Brain Hacks for Entrepreneurs with ST Rappaport

[00:00:00] ST: The stronger ones make tasks really easy for you. Things that you're really good at is probably because your thinking skills related to are really strong. So, And the weaker ones are getting in your way, causing you to procrastinate, to get overwhelmed, to feel frustrated, to just not really enjoy the work you're doing.
However, because these are skills, that means by definition, it means you can improve them. As soon as you improve them, then anything related to that skill becomes easier.
Dustin: Welcome back to the seven figure leap. very excited today. I'm always excited, [00:01:00] but, , I was joking with my guest today that I had to go look up which beer it was. But if you remember the dose, that case commercial is the
most interesting man in the world. feel shades of that with, my guest today is one of the most interesting women I've ever met.
And her name is ST Rapoport and ST and I actually met in a really unique way. when I've been to conferences, I'm. Very anti, like doing the speed networking thing. Like, I think it's really uncomfortable. I'm an introvert. it gives me the X, but I went to podfest. It was my first event after COVID in 2023, I was there. I
was like, you know what? I got nothing better to do. I'm going to go in this room. And I did a couple of rounds of this as about as much as I could tolerate. And everyone is introducing themselves and they're like, Hey, I'm Joe. And I got the XYZ podcast. I'm Mary. I got the, you know, ABC podcast.
And so it came around to me and I'm like, I'm Dustin. I don't have a podcast. And it was like kind of a pattern interrupt. Cause at the time I didn't have this podcast and I was basically a professional guest and ST introduced herself across the table. And she said, I'm a brain engineer. And I'm like, hold on.
Like we have got to talk because you don't have an engineering [00:02:00] background. I thought it was a really unique way to introduce yourself. And we've had. A great conversation and so much more since then. So gotten to know ST in a really deep way. She's in my seven figure lead mastermind. She was in my accelerator.
I've been a client of hers and her really cool, unique methodology that she's going to unpack with us today. So sorry for the very long intro ST, but I thought it was really interesting story. So welcome. Thanks so much for being here.
ST: Thank you so much for having me. That's it. I am really excited for this. And I will say my favorite thing or my biggest takeaway of that podcast event was most definitely meeting you. And what came from it since,
Dustin: Well, that's so cool. Well, thank you. I'm very grateful for that. so we now know. You're a brain engineer. That's pretty unusual. So let's maybe go back I love to dig into people's histories, kind of see where some of these ideas and this, creative process that you now have, like, where did this come from?
So you can go back as far as you'd like, whether it's your childhood or high school, or like, is there a certain point where you're like had an entrepreneurial bug or maybe even preceding that? I know the thing you teach is [00:03:00] very unique. So maybe when you were first exposed to that and how it came into your life.
ST: yeah, I'm actually gonna start at a midway point where I already had a business. Actually, at that time I had a photography business. And I was studying about the brain, studying how our brain was thinking, specifically what's called the Feuerstein method. But essentially it's a method that works on the brain and it takes a couple of years to really learn it and really be able to understand it.
And I was doing it just for fun because it was something that helped me previously. However, during that time, because it's a couple of year process and I love to learn, I also took a Tony Robbins course called rapid planning method. Now it's a really cool program and had a plan based on your motivation instead of your to do list, which I thought was super cool.
Except, no matter how hard I tried, and no matter how many exercises I did that they totally gave to do, and no matter how many times I listened to the recordings, I couldn't actually implement it. The method. So I was like, okay, this is cool, but it's not for me. Fast forward. A few months later, I [00:04:00] was taking another intensive on the brain that I was constantly doing that worked specifically on one thinking skill called categorizations, one specific thinking skill.
Now, During the training, I was learning how to do it with other people, but it really improved my own thinking skill of categorizations. And by the time I was
done that training, I realized I was actually doing Tony Robbins rapid planning method without even thinking about it. Why? Because my brain was missing this thinking skill.
It was weak. As soon as I improved that thinking skill, anything related to that thinking skill now fell in place. And the reason why I couldn't do Tony Robbins program was because he spoke a lot about think not about what you have to do today or what you have to do tomorrow. Think what you have to do in six months or years.
