Utkarsh Narang (00:01.23) In this beautiful world of ours, there are some people who spend their lives hiding the way their brain works. But today I'm talking to Willie who chose to turn his wiring into a superpower. And if you end up listening to us for about, I don't know, 35, 40, 50 minutes, then what you'll gain is that a reminder that the brain isn't broken. It's our system that gets broken. Hey, Willie, how are you today? Willie Blake (00:26.383) doing great. I'm excited for today. Utkarsh Narang (00:28.824) Absolutely, same here. And Willie we, I said Willie. Willie, we put ourselves into, I mixed Willie and Blake. We put ourselves into the deep end of the pool as soon as we start the podcast. And the first question we start with is that if that eight-year-old Willie, wherever that eight-year-old kid growing up was, if that Willie comes and meets you right now, what kind of a conversation would you emerge between the two of you? Willie Blake (00:55.038) It would be about telling him that it's okay to be a kid, even when you're an adult. Utkarsh Narang (01:05.247) Ooh, ooh, tell me more. It's okay to be a kid even when you're an adult. Willie Blake (01:11.572) I think there seems to be a lot of confusion between childish and then being a kid. Because each of us need to have fun. Each of us need to enjoy life with the things that bring us joy. The things that are just, that we love to do, that we love to do as a kid. It could be drawing, it could be running outside and playing sports, it could be hanging out with friends and biking, like whatever it was. We should always have fun. But somewhere along that path, we get into our mind of fun equals childish. And we don't like to be childish, because childish, we think of temper tantrums. We think of only listening to themselves and only doing what they want. And that's what childish is. But it's not about being childish. It's about having fun. So the conversation I would have with my eight-year-old self would be, as you grow up, continue to have fun. continue to enjoy what's happening in life. And as more responsibility comes, realize that people are gonna say, stop being childish, stop being a kid, stop being that child. But you can come back and say, I can still be it and be responsible. I can be the adult that has fun. And in this life that we live in today, that's a conversation that kids need as much as adults need. Utkarsh Narang (02:42.51) There are rare occasions where my mind goes blank. This is one of those moments because it was just so powerful. It's what happens like, where do you think we, while growing up, lose that spark where we start to feel that the responsibilities we're stowned that what's on our shoulders, on our to-do list, on our inboxes becomes more important than having fun. Willie Blake (03:07.765) think there can be many places in your life that it happens, but I think it's just as you get older from you have to get good grades to after school you got to do homework before you can play games or hang out with friends. It's the during the weekends you need to do chores before you can have fun. it seems that I think parenting could be a side of it. The way that people parent is that The stuff that they are worried about the most needs to get done so that they themselves can be stressed free in order for their kids to have fun. And so that reflection on themselves gets put onto the kid. But even more so, we have moments that could be traumatic. We can categorize it as traumatic moments or just challenges and obstacles. Life events that happen that shape us in a different way. and make us see the world that we live in in a way that's not all peaches and daisies. That actually there's some hard stuff going on. Just like I remember about eight years ago, I was in college, I was going to my business class and I got this text message from my mom saying that one of my cousins took his life. And that was a real moment because I wasn't super close to the cousin, but I felt the pain. And just a week after that, I saw on a Facebook post that one of my childhood friends added himself to that list as well. And just in a week's frame, it took me from the, I just hear about it, I just hear the statistics that other people say to actually living the experience. And when you have lived through an experience, there is a maturity that comes with it. And that maturity... Willie Blake (05:12.231) is hard a lot of the time. And when we become, and when as we grow up and continue to get exposure to those life experiences, I think that's where it comes from. To where as we get that exposure and get truly like mileage in our life, I'm the thing of it doesn't matter your age, it matters the mileage that you have in your life. Because I know some 10 year olds who are just freaking wise individuals. Utkarsh Narang (05:14.701) you Utkarsh Narang (05:36.461) Hmm. Utkarsh Narang (05:40.621) you Willie Blake (05:40.797) I also know some 60 year olds who are still kids in childish ways. And so it's the mileage. And I think the more mileage you get, the more just like you get exposed to what happens in the world. And then if you want to add it back in the fun that you had as a kid, that blissful ignorance, well, you add it in a different way, which is spending time with things that you like, to which then you experience joy and passion and happiness while still having your life experience. Utkarsh Narang (06:10.509) Hmm. Utkarsh Narang (06:19.949) There's so much to unpack there