EP68 | The 3 Ways You Limit What's Possible in Your Life

Zach invites you to embrace life's tensions as a pathway to achieving your biggest dreams. Drawing inspiration from his rodeo days, Zach compares keeping focused on a wild bronc to maintaining sight of your ambitions amidst life's chaos. He warns against the traps of overthinking, getting bogged down by the 'how,' and succumbing to limiting beliefs. This episode is a powerful call to dream boldly, act incrementally, and find joy in the journey. Get ready to harness tension, not as an obstacle, but as a driving force towards your greatest potential. Tune in for an energizing lesson in turning life's pressures into progress.

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Zach’s Website

Episode resources:

Zach’s Workshop
Zach’s Mastermind
The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life by Robert Fritz
10x Is Easier Than 2x by Ben Hardy

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TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
Zach Arend: Welcome back to the arena today.

I want to talk about why you need some more tension in your life. When I was riding saddle broncs in the rodeo. Something I was always instructed to do was to keep my eyes on the bronc. Keep your eyes on the Bronx. Zack, keep your eyes on the bronc. And there was a spot between the horses, neck and the shoulders, where if I kept my eyes and all my attention there, everything else just kind of faded away.

And I was able to stay with that bronc for eight seconds. Eyes on the bronc. And here's the interesting thing. You know, you're climbing over the back of this shoot. You're dropping down on this giant 2000 pound wild animal that does not want you on its back. Right. Well, when I nod my head and that gate flies open. I am not. Trying hard to stay on the back of that bronc.

Like I'm not in my head thinking. I'm not really trying hard, like it's like more of a dance. Because, you know, There wasn't a lot of conflict between me and the horse. Like I wasn't fighting the horse. Because you can't fight mother nature. This is a 2000 pound wild animal. I'm like. I was like 170 pound boy.

Like I'm not going to win that fight. And I had to learn to be with and go with that bronc for eight seconds. I had to learn to be in the dance. And there wasn't a lot of conflict. There wasn't a lot of back and forth. It was a dance. There was tension though. And that's why I'm here to talk to you about is you need some more tension in your life. Because in rodeo, the tension comes from the bronc in your life, in your business, the tension. Comes from your vision comes from your dream and you need it.

You need it to create. Tension. And here's why there's a book called the path of least resistance by Robert Fritz. He's a music composer, artists management consultant. And in this book, he talks about how in physics, everything tends to flow in the direction of least resistance. And he uses this example. Of a rubber band.

And

when you put tension on a rubber band, Tension has to resolve itself. You know what I mean? Like you, you stretch a rubber band out. The more you stretch it. It has to resolve itself in some way. And that's, what's true for you in your life. And that's why you have to create tension. You have to have tension with where you're at today. Current reality. And in the future, your dream you've got to, you've got to stand in that gap. You've got to stand in that gap.

That's where all the tension is and that's where all the magic occurs. Because when you have tension on your vision and you keep that vision and hold it high and not negotiate it and compromise it. Then that tension, the vision creates is just going to pull you into it. You don't have to try to do anything.

The vision pulls you into it. Because if I put tension on a rubber band, And that rubber band, the re the tension wants to resolve itself. When you have a big vision, when you have a big dream. It wants to find resolution. And Ben Hardy wrote a book. 10 X is easier than two X. It just came out not a couple of months ago. poWerful book in that book, he talks about the difference between a 10 X vision, a big vision, something that feels impossible.

It's certainly not realistic. And from where we stand today, that would be 10 X, two X is more of pursuing those incremental improvements in your life. You know, in, in business, incremental improvements, sound like this. If I could just get my processes. In order then I'll hire. Or once I get the right structure in my business, then I will. Work less. You know, and then we're just constantly trying to catch up with the next thing.