What is your goal? Your five year goal. And I was very much a type of person that needed to get things done right now. And I never really got it. procrastinated. I just got everything done. And my brain really struggled with the big term thinking and with being able to, [00:05:00] organize things in a better way and categorizations that thinking skills all about being able to organize things in a better, bigger way.
So as soon as I did that, I was able to do rapid planning method. I saved over 10 hours every week. I tripled my photography business. My relationships improved, like everything improved. And I was like, forget photography. Someone else could do that. And I went all in on the brain.
Dustin: That's amazing. So, yeah, because you, is it Florestine? Am I saying that right for
ST: Yeah. However you
say it.
Dustin: I never say I've been through her entire program. I've seen it. I've seen the word. I can visualize the word. I can't say it. So the forestine or something like that method, something you had exposure to, I think as a teenager,
ST: As a kid, I started at 11, actually.
Dustin: Tell us a little more about that. Cause like, that's a pretty unusual, part of your origin story. Right.
ST: Yeah. So I actually, as a kid, I really struggled with reading. I was able to read, but it was a really big challenge. Like I was really shy. I never wanted to be called on in class to read because like I knew I'd make tons of mistakes,
things like that. It was like horrible on spelling and reading comprehension and all that sort of stuff.
And I spent a lot of time [00:06:00] out of class. with reading tutors and my parents were spending tons of money that like weren't getting any results that they were like, enough is enough, like they need to find something else. And so when they heard of this first thing that they brought it actually my city in America, it's very popular actually around the world in like 40 countries, but not so much in America.
And we didn't do any reading stuff. Instead, we focused on how my brain was thinking. There are 28 foundational thinking skills. I'm going to improve those foundational thinking skills. And automatically, because my brain was now thinking in a more efficient, effective manner, reading became easier.
Studying became easier. Everything academically, like I did much better, socially became much better. And I knew at that age that I wanted to start learning it. And I thought I would just learn it for, cause it's really cool. And just like. To be able to just have in my back pocket, but I ended up becoming my whole life.
Dustin: Wow. So you used to transform your own life, but at that time you were thinking like, I'm going to help other people and become [00:07:00] certified and facilitate this for other people. You. I assume went to more of a traditional path, got through high school. Not sure if we went to college, but how'd you get into the photography business?
Because that sounds like that was your first real business. And it wasn't until you've been running that for a little while that you had this realization that you could do business with the skill that had transformed your life as a child. But tell us how you got into photography.
ST: Exactly. Yeah. Photography was an interest I had, since a young kid, probably about that age also, I think it was like 14 that I officially started charging people for photography and like really making. Sort of thing. Yeah. I actually left school at 16 because I did not like being told what to do and have to take another test.
And I went to study in England for two years. because my parents weren't just going to like have me drop out. So I did my GEDs and in England, they finished school at 16. They start like college at 16. So I was like same age as everyone
else. and there, while I was studying art, because I just wanted to do something fun and different.
I actually Spent most of my time really on the photography. I rented out a studio. I would do like lifestyle shoots. and I had that already. And then when it came back, I [00:08:00] started all the trainings
Dustin: Wow. That's really cool. I didn't know that we've had many hours of zoom calls and you hosting and, and lots and lots of time together. I did not know that, that you had went from at age 16, went over to England. So this just adds another layer to the, STS. One of the most interesting people I've met.
So great. step 14, you start this business in, part time role. Then you go get deeper into it in England, get the more formal training, come back to the U S. And so from the time you got back to the U S was it like full on. Photography business. And this was like you going around and.
Was it like art or is it like doing weddings or like what kind of things were you doing in the photography business?
ST: Yeah, I actually had a really interesting niche when I was doing photography also. So I love doing photography. What is called lifestyle photography, which has since become much more popular, but at that time, very much essentially go into natural situations of people. So either houses or go to like a character farm or like horses or things like that.
And they're just living their lives. And I'm taking pictures like real candid pictures of that. [00:09:00] And I loved it because it showed that motion. , I also brought in another method that I'm trained in, about like that works on the emotions and then like combine the two of it together. but nothing I do is typical.
So it was a fun, it was fun, but not as impactful as what I do today.