and thank you for sharing about your cousin and then your friend. First of all, to anyone who's listening, who's ever lost someone close to them, where they ended up taking their own life. It pains me for who's left and who has to now experience them not being present in their life. But it also pains me as a society, really, that what have we done to humanity where someone has to think of going to that distance? Because I sometimes wonder when I used to get like blood tests, right? someone putting in a needle into my body is painful and I resist that. And even though as a doctor sometime like decades ago, but it's just a painful experience. And to then think that someone can hurt their own selves so much. I don't know what we did wrong as a society. So that's completely, I don't know, maybe what are your views on it before I jump to anything else. Willie Blake (07:28.819) Yeah, it's one of my good friends, name's Alton Wheelhouse. Him and I do a lot of stuff together and he helps a lot of people with with suicide, taking their life and things as such. And so one of the conversations I actually had with him today this morning was there's usually two trains of thoughts that people who start to go down that route take, which the first one is There's nothing left that I can do. And the second one is, and if there was, it wouldn't matter. Willie Blake (08:08.757) So I think when we get into those... When we get into those mindsets, I don't want to be somber about this, but I think the reality of it is that I think a lot of times there are episodes in our life where even we feel that. I think every single person feels that way. And that is why it's so crucial to have friends, connections, that we know our neighbors, that we're able to speak and say hi to strangers just on the street. Because there's a reason why we're not in this world alone. Utkarsh Narang (08:09.42) Thank Utkarsh Narang (08:38.253) Yeah. Willie Blake (08:38.655) There's a reason why the population of the world isn't one. It's because there are so many people around us that because we were put on this planet, we need other people around us. I think as a society, we've started to get away from personal connection that's led us to those numbers increasing. Utkarsh Narang (08:50.091) Yeah. Yeah. That's all. Utkarsh Narang (08:57.356) Yeah. Utkarsh Narang (09:00.715) Yeah. Yeah. And I think we've also, in a way, lost touch with our own selves, where we're... And no blaming here to social media or to technology, but it's got us so engrossed with all the amazing scientists who are working and data scientists who working to keep us engaged with those platforms, that it's leading us to not engage with the human next to us. I see this on dinner tables so many times in restaurants where... where everyone has a phone in their hand while there's an amazing meal right in front of them. And I feel like, where is that sense of connection, that sense of belonging if you're only belonging in the likes and the shares and the comments and so on and so forth. But I want to come back to this idea. So you were saying it's not about the age, it's about the mileage of that person and how that that what have you observed maybe in people you've met or in your own experiences? What does one need to do to increase that mileage if you're not born with it? Willie Blake (10:03.413) Start doing stuff. I know that's like such a simple answer. Start doing stuff. Start trying things out. It's one of the reasons I think that the traditional education, I think there's some things that are off with it that they need to start adding courses and classes to actually teach people about life. But I think one thing they have going well really for them is the general courses because you get into college and yes, it costs a lot of money to do college, but they have you. Utkarsh Narang (10:22.477) Hmm. Willie Blake (10:33.321) Dip your toe in a bunch of different industries from psychology to economics to finance and business to sciences and history and calculus and math like it has you get experience in all different sides so that as you're in those classes that maybe you find some things that you're like, this is something that I want to keep doing. I'm going to do more of that. Utkarsh Narang (10:56.461) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Willie Blake (10:59.891) And in other classes, I'm sure we've all had that experience of, yeah, I'm not a huge fan of this. I think I'm gonna not spend my time in this. And that mileage comes from that. It's getting out and trying, in the phrase, trying new things. It's going and dipping your toes in, finding what you like, finding what you dislike. And the only way to figure that out is just by trying a bunch of stuff. Utkarsh Narang (11:25.389) Yeah, such an easy thing. What stops people from trying? Because it seems so easy, right? Just go and try different things. What stops people from doing that? Willie Blake (11:36.777) the expectation that they need their life figured out. Utkarsh Narang (11:44.494) That's such, that's, it is, it is a statement that we can spend like 20 minutes on. Those, those expectations that a, you need to figure out life, which, which I have turned 40 this year. I've coached people who are in that range group or above, but what's, what's the need to figure it out? Willie Blake (11:50.691) Yeah, for sure. Utkarsh Narang (12:08.705) Where does that need come from, Willie? Willie Blake (12:10.719) think it's the, it comes from a