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Rachel Denning (00:00.974)
Hey my friends, welcome to another episode of the Extraordinary Family Life podcast where we are helping you become your very best self and live your very best family life. Because life can just be so, so good. Oh, so good. But it takes strategy and effort and doing the right thing. I've been thinking a lot about...

this whole idea of starting and stopping or even before that, right, where we don't start because things aren't just right. I think about my own life often and I think through strategies for success. In fact, I'm obsessed with this. Like, how can we be successful? What are the things that just work? What are the things that just don't work? How can we optimize our lives and human performance?

I love this stuff. I love thinking about it. I love studying it. I love observing it. I love sharing what I'm learning, analyzing my own life and experiences. And then of course, through the coaching I get to do every day.

There's so many times when we should start on something, we have a dream, we have a goal, we have a vision, we have something we're excited about, but we don't start on it because things don't seem right, right? It doesn't seem, well, it's definitely not convenient or comfortable. And we're always looking at, oh, you know, when, when that changes or this stops or that goes away, then I'll get started. And,

we kind of kid ourselves waiting for this perfect time and rarely, rarely is there ever a perfect time. And that, again, that's part of the message today. The other piece is for those of us, and this has happened to me too many times, um, ridiculously too many times where you start something, you get going a little bit and then you just let up, uh, either run out of steam, so to speak, or.

Rachel Denning (02:13.262)
You lose focus, you get distracted, it gets hard or uncomfortable or difficult or inconvenient. Maybe you're not getting the pace you want. So things just kinda, they start to fail and so, you just kinda let it go, right? And you stop. And then some of us will try to start again and it's this insane pattern I see a lot. I see it in a lot of your lives when I'm coaching or working with you. And I see it in my own life when,

start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, right? And that the momentum, the energy drain that it costs us, right? And to start and stop, we lose so much and in so much ground that we could have gained, we don't get it. So today, I want to share this idea of becoming unstoppable. Unstoppable.

Now when we hear that word, we often think of something really heroic, something very grandiose, like, you know, you, you become the best boxer or UFC fighter in the world, then you are unstoppable. And of course that's true and in massive successes, but I want to bring it back to a matter of principle and practice through the greatest, the greatest achievers.

and the top performers in the world are unstoppable as a matter of practice and principle. They just won't stop in the things that matter. And that's how they create success. Like the ancient quote says, I will either find a way or I will make one. It's this commitment to making it happen, to being so committed to excellence, to greatness, to your pursuit.

that it's going to happen. It's a matter of time and commitment and work and consistency. It's going to happen. But too many of us are committed to our comforts. We're committed to our conveniences. And we're not committed to push through our challenges.

Rachel Denning (04:32.397)
and be uncomfortable.

And so we stop. Many of us, I've done this too, where I think of an idea, I think something would be awesome. I think about it for a bit, I even write some notes about it. I'll talk about it, but not ever get started. And then if I start, I've done this more times than I care to remember. And that's why I'm sharing this message, is we start and then stop. Start and then stop. And so I want to invite you.

to take it into your mind and heart to become unstoppable in the things that really matter to you. Now here's what's ironic. Some of us and some of you are already unstoppable in certain things. And some of them are legitimately good. So let's pause for a minute to praise you. You already have this power. It's already inside of you. It's just how you're activating it.

Some of you are already unstoppable. You read all the time. You're constantly learning, every day have for years, right? You're unstoppable in acquiring knowledge and learning. Some of you eat really well and exercise all the time. You're unstoppable. You've been exercising consistently for years. You're unstoppable at principle and practice. Some, and here's where I was laughing, some of us are unstoppable in things that don't really serve us.

Some of you are so committed to your favorite TV series or the next episode on Netflix, you never miss. And nothing, and I mean nothing, will stand in your way. You will see that next episode, right? You're unstoppable. But you're using this power, this drive, this ability that's already in you, and I've done it too, to something that really doesn't.

Rachel Denning (06:38.606)
serve you right? What a waste of power and potential. So I want to invite and challenge you today to consider the few things and it won't be many there'll be a few things where you commit to becoming unstoppable. Where you choose to do something and that's it. You're done. Done.

