First published 24 December 2018 on Your Best Year Starts Here with Nigel Risner.
Listen on Spotify.
Episode one, and the first thing I asked Nigel was whether we should start with a backstory. He reckoned we should just get going and let people work out who we are over time. So the big introduction went "Hi, I'm Nigel", "Hello, Nigel. I'm Neil", and that was that.
Nigel opens every talk with the same question, and he admits it's because he can remember it. He asks how many people want at least 5% more success in some area of their life. I jumped on that because everyone talks about 10X-ing their year, and 5% across the board is still a big difference. He likens it to spinning plates in the circus, where once they're up a little tap keeps them going.
His one tip was that to create your future you've got to complete your past. You wouldn't take last week's shopping to the supermarket and pile new stuff on top, and the fridge needs clearing before the Christmas food goes in. My version is the airport. After immigration you head to baggage reclaim, and the question is whose bags you're picking up.
Then Nigel had a go at the stuff in my briefcase, and in every handbag out there, with a bit of Michael McIntyre thrown in. His big one for the year ahead is letting go of being right, because being right isn't getting him the results he wants and being happy is. I offered one of mine, that you've got to let go of entitlement to get enlightenment, and we agreed we're catchphrase kings.
He also spells enjoy I-N-J-O-Y. He didn't enjoy me turning up at his house and plugging wires in everywhere, but he's in joy doing the podcast. He's done with anything that isn't a must, and for me, once I've decided something has to happen, I work out the how. Then the ten-minute timer we'd set went off right as Nigel got onto psychic vampires, so that's where episode two starts.
What stuck
- Aim for 5% more in each area of your life. Small gains are easier to keep spinning than one massive leap.
- Clear out the old before you add the new. That goes for grudges too.
- Ask yourself if you'd rather be right or be happy.
- Turn the shoulds into musts. Once it has to happen, you work out how.
In order to create your future, you've got to complete your past.
Nigel Risner
I've got this big belief that you've got to let go of entitlement to get enlightenment
Neil Martin