lot of different things. I think it's the need in society to be able to have something for sure happen. So another word could be the security in society. In order to be secure, you need to have 100 % everything known. So at an early age, it's just like, what do you wanna be when you grow up? Well, I wanna be an astronaut. Utkarsh Narang (12:35.297) Yeah. Yeah. Willie Blake (12:36.863) Well, cool, you can be an astronaut, but then some reason, once you hit middle or high school, they're just like, be more realistic. And then as you continue to go on, they ask, where are you working? is that a job you want to do the rest of your life? Don't you want to go after more? Or in relationships. We date to marry, that's what we're doing. We're not going out and just enjoying the wonderful presence that we have with people who we find attractive. Utkarsh Narang (12:44.481) Yeah. Willie Blake (13:05.951) We don't go out on icebreaker dates just to see if something might spark. It's like, I will only date people who fit this list of standards and this list of they are a singer, cheerleader, dancer, and all these things that really don't matter in the long run. And they have to fit this list. And if they don't, I don't even want to talk to them. It's like, why? We just don't know. And especially like as you're starting out dating, just, you don't know what you like. I didn't find my wife based off of things that I... Utkarsh Narang (13:20.321) Yeah. Willie Blake (13:35.058) liked or things that I knew. I found her from just going out and living life and then when she came in we started to connect. There are a few things that we've had common ground with and as we talked we're like we kind of like each other and then that turned into us dating and then courting each other becoming fiancees and then getting married and now three four kids later in a couple weeks we're here and happy but it all started from just dating, connecting with people. So I don't really know. There's so much that goes into it of what truly is the reason why people try to get things so fast and have their life figured out. But if I were to summarize it, security and comparison would be the two things. Utkarsh Narang (14:22.561) Yeah. And you so beautifully put this because when you seek security, at the end of the day, feel Willie like, why am I calling you Willie again, again, my friend? I'm just fusing Willie and Blake. I'm fusing Willie and Blake again and again. And then my brain connects me. And it's not that I've met some Willie or Willie is like a best mate to me, but I'll go back to Willie. I think that sense of security, like what is really secure? I mean, I don't know how to answer that question. And I think Willie Blake (14:33.109) Willie Blake, it's. Willie Blake (14:39.125) We're good. Utkarsh Narang (14:50.389) The nudge that I have for listeners as you and I are exploring and dissecting this is that, does security look like? I mean, this is something that we all can define for ourselves, but also then comparison is ultimately the thief of joy. We have heard this a million times and cliches are a cliche because they are accurate. Yeah. So I think that's beautiful. But security and comparison is what puts us on this path. Willie Blake (15:16.723) Yeah, and here's the thing with like even though they're cliche statements there's one cliche statement that I was talking with a client with and I'm like and he was asking me about what do I do with my career? Like what what I have so many things I want to do. What do do? And I said you do you But then right after that I Preface it saying I'm not gonna leave you with that because anytime someone says that statement I get ticked off at them because that's the most general thing Utkarsh Narang (15:29.473) Hmm. Willie Blake (15:46.25) So let me tell you what it means. And I told him that it's you and the emphasis goes on do you. You do you, which means that you need to be doing things that is of yourself, which means that you got to try a bunch of different things to figure out what that is. And that's a life's journey. You're not going to figure out 100 % of who you are. But like as you try things, you'll find things you enjoy more and you spend more time with that. Things you don't, you spend less time. And so. Utkarsh Narang (15:53.773) Yeah. Utkarsh Narang (16:12.427) Yeah. Yeah. Willie Blake (16:14.847) Clichés are cliché, but when you actually get them into what it could actually mean, they're pretty powerful. Utkarsh Narang (16:20.129) Yeah, absolutely. And it brings us back to that kid-like curiosity. Why is the sky blue? Why does the sun shine so bright? And if we can ask those questions in that age group, till our parents or society or teachers stop us, like, what's wrong? Why are you asking it again? The sky is blue. And I think if we live with that open curiosity, with that childlike nature, not being childish, but being that kid who's open to exploring and seeing where that joy lies. But I don't go back to your journey because I now know that you coach people with dyslexia and you help them build this into a superpower. How is it growing up with dyslexia in a time where, I'm assuming, and correct me if I'm wrong, people did not understand it really well then, and maybe still not everyone understands it. So how was that journey for you? Willie Blake (17:10.463) Yeah, yeah, in a time where not people, at least compared to today, not many people knew what dyslexia was. Most people thought, and actually