And it's, you know, once I do X, then I can do Y and it turns into you turn yourself into a hamster running on a wheel. Like it is an endless pursuit of. Of growth. That's two X, very incremental 10 X, not so much. TEDx is. Like a fundamental shift in how you do things and what I love. And he and Ben Hardy shares this in the book.

The difference between a two X vision and a 10 X vision is when you just go for incremental improvement, there is a multitude of ways to improve. Like countless. Multitude of ways to improve, but when you set a big vision and have a big dream big, I mean, so big, it feels impossible. There is only a handful of ways that it's going to happen. And that brings you a lot of clarity. You need that clarity.

You need that tension because that's, what's going to pull you. Into it. And so tension. There's a couple ways tension resolves itself though. Cause when I'm coaching somebody. Naturally, what starts to arise in them is what they really do not want in their life and what they really do desire in their life.

And in that tension gets cranked up and it can be uncomfortable, especially I was with a group last night. We're halfway through a program that I'm doing with a small group of leaders and entrepreneurs. And when we started. Bring the tension to light. Several of them said it was shocking to see the gap, to see where I am and who I'm being today and who I desire to be and where I desire to be at in my life.

There's this massive gap. And I'm thinking. Yes. That's. Exactly. Yes. Now. You can let that gap take you out for sure. And. That's not what I'm suggesting. I'm just suggesting, like, we need to be in a gap. We need to be willing and able to stand in the gap to stand in the tension. Because if you're not. The tension has to resolve itself some way.

So if you're not willing to stand in the tension What happens is we lower our vision. We lower our expectations. We start to make compromises that lows or lowers tension that, that reduces tension, but we don't really move toward our vision. We stay exactly where we're at. Maybe we get some incremental improvement here or there, but we don't really fundamentally change anything. We need to keep that vision high.

We need to let it pull us into it. And to do that, we have to keep the tension on the vision. Eyes on the bronc now. I want to share three ways where we lose tension on our vision. These are three of the most common things I see in those I work with and leaders, entrepreneurs, individuals, just what we tend to do. That kind of takes us out of that tension that prevents us from finding that 10 X. Improvement and growth in our life.

Here's the three, the first one is as soon as we set a big goals, a vision dream, as soon as we start to get in contact with it, we go to our head. Just like me, I'm standing behind the shoots, right? And there's this giant Clyde steel horse. Big 2020 500 pound horse. And I know not to go into my head, like, oh my God, I hope I, you know, if this horse steps on me, I might, I'm probably dead.

You know, like I don't go there. I don't go there at all. I'm just like there in the moment, eyes on the bronc. I'm not thinking about what might go wrong or why I'm maybe not ready for this particular ride, but that's what we do. And we create a big vision. We get in our head and we start to rationalize away.

What's possible. We start asking questions like, well, can I really do that? Is that really realistic right now? Do I really have the money? The time, the energy? How old am I too old? And my two young, do I have the experience? We start. Using our brains to tell us whether or not something's possible.

Well, our brain. Is only as good as our past. And if you want to create a new future, you've got to get out of your head. You've got to get out of your brain because your current thinking, isn't going to take you to where you want to go. It just, it can't. That's why that tension on a big vision. He has to be there.

Cause it's going to pull you out of your old way of being your old way of thinking and operating. And you know what? That's a necessity. If you want to create big, bold outcomes in your life. And I think you do otherwise, you wouldn't be in the arena with me right now. So. How do we get in our head?

We rationalize away. And rationalize and compromise on our vision. We talk ourselves down. That's the first thing we just get in our head. You cannot achieve a big vision in your head. You can do incremental improvement in your head because you can kind of take from what worked last time and do it a little bit better.

That's two X, 10 X doesn't happen in your head. It can't happen. It's not an intellectual activity. It's not a business plan. It just isn't you can't do it. You can't. Look, I could be full of shit here guys, but what I've learned is what I'm saying is useful. It's been very useful for me.