Dustin: Okay. That's interesting though. So even in the photography business, you weren't satisfied being like a normal commercial photographer. Like you brought emotions into it. Sounds like some additional training. I know you're like a really, fervent, lifetime learner. so then I guess the, maybe the most, appropriate next thing to focus on is kind of going back to where you started this conversation where you had the photography.
You did the Tony, you had the Tony Robbins kind of enlightenment and, this thing unlocked for you. And you're like, forget it. Someone else can do photography. So what did you do in that moment? Like how did you start this current business where you're a brain engineer and you're helping people? Become better thinkers.
ST: Yeah. I actually started working with kids, but I worked with kids that were teenager adults. and what I noticed very quickly was I was [00:10:00] attracted to most, entrepreneurs and then specifically ADHD entrepreneurs who have the most incredible energy. I love them. They're just the movers and the shakers of this world.
and so through that process, I really like narrowed down my niche and who I was working with and created a very Repeatable system that really helps almost guarantees, clients get results, even though everybody comes in with their own challenges and walks out with their very own specific results.
Dustin: Yeah, I'm glad that you kind of jumped to the point of the results that you get now because I was in your program last year and found it incredibly helpful. you know, but as someone who loves coaching and doing masterminds and like, Helping people launch group coaching models. It was also an extremely unique model.
Like the way you deliver it is very unique. so I'd love to like camp out here for a little while and just talk about like today, what's your business look like? And then more of a broad overview and then like. Talk more about this delivery model, because I think [00:11:00] it'll really open some people's eyes and most people think I have to do one on one and then they start to get enlightened to the fact that, Oh wait, I can have like six people on the same zoom call and do group coaching and that's cool.
and then you can take it like the level I've taken it, which is more mastermind where it's. Not just group top down group coaching. It's more peer to peer. It's more communal, but what you do is even different than that. So maybe I'm asking you a lot of things at once. So maybe step one, tell us what you're up to today as an overall kind of like business, model and what you're up to right now in your business.
And then digging down a layer into how you deliver the result, because it's really unique.
ST: Okay, I'm going to answer the second part first because I think people will
understand
Dustin: Yeah.
ST: Yeah. Yes. I was a bit like what you were saying like for a long time. I was actually like this only works with one on one because actually it's like kid when I said like, I got it right. I got many sessions one on one and many sessions in a group in a group in person.
These are like before zoom was like a thing. Right. Right. And I saw the difference in the type of results that people were [00:12:00] getting and how I saw, like, it was different one on one and in a group. And so I was like, I'm only doing this one on one. There's no way that this works well in groups. and then I improved my thinking skill of categorization.
It was the same time because I've already, like I said, I've already been in this training for some years, but I've already been working with some clients before this categorization like epiphany. I realized that if I just shift to quite a few things, then we can get both the one and one and the group and people have the benefits of both the one on one and the group.
So the structure of the group to answer your question is a 90 day program where we meet twice a week. , And we do all the work on the call. So instead of having homework, the words to go research to find to send, everything happens on the call. So as long as you show up to the goal, the magic happens.
Okay. And we do very hands on. So it's not so much, just like conversations or slides and like teaching, but you're really doing specific exercises that work on your brain. Now, the structure that Dustin was referring to that I absolutely love is we start [00:13:00] every session as a group conversation, so everybody gets to learn one about another and support one another, but then for a big chunk of
the pool, you go out into your own little breakout room and you're busy doing your brain exercises.
So you're got something to do. You're working on what you need to work on. However, I come in and get to give you one on one personal attention for what you specifically need. So this way, like we said, you have both the one on one and you get what you need, what your brain needs in this specific situation, and you also have the benefits of a group.
And as you know, Dustin who does so much groups, like there are such amazing things that happen from a group and there's the group conversations
and how everybody helps one another. That's the structure. we're out right now is currently we have groups opening once a month and we are in a really interesting place of a 90 day sprint to set up the business.
To open up a new group [00:14:00] every single week. So there's a lot of like moving parts to that. And the biggest part of besides for obviously more clients coming in, but it is also the training of other people, because I'm not able to, run every group when we meet twice a week and we have new groups open up every single week.
And so finding people who are. As experienced, if not more, and what I do training them in the way that we specifically do it and making sure that they're delivering same results as I do. If not, maybe even better.
