentals and skill sets and I you know, put on the mat time to be, you know, a freshman that started on the varsity team. And you know that so that was my goal at that time. And when I ended up starting to be a freshman, I was already one of the elite players in the in the state of Iowa. And so, you know, I really worked on my skills and then I played in an AAU team where all of the players on that AAU team, like take a couple of different large cities in Iowa. And you know, every one of those players ended up getting a division one scholarship. So I think surrounding myself with players who are always better than me pushed me so much higher. And so a lot of the times you know, you'll play on 11 and under like team but I was always like the 10 year old that was playing on the 11 you know, team or, you know, if I if I was on an AAU team, I was playing two years up and so it just always made me drive a little bit harder to be like, you know, everybody is great at that next level. So how do you keep improving your skill sets? And I think seeing other people that were great, I just had to I just wanted to be like them too.
Mat Lock
It's interesting, isn't it? We were talking about the skills skills sort of balance ratio at skills, challenge balance, and how I mean, the magic number in the world of neuroscience is around 4%. So if you're constantly just stretching yourself, you just but only around 4%, that you can't be something that's just too big. And he's unachieved. The brains that that's just not realistic. That's not achievable. It's just constantly just outside. So you have to reach forward, which is a 10 year old playing with 11 year old would just do that the whole time wouldn't force you to stretch cause you to grow each time. But without being it's not like you're playing with a 16 year old.
Annie O'niel
Yes, yeah, I love that as if that's exactly what it looks like, is because I was still competitive, but there was a gap, you know, there was a tiny gap that I could go back after the game or after practices and be like, Wow, I need to get better at my crossover, or my free throws, I, you know, I need to get a little bit better at and so those are just tiny steps that continue to push me to always come back to the gym and just get you know, and at that point, when you get pretty good, then you're looking at incremental, tiny, tiny, tiny changes that you want to try to improve on, you know, LeBron James still shoots all the time, right?
Mat Lock
Sure sensor, how did that translate into the business world, when you moved into your business career? Have you applied that same philosophy, you still may have set yourself a long term goal and reverse engineer for how you're going to achieve that? You know,
Annie O'niel
I do i The biggest, the biggest one was definitely when I kind of transitioned from playing basketball. And I even did, I coached division one basketball as an assistant coach for a couple of years, I did TV color commentary for a bunch of different years and coach camps, and I still was around basketball. And there was a point in there, where I said, what other skills can I learn, I, you know, always thought that I could come back to basketball, if I didn't like anything out there, you know, in the business world, or whatever. And I always said, I do have enough skill sets and experiences. And you know, I would say accomplishments that I could come back into the world of basketball. And so that was a big pivot for me to look and see what else was out there. And at that time, my actually, my increments got a lot less when you're in college or high school or middle school was increments are more like those four year marks, because you know that you're going to be in school, high school for four years, and then college for four years. And then it started to be almost the 12 month to 18 month range of trying something out, seeing if I like it if I could grow, and then move forward that way, and just keep leaning into anything that I was curious about. And I saw in myself, you know, that I was passionate about, and I wanted to put in the time and practice. And it definitely did pay dividends in my business career. I, I kept doing that. Throughout my career, I did have, you know, one major setback, which was, you know, I got let go during the pandemic, during COVID. And so I will say, you know, just because there's a lot of great accomplishments out there, there's always like, kind of this underlying where people are working very hard, or, and, you know, there might be some other things that you don't see. And that was one of them for me was that I got let go for about six months. And at that time. So this was in 2020, I was working at a performance consultant firm, and, you know, was a consultant internationally, but, you know, they a lot of people weren't using, you know, consulting firms at that time. And, you know, spending a lot of money for consulting outside consulting. So I, so I looked at that time period, I said, Where do I want to be in 2022. And that's as as like, simple as I got, and I didn't like talk to too many people, I really just kind of sat in that space and tried to create like, with a blank canvas, on where I wanted to be with my experiences. And so I really looked at the cybersecurity industry, technology industry. And I was able to find a consulting role with within the cybersecurity industry, which was great because I have the performance background of athletics, and the business background to consult. And I would say that, for sure was one of the biggest, you know, reverse engineering points is when you don't have something directly in front of you. So then you can throw that throw that goal out a little bit further and really kind of look at that Canvas and create it that way. So that was a that was a major milestone for me to use those skill sets from way back in the day and use them in my career.
