with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 71:

Building that Diesel Engine

with A.Z. Araujo - Episode 71:

Building that Diesel Engine

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
I am a physical person. When I workout, I want to see my veins pop, I want to feel my muscles burn; I go all in. Training for an Ironman is like nothing I have done before; I have had to learn to slow down, pace myself, and park my Ferreri. These days I am a diesel, in it for the long haul, and built to last through the most difficult challenge I have faced to date. I will finish that Ironman 70.3, through every pain and darkness, just as I have in business, my body, and my marriage. What have you built yourself to be in all the areas of your life?
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
  • ​Last week was my first full week of Ironman training, and I have mixed emotions about it, about how I am feeling and performing. It has challenged my mindset. When I train, I expect a certain level of intensity, to push myself past my threshold. I want to make sure that I am winded, my blood is flowing, and I'm not wasting my time. 
  • ​Over the last week, I have been forced to do things differently, especially with running. Ten weeks ago, I would have said I was an okay runner, but following the 100-mile challenge, I own it. I am a runner. Many of you are now proclaiming that you are a business owner, not merely a realtor. You have employees, market daily, and have processes and systems that support that business; that is a huge step in anything we do. Sticking that stake in the ground declaring what you are. When you do that, it changes your mindset. 
  • ​Few business owners don't lump themselves in with the masses of other agents out there. If you are in a place where you are still doing everything alone, you may be considering yourself merely a realtor. As you begin to put the systems and processes together, you can confirm with a conviction that you are a business owner. 
  • ​I have said that as an athlete, I am a runner. I have weeks of documentation that showcases the fact that I am a runner. I will own that; I am not the fastest, but I am a good runner. Over the past weeks, we have embarked on different challenges; running, swimming, cycling, and weight training. I am doing four different things to ensure that I am ready for this Ironman. This is training I have never been through; I usually go to kick butt and see my veins pop, and my muscles are sore. I have found myself, especially while running, feeling stuck; I have had to slow it down tremendously to a point where it would be considered a fast walk. I keep wondering how this will help me? It brought me many lessons because that is what I teach here. I never tell you to go full out daily, because you will burn out. For those that get a wild hair in them to go and market like crazy without any response, they begin to fizzle out. Making a hundred phone calls in one day; you burn out. Being on social media all day, they burn out. Being intentional about your actions daily is vital.
Peterbilt or Ferreri?
  • My friend likened it to building a diesel engine. We all want to be a Ferreri and look good out there and go fast. We all want to be looked at and smile at our success of being a Ferreri. He told me he understood the lure of being a Ferreri, but to get through this Ironman 70.3, you will have to turn from a Ferreri into a diesel. You will have to build your mitochondria, the slow-twitch. The ability to continue to move forward when things get challenging and to plow through. 
  • ​You can't compare a Ferreri to a diesel; they are vastly different and do different things. It is not uncommon to see a diesel engine last 800,000 miles, but it is uncommon to get a Ferreri past 100,000, 80,000, or 60,000; the Ferreri’s from the 80;s only have 30,000 miles on them. They are driven around when the owner wants to look good and showcase their car or flex. A diesel engine keeps going day in and day out. It's engineered in a way that continues to last; that is what I am going through with my current training.
  • ​I have had to slow things down because my coaches know I will hit a wall, but I am not going to redline. They are trying to condition me to plow through when the pain is intense, and I have 20 plus miles left, and my brain is telling me to stop, and my body is aching. They are conditioning and challenging me to set a minimum standard to push through, push forward, plow forward, diesel forward. It takes a lot of mental strength, and I have run into those setbacks in my Olympic Triathlons. I ran into setbacks running my 100-mile challenge. They are trying to ensure that I don't quit regardless of how hard it gets because it will.
  • ​We want to be that shiny car in our business, and those that succeed and sustain are the ultimate people who are successful. Those are the individuals who are not the overnight successes but have built a platform to continue to move forward regardless of the markets. This was a big testament for a lot of you and what happened during the Covid-19 and now this unrest in our economy. Those that have built that diesel engine continues to move forward regardless of the situation. 