Dustin: That's amazing. It's 90 days. Then it's another 90 days. Then it's like four groups a year. Then you went to one a month, which I knew you were in that process. I didn't realize you're now ramping up to one a week. so many things that come from that, that I want to talk about.
But before we do that, just kind of put a pin in the delivery method. I love it. it's like a really good hybrid blend for the client, but also for you, right? You get the scalability of group. Okay. But you can still deliver a one on one experience through the breakout rooms. and that's actually something we're currently implementing for my accelerator program [00:15:00] is it's not just Dustin talking to the whole group all at once in front of everyone.
there's some elements of that, but then it's like, you need messaging help. Go to this breakout with this other leader. Who's an expert in that? Oh, you need help with podcast pitching. Go to this breakout. So in a given single call, you could actually go around to different breakouts and get different help.
Mine's a different version than what you do, but I think that's really cool. I think the other thing that's really cool about what ST, the experience that she provides. it's not tactical. It's like tech full. I don't know what the right word is. Like you actually do stuff with your hands. So, um, tangible, tactical. I you're like doing these exercises on paper with a pencil or with her able to observe it through a webcam. And it's just so unique and so cool. had no idea what to expect. And it was such a pleasant experience and surprise because it was like, I get an hour or however long the session of given session was to like, literally like zone out of all the stuff around me, because even when you're on a normal group call, you might still glance over at slack or like your phones being
[00:16:00] you, but like, no, I'm like, literally like in the zone working through these sometimes fairly intensive brain exercises.
it's like getting a good workout and that's how you can feel like my brain is working and it's pleasurable in a sense that like, you're really accomplishing something. So anyway, kudos to you for like unlocking a really unique and fun format and functionality for your coaching.
and just to fully endorse it. Cause I've been through it and then I would love to unpack a little more about The opportunities and the challenges with this, moment of scale in your business. Cause as you know, and I've shared on some previous episodes, specifically the one with Ryan dice, I'm going through very similar changes too.
and that's part of going from six to seven figures and beyond is you got to enlist other people to be facilitators and teachers and coaches, right? And you have to have systems in place to, to do that. Not only generate, but convert these leads into these groups to 52 groups a year is a lot more than four when you start off as a quarterly cohort.
So maybe we'll start with the positive, like. what has been good about this? What are you excited about? When you think about when this is fully working, like what does [00:17:00] this going to do that you're so excited about to take this commitment of what's not an easy process to commit to.
ST: Yeah, I think what I'm so excited about is how crazy the goal is and how I'm just so fired up for it. I remember like, When we were discussing this with like a mentor and like a mastermind and different things and brought it to the team afterwards. And I was like a little bit worried, like, what would the team say?
Like, all of a sudden now they're like way, way more work is way on it. And they were actually super excited. They're like, let's do this. And that's when I knew like I have good people. I mean, I knew before, but it was like a good, um, great recruitment. And so I'm just super, super excited for, the amount of people that we could, help more recruits are very small because we also want to be able to get everyone.
Personal attention. So we literally get to help way more people at this rate. and I know that these 90 days are just a starting point for what's going to come afterwards.
Dustin: So you're in a personal 90 day sprint leading your business through this transformation of whether you're actually filling a group a week, I'm [00:18:00] sure that's the goal, but like at least having the structure to have the ability to fill a group a week. Am I. Thinking right about like what this 90 days entails.
what does day 91 look like in your business? If it's successful,
ST: Yeah. So business is pretty much already set up to be able to handle, the 90 days, it is much more, first of all, making sure all the parts work, but also more on the ramping up on the lead side. Cause like we have. More at least than for a month, but it's 4x the amount of times, right? And so there is still a little bit Of a gap there.
And that's where the biggest work actually is right now.
Dustin: I don't think I spent enough time on this show talking about marketing, which is actually like my passion. We talk a lot about business structure and scaling and, all that's really fun. And because it's, so much part of what our audience is dealing with. I think it's appropriate, but I would love to pause for a second, dig in a little bit here.
Like you have a very unique offer. You have very specific. target market that I know you've refined, at least even since I've known you over the past 18 [00:19:00] months. So how are you generating leads even to support the monthly and then the more than monthly, and now you're looking forward to, four times monthly.
where are you finding these leads on the marketing side?
