Podcast Summary

Motivation with Brendon Burchard

Episode: "I Don't Have Time" Is the Lie You've Been Telling Yourself
Host: Brendon Burchard
Date: April 3, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Brendon Burchard dismantles the common excuse: "I don't have time," challenging listeners to reclaim hours lost to distraction and aimlessness. He shares actionable strategies for increasing productivity, reveals how old stories from our past hold us back, and introduces mindset shifts critical for making time and pursuing our true ambitions. The episode’s core purpose is to show that time management is self-mastery, and that the stories we tell ourselves directly impact our outcomes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Distraction Trap and the Myth of “No Time”

Programming Pleasure Before Effort:
- Brendon explains that many people invert the order of effort and reward, seeking pleasure (TV, social media) before they've earned it through meaningful work.
  
  "You're programming the pleasure and the reward with none of the effort. And then you're shocked you don't have the self discipline that you desire." (00:20)
Calculating Lost Time:
- Brendon quantifies the time lost to distraction: just two more hours of focus each day equals one extra “workday” (eight hours) per week, which adds up to 52 extra workdays per year—a month and a half of productivity.
- If the average American’s four hours of daily distraction is reclaimed, it could mean three extra months of time each year.
  
  "I have 52 more work days than you in a given year. That's a month and a half. For those who are tracking." (02:00)
The Real Cost of Distraction:
- Distraction breeds not just lost time, but also feelings of being trapped and unfulfilled.
  
  "The more you are slave to distraction, the more you feel trapped in life." (00:55)

2. Simple Strategies to Win Back Time

Rescheduling Distractions:
- Brendon suggests batching pleasures—such as television—to certain days, transforming them into rewards rather than defaults.
  
  "Just don't watch television till Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Let it be your payoff." (01:04)
Replace Aimlessness with Focus:
- He encourages listeners to replace unstructured, aimless time with focused activity, not just through discipline but by crafting a day that has intention from the very morning.
  
  "In the morning, I didn't look at my key priorities... I just kind of went through the motions today and I forgot the major things I was supposed to do." (05:20)
"Command Your Time!"
- Brendon stresses the importance of agency: time is not something that happens to us, but something we can command.
  
  "Let me command my time. Time doesn't have you. You have time. Because don't forget, you humans made up time." (07:00)

3. Shifting Mindsets: From “What If” to “What I Want Is”

How Old Stories Trap Us:
- When aiming to grow or change, our old fears and limiting beliefs often surface in the form of negative “what if” scenarios.
  
  "Your old story almost always emerges like this: What if? And then you fill in the blank with a negative, what if?" (08:20)
The Trap of Rumination:
- Brendon notes that excessive rumination leads to a downward spiral, preventing progress and leading to dissatisfaction or depression.
  
  "The longer you ruminate without the personal power there, the more it bums you out and you stop." (11:40)
Breakthrough Technique—Seek Clarity:
- The strategy for breaking the cycle: replace “What if [negative]...” with “What I want is...”
- This forward-focused clarity transforms motivation, ignites courage, and unlocks purpose.
  
  "Your what ifs have killed your progress. It’s hard for people to acknowledge that, but when you do, you’re like, oh, my God, my whole life stunned by one phrase. What I want is—that is where power comes from. Because that is called clarity." (13:10)
- Clarity isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about awakening vision and agency.
  
  "When you give a human clarity, you give them courage and purpose. When you give them clarity, you give them confidence. When you give them clarity, the breakthrough happens..." (13:46)

4. Redefining Decompression and Presence

Rethinking Leisure:
- For those who argue social media is their decompression, Brendon counters with more restorative alternatives—walks, yoga, time with family—emphasizing that our usual escapes may not nourish us.
  
  "I know some people say... 'Brendon, I really love that. That’s my decompression.' I’m like, there's better decompression. Try sex. Okay. Or... go for a walk, breathe. Go for a jog, do that yoga, sit in your red light." (08:00)
True Freedom vs. Distraction:
- There’s a difference between the feeling of freedom that comes from aimless distraction and the fulfillment of intentional living.
  
  "Aimlessness never feels like a payoff. Freedom does. But not aimlessness, not distraction." (09:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Earning Distraction:

"What if you had to earn a little more of your distractions versus having distractions and then hoping to work?" (00:01)
On Reclaiming time:

"Two hours more a day...gets you a month and a half of eight-hour workdays. I don't know if that gets in your gut and fires you up, but I do." (04:30)
On Commanding your Day:

"I never ever, ever, ever, ever say, I'm so busy, I go, let me command my time." (06:40)
On Facing Old Stories:

"What if? Followed by a negative...most of us are pinging back to a reference point in the past. An old narrative, an old chapter, an old situation, an old event that isn't here." (09:30)
On Shifting Mindset:

"The greats of all time...looked out and they went and they threw [the spear of purpose] as far as they could, and then they marched to it, picked it up again, threw it as far as they could. That's what they did. They didn't go backwards." (12:00)
On Clarity as Power:

"What I want is—that is where power comes from. Because that is called clarity." (13:10)