You're not going to think about anymore. A lot of people get into trouble and they become very stoppable or even don't start, right? Like we've mentioned because of, you know, people have called it the paralysis of analysis, right? You just are overthinking, over analyzing things so much that your own thinking gets in your way and either prevents you from starting or once you've started it prevents you from getting

a lot of success. I see this a lot. Oh my goodness. In fact, I've seen it a lot this month. Interestingly, as I've been working and observing with different groups of people, I noticed a lot of them stumble. They literally create their own stumbling blocks by overthinking everything. So on one side, one side of the coin, I'm going to say, Hey, look, you are the king in your kingdom. You are the queen in your kingdom.

take extreme ownership for that every detail inside of your kingdom. You need to be responsible for it and make sure it's great, right? So that's one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is, hey, don't overthink it. Don't overanalyze it. Don't get so caught up in the details that you don't make progress. You don't get things done. And so in this journey to becoming unstoppable, you're going to pick a few things.

that you're not going to overthink. You're not going to overanalyze. Yes, of course, we have to keep seeking answers, right? We have to keep learning more. But in some ways, you're just going to commit as a way of being as a way of doing life. You're going to commit and that's it done. Done. No more thinking about it. You don't have to decide no more making the choice. Like you're done. This is the way you do things you become unstoppable.

Rachel Denning (09:00.429)
So what are those things? What are the things that really would move the needle in your favor? You're gonna know best, right? You're gonna know what that is. What's interesting is a lot of us, we know what we need to do. Please don't do it. You know you need to lose some weight and get in shape, for example.

And I hope you're looking for answers and you're looking for insights and strategies. But at the end of the day, we all know you've got to eat better quality food in smaller portions and workout vigorously. Done. Done. Now there's a lot we can learn about specific workout techniques and about specific foods and strategies. There's that there.

But every one of us can just come in and say, you know what? I'm becoming unstoppable.

in eating good food. Right? And you can literally commit. You're never putting another poisonous bit of food or drink in your mouth ever because you love your body so much and you're caring for it. You can become unstoppable in that. And so anyone, it doesn't matter who it is, where it is, what party, what gathering, what restaurant, which part of the world, it doesn't matter.

Anyone offers you something like no, thank you. I don't eat that done right you're unstoppable And people will think you have a superpower which you do it's in you already But they'll see it as this unbelievable super. How do you how do you resist? How do you have the discipline? How do you have the willpower? And in some of these areas it has nothing whatever to do with discipline or willpower

Rachel Denning (10:56.397)
It's this commitment you've made. And again, you're not thinking about it. Don't overthink it. Just be done. Like, here's like one that's for me is drinking soda. Right? That's just sugar water. And when you learn about how that sugar affects your brain and your body, oh man, done, right? So I just, I learned about it. I'm like, oh man, I'm never drinking that again. And that was it. I'm never drinking that again.

So people see that as being unstoppable. Whoa, that's amazing. But it is, and this is the principle I want to talk about today, that we can put this principle and practice in to govern our lives where we become unstoppable in things that matter. So you could choose today, you could commit, no more refined sugar. Done. Done. And you know, we compare it to sports here, whether you're on the home court or on the...

you know, the opposing team's court. It doesn't matter whether it your house or your in -laws house, whether you're in town or out of town, you just don't consume sugar. Done. You're unstoppable. How about exercise? Right? And again, we, so many good people with the total potential and power to do it. They just won't control.

They won't control their eating and their exercise habits. They have the power. You all have the power to be unstoppable in that. We just have to activate it again, not overthinking, not over analyzing. In fact, in some ways, I know this sounds kind of bizarre. In some ways you don't need to think about it. It's just done. I'm going to exercise four to five times a week for the rest of my life. Done. And when I exercise, I exercise vigorously. Done. Right.

you can commit to that. I committed to that years ago and I don't, I don't have to think about it. I don't have to wake up and be like, Oh, should I work out? I don't know. What kind of workout should I do? I don't know. You know, I'm traveling. It's kind of inconvenient. Oh, there's not a good gym here. Oh, I don't have my equipment. Baba. I mean, if we think about it like that, we become totally stoppable. You with me? Like, I hope this is sinking in hitting home. If we're thinking about it too much,

Rachel Denning (13:21.261)
or we can come up with amazing excuses, we can rationalize, we can justify, we can talk ourselves out of it so quickly, but if it's just a decision, a commitment to be unstoppable, I will exercise four to five times a week vigorously for the rest of my life. Done. Done.

And even with an injury of, you know, you injure your arm or hand, okay, then you're doing air squats and lunges. You're running. If you injure a foot, you're taking care of that baby and letting it heal. But man, you're on the bench, doing bench press and pushups and squats, or not squats because you're on your foot, sit ups, like whatever. You see what I'm saying? And for a long time, you know, I would wrestle with this, wow, I can't really work out unless I have a gym, whatever.

But then when we traveled for almost 12 years as a family, I didn't have access to a gym. And we were in crazy, far out, bizarre places. And sometimes there was only the beach or only the mountain path or a dirt road or just doing air squats and pushups with kids on my shoulders. Or the kids wanted to go to the playground. They loved, loved, loved going to parks. And so I was sitting in the park. This was years ago. And I realized, you know what? I'm turning the park into my own gym.