ST: Yeah. So I think a really key point is what you just said, refining the nation, then just getting very clear in the niche, but getting very clear on how you are communicating to that niche. So what are their very specific pain points and where are they very specifically standing and making sure really targeting to people at a very specific point of the journey.
and that has been super, super helpful. Big thing that took me way too long to learn is realizing that nothing in business is like permanent and everything is just another rough draft. And I used to think like the first time I put on my website, like, yeah, my website is all done. It's perfect.
They don't have to think about it anymore. And do something else, but not quite. It's always something in the making. It's always changing everything like
down to like email, signatures. And LinkedIn headlines and things like that is always just being [00:20:00] refined to who specifically we are talking to, what is working right now, um, and what people want to hear to really, pull them in.
Dustin: I love that. So that's been a big difference maker in the attraction, You know, people, and even the initial conversion, I guess you could say, like, you're putting out the right billboard now for the right people to be like, that's exactly what I need right now. That's great. And then how are you getting the eyeballs to see the billboard?
I know your podcasting is obviously one of your, lead sources. You have your own show. You're. Doing this as a guest and what we talked about in the accelerator program with me, but yeah, is that, still a big driver? Are you doing any paid ads at this point? Are you doing like cold outreach or what are some of the more tactical things you're doing to get the attention of these ADHD entrepreneurs?
ST: Yeah, so we definitely have a lot of foundations placed, like you said, like podcast guesting, my own podcast, lots of social, things like that, email marketing, all that, is the foundation. But to accelerate faster for the point that we're doing, we are doing cold outreach on LinkedIn, with sales navigator.
And that also requires tons [00:21:00] of testing and kind of figuring out, of what to do. Yeah.
Dustin: Yeah. Awesome. Cool. So yeah, we're fellow, LinkedIn. Nerd and a podcast nerd. And I say that affectionately, cause that's, those are my main channel. It's really like my Holy Trinity right now of marketing is. Podcasting, LinkedIn and email, And then the three, you're going to fly wheel effects when you do it, right?
And obviously you're in the mastermind with me. You've seen a lot of my stuff. And, sounds like you're doing a lot of the same, but emphasizing different things is different experiments you said, no, this is permanent. Your marketing is not like done. And then it's like, cool, my marketing is done.
It's like, no, it's always going to change. It's always going to be refined and optimized. So that's awesome. So yeah. Maybe you've answered this, because usually what I like to do is like, we got a snapshot of what you're up to, who you serve, your model, your marketing, and then I like to do some, future casting, like, Hey, three years from now, what does this look like?
Maybe that's an overwhelming question, because you're in the middle of an intense transition right now to these weekly groups. but yeah, as much as you 90 days, like, what does it look [00:22:00] like three years from now, to be the CEO of this company you've created.
ST: Yes. Well, you forgot that I have worked really hard on my thinking skill of categorizations and thinking. So I can't tell you three years from now or five years from is really very much, CEO position. So currently I am very hands on with clients and I run with the cohorts and things like that. And right, like now we're bringing in other people to run the cohorts, but hopefully in three years time, I am not all working with, clients.
probably we'll still be the face of the business, but much more CEO making decisions, things like that. we also want to be something probably a little bit before three years do live events. where people can come for like three days or so to just work on their brain, and get a massive transformation within those three days.
And probably, or hopefully, I'm just praying it will happen, um, at the beginning, three years time will also be the beginning of working on a movie series. I really want to create a movie series on where each one goes through the, 28 thinking skills [00:23:00] where it's super fun and kid relatable, but also has a lot of depth for adults to enjoy it.
So something where just everyone could watch and really learn more about their thinking skills.
Dustin: That's cool. So it's kind of like going full circle back to your artistic background. And the fact that how you encountered this as a child, and it's almost like
A version of these 28 thinking skills that are very approachable and endearing, and they're kind of available to all ages is that. I getting that right? And when you say movie,
ST: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I think like the thing compare it to like the term trauma, like 15 years ago, like trauma was like a word, like no one spoke about, right. Or mental health or things like that. Now, like we know What that means is someone who has experienced trauma means certain things in their life and the same thing about the thinking skills when you understand the thinking skills Then you can be way more understanding of yourself and others and you can know what to do Moving forward.