  • ​Others, when faced with challenges and listen to others and their brain telling them to stop; that's as far as they get, and they are suffering the consequences of their decisions and indecisions they made eight weeks ago. It's not about going hard every day. It's about going, like the diesel engine that can't go 200 miles an hour, but it will get there. The years of engineering it took to build that diesel is what we need to do when building our business. 
  • ​You need to set a minimum standard for where you will go because some days, you will feel like a Ferreri and go hard; on the days you don't, you have to be the diesel. You still have to market, follow up, and show up powerfully for your family. You still have to take care of yourself, and anything else is easy. Everybody else is doing it; overeating is easy, over drinking is easy, and oversleeping is easy. 
It's a Slow Process
  • I have a conditioning process here at AZ & Associates, and it is the 12-week Targets, and it aligns with what my coaches are telling me now. You don't have to go hard daily; you have to keep moving forward. Many quit and can't finish the Ironman, because will power alone will not get you there. We all have to understand where there will be big challenges; some of you are facing big ones now. 
  • ​Maybe it's your health, family, or a business issue. It's not about the glitz and glamour of the Ferreri. It's realizing we all have the diesel engine within us. To keep going is part of the process and to make sure you have 800,000 miles under your belt. It's a slow process, and that can be hard. When I tell you what you have to do daily for Power, Purpose, and Profits, it's a slow process when all you want to do is focus on business. Making more money will solve everything. It doesn't, and it never does unless you are focused on all things to feel powerful. To show up powerfully at home and make sure your finances support that. It's a slow process. How did I build this brokerage? It was a slow process because, along the way, I had to make sure I was the father I knew I could be. I needed to make sure I took care of my body and that I have it all. It's a slow and monotonous process that sucks. I know this Iron Man will suck, and every time I am out there, I question my decision. 
  • ​Why did I do this? Because I am a diesel and if I don't have the targets to go after, where is the fire then? We all need that, and having targets at our disposal is crucial. Where do you want to be in 3 months? If you haven't taken on a challenge, I encourage you to do so. Some individuals signed up with Carla's program, and I am sure they will tell you it's the most challenging thing they have ever done. It challenges the mind and body in ways they aren't used to, but it makes them more powerful. 
  • ​These two-per-day workouts and doing high reps are very different; these are the same reps we are conditioning our business through. You have to find appreciation within your business and yourself; staying connected at home, the social media hustle; this is the easy part but is the most difficult for many. I hear the excuse of not going on social media because of the negativity; it's bullshit. You don't be negative but accept the responsibility to create content; if you don't, somebody else will, and they will take your market share. You don't believe me? Shut yourself out, and down, I dare you. 
  • ​You are playing with fire daily when you threaten not to do the minimum. If you want to thrive in this business, it's not something that is up for contemplation. It must get done, and we have a game plan here to be that diesel. You have seen the nice Ferreri’s that come in hard and then fizzle out. Where are they at? They become lethargic and slow, forgetting the priorities; I haven't forgotten mine. I know you won't forget yours, but you can't continually play with fire under the threat of not doing the minimum standard. You have to market yourself and follow up. It's your business and your responsibility. When you choose not to your bank account, confidence, relationships, demeanor, and mindset will suffer. You become fearful and question every step of the way; you were doing it a few months ago; when you stop, you start acting like you don't. 
  • ​I have been there, and I am not pointing fingers. The slow process is important to sustainability; I want to be successful always and not be in the peaks and valleys. Every day, all day. My coaches are telling me to watch my technique, breathing, go slow, and not plow through. My old coach Garret J. White said to me that you have to go slow to go fast. You need to be a ninja and razor-like. You can't go through the motions; you need to be aware and handle the pains. 
