In today’s episode of Next Level University, hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros expose a common breakdown in personal growth that has nothing to do with motivation or effort. It starts with the moment you set a goal and quietly avoid the standard required to achieve it. This episode centers on self-leadership, accountability, and the discipline to act in alignment with who you say you want to become. It challenges the way most people negotiate with themselves, lowers expectations under pressure, and confuses awareness with progress. The result is stalled momentum and eroded self-trust.

If you want results that compound and standards that hold, this episode will force an honest look at who is really in charge of your future. Decide accordingly.

Learn more about:
Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Ready to level up your podcast? Your first 30-minute “Podcast Breakthrough Session” call with Kevin is FREE. Real podcast growth, built through follow-through. - https://calendly.com/kevinpalmieri/free-30-minute-podcast-breakthrough-session-with-kevin

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

_______________________

Show notes:
(2:21) Taking responsibility the moment you set a goal
(6:38) Burnout Vs. Intelligent self-leadership
(10:52) Living below your own internal standards
(18:03) The awareness–implementation gap
(23:13) Building capacity faster than the load
(27:09) Growth through controlled stress over time
(32:48) The two types of regret that shape your future
(36:44) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros address a quiet reason progress stalls even when effort, discipline, and consistency are present. The issue is not work ethic. It is distorted awareness, subtle blind spots that shape decisions, perception, and results without being noticed.

Drawing from years of coaching and thousands of conversations, this discussion points to why most people reinforce the wrong strengths and overlook the one area quietly limiting growth. The focus is precision, not motivation. Clarity, not affirmation. Listen carefully. Then identify what you have been compensating for and correct it before the cost compounds.

Learn more about:
Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Ready to level up your podcast? Your first 30-minute “Podcast Breakthrough Session” call with Kevin is FREE. Real podcast growth, built through follow-through. - https://calendly.com/kevinpalmieri/free-30-minute-podcast-breakthrough-session-with-kevin

Grow, scale, and monetize your podcast. Listen now to “Podcast Growth University” - https://podcastgrowthuniversity.buzzsprout.com/

Reach your potential in life and business. Tune in to “Business Growth University” - https://www.buzzsprout.com/2501638

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

_______________________

Show notes:
(2:05) The real question behind blind spots
(4:42) Why misjudging yourself distorts everything else
(9:20) The three awarenesses that determine outcomes
(13:09) Identifying the awareness holding you back
(16:38) Coaching principle: target the real constraint
(25:15) Why affirmation does not create growth
(32:49) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Most limits stay invisible until results expose them. In today’s episode, Kevin and Alan challenge how most people think about progress, effort, and self-improvement. Hard work is not the problem. Misalignment, blind spots, and incomplete awareness are. This episode breaks down what actually drives outcomes beneath the surface and why real growth demands precision, accurate perception, and the courage to confront what is missing instead of doubling down on what merely feels productive.

If you want fewer setbacks and more durable results, this conversation will change how you evaluate yourself, others, and the world you are operating in. Listen without distraction. Then adjust your lens before the cost compounds.

_______________________

Learn more about:
Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Join our private Facebook community, “Next Level Nation,” to grow alongside people who are committed to improvement. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

_______________________

Show notes:
(2:19) What blind spots actually are
(4:28) Mental maps and incomplete awareness
(7:33) Distinctions and why learning changes outcomes
(11:28) Self-belief and the courage to seek feedback
(21:29) Why education determines long-term success
(25:16) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Are you truly leveling up, or just moving faster without understanding who you are becoming?

In this episode, Kevin and Alan break down why real growth often feels disorienting and why reflection is a non-negotiable performance skill, not a soft habit. They challenge the belief that progress means leaving the past behind and explain how reassessing previous seasons builds grounded confidence, sharper self-awareness, and long-term consistency. Drawing from years of experience, recurring client patterns, and thousands of conversations, they show how clarity, identity alignment, and discipline are what allow growth to compound without burnout or entitlement.

Listen with intention. Then ask yourself if you are earning the next level, or simply arriving unprepared.

_______________________

Learn more about:
Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Join our private Facebook community, “Next Level Nation,” to grow alongside people who are committed to improvement. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

_______________________

Show notes:
(1:17) Reassessing past levels to move forward
(5:52) Reflection as a performance discipline
(12:13) Self-awareness creates behavioral accuracy
(18:24) Analyzing your past to lead effectively
(27:09) Earning your position every day
(31:49) Belief in human potential without entitlement
(35:54) Proof of progress through reflection
(37:39) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

In today’s episode of Next Level University, hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros challenge a belief most people never question until it starts costing them results. This conversation explores why achieving a goal is often celebrated, but sustaining it quietly breaks discipline, focus, and standards over time. Rather than chasing motivation or surface-level habits, this episode examines the deeper tension between ambition, capacity, and long-term performance. It confronts why success creates pressure instead of relief, why balance becomes harder as life expands, and why many people feel overwhelmed after they “win.”