It's been very useful for my clients. So number one, you can't get to a big vision. In your head, you've got to get out of your head, just like Maverick in top gun. Right? Don't think just do. Just do. Number two. Is the second thing we do to bail on ourselves to diminish our vision. As we start asking how I don't know how I'm going to do it.

Oh my God. I'd be a millionaire. If I had money every time I asked myself, how am I going to do that? Because every time I've asked I've damn near psyched myself out. Cause I'm like, I don't know how, I don't know. I've never done this before. You've never done this before. Don't ask how don't ask how it's it's a, it's an unuseful question. Of how am I going to 10 X my business.

What is your vision?

What do you desire out of your life? What's your dream? Now. Okay. Leave it, just leave it there. Put it out in front of you. And feel yourself in the tension, feel yourself standing in that gap. That's all that it requires a view. In this moment, I don't need you figuring out how don't figure out. It's not about a house.

It's about who you're being. It's about how you're going to show up for this moment and the next moment, and the next moment, in a way that's congruent with your vision and your dream. So that's the second one is asking how takes us out of the tension of our vision. And number three.

Don't pay attention to the lies that we tell ourselves, the beliefs that we hold about the way life is. Because we see the world through a lens, a set of filters based on our past life, our history, our upbringing, our families, our religion, or politics, all of that shapes how we see the world, our past experiences shape how we see the world. And frankly, A lot of it. With all due respect, it's bullshit.

Like we made it up, we took it on and we're carrying it around like a bag of rocks on our back. And when you start really questioning. These lies that we've taken on. Because it's these limiting beliefs in these stories that we hold about the way things are and about who we are that prevents us from achieving a big vision.

It takes us out of the tension. It takes us away from holding that big vision high, and pursuing it. Unapologetically with courage and boldness and action.

So we've got to look at what Carl Jung says until you make the unconscious conscious. It will direct your life and you will call it fate.

So we got to do some excavating here and look at what are the stories that you hold about yourself, the judgments you have about yourself and others. And how might that be keeping out what you ultimately want in your life? That's a powerful question.

Like when you start to look at how might this current way of being, and thinking, be keeping out what I want most of my life. These are the three most common ways we keep ourselves. Out of the tension of a big vision.

We're unwilling to stand in the gap and stand there with courage and vulnerability. And here's what I'm going to ask you to do. If you're willing, if you're brave enough to stand in the gap because trust it's not easy. Because it feels like tension. Like, oh boy, there's anxiety

Anxiety is growth in many ways.

So you gotta be willing to stand in the gap.

Asking, how is it going to be helpful thinking about things isn't really going to be that helpful. And. Being unconscious to the stories that are on your life. Not helpful. Here's what you need to do. Get in touch with your heart. Get in touch with your values.

Get in touch with who you desire to be in this moment. Is it courageous? Is it bold? Is it serving others? Then take that on as a way of being now. And then the second part is just listen to your heart, listen to that way of being, and ask yourself what would be my next step. What would be my next step. You must be willing to dream bigger than you've ever dreamed before. That's what we're talking about.

Being willing to dream. Bigger than you've ever dreamed before and be willing to take smaller steps than you've ever been willing to take in the. Then any other time in your life, if you can do that. You can start to let that tension of a big vision, pull you into it. I don't know how long it takes. It's going to take for you.

It doesn't matter. Don't put yourself on a timeline. I mean, what else are you going to be doing with this one life you have? I'm like, right? Like if you have a big vision and it's something that lights you up and you love, then what else more do you need? Enjoy the journey.

Like why would you create a life of a living hell so that someday you would have what you want. Like, don't do that. Create a compelling vision, but then fall in love with who you are and just get into the arena and start taking action. Dream bigger than you ever dreamed before. And be willing to take smaller steps than you've ever taken. That's all I have for you today.

I hope you're leaving here with a little bit of clarity of what it's going to require of you to step into the gap, to step into the arena of your own vision in your own life, to create that and bring it to life. Thanks for listening and we'll see you in the next episode.