Dustin: that's cool. So yeah, this is probably appropriate. So we're going to shift gears in a second, like we love to do and do a smart strategy and let ST dive into a topic that we will all relate to, which is procrastination. but before we do that,
[00:24:00] you've mentioned the 28 thinking skills. Obviously we're not going to.
So if you're in list 28 thinking skills, but maybe you could give us a few key examples that entrepreneurs would be like, oh yeah, I definitely need help with that. so what are some of the key thinking skills that you see come up often that people need to improve? or if there's another way that you like to introduce the 28 and more than categories, however, you'd like to digest it. I just imagine the audience is like 28 thinking skills. What in the world does that mean?
ST: Yes. What in the world is that? So every single thing that you are doing without you even realizing it including listening to the podcast right now Requires you to use your thinking skills your 28 thinking skills. You are using it for it just happens in your background while you're doing it.
Now, because there are 28 of them, naturally we will have stronger ones and weaker ones. The stronger ones make tasks really easy for you. Things that you're really good at is probably because your thinking skills related to are really strong. So, And the weaker ones are getting in your way, causing you to procrastinate, to get overwhelmed, to feel frustrated, [00:25:00] to just not really enjoy the work you're doing.
However, because these are skills, that means by definition, it means you can improve them. As soon as you improve them, then anything related to that skill becomes easier. So I'll give you an example. One thinking skill that many people struggle with is called clear perception. Okay. Just a fancy name for taking in information in a clear and organized way.
Right now you're listening to this podcast. Hopefully you're taking it in and you're like, Oh, like, okay, that makes sense. And that makes sense. And it's like coming in in a clear way. But if you've ever come back from vacation and opened your inbox to 500 unread emails and were like, Actually, I'm not answering emails now.
And you close the tab to go do something else. Yeah, that was a lot of information for your brain to take in. It got overwhelmed. It had blurred perception instead of clear perception. And so you didn't want that thinking skill wasn't strong enough for you to be able to deal with this task, not that you can't do it.
But if that thinking skill was stronger, it would be easier. [00:26:00] So should I share how to improve that thinking skill or give another example of it? Like, what do you want more of?
Dustin: So, I mean, that was a great example. And then maybe I can relate back some of the symptoms I was having. And then you can talk about, yeah, like, that's a symptom of this thinking skill. so St was working with me and I'm like, learning more about her program. And I'm like, yeah. This actually seems like something I need and so I joined her program.
I remember at the beginning of joining her program, some symptoms I would have said I was having is a lot of open tabs, you know, a lot of post it notes, the unresolved open loops, certainly procrastinating on some things that I knew I needed to be getting done. a bit of overwhelm and feeling like my brain is At max capacity, it's like two full.
Right. And so these are some of the sensations and some of the symptoms I was feeling. like I said, I expected like, Hey, let's get in a group coaching program and then and it turns out that like, I got a box in the mail and A binder full of school stuff to do and pencils.
And I was like, this is way better. but anyway, think I'm, I'm an undiagnosed, like, I don't have a [00:27:00] diagnosis of ADHD. I probably somewhere on that spectrum. I think many entrepreneurs are. So I think I'm kind of a typical before state for you, right? SD. So when I describe that in my own words, what
are some thinking skills that you're like, these are the things that Dustin was weak on that was making him feel that way.
ST: Yeah, I will, , interrupt the answer for a second and first say, like, I am not a fan of the ADHD label. I know you'll see it all over my marketing, but I actually don't like it so much. I don't like it at all. As soon as you come into my world, like, I don't use the word ADHD anymore. so if you feel like, um, like ADHD, just, yeah.
If you have weak thinking skills, like we all do, and you have some, the ADHD energy, You're awesome. Like you're doing great things in this world. but some of the weak thinking skills that came up in that sort of situation. So it was definitely clear perception could be one of them when there's a lot of information.
I will also just say a note on clear perception or really in all the thinking skills, we can always improve it more. So for example, a little kid [00:28:00] might
have very weak, clear perception. If there's like four things around them, they get overwhelmed or if they're. Parent gives them three instructions, like go hang up your coat and wash your hands and stand at the table.