Important Timestamps

Distraction as Modern Default, and Its Impact (00:00–02:45)
How to Reclaim Workdays with Small Changes (02:00–03:30)
Redefining Decompression and Focus (07:30–09:00)
The “What if” Spiral and Old Stories (09:15–11:50)
Breakthrough Mindset: Moving to “What I Want Is” and Clarity (12:00–14:10)

Conclusion

Brendon Burchard’s episode is an urgent call to challenge time scarcity thinking. By auditing distractions, reclaiming focused hours, and shifting our internal dialogue from anxiously projecting negative “what ifs” to boldly declaring “what I want is,” Brendon empowers listeners to craft a life full of progress, presence, and joy. The episode’s tone is direct, encouraging, and slightly humorous, packed with memorable metaphors and empowering reframes—ideal for anyone ready to trade aimlessness for achievement.

Transcript

A (0:00)

What if you had to earn a little more of your distractions versus having distractions than hoping to work? You're programming the pleasure and the reward with none of the effort. And then you're shocked you don't have the self discipline that you desire. I don't have time, Brendan. I don't have time. How do you get so much done? I have 52 more work days than you. The average American is four hours of distraction. The more you are slave to distraction, the more you feel trapped in life. You give a human clarity. You give them courage and purpose. Get more clarity, you'll get those two hours back. Then you get that focus back. Then you get your days back. People say, I don't have time. Every time, I don't have time, Brendan, I don't have time. I don't have time. I don't have time. Now, I'm not the guy that vilifies social media or television. They're great, Go for them, have them. But what if you could at least try something a little different? What if maybe you went like this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and you said, you know what? I'm just going to hold off TV and my two to four hours here. I'm going to do it here, here and here, but not there. Well, I got two, four, six, eight hours back a week. Eight hours back a week is called a workday. A work day in one week. Hang out with me. How many weeks in a year? 52. Wait a minute, I just gave you 52. I gave you a work week back every week. A work week back every week by going, just don't watch television till Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Let it be your payoff. I grew up in a time in Montana where you had to do your homework before you could watch tv. Anyone remember this? Now everyone just gets everything free and everything instant. But I just want to let you know, what if you had to earn that? What if you had to earn a little more of your distractions versus having distractions than hoping to work? See, you're programming yourself on the wrong side. You're programming the pleasure and the reward with none of the effort. And then you're shocked you don't have the self discipline that you desire. You've just been programming the wrong way. Distraction, freedom, that level. Earn that discipline, then freedom. It doesn't mean you can't be present and emotionally free. What it means is we've got the programming backwards. Most people are programmed for the pleasure and the reward right up front. And there's no effort There, so there's no fulfillment there. There's no effort there, so there's no growth. But also, most people say, brendan, I don't have any time. I go, if I can get two hours back a day from you on average during the week, that means I got an eight hour workday for you. I got you one more day. All of my industry goes, brendan, how do you get so much done? I'm like, I have 52 more workdays than you in a given year. That's a month and a half. For those who are tracking. I get a month and a half more workdays than most people a year. But remember, that's only with two hours of distraction. The average American is four hours of distraction. That means I get three more months of work days. You save yourself four hours a day. If you can rip out that distraction, you get three more eight hour work days. Now, some of you like Brenda, I don't like work. I'm like, okay, that's time with the kids. That's time in the gym. That's time out in that ocean you got here. That's time contributing. That's time in church. That's time volunteering. That's time changing the world. You got that time now, believe me, I know. People go, brendon, I do not watch that much social media or television. I go, I know, but do you have a few days of the week where you're a little aimless, where you're just kind of going through motions? Could we optimize just a little bit to get those two hours back, those three hours back, those four hours back? Because remember, two hours more a day if I just think about it. If you don't like the word distraction, what if we just played positivity thinking over here and we said, I just need two hours more of focus. Because isn't that what I'm talking about? Two hours more of focus a day gets you an eight hour workday back a week. Two hours of focus a day gets you a month and a half of eight hour work days. I don't know if that gets in your gut and fires you up, but I do, because I want to do something in this world. I want a vacation, I want to go places, I want to volunteer. I'm a bookish kid. I'm like, oh, my God, I can read literally 52 more books a year if I have that time. So if you don't like the word distraction, flip it. Just say, I need two more hours of focus. I'm wandering around the House, wondering what to do because in the morning, I didn't look at my key priorities. I gotta be honest, I just kind of went through the motions today and I forgot the major things I was supposed to do, which we'll talk about later. But I can't get you into progress mode unless we just get you back an hour or two a day. Now, I know when you're tired and you have a lot of obligations. Trust me, I have 150 employees between my two companies. I advise and then the first investor in two unicorn businesses that I talk to every single week. So I got my employees, I got my family, I got, just like everyone else, lots of responsibilities. But I never ever, ever, ever, ever say, I'm so busy, I go, let me command my time. Let me command my time. Time doesn't have you. You have time. Because don't forget, you humans made up time. So, see, it's not always distraction. It's often aimlessness. People aren't bad. And I know some people say, well, social media, Brandon, I just. I really love that. That's my decompression. I'm like, there's better decompression. Try