still think today, that it's just reading something backwards. Which back then, that's kind of all there really was to know about it. It's just like you have difficulty reading, dyslexic. You have a hard time speaking, potential dyslexic. Have a hard, trying to read out loud and like anything with spelling, writing. Dyslexic, like if there's difficulty in that, we just mark it off and they could go to a special class to help them out or whatever things they had. So growing up with it. Willie Blake (18:00.232) It was hard to try to be... It was hard trying to fit in. to actually feel like what I was contributing in class that it was worth something or that it was the correct answer. Because as I grew up with it, I became a lot more shy. I was not the person I am today when I was a kid. I was so shy. I would know the answer to a question. I would wait 20 seconds. Finally, another kid would raise his hand, give the exact same answer, and then I'd beat myself up for not sharing it in the first place. Utkarsh Narang (18:27.319) you Willie Blake (18:40.367) And as I grew up, was the consistency of feeling I always had to play catch-up, but never being able to reach this icon of what other people said was smart and what I categorized as average. Because I was just trying to reach average with everybody else. I hated taking extra time on tests. I didn't like people knowing that Utkarsh Narang (19:00.919) Hmm. Willie Blake (19:09.971) I got special privileges just because of something I was born with. They treated me different. So growing up with it, I just didn't know. I just didn't know any better. And I thought that I would be behind the rest of my life, be that below average, and all my friends who were in the honors classes, who were able to complete everything on time, I thought they'd be the doctors, the lawyers, the accountants, and I would be the one throwing produce at Walmart, just trying to get by. with maybe I'd get a wife, maybe I'd have friends to hang out with, but in all, living with this challenge that is gonna be with me the rest of my life. Because just like today, I knew back then this was something that I was gonna have my entire life. Utkarsh Narang (19:58.808) Thank you for sharing. I'm seeing you really pause for like, and you reflected on before you answered. You know, there's an external battle here where the world does not allow you to fit in. The world is not treating you equally and the world is not making you feel valued and seen. But I think there's a bigger battle really that goes inside. What helped you overcome that battle? Because make me be like the fly on the wall during that phase of your life. And I can see how you're almost like transforming and it's a longer process. But when did that inner battle start to make sense? What did you do to win over that inner battle? Willie Blake (20:41.237) Are you talking about the inner battle from being shy to actually accepting it and then, okay. Yeah, if you were a fly on that wall, it would be me spending a lot of times on things that I like to do. I absolutely loved playing soccer. Played soccer for 14 years. I was the forward and the striker. And when I was on the field, I was a different kid. When I was on the field, people looked at me and were impressed. Utkarsh Narang (20:44.961) Yes. Willie Blake (21:08.137) Being able to kick that soccer ball, the powerhouse kicker that I was. They called me Gibby on the field. If you've ever seen iCarly the show, you'll get it. That's who I was as a kid. And so I love playing soccer. I love playing games. Anything strategic was just my battlefield. I love doing it. And it seemed like as I grew up, I noticed that when I focused on the things I was good at and I did those things, my confidence would increase and because of that my dyslexia affected me less. And so you could see as I grew up that I started to spend more time and it seems like that's the commonality with this. Spend more time on the things that I liked to do that I just really enjoyed that really boosted my confidence. Because when that happened, my dyslexia, which affected me the most with reading and speaking, decreased. It was still there, but my ability to be affected by it decreased. Utkarsh Narang (21:53.773) Hmm. Willie Blake (22:16.393) I also found in times where I would just, where I tried to read a textbook, it would take me forever to read through a page. My confidence would go out, down, and my dyslexia affected me. It skyrocketed through the roof to where I couldn't focus or do anything. And so that confidence built into something that I'm like, okay, as I do things I'm good at, dyslexia decreases. And I think that's where like the transformation came of. Utkarsh Narang (22:31.661) Hmm. Willie Blake (22:45.641) which is what I'm doing affects how my dyslexia affects me. So what is dyslexia? And so I went more into it, not just the reading, writing, and speaking part, but it's how we process information. I'm like, okay, it's not just about reading, it's about how I bring in information, how I internalize it in my head, and then communicate it outwards. It's the whole process system. So if it's the process system, means anything that has to do with that is affected, which means that this short list of bad things goes along with this big list of good things where we are excellent problem solvers, great with patterns and perspective, being able to be empathetic because we've had to deal with so much and sympathize for people. And like this