Mat Lock
Yeah, and congratulations for that. I mean, the last couple of years. I know I'm dating this podcast episode by saying it that way, but it's early in 2022 right now. So to cover that off, but yeah, we're still living with pandemic. We're two years in at this point. So it's put a huge amount of people's for a huge amount of time. But what you're describing is not I think not only reverse engineering, but it speaks to something that you're expert in, and one of your passions, but that you're demonstrating your own form of growth mindset very clear.
Annie O'niel
That's right. That's right. Mm hmm.
Mat Lock
And I'd love to spend some time talking about the difference between fixed mindset and growth mindset as you would explain it to your client. And how you help transition your clients, if they're, if they have a fixed mindset, in general, around specific topics, how you help them develop a growth mindset?
Annie O'nie
l
Yeah, what a great question. I would say one of the biggest things for me on growth mindset. And you say, growth mindset and fixed mindset and fixed mindset comes from the past, or the things that we've already experienced as behaviors that we know very, very well, and patterns and routines we know well. And growth mindset is, is taking almost that leap of faith of trying something new or being okay with failing. And that's really where I think the bread and butter is for life. Because, you know, people look at the growth mindset and fixed mindset. And usually people are like, well, well, well, you know, that could go wrong, or I'm scared about that. And that those are some of the the comments that you get from fixed mindset, and growth mindset, I usually try to look at like, what if it's the best decision I've ever made? You know, like, what if it turns out amazing. And so when you kind of, and there's always two ways to look at it, when you put those lenses on like that, of what if it's the best decision I've ever made, you know, the possibilities and opportunities start arising and showing up and you start seeing that vision of what it really could look like in the future. You know, even for me, when I said, I moved to Miami, I didn't know anyone down here in South Florida. I was, you know, miles the 1000s of miles away from my family. And you know, I just remembered that one of those small questions like you can earn one of those small phrases, I said with basketballs, you can always go back, if you know, it doesn't work out down here. And I'm like, Oh, yeah. But then I started thinking of the Son and the people I might need, and you know, what jobs like I would be looking for. And, you know, it just it happened to be one a great decision. And that's kind of where I really look at growth mindset. And fixed mindset is just that simple question of like, what if it's the best decision I've could possibly make out there?
Mat Lock
Well, absolutely. And sometimes adversity such as, yeah, needing to find maybe a new career path, because of the pandemic, for example, it would be very easy. And I'm sure there are lots of people who have taken that news in somehow, you know, victim mindset, and that sort of sat in the corner licking their wounds versus leaning in and saying, Okay, well, it is what it is. And therefore, let's look at what the opportunities are. Maybe this does present opportunities. And in fairness, I know the pandemic has been a great example of exactly that, where so many people and companies have thrived on the back of the pandemic, because it forced them to change to really look at the way they're living their life or running their business and to have to be forced into. I know, it's a cliche word these days, but pivoting. I don't care if it's cliche, it's actually no,
Annie O'niel
it's so true. And it's so true, especially, you know, just looking at you know, at that time, when, you know, they let go of three fourths of our company, I hung up the call, it was a regular zoom call that we normally have on a Monday, and I hung up and I, you know, in my head, I said, this might be the best thing that's happened to me. And now did I, like, just sit and wallow in that for, you know, a few days, yes, that I didn't try to, like, immediately get into another job. But sitting with that one thought, while I let everything sink, and you know, just kind of like brush off of me, was really great, because then it gave me that space to, you know, I think you always need that little bit of a window to start looking at the possibilities that are out there, and the opportunities to stretch and try something new. And that was a it was, it was a very hard time. It was a low time, but I just kind of kept holding on to that one little thing where I was like, I'm just gonna keep leaning into that idea that this is the best opportunity for me if I if I can capitalize on it mentally and emotionally. So you helped me right on.
Mat Lock
And I mean, typically working with your clients, or even just people you know, are there any particular Are there any sort of trends that you see with subjects around a fixed mindset? Because as you said, it talks a fixed mindset stems from history from what we know and of course We're kind of hardwired and you're one of the one of the seven human needs, is that mean certainty, which is what people in very often into a routine and not pushing the boundaries and just staying within the so called comfort zone, even though the comfort zone is often quite uncomfortable in Hell, yes, nonetheless, it's what we know. So we kind of hang on to it and we stay with it. Before we know it. The years have passed, decades have passed, and, you know, to Dan and Aphrodite but a lot of people are on the hamster wheel of life and yeah, and not. And to me those, you know, the fixed mindset certainly speaks to that button. Where to go against that we're almost contradicting our DNA on we our innate human need for certainty. How do you people, how do you help? Sorry, how do you help clients will people you know, to just look at that differently, just to, to think about, you know, look at it through a different prism, for example, and understand that actually, there may be a world of opportunity outside of that comfort zone, and there is typically a world of opportunity.