In Closing
  • Six days a week is exhausting, and I am exhausted right now. I know that when I am challenged the most, I will be able to get through it. There is no question in my mind that I will get through this. I have the same conviction for my business regardless of how big the obstacle is; I have the confidence that I will continue. At some point, you had that confidence in your parenting, your body, or elsewhere; it needs to bleed into your business. I need for it to bleed into my physical side; I have conditioned myself daily on what to do; it's nothing new to me. Applying it to my body is relatively new, but I will catch on quickly. You have to go slow to go fast, but you have to go. 
  • ​Every day go; that is the key phrase here. Go, go, go. There will be a time when you can't go, and that will be a sad day. I won't sit in regret, wishing that instead of hating the process, I would enjoy it. You don't have to hate business, enjoy the pains and lessons because we are all getting them. You can be both a diesel, knowing you will show up daily, and flex when you want and pull up to the garage with the Ferreri. 
  • ​This is summertime, and we have to have these challenges imposed on us and to us. I am feeling good but exhausted. I am in week two of my Ironman training, and it is nothing new. My perspective changes when I am in this spot; I am challenging myself to something new, and I will dominate it. I will complete the Ironman 70.3. I will say that with pride. It's not only about that one day, but it will be the twenty weeks leading up to that point. I can smile from the hard work it took over seven years to build my business. 
  • ​What challenges have you faced that are similar to mine? I have forgotten about the pains it took me to become a runner; the mind forgets when it is focused on the reward. Even the deepest of pains and the intensity of it are forgotten. We can remember remnants of it, but if I could recall the specifics, I wouldn't be challenging myself to anything else. That feeling of accomplishment is so much greater and everlasting. 
  • ​The hare can run circles around the tortoise, but turtles live for hundreds of years. Eight of us are embarking on this challenge, and I do not doubt that all eight will finish. It's not a race between who can go faster or finish first; it's about getting it done. We will all face those challenges and our darkness and deep levels of pain. There is only a small fraction of society that will embark on this, and in business. If you can run a business successfully, you can do anything. There is nothing more challenging daily than running a business, a family, and taking care of yourself. 
  • ​I can complain all day long about this Ironman, but I have been through levels of hell that I can't describe to you; most of it had to do with my business, and I am here. If you can do this, I can do anything. Things we once viewed as difficult become part of our nature; now, we show up and get it done. You can't sustain the level you were at when you first started. That Ferreri can only go 180 mph for so long. It's unsustainable, and then we have to slow down and accept that we are in it for the long game; you are a diesel, and you need the right mechanics, the right people to ensure you go 800,000 miles. 
  • ​It's tough to stop the Ferreri to become a diesel, and most of you are fighting that now. You think you can do it on your own and that is short-lived. You can't do it alone, and if you want to get to the next level, you need people. You need to build your business like a diesel. When you put your mind to something, you can get it done. You have to have the focus long enough because when you do, you can run at any pace. Slow and steady is fine as long as you continue to move forward. 
  • ​When you have personal problems at home, you can become destructive. You threaten to stop and sabotage your growth. Why? To prove you are needed? That you are more important than how you are showing up? We have all been in that place where we have shown up powerfully, and if we have done it once, we can do it again. It comes down to a lifestyle and not getting burnt out. I was burnt out for many years and blamed others for it. Marriages, your confidence gets strained, and you begin to make decisions that are not in alignment with what you want. For me, it was always drinking, fighting, and arguing. I was redlining. If I had been in a calm place with the proper systems and processes, it wouldn't have happened. 
  • ​I'm so proud to run with you guys because we are tackling our darkness daily. We don't pretend everything is alright; we face the problems that can slow us down in the future. That is what makes you powerful. When we are in the storm, the decisions we make to keep going, to stop, to blame, and buy into the pain; the storm will pass, and those that keep going will notice their strength and increased speed. 
  • ​Business has presented the most painful moments in my life, and there will never be a moment where I know it all. We need to be confident enough in knowing that whatever comes our way, we will get through it all; every time. We are truly like diesels. I know the 12-week Target book will keep my life in order, and I suggest you do the same. Follow a simple game plan that has been proven to work. 