This is a grounded, direct discussion for anyone serious about growth beyond the milestone. Press play, listen carefully, and decide whether you are building for the moment or the decade ahead.

_______________________

Learn more about:
Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Join our private Facebook community, “Next Level Nation,” to grow alongside people who are committed to improvement. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

_______________________

Show notes:
(2:55) Why balancing health, wealth, and love breaks people
(5:01) Sprinting to a goal Vs. Living at a sprint pace
(7:06) Habits, resistance, and why change feels hard
(12:49) Sustaining success you never prepared for
(18:49) Opportunity cost and time as a performance constraint
(22:14) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros challenge the quiet assumptions that stall progress long before people notice. This episode questions how time, effort, and standards are treated casually, even by those who say they want more. Grounded in years of execution, coaching, and building Next Level University consistently, they reflect on what changes when goals stop being abstract and start demanding structure, pressure, and follow-through.

The conversation is direct, practical, and unsentimental. This is not motivation. It is clarity around the real cost of serious growth. Listen with honesty. Then decide if your standards match the life you say you want.

_______________________

Learn more about:
Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Ready to level up your podcast? Your first 30-minute “Podcast Breakthrough Session” call with Kevin is FREE. Real podcast growth, built through follow-through. - https://calendly.com/kevinpalmieri/free-30-minute-podcast-breakthrough-session-with-kevin

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

_______________________

Show notes:
(3:10) The hidden cost of starting slow
(6:32) Loss aversion and missed opportunity
(8:07) Being subservient to the goal
(10:31) When desire does not match standards
(12:25) Breaking goals into executable systems
(18:19) Time scarcity and closing windows
(22:55) Rest as a requirement, not the goal
(27:42) The danger of no structure or accountability
(33:27) Why sustaining success is harder than achieving it
(39:29) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Standards decide who you become. In today’s episode, Kevin and Alan break down why grit is not something you chase or wish into existence, but something that forms when your standards leave you no alternative. This episode cuts through comfort-based personal development and examines why consistency collapses when conditions are imperfect.

The focus is discipline, identity, and long-term performance, not motivation or hype. It challenges how goals are set, how resistance is handled, and why most people never build the durability required to sustain real progress. Listen with intention. Then raise the standard that governs your decisions.

_______________________

Learn more about:
Where learning turns into action. “Next Level Book Club” every Saturday:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkcuiupjIqE9QlkptiKDQykRtKyFB5Jbhc

Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Join our private Facebook community, “Next Level Nation,” to grow alongside people who are committed to improvement. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

_______________________

Show notes:
(3:16) Hard work and forced consistency
(5:08) Why great outcomes require grit
(7:33) Choosing discomfort on purpose
(9:12) How doing hard things changes the brain
(11:56) When goals demand more from you
(16:19) Pride in difficulty Vs. Pride in ease
(25:57) Grit as consistency regardless of circumstances
(27:15) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

What if the reason you keep stopping is not weakness, but misalignment?

In this episode, Kevin and Alan share lessons learned through years of daily execution, coaching real clients, and navigating the unseen costs of consistency. They break down why effort only lasts when goals match personal standards, identity, and long-term values, and why chasing goals that merely sound good leads to burnout and regret.

This is a focused conversation on choosing battles wisely, committing with clarity, and building consistency that holds under pressure. Listen once for insight. Listen twice to decide what is truly worth it.

_______________________

Learn more about:
Your first 30-minute “Business Breakthrough Session” call with Alan is FREE. This call is designed to help you identify bottlenecks and build a clear plan for your next level. - https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-breakthrough-session

Ready to level up your podcast? Your first 30-minute “Podcast Breakthrough Session” call with Kevin is FREE. Real podcast growth, built through follow-through. - https://calendly.com/kevinpalmieri/free-30-minute-podcast-breakthrough-session-with-kevin

Join our private Facebook community, “Next Level Nation,” to grow alongside people who are committed to improvement. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700

_______________________

NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, check out our website and socials using the links below. 👇

Website: http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

Instagram:
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook:
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email:
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

_______________________

Show notes:
(2:01) The worth-it factor explained
(4:15) Why misaligned goals kill consistency
(9:14) Standards, identity, and self-honesty
(13:08) Why it has to be worth it the entire way
(21:05) Choosing hard things on purpose
(23:46) Outro

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.