The Psychology of High Leverage Success by Matt Bodnar
It’s not often that we have a Forbes 30 under 30 guest. Our today’s guest Matt Bodnar got this and a number of other flattering mentions by running the highly successful Fresh Hospitality LLC. He is the host of the brilliant Science of Success podcast, slicing some time for us to talk about the psychology behind better decision making.
Emotional Honesty
Behind the glamour of a successful business lie the less glamorous bumps on the road. No one has had it right the first time around. Matt admits a few failed projects prior to becoming the industry giant he is today. All of these failures helped shape his mind for the better.
But also his emotions. Men are a curious breed in it that they deem emotions, especially the so-called negative emotions, as something to be avoided in business. But it is precisely the emotional honesty that is the necessary precursor to success. Neglecting that side of yourself or, worse yet, putting on a happy face all the time is no way to live a healthy life.
Accept the negative emotions; accept the whole you. If you find the anxiety, grief, or fear of failure too much to handle, try doing cardio every day or get a decent 7-8 hours’ sleep. Matt adds cutting on caffeine and a regular meditation to this.
Decide for Yourself
There’s only so much time you can work a day. If you want to improve the performance, the trick is not to work harder, but smarter. Working smart will make you a high-leverage type of entrepreneur, which ultimately rests on the art of decision making.
Matt deliberately call it ‘art’ to stress the emphasis on its importance. This art can be learned, too, at least the strategies by which to operate in gaining that leverage. One such strategy is to focus on the unchangeable. Don’t waste time learning things that will quickly change or become useless, but focus on the underlying principles instead. Study the mental models that govern the changeable phenomena.
Capitalize on Your Strengths
Another path to become more high-leverage is to use the better part of your day for more important musings. Matt is sort of a morning person, and that’s when he, before checking up the email and getting sucked into the vortex of every day, marshals the creative side of his business-self into thinking up the ways to become more high leverage. Meeting and all that can wait, there are more important things to worry and think about.
Getting better results with equal or less energy and/or time invested is what success is ultimately all about. You should spend, or rather, invest time coming up with ways to increase the performance by reducing energy input. Journaling your answers to key questions can greatly help.
Make sure to check out…
Matt’s Podcast
Matt’s Twitter
Matt’s Free Guide
Book - Mindset Psychology
Book - Art Learning
Book - Poor Charlies Almanack