They get overwhelmed. That is like too much for them to do. Their clear perception is really weak. As a business owner, hopefully your clear perception is higher. It may not be high enough for you to be able to run your business in a really efficient, effortless way. so clear perception, categorizations is a big one there with like how to organize your day and how to organize just all your systems in your life and things like that.
Comparisons, comes a big play in there and like how to make decisions quickly and how to prioritize which tasks are going to happen. first. That would be some examples of what you'd be experiencing before.
Dustin: Very good. Yeah. So if you, uh, struggle with similar things, obviously, I hope, people will pursue working with USC and we'll talk about at the end the best next steps for them to do that. But as we prepare to wrap, would love for you to take the mic here. Teach [00:29:00] us, give us a strategy, about procrastination, which I think if you went around to growing entrepreneurs and people that listen to this podcast, probably a hundred percent, I don't know, maybe 75 percent would be like, yeah, I procrastinate, you know?
what's that all about and what can we do about it your own words?
ST: I will say, in the beginning of this 90 day sprint, we did like quite a survey of dozens and dozens of growing entrepreneurs, about 90 percent of them said procrastination. So
Dustin: Wow. I thought I was exaggerating.
ST: Yeah. I don't
know if everyone was like getting like a hundred percent the truth and also it was like comparable to like other challenges that they were having.
So maybe. Procrastination was a little bit less, but procrastination was most definitely the number one. okay. So this is what you want to do. If you want to understand the reason as to why you're procrastinating, because you're not procrastinating because you're lazy and you're most definitely not procrastinating because you have ADHD.
Okay. There is a reason as to why you're procrastinating and you want to solve that reason. When you just [00:30:00] convince yourself or give yourself a prize or just like push yourself or like force yourself like not to get up till you do this task to stop procrastinating, you're just putting on a band aid instead of actually understanding what's going on instead of solving the problem.
Tomorrow you're going to have a different task and you're going to procrastinate on something else. And so, share with me an exercise of what you can do to identify what is actually going on here so you can solve that issue and procrastination will just not be That bit of a challenge anymore.
So ready? It's not easy, but it's really worth it. For the next week, every time that you are procrastinating, I want you to write down what task you're doing. And then more specifically, what part of the task did you find yourself getting distracted at? Was it because While you were trying to figure out how to do the task, you found yourself getting distracted.
Was it because you had a question for someone and then you got distracted? Was it because you, there was like way too much information. So like, yeah, you procrastinated, like answering those [00:31:00] emails. What part of that
task did you find yourself procrastinating? At the end of a week, you are going to notice There is a pattern, a big overall pattern.
Maybe it's every time there's a lot of information. Maybe it's every time you don't know what to do. Maybe it's every time it gets like really challenging and you know that you still have a lot more to do that you just give up at that point. Whatever that is. Pattern is that is the issue that is the core issue and that is what you want to solve.
Now we can take it one step further and say that it's going to be highly connected to a thinking skill and we can figure out which thinking skill that is connected to. But even if you don't take it to the thinking skill, okay, like if you want to just keep it at a simple level, you're creative, you're an entrepreneur, you solve problems.
You can figure out a way for you to solve this specific problem instead of just convincing yourself to stop procrastinating.
Dustin: Powerful. So it's really paying attention in the moment where you're like, yeah, I feel like [00:32:00] getting on Instagram right now instead of doing the work that I sat down to do. It's like, what is happening right now that gives me that sensation? And like you said even what part of the test maybe it's like,
This project, what about the project or what in this moment that I'm trying to accomplish in a project makes me feel like I need this relief from it to go procrastinate, go distract myself with something else.
Right. And, and then you see that pattern. And I know that that's something that has helped me a ton with not to say I don't procrastinate, was a nine out of 10 procrastinator, I'm like a two, like, I'm very good at getting things done. I still have other weaknesses, like maybe planning the amount of time things take but procrastination specifically, I feel really, really, really transformed.