Annie O'niel
Oh, man, it is, well, it's definitely hard to, to hard to teach, because you have to embody it first. And, you know, I share a couple of those stories where I really had to take those chances myself, you know, whether that was, like I said, was moving halfway across the United States by myself or, you know, being able to create a new position opportunity for me during the pandemic and being locked out. Or, like I said, with, you know, transitioning from basketball into a business career. So, one you can always see, like, give those examples, right. You know, and you mentioned the, the seven needs of like, you know, the structure and safety and I always think of the Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and I, I, for some reason, always looked at that inverted Li. So it's a triangle and look at it, inverted Li and the very bottom triangle is self actualization. And I know that that means so much to me about self actualization as in becoming the best version of yourself or being everything that you possibly can be and opportunities and seizing those. And those that really meant means something to me. So I inverted Maslow's hierarchy.
And they do say that neurons fire together, they wire together, you mentioned neuroscience, and I and I love neuroscience, one of the ways that I've been able to really continue to sit with that, because, of course, I can go back to my old ways and routines and, you know, feel glum about something. But I really do a lot of meditation. And that has, that has helped me stay present and continue to look at the future. So that was one of the practices that is really, really helped me, whether it's walking meditations or sitting meditations because those those neurons that fire together, wire together, and they also can unwire together so you can fire new ones, you know, the neuroscience in the science world is, is young, and we're just learning more and more about it. But we have to put it into action. And so it's hard to teach a lot of people that you know, but you when you like we talked about a few minutes ago, when you are the person that is being something that they want to embody. That's that's the whole game right there. You know, you seek people out that are up to cool things, have that positive attitude, have the good vibe of anything's possible, let's go seize the day. And that's just, you know, when you are that and you're rounded, that that kind of brings and builds a community around you just like what you guys are doing at the at impact project.
Mat Lock
Yeah, sure, nothing. Thank you. And we do get a lot of that feedback. A lot of people gravitate towards us, because they just love that energy. That's the the optimism here the fact that what we what we offer is, you know, we're looking through the prism of positive psychology. Exactly. Let's make an impact what is possible, and we're not being going home, we're not being cavalier about it. We all, you know, at the end of the day, have bills to pay in life to lead. There are some practicalities of life that none of us can escape, but putting those into perspective, and constantly. And again, I mean, I love to quote ritual, I'm an I'm a grateful fan of ritual. And if you are familiar with him, you know, he just, and it sounds so cliche, but it's so true. He sort of talks about trying constantly trying to be the best version of himself. And he's not the only one that says that followed two years. And I think where I heard it first, but it's right, isn't it? Yes. If we can get past the hyperbolic cliche nature of that, that somehow was perceived in some areas of society. It's actually true and if we all operated in that way, and deeply, you know, deeply believed in that and operated our lives from that basis. imagine what the world would be like,
Annie O'niel
you know, what I, when I discover that when I meet people, like, you know, or you know, see people that are trying to be the best version of themselves, and like I said, positive, looking at things with the, you know, rose colored glasses. And I look at that, and I'm like, you know, what's something, there's a secret about them, because they're very happy. You know, they're very happy. And I think it's something like that, where when you are expressing yourself at that certain level of goodness and positivity and anything's possible, you are becoming that and you are like that version. And I just am so impressed when I see that those are the people I want to hang around and the mentors I want in my life, so then I can remember myself to keep being like that and do my daily practice everyday like that.
Mat Lock
Absolutely. Now, interesting. You mentioned you mentioned your daily practice. I mean, the meditation is a daily part of your life.