More Episodes

CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
I am a physical person. When I workout, I want to see my veins pop, I want to feel my muscles burn; I go all in. Training for an Ironman is like nothing I have done before; I have had to learn to slow down, pace myself, and park my Ferreri. These days I am a diesel, in it for the long haul, and built to last through the most difficult challenge I have faced to date. I will finish that Ironman 70.3, through every pain and darkness, just as I have in business, my body, and my marriage. What have you built yourself to be in all the areas of your life?
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
  • ​Last week was my first full week of Ironman training, and I have mixed emotions about it, about how I am feeling and performing. It has challenged my mindset. When I train, I expect a certain level of intensity, to push myself past my threshold. I want to make sure that I am winded, my blood is flowing, and I'm not wasting my time. 
  • ​Over the last week, I have been forced to do things differently, especially with running. Ten weeks ago, I would have said I was an okay runner, but following the 100-mile challenge, I own it. I am a runner. Many of you are now proclaiming that you are a business owner, not merely a realtor. You have employees, market daily, and have processes and systems that support that business; that is a huge step in anything we do. Sticking that stake in the ground declaring what you are. When you do that, it changes your mindset. 
  • ​Few business owners don't lump themselves in with the masses of other agents out there. If you are in a place where you are still doing everything alone, you may be considering yourself merely a realtor. As you begin to put the systems and processes together, you can confirm with a conviction that you are a business owner. 
  • ​I have said that as an athlete, I am a runner. I have weeks of documentation that showcases the fact that I am a runner. I will own that; I am not the fastest, but I am a good runner. Over the past weeks, we have embarked on different challenges; running, swimming, cycling, and weight training. I am doing four different things to ensure that I am ready for this Ironman. This is training I have never been through; I usually go to kick butt and see my veins pop, and my muscles are sore. I have found myself, especially while running, feeling stuck; I have had to slow it down tremendously to a point where it would be considered a fast walk. I keep wondering how this will help me? It brought me many lessons because that is what I teach here. I never tell you to go full out daily, because you will burn out. For those that get a wild hair in them to go and market like crazy without any response, they begin to fizzle out. Making a hundred phone calls in one day; you burn out. Being on social media all day, they burn out. Being intentional about your actions daily is vital.
Peterbilt or Ferreri?
  • My friend likened it to building a diesel engine. We all want to be a Ferreri and look good out there and go fast. We all want to be looked at and smile at our success of being a Ferreri. He told me he understood the lure of being a Ferreri, but to get through this Ironman 70.3, you will have to turn from a Ferreri into a diesel. You will have to build your mitochondria, the slow-twitch. The ability to continue to move forward when things get challenging and to plow through. 
  • ​You can't compare a Ferreri to a diesel; they are vastly different and do different things. It is not uncommon to see a diesel engine last 800,000 miles, but it is uncommon to get a Ferreri past 100,000, 80,000, or 60,000; the Ferreri’s from the 80;s only have 30,000 miles on them. They are driven around when the owner wants to look good and showcase their car or flex. A diesel engine keeps going day in and day out. It's engineered in a way that continues to last; that is what I am going through with my current training.
  • ​I have had to slow things down because my coaches know I will hit a wall, but I am not going to redline. They are trying to condition me to plow through when the pain is intense, and I have 20 plus miles left, and my brain is telling me to stop, and my body is aching. They are conditioning and challenging me to set a minimum standard to push through, push forward, plow forward, diesel forward. It takes a lot of mental strength, and I have run into those setbacks in my Olympic Triathlons. I ran into setbacks running my 100-mile challenge. They are trying to ensure that I don't quit regardless of how hard it gets because it will.
  • ​We want to be that shiny car in our business, and those that succeed and sustain are the ultimate people who are successful. Those are the individuals who are not the overnight successes but have built a platform to continue to move forward regardless of the markets. This was a big testament for a lot of you and what happened during the Covid-19 and now this unrest in our economy. Those that have built that diesel engine continues to move forward regardless of the situation. 