list of advantages kept growing and growing. I'm like, dyslexia hasn't been an obstacle in my life. It's actually been a superpower. But I was the obstacle because I didn't take the time to actually see it as it truly was. And so for those who are listening, I would actually challenge you that whatever it is that you are struggling with, or if we eliminate the word struggle, anything that is hard in your life, I want you to take a step back and take an oversight view of And I'll tell you this, I have found this 100 % of each time that there are more advantages than we used to think when it comes to the challenges that we face. And those can be mental things that we'll have the rest of our life, like dyslexia, ADHD, or autism, or it could be things that are just day to day, which is sadness, anger, tired, hungry, everything. Whatever the challenge is, if you take a step back, there's a good side to it too. which then if there's a good and a bad, it's do I focus on the good or do I focus on the bad? And as Henry Ford was attributed to saying, whether you believe you can or you can't, you're right. Utkarsh Narang (24:53.665) Yeah. And I'm no neuroscientist, but what I was thinking while you were sharing all of that is like, it's almost like when you're finding joy in doing something and you're in a state of flow, then that state of flow allows you to overcome the barriers. In your case, that barrier was dyslexia. But as soon as you found joy in playing football or joy in now coaching people or joy in all that you do, then that dyslexia also goes down. And I love that, that anyone who's I think what I'm also gaining, which think listeners would also appreciate, Willie, is that it's almost like you've got to step back and say, what do I have in control? Because what you said was that dyslexia is not the obstacle. I am the obstacle. And as soon as you say that, you're powerful. You're powerful. Willie Blake (25:45.782) Yeah, like if we realize that the only limitation that we have is ourselves and that we're the one that's holding back our imagination, our ability to act and our ability to control the future. If we can take a step back, notice that, understand it, we get back the power. We get back the ability to choose, which we try which subconsciously we give to other people through various ways but if we start with that first step of understanding that we are actually the one that's been holding ourselves back the entire time not in a guilt way but just in an understanding way then that is the first step of gaining back the power that we get to control the future that we create Utkarsh Narang (26:38.189) Yeah, love that. In your work now, when you, when we look at dyslexia, right? Or, yeah, let's just focus on dyslexia. When we look at dyslexia, then society keeps telling that as a dyslexic, what does one lack? How do you rewrite that story? And how do you rewrite that so you say that it's not about what I lack, but it's about what I have? Willie Blake (27:07.881) Yeah, it's about understanding what actually is going on. Because dyslexia, affects how you process information, which affects your reading, writing, and speaking. But like I said, like patterns, out of the box thinking, problem solving, being more sympathetic, like there are so many advantages that come from it too, that the average person who doesn't have it, don't have. And so it's really understanding without judging either side what it actually is. And as a society, people focus on the negative side of it because in school, that is what's most effective because school is prominent in making sure you get information and trying to memorize things, which is two of the hardest things for a dyslexic. But in life, by golly, dyslexic thinking of being creative and problem solving Utkarsh Narang (28:00.237) Yeah. Willie Blake (28:08.297) Like those are skills that are needed when it comes to jobs in high level positions. And so something that was a hindrance in school is actually an advantage in life. And you only get that as you understand it and live life. You just gotta know about it and you know about it by doing some research. Utkarsh Narang (28:23.629) Yeah. Utkarsh Narang (28:29.121) Yeah. And it's strange, right? That school has this core definition of intelligence, this core definition of what does success look like? And then we as human beings in that age start to kind of take on that definition. And that then stays with us forever. And I see so many people in accomplished positions, but still thinking like, have I done enough? Am I really smart? And all of this keeps coming back to them. And what I was also connecting this back to, really, as we were speaking, it's almost like society wants us to think out of the box and reward that, but then also asks us to stay in the box because that's the norm. How you've seen that paradox play out in your life or in others? Willie Blake (29:17.909) I've seen it a lot in society and here's the thing. not to bash any certain type of government or political side or whatever, but as a whole, people who are in power, on a psychological standpoint, it is easier to control and manipulate people when they are living in fear than when they are living in abundance. So when people are living in abundance, they are calm, collected, they take in information, they actually think for themselves, and from that can make logical decisions about what's best for their life. But if you are living in fear and living in scarcity, well then