Annie O'niel
Oh, yes, definitely. You know, instead of going to the gym and dribbling and being up at 6am doing that the Why do the meditations I discovered it about every time you think of people dribbling, oh my gosh, instead, you're coming from a
different world. Oh, man, yes, I'm sorry, everyone's I got basketball because I loved dribbling. And if you can dribble while you can get around, you know, defenders and stuff like that. So effectively, crossover dribbles are between your legs, I would sit and if I didn't want to jump shoot, I would just sit in a chair like I am right now and just would dribble on the side. So it wasn't a super strenuous activity, but my hands were getting into the rhythm and the cadence. And so when we mentioned meditation, this is what I discovered for myself through meditation is I would go to the gym, you know, you get on a routine, the circadian rhythms, the cadence of that, but even for me shooting or dribbling, if I didn't have to think about it, like myself, my body just moved into a certain rhythm that way whenever I was playing, inspired basketball or dribbling, inspired, and that's what meditation can do, as well. And getting into like that positive mind frame for your entire day or your week. And that's why I got back into that. Just, you know, for me on a on a daily practice,
Mat Lock
that is like actually dropping into flow state. Yes, then you describe that exactly in the way that people would describe being in, you know, in the groove in the moment just kind of happens, you're in the flow state at the end,
Annie O'niel
yeah, in the flow. And just when you're in the flow, you're not thinking your brain isn't overly wired about the past that's happened and trying to survive the day and I've got to survive this meeting, and this phone call and whatever is happening, you're more just experiencing life as it is. And that's really where I wanted to get back to like how I felt so much flow, practicing basketball or practicing going to school, you know, those kind of it was a meditative routine. And now, you know, now I just choose to do that on a on a daily routine. So I can get into that state of where I'm just receiving, you know, ideas of creativity and positivity out there. Instead of you know, worrying about the next phone call after bank.
Mat Lock
Kind of interesting sort of take it into a granular level for anyone who is listening to this or watching this doesn't currently meditate. And for sure, it's something we talk a lot about, we talk about it often as part of our active recovery. That's great. Yeah. breathwork, mindfulness meditation, amongst other things. And I mean, you do it on a daily basis? Do you have it sort of set in your calendar? And it's this time at this day? For what every day for a certain amount of time? Or is it less rigid than that?
Annie O'niel
So I definitely do it every morning, I do a walking meditation every single morning. And the walking meditation really helps me. Because again, I'm kind of embodying the entire experience of it, you kind of are walking into a trance, but so yeah, every morning that is the same routine. And when I go to bed at night, I do a shorter meditation, usually the walking ones, at least about an hour. And then if I get feel like I'm getting off kilter during my day, I have like short 15 minute ones, where I just put my headphones on, and I'm listening to certain meditations and just taking and like I said, What, Eric sorry, you said, which was great was the breath work, and really kind of focusing on your body and the breath work because, again, it takes off the mind of worrying about whatever is happening next out there, because your mind has to start worrying about how you're breathing, which is tremendous. So I do think it is such a great like, like pause during your day. I were in the wake in the morning like to start on a creative positive note.
Mat Lock
No, awesome. And what we find is, I mean, I Yeah, it's I'm almost envious, that you do it for an hour walking meditation for now. I mean, I I start my day with a 10 minute guided meditation every day. That's amazing. And part of my rationale for doing it when I do today is a nice way to set the day. You, but also it's a way of it's, for me non negotiable, it's literally I, I pour myself a cup of green tea. And whilst that's brewing, I do 10 minutes of guided meditation. And I have just found that by making that non negotiable impact, it's literally written in my calendar, I just that time is allocated, which from a cognitive loading perspective is helpful, because I don't have to think about it. I don't have to think well, when should I meditate today,
Annie O'niel
right, or, you know, if you don't have it in the calendar, you will just push it off, you know, that just will keep going back an hour and a half hour and something else comes up. And there you go with your heart entire morning. So yes, I absolutely love that. And that it's a non negotiable for you.
Mat Lock
And even in the one of our rooms level up, we introduce breathwork meditation, actually, we do it as part of the sort of the live sessions. And it's just five minutes. And although we encourage people that, hey, you can do this to 20 million, let's say, in your own time, but we'll do it for five in this moment. And most people stick to the five them and they're busy, busy, busy. And vermin, as you well know, in five minutes coming from a position of doing nothing in that right. In that way, I'm doing five minutes daily is significant, in terms of the impact of
Annie O'niel
it. So is I think that like some people, you know, don't want to put down their phone for five minutes. So that is just such a big thing. And when I really started getting just like you like this is what I'm going to do to create my day is meditate and get myself in the best possible spot is one thing that I heard very early on was there's no such thing as a bad meditation. So I just love that. So I know even if it's five minutes or 10 minutes of you know, a little bit of breath work, it's worth the time.
Mat Lock
You can do it in a minute, right? If you're having a really high stress moment, you can just do a minute of concentrating on your breathing and clink clink cleansing the mind just for one minute and amazing how that can be?
