Momentum Podcast: 256

Immediate Momentum

by Alex Charfen

Episode Description

How can you get into a state of fluid momentum and stay there? In order to create momentum, you need the infrastructure to make it predictable. The fastest way to get into momentum is to give it to someone else.

Full Audio Transcript

I'm Alex Charfen, and this is the Momentum Podcast. Made for empire builders, game changers, trailblazers, shot takers, record breakers, world makers, and creators of all kinds, those among us who can't turn it off and don't know why anyone would want to. We challenge complacency, destroy apathy, and we are obsessed with creating momentum, so we can roll over bureaucracy and make our greatest contribution. Sure, we pay attention to their rules, but only so that we can bend them, break them, then rewrite them around our own will. We don't accept our destiny, we define it. We don't understand defeat because you only lose if you stop, and we don't know how. While the rest of the world strives for average and clings desperately to the status quo, we are the minority, the few who are willing to hallucinate there could be a better future. And instead of just daydreaming of what could be, we endure the vulnerability and exposure it takes to make it real. We are the evolutionary hunters, clearly the most important people in the world because entrepreneurs are the only source of consistent, positive human evolution, and we always will be.

Immediate momentum. As I've shared with you before, the way for any of us to get into momentum, to get into that long sustained state of flow, of accomplishment, of achievement, of knocking things out, of knowing that you're making things happen. The world is following in your wake.

In order to get there and stay there, you have to set up systems and processes in your life, or you're expecting to get lucky and have it be there. The reality is, with momentum, there is a prescription for longterm momentum that I've shared on this podcast over and over again. It is having clear outcomes, clear accountability. Understanding what part you play in the process, and then a scoreboard for perspective along the way what is showing you whether you're moving forward, or not.

But there's this other type of momentum that we want to access, and here's what I mean. Every single one of us, me included, falls out of momentum from time to time. I'll be honest with you, I had one of those mornings this morning.

I got up this morning. I first came downstairs. I couldn't find something in my office, I spent a half hour looking for it. Then I was kind of tearing everything apart, trying to find it. Then I got up and went for a walk with my kids, which was great. I love spending some time with the kids. I came back to my office and looked at my schedule to get ready for the day, and I had all kinds of overlapping appointments that were conflicting. I felt instantly overwhelmed. I hate calendars, they frustrate me when they're all crazy like that. I tried to get ahold of somebody to help me, I couldn't. My day just didn't start out right.

I feel in the moment, regardless of how much preparation I've done, those types of moments in my life can get me out of momentum and drag me down, and make me feel heavy, and make me feel like in that moment, I'm not feeling momentum. In that moment, I'm feeling frustration and anger and irritation, and everything else, and this happens to all of us.

So there's this trick, this hack, this incredible gift that's been given us by the universe, where we can get immediate momentum on tap anytime we want it, and we don't have to do any of that preparation. Now, it's fleeting. It's not going to last you forever, but if you want that feeling of momentum, that rush, here's how easy it is.

The fastest way to get into momentum is to give it to somebody else. It's not a paradox. It's not a riddle. It's just true. The fastest way to get into momentum is to give it to somebody else. When you go give someone a compliment, when you tell someone they're doing a great job, when you help someone with something that they're doing, when you help move someone else forward, it will give you momentum.

If you're feeling challenged or frustrated or irritated and you stop and give someone a compliment, you will actually feel better about yourself. There's this incredible thing about giving someone else positive energy, it comes back to us double or triple.

Years ago, back when I was doing a lot of competitive running, I was doing a lot of 5Ks, 10Ks. I even did the Austin half marathon, it was the longest race I had run. For perspective, I'm six foot two, and I weigh about 220 pounds, and I weighed that much when I ran the Austin marathon. In fact, I used to run a lot of shorter races, 5Ks and 10Ks, and if there was ever a Clydesdale division, the division for people over 200 pounds, I would usually place or win that division. I got to be a pretty competitive runner.

I was running in the Austin half marathon, the longest race I had run, and I got to about seven or eight miles, and even though I had trained, even though I had really worked at it, something happened. Like I got seven or eight miles and I kind of hit a wall. I was frustrated. I started feeling some pain, I was feeling dehydrated. My right foot was hurting. I mean, I can remember all of it. I wanted so badly to break two hours on a half marathon. I wanted to come in, in like the 140s or 150s, and I remember at seven or eight miles, I started getting cramps, I started feeling crappy, and I didn't think I was going to finish the marathon.