it's just whatever emotion gets thrown to the whim of whatever decision gets to be made. So if there's always a sickness, always a catastrophe, always a flood or tornado or fire or something that's going on in the world and that's what you focus on, well then that's distracting you from actually making a logical decision for your life. And unfortunately that's kind of how the world is with the higher political leaders is that it's easier to control people when they're in the fear rather than when they're in abundance because when they're in the fear, They do things based off of emotions as of when they are at peace. They do things that are best for themselves and those around them. Utkarsh Narang (30:55.457) Yeah, the fear starts to limit us. Abundance makes us expansive. And I think the governments or the authorities of the world fear that expansive nature of a human being. What's a mental model really? What's something that you live by, that you've seen work time and again to help someone in that state of fear move into that state of abundance? Willie Blake (31:19.797) Now one thing I would say is if you want to change your mental state, change your physical state. Willie Blake (31:28.661) I think this was back three or four years ago where I found this out because I think it was one of Newton's laws of inertia, which is something that is in motion tends to stay in motion. So I was sitting on the couch and the room was dirty, had to clean it, did not want to do it, didn't want to get up, just wanted to sit there and keep scrolling on my phone. So I told myself, Okay one minute, and I call this my one minute, one thing principle. Utkarsh Narang (31:38.829) Hmm. Willie Blake (31:59.264) pick one thing to do for one minute. No expectation of after that one minute to pick anything else up or to do anything else, just one minute, pick one thing. So I said, okay, I can pick up all the trash in the room. So I set a timer for one minute, went around the room, picked up all the trash, threw it in the trash can. Well, now that I got up and started moving, I'm like looking around in my mind saying, okay, it's not that hard to pick up the clothes in the room. So I set another minute and started picking up the clothes in the room. And then now 95 % of the stuff was gone. I'm like, okay, I can spend a few minutes, because I'm feeling better now, to pick up the rest of the stuff. And then I picked up the rest of the stuff and bada bing bada boom, the room was clean. And I'm like, okay, now I can go to the kitchen and start doing dishes. And it was so interesting as I looked back on this, that the moment of which I started to move my body was the moment that my mind was okay with starting to do things. Which is why it's if you are like if you are mentally stuck somewhere and are just trying It mentally stuck that would probably be the best way to say if you're just like mentally stuck in a certain place Look how your body is because a lot of people who are not thinking like I think in a negative ways or Just not doing anything. What are they doing their heads down? Arms are crossed, they're crunched over, shoulders up, they're in like a kinda little ball cocoon, maybe scrolling on their phone, but like they're in a defensive mechanism. When you get out of that, well then your mind jumps up and says, okay, Willie's awake. We gotta start moving, because he moves, so we move. And so if you're in that state, if you wanna get, change your mental state, change your physical state. Jump up instantly. If you're in it, just jump up quick. That's it, no other expectation. Jump up, and you will be so surprised about how much better that you feel from a half second of just standing up as quick as you can. Willie Blake (34:06.899) Simply from moving. And it's just such, I wanna go more into the the psychologicalness of it. I'm still doing research on that. But if you wanna change your mental state, change your physical state. Utkarsh Narang (34:14.54) Mm. Utkarsh Narang (34:17.835) Yeah. And I can relate to it like in so many ways and this is maybe my 55th podcast or something like that. In so many ways, what you just said, like one minute and one thing, it's not that you have to climb Mount Everest. Just think of the smallest step you can take and just give yourself that one minute because then all the resistance in the mind is gone. The mind's not thinking, it's going to take 30 minutes to clean this room. I better not do it. It's just saying, Utkarsh, you got one minute. Do what you can do. And that's an amazing rule. And the physical state, you one of my mentors, he was once, we talking about this and he said, it's like when you go to the gym, the first thing that you want to be mindful of is kind of your posture, right? When you're lifting weights or when you're exercising, keep your eyes open, look straight, don't look down, don't let your shoulders go down, keep your spine straight. I relate that a lot to life. That in our physical state, if you're able to... take on that state more often and go head on and by head on, I don't mean like start violently crashing into things, but just take things head on, take life head on. I think that's such an easy way to at least help you move forward and then see whatever progress might look like. Willie Blake (35:32.147) Yeah, it goes in just little small steps. That's what it is. Utkarsh Narang (35:38.222) I love to still play the devil's advocate in all of this really. And I'm stepping into the shoes of