Annie O'niel
Yes, I absolutely. It just it's just like a reminder, like, Oh, yes, I'm in control of this day, I can create what I like, you know, and there and see, so many of these concepts that we're talking about go together, that's the growth mindset to have you sink in, you kind of start remembering, oh, I can create my life again. So, you know, in the middle of all that stress.
Mat Lock
Now look, in a similar way, I think what I know that one of the things, one of the beliefs you have revolves around looking at the world in 3d as you put it in and making things about more than you making bigger than you. And I'd love to dive into it. Because again, it's something that we, you know, we really are aligned and a lot of what we do in our coaching sessions in our programs, a big part of that we'll talk about, you know, what's your massively transformative, transformative purpose and, and try and attach that to elements of day to day life even. And I've got a nice example of that from the most recent intake. But I'd love to hear just how you came to that realization, this whole look at the world in 3d.
Annie O'niel
Yes, yes, I? Well, I would say most, the biggest change for me was when I finished playing basketball and finished being at school, because again, as you are 1011 12, or even younger than that, you're always just looking at that next grade, and the next school year, and also the next basketball game or the next season, you know, whatever that may be. And so when the season's finish and school finish, it really kind of I think sometimes I think of it as the all the horses that are racing, right, the race horses, and they have their little blinders on and you just are focused, so focused on that one goal, whether you know, that school, being a student athlete, you know, it was my thing. And so I really had those blinders on. And when that finish, I took them off. And I felt like that was a very one dimensional, you know, way of looking at life. And was it completely thrilling and awesome, yes, playing basketball. But I also wanted to look and just see what else I was curious about in the world. And so that was looking at things with like that hologram 3d model of, you can have so many different interests and skill sets, and, you know, different friend groups and different places that you've lived, and how do they all just make up like who you are. And so that was really one of the biggest point where I just wanted to continue to look at everything as a big hologram, like this 3d matrix. And that was the point where everything shifted for me to continue to look at not that things are linear, but they're actually like a full world out there. And so that's why, you know, if people asked me, you know, are you interested in this? Most likely, I'm going to say yes, and I'll go try something out. And you know, I'll do adventures experiences, cities, people, I'll meet them and I'll just want to try it at least once because you never know I just Think you just never know what could be right around that corner what you're curious about. And that's the way that I tried to look at the world because again, I looked at it through a very, you know, focus lens, which was great. And now I look at it a much divergent lens. And so I want to see all the different pieces, and what might, I just might be curious about on the other side over there. So that's kind of the different, you know, my experience of the three dimensional world and looking at things very zoned in
Mat Lock
Sure. And the power that comes from that, when, when you have that realization, and even attach meaning to things, anything, your goals or activities that are bigger than you, yes, something much more than the urine is a nice example, we had in the last intake, we had one, in week five or five, we, we set the task for creating a movement challenge and didn't really call it movement, a lot of work here, but it's not a it's just about movement. And so we, we basically seek to get rid of the ability for any of our delegates to ever say, again, I didn't have time to work out, oh, yes, we get them to design their own, so they get to design it. And we give them some help with that. But they design something that takes less than 10 minutes bodyweight only. And in the space where you're standing. i There's always the opportunity of doing some form of movement. And then not everyone's into that, you know, not everyone is excited about sports, and so on as, as perhaps you and I are. And it's interesting, we get, you know, when I enter, okay, the homework this week is that you've got to do that with your accountability buddy. And take a photograph of before or after, or if you're up for it, then you can video and share that within our own little private community. I think you just see, I mean, I get to see all the faces on screen. And some of them are quite happy with that. And others just kind of see the eyes go down or they're not excited about that. And then and then I say, and look, here's the deal for every single one of you that posts that during this week, every single post will pay for a call at lifeline Australia, which is the national suicide prevention and mental health. That's just amazing. And so everything we do is around painful calls that lifeline action. So So I said and that's it as soon as I announce that as soon as I make it about being bigger than them just in a workout, a little movement workout that they don't really want to do. But they'll do it. Because if you do that, we're going to pay for a call at lifeline. And look, they're not all lifesaving calls, but some of them are. And maybe yes,
Annie O'niel
right. Yes. I mean, that is just amazing. Man. I absolutely love that. I bet. How much did everything grow with them posts,
Mat Lock
the energy, everything lifted. And the last intake, we had one of the delegates with a firefighter and he messaged us afterwards he said, Hey, if I get nine of my colleagues at work to do it in full firefighter turnout gear, what do you pay for 10 calls? Oh, wow. Talk about the ripple effect more like Yeah, absolutely. We'll pay for 10 calls.