And it's really changed my life has changed my business because it's not just the business, these thinking skills, of course, carry to all parts of your life. So how you interact with your wife, your kids, your friends, socially. you mentioned that in your own story as to that, These things you did maybe in the name of business or reading better or whatever actually changed your social [00:33:00] life.
and I think procrastination is one that man, you think about that, our most valuable currency is our time and our attention. And if you're basically purposefully not doing the most important thing with your time or your attention in a moment and wasting it through procrastination, .
can't think of a higher ROI than to improve your thinking skills so that you can not procrastinate so much. So
ST: Wow. A two procrastinator. That is like knowing where you started. That is incredible. I absolutely love that. Yeah. It's a perfect place for me to just point out that we're never perfect at any of the thinking skills and we can always take it to the next level. but that's incredible.
Dustin: that's
awesome. Great. Well, thanks for that very practical, you know, like everything you've talked about is very practical, but something that someone could do now, even without having to go improve the thinking skill, just to understand why they're procrastinating is. Pretty profound. and if 90 percent of entrepreneurs are saying that they struggle with it, then it's obviously something we can all take action on.
So I love that ST, this has been amazing, insightful. You have extremely interesting and you're [00:34:00] doing such interesting work. And I'm so grateful that you're. Taking the initiative to scale that up so you can impact
more and more. I mean, for every entrepreneur that you're able to impact and think about how much better they're able to do their own work and how many people they impact, it's, certainly a virtuous cycle and a huge ripple effect.
So kudos to you for stepping into that breach and being like, Hey, I'm, gonna, sacrifice a lot of your own energy devote yourself to a bigger mission. So I think that's amazing. So first of all, just. Thank you. second of all, if people are resonating with this and they're like, man, I could really use some help in these areas.
I'm kind of like Dustin's before state. I started with procrastination. maybe whether you like the ADHD label or not, you kind of know what that infers. If you feel like that is holding you back and keeping you from your full potential. You should definitely work with SD, but SD, what's the best, next step from this podcast for someone to take this to get more support with this?
ST: Yeah, I'd say you'd want to start by taking the thinking skills assessment. So you could take that at lifepixuniversity. com forward slash [00:35:00] brain. So lifepixpixuniversity. com forward slash brain. in under 10 minutes, you'll get a really good baseline of where you're at with all the thinking skills.
And you'll be able to see which ones you need to work on first to really help you. Remove that distraction or stay on more on tasks, more focused, whatever it is for
Dustin: think about my journey, that's the first thing I did was take that. And there's a lot of inherent value in even just taking the assessment, even if you don't like go, be in STS groups or anything like that. I hope you do. But even if you don't. The self awareness of understanding what these thinking skills are.
And she has a very approachable language where maybe there's the name of the thinking skill and you're like tilting your head. Like, I'm not really sure I understand what that means. Well, there's a clear example on either side of the line of stronger or weaker, and it makes it very, very useful to Yeah, to be able to kind of self diagnose and take this assessment.
ST: actually just improve it because you've taken it so they get an even better version. Yeah,
Dustin: to have to go back and take it again? [00:36:00] Well, I will do that. So I will go to, this is my prompt. I will go to life pics, university. com slash brain,
and picks as P I X. So life picks university. com slash brain. Of course, we'll have this in the show notes as well.
the SDS super grateful for you. Right. Can't wait to be alongside you in our mastermind as you continue to grow, we continue to grow And look forward to continue to learn from you and improve my own thinking skills because, we've made a lot of progress over the past year, but there's more work to be done.
So, any final thoughts or closing thoughts for the audience before we let you go?
ST: Well, just thank you so much for having me and for the audience to never stop doing new challenging stuff because that is the best thing you can do for your brain. Just new challenging activities. and tasks If you're not in the distance world, then get in there. It's been like one of the best things that I've done, especially in the past year.
just being around such good people and really growing, and making those seven figure leaps.
Dustin: I appreciate that very much. And if you do want to know more about what we do, seven figure leap. com, you can go over there, hop on a call with our team and we can walk through how we [00:37:00] might plug you into a
really valuable network, introduce you to a referral partner like ST, who maybe can solve the problem that you're dealing with Even better than us.
but if you are wanting to improve your marketing and your storytelling and your high ticket sales, that's what we do in our accelerator program that ST is a, proud graduate of. So ST again, thank you so much. People should go to lifepixuniversity. com slash bring, get that assessment, start this journey towards understanding how your brain works and improving it because there's really nothing more valuable you can do, when it comes to growing your business as well.
So ST, I will see you soon. Thank you.