of, of, of say a listener who's, who's listening to this. And they spend like 35 minutes listening to both of us talk and they're still unsure. They're like, why the hell am I listening? Let me move to something else. They know what is the right thing to do. They, they, they, they understand that if I take that action, it's going to help me move forward. But between that. clarity in that action, there's this emotional baggage, right? Which stops them. And I'm seeing one minute, one thing to also support them here. Anything else that you feel has helped you or you've learned over the years that helps bridge that emotional gap between clarity and taking action. Willie Blake (36:26.997) Two things came to my mind. First one was for the listener who has been listening to our voices and what we've been saying but still is like, well, what the heck next do I do? I know what I need to do. Why am I still sitting here? Well, let me say this. If you haven't done what we've talked about and the tips that we've shared, try them out because from... what I've experienced in my life and when I hear information and ask that same thing, the stuff I'm doing doesn't work. The stuff that you're doing as a listener, if you're not, if you don't have the results that you have, there is something that you are doing that isn't working or something that you're not doing that you should be doing to make it start working. So if you are in that spot, try some new things out. Try this one minute, one thing. Try just moving, jumping up. Just try some things. Because honestly, life's too short. to be able to be like, I don't need to try that because I'm too good, my ego's too great, I got a chip on my shoulder. Life's too short to have that. I carried that for years and it got me nowhere. And the places that it actually did get me to weren't worthwhile and aren't in my life anymore. But the ones that I've stayed are the ones where I am just purely curious and just say, okay, I'll try it, I'll see what works. And. nine times out of 10 when I try something new, I'm just like, I am actually 10 out of 10 times, I'm like, I'm grateful for it, whether it stays or not. But then you asked what are some other things and one other thing that came to my mind, which would be two to that, that thing is the grateful three. So this is something that I learned years back. And the grateful three is any time that you have a thought that is negative, or one that says I can't do this, I can't do that, something that's overwhelming. Willie Blake (38:32.991) Think of three things you're grateful for. That's it. Three things you're grateful for. Well, I'm grateful for my wife. I'm grateful for my kids. I'm grateful for this house I live in. Someone might say. But what I'm not grateful for is how the political world, and I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there. Say three more things you're grateful for. Well, I'm grateful for water. I'm grateful for food. And I'm grateful that I'm able to have clothes to wear. And so what we're doing is that we are retraining the mind. Because if you want to change your attitude, change your gratitude. We are adding gratitude in there. And some people who have just been in their mindset and people can call it negative, some people call it comfort zone, whatever it is for you, we are just starting to drip more in there than the bad side. So we're trying to drip gratitude more. Every time you say one, we're dripping in three. So that little by little and over time, we make our mind Utkarsh Narang (39:24.205) Hmm. Willie Blake (39:36.17) not make our mind. We train our mind to be able to say, am grateful. And when we are grateful, that's where this joy, the peace, that's where we start moving, that's where all these things that we talked about today, that's where it starts coming in. And one of the rule with that is with the grateful three, you can't repeat something you said. You said three things, you can't repeat any of those three things again. And I'll tell you this, I've been doing this for six years. Utkarsh Narang (39:58.221) Hmm. Willie Blake (40:05.265) I have yet to find something to repeat. Of course there's grateful things that I'll say in addition to that, but I always find new things because there is infinite things we can be grateful for. So try it out. Utkarsh Narang (40:18.623) I I call that the state of bliss when you're able to do that for you're saying, yeah, just for a very long time. And there's so much, there's so much the air, the coffee that I get to drink, all of it. And so I think it's a great challenge for our listeners to take on just when you're when that first negative thought comes in, find three things you can be grateful for. I love that. What I'm also keen to learn Willie Blake (40:26.343) I like that. Utkarsh Narang (40:48.397) from you, that what are some states or when do you feel like you're most alive, most like in your wiring, in your space? When does that happen for you? Willie Blake (41:01.385) Yeah, when I'm doing things like this, like when I can actually share things like podcast episodes, when I'm out on stage just speaking to people or in the audience talking with them, when I'm on coaching calls, it just fills me with so much joy to be able to see the light in people's eyes of when they realize that there is more out there than they are currently at. That there is just so like, It is just so amazing. Like there's so much love and there's so much hope. Like is to see people and be