Annie O'niel
Oh, I'm so inspired. I'm smiling so much. That's so awesome. The end so that you can feel the difference when people know, it's not just about them, that it's something bigger. And that is that that's where the bread and butter is. That's so awesome. I love that about you and your team. That's so cool.
Mat Lock
Well, I mean, thank you that because it's the it's the delegates in this case who were doing the heavy lifting. They needed and they all did. And for sure. And then there was really you could sell when we did the sort of debrief in the next session. And we talked about what actually and I told the story about the 10 firefighters. Yes, I said where it was gonna be, you know, this many calls that were painful. But actually now this many calls, right? Okay, silent round was on Zoom for, for everyone involved. But you could just tell the energy of great people really appreciate it went out of their way in the feedback sessions. So Well, I really appreciated that you linked it to LifeLine. That's awesome. Mental Health such a big deal. And it's interesting, it just took the whole focus away from the pain and anguish they perceive there we're going to go through. Yes. And a lot of them said that they even found it easier during doing their little workout. They knew it was attached to something bigger than them. And the power of that is significant. So I mean, the takeaway there is if it comes back to our sense of purpose doesn't it comes from having both clear goals, but also having those goals aligned with a clear sense of purpose, and where possible, designing our lives in the spirit of that and being as aligned with that as possible so that most things that we're doing, we can cerebrally attach. So yes, right. Yes, meaning to that great,
Annie O'niel
yes, bigger, greater meeting. It's just that's so powerful and profound, and I I love that about Bel Air about the team and all the delegates that did that.
Mat Lock
Yeah, sure. Thank you. And Sandy, again, looking at the world in 3d. It's another form of that.
Annie O'niel
Definitely yes. Because again, it's not just about you and your goals. And it's always a little bit something, something bigger. And even the the podcast I created, which is called Get busy live in, which you know, is it's about good vibes, like you guys have a good vibes growth mindset and giving back. And that was the biggest piece for me, because I wouldn't wake up just to chat with people without having a bigger purpose. So every person that comes on talks about a nonprofit or charity or cause that they're inspired by and, you know, want to bring it, you know, COVID COVID, kind of threw down to be able to volunteer so much and know about those kinds of things. So that's, that's exactly why I did it. And I know, that's why I get up and do the research and want to meet people and chat with them. Because I know they have an incredible story on the other end that I'm excited about. And I just had to mention that because it's so cool. And it's it's so cool. The the psychology that's behind it, of attaching a purpose and a mission that's bigger out there. And then you start living into it. I mean, that was that's even reverse engineering for those folks that you
Mat Lock
fill out. We're just we did a full circle. Right there, for sure. We'll put that in the show notes. We'll have a link to the Get busy living podcast. Absolutely. I would encourage anyone listening to go and check that out for sure. And we're, we're coming up on time. We're kind of getting there. And is there anything else you'd like to share it and think that you think I haven't gone deep enough on? Or is there anything that stands out to you, as you just like to mention or any sort of a bit like Springer's final thought if you've any sort of wisdom you want to share Not to put you on the spot, but I think it's been a great conversation. I've enjoyed it very much. And I think everyone listening?
Annie O'niel
Yes, there's, there was so much and I felt like between our conversation that it just kept growing. And we could have you know, gone deeper and further in the conversation. I just really really enjoyed it and knew when I met you and learned about the impact project that this was going to agree in a great alignment and conversation for for you and I and all the listeners. So just thank you so much for having me on and, and thank you for all of you that you're up to in the world, you know, and making people the best versions of themselves helping them see that light. And that's, that's so profound. Because every person we have like that, you know, that's gonna be our next mentor. So I just really appreciate it.
Mat Lock
No kind words. Thank you. By the way, it's very good. Well, there you have it. Thank you very much for listening. And if you've enjoyed this, please go ahead and share it and leave us a review on whichever platform you're using. It really does help more than you know. And if you're interested in grabbing a copy of my book, lead by example, which talks about how you can unleash your potential at work and in life. I would love to send you a copy and if you go to the impact project.io take a dive down that rabbit hole and it'll be on your doorstep in no time at all. My thanks to and we'll be posting all of the various links to an socials and her website and her podcast in the show notes. So until next time, get gritty about kicking your goals and go make an impact on the world.