And so I loved taking the kids to the park because I'd sit there and do pushups and pull ups and sit ups and squats and jumps and plyometrics and calisthenics. And I was able to maintain great fitness and health even on the most bizarre travel schedule, right? And unfavorable circumstances because I decided to become unstoppable in that thing. Nothing's going to stop me from working out.

It's a commitment to my life, to my health, to my body. I'm going to work out four to five times a week vigorously. Done.

Rachel Denning (15:17.581)
And so, you know, some of us are physically flabby and that's, you're better than that. You're better than that. Become unstoppable and taking care of your body. Some of you are financially flabby. I know we have been in the past and that's, come on man, get rid of that kind of flab. Get rid of that mess. You can control your spending. You're...

You're investing your income. You have far more power and control over your income and your spending than you think you do. And even over your spouse, some of you right now I know are like, well, it's my spouse. We'll have raise your level of influence, get more strategic. If your spouse is has a problem over spending, well, talk about it, get clear about it, decide how you're going to do it, set up strategies.

And if needs be, set up a separate account. You put the exact amount of spending money that can be spent in the month in that account and that's it. Done. You can't overspend if there's nothing else. You just have to get more strategic, more influential, take more control. And so you can become unstoppable in being 100 % responsible for your income. No matter where you work or what you do, even if you don't work.

You are the CEO of you. It is you incorporated. You are the president. You are the boss. You show up. So even if you're an employee, you're responsible for you as the worker that's providing work to that company or to that boss. It's you, it's all you. And you have control of it. And if you're financially flabby right now or weak or dying or just really out of financial shape, so to speak,

Become unstoppable. That you commit to really work, to stay focused. Most of us don't get near the amount of work we could just because we bring our cell phone with us to work. And it's sitting there going off with its alerts and notifications and dings and dongs and whatever else. And we literally self -sabotage. We have all these notifications going off on our desktop and...

Rachel Denning (17:44.493)
all these interruptions and we're checking our email four to five times a day. And we're letting other people's agenda dictate instead of going in and saying I'm unstoppable. I'm unstoppable. When I show up to work, I work. When I sit down at my desk, I'm getting things done. Whatever I do, I do with excellence, right? That's a commitment right there. That's that's how you become unstoppable. Whatever I do, I do with excellence. Commit to that. Do it with excellence.

So whatever your art is, your gift, that thing, and it's not a lot of things, it's gonna be one or two things. What can you become the best at? And you become resilient, consistent, relentless, unstoppable, as a matter of principle and practice that you do the most important work first thing in the morning.

and you work on it without interruptions. If you need to leave your phone in the other room, do it or put it on airplane mode. You know how easy it is? It literally takes a second, literally a second to click the airplane mode button. And you've, you've set yourself up for a lot more success or you're dramatically increasing your probabilities for success. When one second of just, when you sit down, when your butt hits a chair, airplane mode.

Right? And you turn off the notifications on your desktop and you close out email and you work when you need to work.

Become unstoppable in whatever that thing is, right? So pick your craft, pick your area of focus and expertise and do it. You can be unstoppable in your family relationships. In committing to giving quality time and attention, love and focus to your spouse and your children. Be unstoppable in that.

Rachel Denning (19:44.781)
that nothing and no one will get in your way and keep you from giving quality time and attention to your spouse and children. I was thinking my wife, right? Because I love my wife. I love my wife and I love giving her time and attention.

I can be unstoppable in that that every day I can give her some focus. I can do something special, meaningful for her. I can connect with her. In fact, Rachel and I have been unstoppable in that for a long, long time, probably 15 years or better of connecting. Like nothing's going to get in our way. I don't care how busy we are, what's going on. We connect. Even if I'm out of town, I'm on a trip or something.

We'll send messages to each other or we'll get on the phone if we can or get on FaceTime or we connect, we talk, we share. I don't care how busy you are, how exhausted you are. If you become unstoppable in that thing, you know what that's going to do for your marriage? It's going to keep the passion and the romance and the love and the best friend feeling alive because you can be unstoppable.

and your commitment to connect with your spouse. You can become unstoppable as a parent that cares, that shows up, that's strategic about your interactions with your kids. And it's really, it's so much easier than we think. Again, we'll sit here and beat ourselves up and overthink it, overanalyze, get all these feelings and emotion and all those, well, I had a hard childhood and...

Oh, you know, but my parents did that and all this or the other and no, but I've made mistakes and we can just, you see what I'm saying? We can think ourselves and emotionally beat ourselves into stopping. We make ourselves stoppable when we could make it a lot easier and just say, no, no, this is what I do. This is how I am. I, I, I connect with my kids every day. Right. I'll set down the things that are in the way, get rid of the distractions.