sex. Okay. Or I thought it was funny, too, because you can't say that here. Really. Go for a walk, breathe. Go for a jog, do that yoga, sit in your red light. Therapy, Take that sauna session. Go play in the yard with the kids. You can use your two hours better. And I'm here to tell you, life comes back. When you start building that in, life comes back. Otherwise, I'm here to tell you the weirdest thing is the more you are slave to distraction, the more you feel trapped in life. And the weird thing is, the less fulfilled you feel, even though it should feel like a payoff. Aimlessness never feels like a payoff. Freedom does. But not aimlessness, not distraction. I want you to have that joy. So I just got to get some time back in your life. You'll get your time management up. But I know a lot of people who've optimized their time and their stats and their steps, and they're still miserable because they're not here. They're the robot with historical memory, and they're lacking that creative, divine vision for the future. Now, I'm not going to be therapist with you here today and talk about old stories the way maybe you've studied. I know many of you are in this world of personal development. This is not your first rodeo, so let me share it in a different way for you. How your old Story comes up a little bit in the now, in modernity, for your life, in this chapter of your life. It's very simple because it happens for everybody. It sounds like something. Old stories sounds like something. And here's what it sounds like. I know when your old story comes up, your old story almost always jumps up. When you want to progress, when you want to change, when you want to work out, when you want to love again, when you want to risk again, when you want to build, that's when the old story sparks. But it doesn't always start with a story. Sometimes it's a vision, it's a thought, it's a concern, it's something scary. And all of a sudden you just get stuck. Well, your old story almost always emerges like this. What if? And then you fill in the blank with a negative, what if? Followed by a negative, what if it doesn't turn out well? Why do you believe it might not turn out? What if I can't handle it? What if? Followed by negative statement, what if I can't handle it? Why do you believe you can't handle it? What if they make fun of me, reject me, criticize me, find me out? Why do you think those things would happen? Most of us are pinging back to a reference point in the past. An old narrative, an old chapter, an old situation, an old event that isn't here. But we're pinging back, we're checking that reference. We're pinging back and living there in that moment where we were rejected. That fear is coming back for us. Psychologically. It's like, well, what if it's not so? Like, well, it's because of this. No, usually it's like, what is it? It's an instant. Like, what if this fails? What if it doesn't work out? What if? I duh, what if, what if, what if, what if, what if? And most people, that becomes a downward spiral into old stories, situations and persons. And so they're in a downward spiral of old situation stories. And now they ruminate. And as you know, the mental health experts in this room know, a lot of rumination often leads to depression. The longer you ruminate on negative thoughts or old disempowering situations or harmful situations, the longer you ruminate without the personal power there, the more it bums you out and you stop. But what happens in real enlightenment and maturity and that awakening for people is when they realize all of that isn't actually here right now. It's not that it did not happen, it's just not actually here. Like, not now. Like, cognitive behavioral therapists will just talk about the power of thoughts. And you have to realize, oh, there are thoughts you are conjuring or not. And sometimes progress means you conjure them into the future. So it's called share of thought allocation. I know it's a fancy phrase. It just means, where are your thoughts aimed? The higher percentage of your thoughts when you want to do something, where are they aimed? Forward, backwards. It's a very simple statement. So let me give you the simple breakthrough with this. Everyone says, what if negative? And that's where they get stuck in their old story. What if this happens and they start thinking and building all of those negative things? All I want you to do from now on is saying, what if negative? And using your thoughts for that. I want you to say, what I want is. What I want is. This is the story of becoming. See the greats, the greats of all time, every historical figure, it's like they had a spear of purpose, and they had this spear, and they looked out and they went and they threw it as far as they could, and then they marched to it, picked it up again, threw it as far as they could. That's what they did. They didn't go backwards. They threw the spear of purpose out front, further than their current grasp, and they march to it. Your job is to throw that spear out, throw that ball out, and march toward. What I want is. And spend your time there, not what if. And I know it's so simple, but your what ifs have killed your progress. It's hard for people to acknowledge that, but when you do, you're like, oh, my God, my whole life stunned by one phrase. What I want is that is where power comes from. Because that is called clarity. And when you give a human clarity, you give them courage and purpose. When you give them clarity, you give them confidence. When you give them clarity, the breakthrough happens when you give them clarity. The gate opens, the door opens. The spiritual awareness starts attracting things. But a person without clarity is just an automaton. They're just going through the motions. But most people go through the motions because they're scared. And they're scared not because of a biological fear. There's nothing chasing them at the moment. They're scared because what if is in the wrong direction. See, we can rationalize and we can experiment and we can conjecture into the future. That's called, like, logicing out the problem. It's different than operating from the past. If you do what if? Then please cast it in the future. What if she says yes. What if this turns out so great? What if I'm able to serve? What if I'm this, but I'd rather just go? What do I want? What am I after here? Get more clarity. You'll get those two hours back if you have clarity in the morning. What do I want of this day then? Then you have more clarity. Then you get that focus back. Then you get your days back.