  • ​Others, when faced with challenges and listen to others and their brain telling them to stop; that's as far as they get, and they are suffering the consequences of their decisions and indecisions they made eight weeks ago. It's not about going hard every day. It's about going, like the diesel engine that can't go 200 miles an hour, but it will get there. The years of engineering it took to build that diesel is what we need to do when building our business. 
  • ​You need to set a minimum standard for where you will go because some days, you will feel like a Ferreri and go hard; on the days you don't, you have to be the diesel. You still have to market, follow up, and show up powerfully for your family. You still have to take care of yourself, and anything else is easy. Everybody else is doing it; overeating is easy, over drinking is easy, and oversleeping is easy. 
It's a Slow Process
  • I have a conditioning process here at AZ & Associates, and it is the 12-week Targets, and it aligns with what my coaches are telling me now. You don't have to go hard daily; you have to keep moving forward. Many quit and can't finish the Ironman, because will power alone will not get you there. We all have to understand where there will be big challenges; some of you are facing big ones now. 
  • ​Maybe it's your health, family, or a business issue. It's not about the glitz and glamour of the Ferreri. It's realizing we all have the diesel engine within us. To keep going is part of the process and to make sure you have 800,000 miles under your belt. It's a slow process, and that can be hard. When I tell you what you have to do daily for Power, Purpose, and Profits, it's a slow process when all you want to do is focus on business. Making more money will solve everything. It doesn't, and it never does unless you are focused on all things to feel powerful. To show up powerfully at home and make sure your finances support that. It's a slow process. How did I build this brokerage? It was a slow process because, along the way, I had to make sure I was the father I knew I could be. I needed to make sure I took care of my body and that I have it all. It's a slow and monotonous process that sucks. I know this Iron Man will suck, and every time I am out there, I question my decision. 
  • ​Why did I do this? Because I am a diesel and if I don't have the targets to go after, where is the fire then? We all need that, and having targets at our disposal is crucial. Where do you want to be in 3 months? If you haven't taken on a challenge, I encourage you to do so. Some individuals signed up with Carla's program, and I am sure they will tell you it's the most challenging thing they have ever done. It challenges the mind and body in ways they aren't used to, but it makes them more powerful. 
  • ​These two-per-day workouts and doing high reps are very different; these are the same reps we are conditioning our business through. You have to find appreciation within your business and yourself; staying connected at home, the social media hustle; this is the easy part but is the most difficult for many. I hear the excuse of not going on social media because of the negativity; it's bullshit. You don't be negative but accept the responsibility to create content; if you don't, somebody else will, and they will take your market share. You don't believe me? Shut yourself out, and down, I dare you. 
  • ​You are playing with fire daily when you threaten not to do the minimum. If you want to thrive in this business, it's not something that is up for contemplation. It must get done, and we have a game plan here to be that diesel. You have seen the nice Ferreri’s that come in hard and then fizzle out. Where are they at? They become lethargic and slow, forgetting the priorities; I haven't forgotten mine. I know you won't forget yours, but you can't continually play with fire under the threat of not doing the minimum standard. You have to market yourself and follow up. It's your business and your responsibility. When you choose not to your bank account, confidence, relationships, demeanor, and mindset will suffer. You become fearful and question every step of the way; you were doing it a few months ago; when you stop, you start acting like you don't. 
  • ​I have been there, and I am not pointing fingers. The slow process is important to sustainability; I want to be successful always and not be in the peaks and valleys. Every day, all day. My coaches are telling me to watch my technique, breathing, go slow, and not plow through. My old coach Garret J. White said to me that you have to go slow to go fast. You need to be a ninja and razor-like. You can't go through the motions; you need to be aware and handle the pains. 