I actually stopped for a minute. I went over to a water table and grabbed some water, and I didn't know if I was going to finish. I was kind of shaking my head frustrated at myself, and this guy ran by me, and he tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Come on man, you got this." I remember in that moment thinking like, "That guy doesn't know me." But something lit up inside of me when he said that. He said, "Come on man, you got this," and I turned, and I was like, "You know what? He's right. I got this," and I started running.

In that moment, I remembered the fastest way to get momentum is to give it to somebody else. So I looked up ahead of me and there was a woman who was kind of walking, kind of running on the side of the road we were on, and so I ran towards her, and as I ran by her, I said, "Hey, you got this. Great, looking good." And I looked over my shoulder and she had started running.

From mile seven to the finish line of the Austin half marathon, I probably encouraged or said something positive or patted on on the back, or gave a high five to 150 or 200 people. Like every time I ran by somebody, I said something positive to them, and here's what's so crazy.

At mile seven, I was planning on quitting that race. At mile 13, I didn't even feel like I was running anymore. I felt like I could keep going. I felt like I could have done the full marathon if I wanted to, by just consistently encouraging people all the way through the run. Saying something positive to the people that I was running by, giving someone a high five, patting them on the back, letting them know that you're there for them. It made me feel better. I was so crazy energized for that entire race.

In fact, I was running it with a couple of friends and we all started around the same time, I finished way ahead of them. I was in the low 150, an hour and 15 minutes. It was an incredible day for me. By the time I was done, that moment that I stopped at around mile seven, felt like a moment, not like a massive decision. Because after that, going through the race and encouraging people, I only felt positive. I only felt like I was creating momentum, and this is a trick you can use anytime you want.

You know what? Social media has created an incredible amount of distraction, and let's be honest, it can suck up a ton of our time, our effort, our energy, our focus, but I love it. Because if I feel like I'm out of momentum like I was this morning, I do exactly what I did this morning. I grabbed my phone, looked at the time, set a time limit of five minutes, and I said, "In five minutes, I'm going to go compliment, say something positive, congratulate, do whatever I can to give other people momentum on Facebook for five minutes," and that's how I use it.

I jump on, and I go say, "Great job. I'm proud of you. This is awesome. I can't believe you were able to accomplish this. This is so incredible." For five minutes I tell people how great they are and I sign off, and you know what happens, and what happened this morning? At the end of the five minutes, I forget how bad I was feeling. I forget how frustrated I was. I've focused on other people and telling them how great they are. I've gotten out of my own way. I've gotten into momentum. And this morning, like every time I do this, I felt incredible by the end.

If you ever fall out of momentum, if you ever feel like you need it in that moment, if you're in that place where you need a boost, the easiest thing in the world you can do is give momentum to someone else. Give a compliment, encouragement. Tell somebody they look great today. Share with somebody else something that will help them, and it's amazing how quickly the energy ricochets right back to you. Become a source of positivity and the positivity will come back to you every single time.

Now, this morning, my morning was a little jacked up. It was not the best morning I've ever had. However, every single day I make the commitment that I'm going to give every morning I ever have the opportunity to be the best, and I make the first hour of my day, the best hour of my day so that I can get back on track even when my calendar is messed up, and I don't have what I need, and I'm frustrated, and I'm irritated.

The most important thing in my day every morning, is my morning routine. I have a scientifically developed morning routine that makes sure that when I get up, I am supported with breathing, hydration, nutrition, and movement, and I am cognitively, physiologically and chemically ready to take on the day. If you go to morning.charfen.com, morning.charfen.com right now, you can download my morning routine.

Thousands of entrepreneurs around the world use this, and they say things like, they've never felt so good. They've never accomplished so much. They didn't know they could get so much done. They didn't know mornings could be so productive. I know you're going to find the same thing. Go to morning.charfen.com and check it out.

Thank You For Listening!

I am truly grateful that you have chosen to spend your time listening to me and my podcast.

Please feel free to reach out if you have a question or feedback via our Contact Us page.

Please leave me a review on iTunes and share my podcast with your friends and family.

With gratitude,

Alex

Scroll to Top

Simply enter your email address below to get instant access to the Free 90-Minute Predictable Business Growth Training.

We hate spam, so we won't send you any...

We are excited to share the Predictable Planning System with you.

Please enter your email address below so we can share more valuable content with you in the future.

I hate spam, so I won't send you any...