able to hear from others as we serve and as we live. Like the ability to be grateful and that really when it comes down to it, all we have is time. I just love people seeing that. And I think someone said it really well. I can't remember their name, but they said it as we live two lives. And our second one starts when we realize that we only have one. And I love to see the spot in where people start to live their second life. Utkarsh Narang (42:13.985) And for those of who you feel that that's just bullshit written on papers, it's really, and I can assure you that if one gets into that state and we all can work towards finding that state and maybe it'll take five years for some, two months for some and 15 for some others. But once you get to that level, really that you just described, yeah, I think it's worth striving for, to find that one day in your life. life after which will feel like what the hell was happening here. Yeah, amazing. Willie Blake (42:46.547) Yeah, and if I could share one thing before we move on, is for you as the listener who thinks this is just BS, screw this, what the heck is going on, this is just fluff in the air, let me tell you this. Maybe it is. Maybe all this isn't real. Maybe all this isn't real. Maybe all this is just fake information, right? Maybe you're right. And... Willie Blake (43:17.365) And what's that serving? What's that serving you? If you look at the life you have, are you enjoying it? Do you feel so just embraced with the love of this world? Do you like being angry all the time? Do you like being sad? Do like being in a state of which you're just sitting there wishing that you weren't here, wishing that you had more friends or that you went after and talked to that girl at the coffee shop? Are you living on wishes? Willie Blake (43:52.704) You're such an important person and you are so important that people like us and that people are in the world who have experienced it and we love it so much. We love being in a state of flow. We love being in a state of bliss and these are just words that we use. But we love being happy. We love feeling that even though love, there's going to be an end to it because everybody dies, that we love. Being able to be there with that individual for however long that we get with them because it's about the time that we spend with them So if you're sitting on that couch Listening to this. I just want to tell you You got life you have life and You are so amazing that I want to see you do whatever it is that you wish you can and You just do that by starting small Don't worry about the work, don't worry about the family coming in for the holidays, don't worry about any of that. Just focus on you right now and what you can do with your next step. Utkarsh Narang (44:58.743) Yeah. Yeah. Love that. I love that. Yeah. Willie Blake (45:04.213) I had to share that. That was straight from my heart. I felt it. Hopefully someone who is listening that really hit you because that affected me. That's something I wish I would have heard early in my years and I just I pray right now from my heart to you that that affected you and that you can start going. Utkarsh Narang (45:24.343) Thank you. Thank you for that. think, yeah, I could feel that love coming through when you were sharing that, really. As we come to wrapping up this beautiful episode, really, let's go to that 80 year old, Willie, the one few decades from now, your four daughters all grown up. Maybe there's more on the way. If that 80 year old Willie comes to you right now and in this moment gives you one piece of advice on how to live the rest of your years. what would that 80 year old Willie tell you to do? Willie Blake (46:00.651) That 80 year old Willie. would tell me to smile every single day. Because we live in a beautiful world. Utkarsh Narang (46:18.701) For those who are still with us at 47 minutes. Let's listen to the eighty-year-old Willie's advice because it's important. Smile every day because we live in a beautiful world. Whatever you're doing, when you have a negative thought, go back and ask yourself, what are three things that I can be grateful for? And keep repeating it and you'll see your mindset shifting. If there's something that's stopping you from moving and changing something around you, follow the one minute, one thing rule. Put a timer, one minute, do that one thing. and the brain will lose the resistance and you'll get to the ability to choose. A big shift happens in life when you start to not look at the obstacle on the outside, but saying that I am the obstacle and then you work towards overcoming it. You do you, because it's worth it. Security and comparison are two things that pull us down. Ask yourself, what does it really mean to be secure? And why am I comparing myself to something else or someone else? Whatever age you're at, I don't know, maybe you're 18 and still listening to us, it will be amazing. Or maybe you're 64 or 53 or 32. Keep asking yourself, how do I build my mileage? Because that's what's important. And remember, having fun in life as a child, as an adult is super important. It does not mean you're childish. Go out. Don't take yourself too seriously. Have fun and make this life worth living for. Utkarsh Narang (47:59.351) Thank you, Willie, for that wonderful conversation. Yeah, any final words? Willie Blake (48:07.41) Go out and smile. It's a beautiful world. Utkarsh Narang (48:09.249) God and smile. It's a beautiful world. This is Utkarsh and Willie signing off.