In Closing
  • Six days a week is exhausting, and I am exhausted right now. I know that when I am challenged the most, I will be able to get through it. There is no question in my mind that I will get through this. I have the same conviction for my business regardless of how big the obstacle is; I have the confidence that I will continue. At some point, you had that confidence in your parenting, your body, or elsewhere; it needs to bleed into your business. I need for it to bleed into my physical side; I have conditioned myself daily on what to do; it's nothing new to me. Applying it to my body is relatively new, but I will catch on quickly. You have to go slow to go fast, but you have to go. 
  • ​Every day go; that is the key phrase here. Go, go, go. There will be a time when you can't go, and that will be a sad day. I won't sit in regret, wishing that instead of hating the process, I would enjoy it. You don't have to hate business, enjoy the pains and lessons because we are all getting them. You can be both a diesel, knowing you will show up daily, and flex when you want and pull up to the garage with the Ferreri. 
  • ​This is summertime, and we have to have these challenges imposed on us and to us. I am feeling good but exhausted. I am in week two of my Ironman training, and it is nothing new. My perspective changes when I am in this spot; I am challenging myself to something new, and I will dominate it. I will complete the Ironman 70.3. I will say that with pride. It's not only about that one day, but it will be the twenty weeks leading up to that point. I can smile from the hard work it took over seven years to build my business. 
  • ​What challenges have you faced that are similar to mine? I have forgotten about the pains it took me to become a runner; the mind forgets when it is focused on the reward. Even the deepest of pains and the intensity of it are forgotten. We can remember remnants of it, but if I could recall the specifics, I wouldn't be challenging myself to anything else. That feeling of accomplishment is so much greater and everlasting. 
  • ​The hare can run circles around the tortoise, but turtles live for hundreds of years. Eight of us are embarking on this challenge, and I do not doubt that all eight will finish. It's not a race between who can go faster or finish first; it's about getting it done. We will all face those challenges and our darkness and deep levels of pain. There is only a small fraction of society that will embark on this, and in business. If you can run a business successfully, you can do anything. There is nothing more challenging daily than running a business, a family, and taking care of yourself. 
  • ​I can complain all day long about this Ironman, but I have been through levels of hell that I can't describe to you; most of it had to do with my business, and I am here. If you can do this, I can do anything. Things we once viewed as difficult become part of our nature; now, we show up and get it done. You can't sustain the level you were at when you first started. That Ferreri can only go 180 mph for so long. It's unsustainable, and then we have to slow down and accept that we are in it for the long game; you are a diesel, and you need the right mechanics, the right people to ensure you go 800,000 miles. 
  • ​It's tough to stop the Ferreri to become a diesel, and most of you are fighting that now. You think you can do it on your own and that is short-lived. You can't do it alone, and if you want to get to the next level, you need people. You need to build your business like a diesel. When you put your mind to something, you can get it done. You have to have the focus long enough because when you do, you can run at any pace. Slow and steady is fine as long as you continue to move forward. 
  • ​When you have personal problems at home, you can become destructive. You threaten to stop and sabotage your growth. Why? To prove you are needed? That you are more important than how you are showing up? We have all been in that place where we have shown up powerfully, and if we have done it once, we can do it again. It comes down to a lifestyle and not getting burnt out. I was burnt out for many years and blamed others for it. Marriages, your confidence gets strained, and you begin to make decisions that are not in alignment with what you want. For me, it was always drinking, fighting, and arguing. I was redlining. If I had been in a calm place with the proper systems and processes, it wouldn't have happened. 
  • ​I'm so proud to run with you guys because we are tackling our darkness daily. We don't pretend everything is alright; we face the problems that can slow us down in the future. That is what makes you powerful. When we are in the storm, the decisions we make to keep going, to stop, to blame, and buy into the pain; the storm will pass, and those that keep going will notice their strength and increased speed. 
  • ​Business has presented the most painful moments in my life, and there will never be a moment where I know it all. We need to be confident enough in knowing that whatever comes our way, we will get through it all; every time. We are truly like diesels. I know the 12-week Target book will keep my life in order, and I suggest you do the same. Follow a simple game plan that has been proven to work. 

More Episodes

A.Z. & Associates Real Estate Group - 2019