Rachel Denning (21:59.117)
So you need to turn off your TV or get rid of it. Or take the cord and lock it in a safe. Right? So you might not take your TV to the storage unit, get rid of whatever. I mean, each family is going to be different. You need to know what you need to do. If TV is preventing you from really being engaged as a family, please do not kid yourself.

that sitting there watching tons of TV all week long is really connecting to your family. It's not. It's a story you're telling yourself. But whatever you need to do with that, some of you might need to take the cord and just put it in a safe all week long and you pull it out on a Friday night or a Saturday night for one movie. Done. There you go. You plan, you know what you're going to do. Like, yeah, we all will sit down and watch a movie together at this time. Done. There you go.

Instead of, oh, we're tired, oh, I don't feel well, oh, what should we do? Oh, let's just turn on the TV and see what the TV's gonna dictate to us. And then we lose so much power.

So become unstoppable in keeping the things in your life that you really want. In deliberately choosing here. Here's another one. Let me let me drive this one home. Choosing what comes into your life and your mind and really ask yourself, what am I allowing into my mind? What am I allowing into my life? Because input determines output.

Rachel and I have also become unstoppable in this one. We are intense about input. Every bit of it in our life from music to movies to books to people to conversations to just even, you know, people or situations that have a toxic or negative energy. Nope. Sorry. Out. We don't have that in our life. And we've become unstoppable.

Rachel Denning (24:03.533)
in pursuing great input and in keeping negative input out. We're unstoppable in that. And it's not as hard as we think when you just stop thinking. Again, this is one side of the coin, right? You stop thinking about it and just do it.

Just do it.

get really clear where you want to spend some time thinking is getting really clear about what matters to you. And again, I think you already know, and we've been talking about it. So just decide, commit, be all in, like, those are the things you're going to do. And these are the things you're not going to do. And make yourself unstoppable as a matter of principle and practice.

Oh, I love this stuff.

You can do this. You already have the power and the potential within you already. It's there. For many of you, it's either lying dormant or it's being put to use in other areas.

Rachel Denning (25:14.317)
Some of you are unstoppable at consuming ice cream and soda and junk. Nothing and no one will get in between you and overeating. Right? It's like we literally are in this practice of self -sabotage. We're unstoppable in the thing that is stopping us. There's a great irony. So switch it. Put that power to work for you instead of against you.

Rachel Denning (25:45.933)
Be unstoppable in your mind and education, clear thinking, and just getting things done, grit and discipline, and just getting in the zone where you crush it. You show up to succeed. You're a finisher. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, socially, become unstoppable where you don't get rattled.

You can keep your cool no matter what other people say and do. You keep your cool. You maintain the higher ground. You be who you're going to be independent of what other people say or do or think about you. You live independent of their opinions because you're unstoppable, right? You're not going to allow other people's opinions to sway you from doing the right thing, from doing the best thing, from being fully engaged in the work that matters most.

Right, which is living your life on your terms to the best of your ability, right? To creating an extraordinary family life.

So socially and spiritually and financially become unstoppable.

Oh man, I love this stuff. Now some of you, you'll take this, you'll take this matter of principle and practice and you'll make it so powerful in your life and you'll put it to work in certain areas that it literally will, you'll, you'll get some heroic levels. Some of you will reach heroic levels of unstoppable. You'll earn unbelievable amounts of money. You'll have tremendous impact or influence. You'll become extro...

Rachel Denning (27:28.141)
ordinary spouses and parents, you really make a difference. And some of you will hit, you know, earth moving levels. But all of us, every one of us can reach unstoppable levels in those areas of principle and practice, the things that we know move the needle and work in our favor, like getting up early.

Everyone I talk to like it or not, they tell me, yeah, when I get up earlier and hit my morning routines, the day just goes better. I have more power, more energy, I'm more positive. I don't feel like I'm chasing the day down. I don't feel like I'm frustrated or angry or behind. Like it's the days go better when I get up early and I do my thing. So like it or not, be unstoppable in that. Get up early, which means you're going to be unstoppable at getting to bed early at a good time.

And on those rare occasions when you can't get to bed on time, you still get up because you're unstoppable in the principles and practices that govern your life. Oh, I love this stuff. So my friends, set aside the rationalizing, the justifying, the excuse making, the talking ourselves out of it and overthinking it, over analyzing and just pick a few things and say, you know what, done. That's it. I'm unstoppable.

and be unstoppable those things and watch how the power carries over to other areas of your life. And you start really creating, manifesting, and enjoying the results you really want. And you start making things happen. And people start looking at you sideways like, what is going on with her? What is he up to? Whatever, whatever they do just

works. They're just succeeding. They're unstoppable. That's where we want to be because life is absolutely fantastic when we take control of it at that level and make things happen. Oh, this is good. Remember it's all about training. Every last bit of it is about training. Train, train, train, become unstoppable in your training and make.

Rachel Denning (29:52.493)
your life absolutely extraordinary. Awesome is always an option my friends, reach upward.