Why Brian Scudamere Is A Great Dude

We’ve all been told—and likely re-told—the virtues of goal setting. If you’re like me, the concept of “goal setting” may feel akin to long walks on the beach or hugging a tree for a really long time while listening to Paul Simon. BUT, as a newly reformed goal-setter myself, I can say it is worth doing.
 
And, it’s not hard to start

On the podcast last week, I sat down with a few seasoned podcast veterans Chris Stemp and Jon Rojas - who have interviewed nearly 300 smart people on their Smart People Podcast since they began the show years back. They started podcasting with a goal to talk to experts, and to find out how they become experts. Here’s what they learned pretty quickly: experts become experts because “they have the great ability to focus on a small number of things.” They’re not the smartest, the coolest, the most tech-savvy. It’s focus + persistence.

This may sound like more tree hugging to Paul Simon. Let’s break it down with goal setting.

The problem with goal setting is that we (or me) can get caught up in the lofty, intense, super overwhelming act of setting detailed, complex, long term goals. I think long term goals make sense but a) should be done in less than 5 minutes (so you don’t give yourself the opening to overthink) and b) should be high-level, simple, and clean. No paragraphs.
 
If you don’t know where to start, I highly recommend Brian Scudamere’s advice to set 24 hour goals. The guy who built junk hauling into a zillion dollar businessfrom the ground up knows a thing or two about taking over the world with your hopes and dreams (even if they are junk!).
 
But start small, as Brian says, “I use my iPhone notepad to jot down one goal (just one!) to accomplish in the next 24 hours. These intentions are always simple and attainable. For example, today it was “hit the gym”; other times it might have to do with how I eat.”
 
I started this and love it. Because it boils the scary world of goal setting into bite sized pieces.
 
My first 24 hour goal? Reach out, cold, to Brian to say thanks for the tip.

He responded an hour later. What a great dude.