Engineering Success: Alan Lazaros on Communication, Goals & Growth

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Amazing Authorities Podcast

Episode Title: Engineering Success: Alan Lazaros on Communication, Goals & Growth
Host: Mitch Carson
Guest: Alan Lazaros
Date: August 20, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode features a dynamic conversation between host Mitch Carson and Alan Lazaros—engineer, MBA, coach, and prolific podcaster. The discussion explores how engineering mindsets, communication styles, and modern technology intersect in the journey to personal and professional authority. Alan shares insights from his unique path, emphasizing the importance of intentional communication, goal-setting, and continuous improvement, while Mitch brings decades of media and performance wisdom to the table.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Perspectives in Communication: From Broadcast to Virtual

• Mitch and Alan compare traditional broadcast interview styles to modern, camera-based podcasting:
  • Mitch discusses the conventions of television—multiple cameras and unbroken eye contact between host and guest ([02:23] Mitch).
  • Alan explains his “triangulation” approach: engaging not only with the host but also directly with the audience via camera, mirroring the dynamic of a live studio audience ([01:40] Alan).

    "What I'm trying to do is virtually mimic something like an Oprah interview, where the interviewee and interviewer are looking at each other and there's a live studio audience looking on." — Alan ([01:49])

• Both agree that shifting mediums (TV vs. podcasts, solo vs. co-hosting) bring new best practices and norms.

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2. Technology’s Evolution: AI, Virtual Reality, and Media Consumption

• They reflect on how AI is rapidly changing content creation, noting the rise of AI-narrated audiobooks ([05:54] Mitch).
• Alan expresses both excitement and caution about technological acceleration and its impact on society ([05:09] Alan).
• Discussion touches on virtual reality and the possibility of future virtual interviews ([05:09] Alan).

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3. Engineering, MBAs, and Thought Modalities

• Both host and guest have MBAs; they share how it impacted their thinking ([08:38] Mitch, [10:10] Alan).
• Alan outlines four thinking modalities:
  • Math/rationality (engineering mindset)
  • Words/communication (show business, media)
  • Images/vision (visionaries)
  • Vibe/intuition (often stronger in women)
• Alan notes his strength in math and his journey to improve communication—a skill rarely emphasized among engineers ([10:42] Alan).

  "Most intelligent people, from an engineering perspective, are very rarely the most successful people." — Alan ([12:34])

• Example: Helping a client from an engineering background master 25 “impact points” of effective communication.

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4. Elon Musk, First Principles, and Public Perception

• Elon Musk is held up as an example of someone who blends engineering precision with powerful (and sometimes polarizing) communication ([12:54] Mitch).
  • Alan admires Musk’s rational, first-principles approach: “I love his first principles thinking. I love that he’s all about accurate thinking...but it’s unbelievably difficult for people who think in those modalities to explain these concepts.” ([13:45] Alan)
• The hosts discuss how intelligence and communication are perceived differently by various audiences:

  "People of lower intelligence are more likely to think he's a poor communicator, in my opinion." — Alan ([15:41])

• The role of triggering emotional reactions in audiences, and how style affects perception ([16:10] Mitch, [17:30] Alan).

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5. The Art and Science of Communication

• Filler words (“right?”, “you know”) are dissected as signs of insecurity or habit; both have worked to eliminate them ([20:58] Alan, [22:16] Alan).
• Alan shares his strategy: “We used to have an 'um' jar. I used to have to put a dollar in a jar every time I said it.” ([22:16] Alan)
• Mitch advocates for Toastmasters and direct feedback as tools for improvement ([21:04] Mitch).

Notable Communication Tips:

• The Power of Pause: Using silence and measured responses instead of filler words ([23:24] Mitch).

  "If you don't have an answer, there's nothing wrong with a pause." — Mitch ([23:31])

• Pace and Intelligence: Speaking quickly can signal intelligence but can also lose the audience if overdone ([25:14] Alan, [25:47] Mitch).

  "A person who speaks quickly is perceived to be more intelligent than someone that speaks slowly..." — Mitch ([25:14])

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6. Mastery Through Repetition: The 10,000-Hour Rule

• Alan meticulously tracks his hours across coaching, training, and podcasting—nearing 11,000 logged hours ([29:20] Alan).

  “I track all my coaching, training, and podcasting. Why? Because I agree with you on the 10,000-hour rule.” ([29:56] Alan)

• Both reference Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, discussing mastery and the progression from basics to expertise ([27:05] Mitch).

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7. Reverse Engineering Success: Alan’s Business Approach

• Alan explains his P3 Target: Coaching (1:1), Training (groups), and Podcasting (scale) ([29:35] Alan).
• His coaching framework includes:
  • Reverse-engineering goals (dreams → goals → habits → skills → identity)
  • Prioritizing math and science-based approaches to achievement ([30:53] Alan)

  “The science of achievement does not care about your feelings.” — Alan ([31:35])

• Only 3% of people have clear, written goals—a crucial stat for would-be achievers ([31:49] Alan).
• His brand: Next Level University (NLU), which offers personal growth resources for those aiming to reach their full potential ([32:29] Alan).

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8. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Perspective and Change:

  "Perspective is reality. When you and I first met, it was awkward for me because I'm looking at a camera...but it's simply different." — Mitch ([00:30])

• On Technology’s Impact:

  "Tech is fascinating and I think the world has changed in technology more in the last 30 years than the previous 300." — Alan ([08:19])

• On Communication Weaknesses:

  "Most people who think in mathematics are terrible communicators. And I really struggle to communicate my ideas..." — Alan ([10:42])

• On Continuous Improvement:

  "I'm 36 years old. I've been practicing [communication] pretty much every day, no joke, for the last 10 years. And it's still...wildly humbling." — Alan ([22:42])

• On Listening to Gut vs. Brain:

  "I always say listen to your gut with people, listen to your brain with business." — Alan ([31:49])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Communication Perspectives and Camera Technique: [00:30] – [05:09]
• Future of Tech and AI in Media: [05:09] – [07:50]
• Engineering Mindset to MBA and Communication Modalities: [08:05] – [12:54]
• Elon Musk, First Principles Thinking, and Public Perception: [12:54] – [17:30]
• Effective Communication, Filler Words, and Feedback: [20:12] – [23:24]
• Mastery and 10,000-Hour Rule: [27:05] – [29:56]
• Alan’s Coaching Model & NLU: [30:53] – [32:29]

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Conclusion

Alan’s story is a blueprint for transforming analytical expertise into influential leadership by mastering communication and relentless self-improvement. The episode delivers practical lessons on embracing new media realities, tracking progress, and integrating emotional intelligence with technical skills to reach—and help others reach—the next level.

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Podcast/Contact Info:

• Alan Lazaros: Next Level University
• Host: Mitch Carson (MitchCarson.com)

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For more insights and actionable tools to boost your authority, subscribe to the Amazing Authorities Podcast.

Transcript

[Mitch Carson]

Welcome to the Amazing Authorities Podcast, where game changers, visionaries and category leaders share how they built their brands, platforms, and global influence. Your host is Mitch Carson, international speaker, media strategist, and creator of the Instant Authority system. If you're ready to learn from those who've done it and want to become the go to expert in your space, you're in the right place.

Alan, we started off this conversation with a little bit of a different perspective. And perspective oftentimes is reality. Depending on who you're talking to, how you see things or I see things may vary. And is one of us wrong? No, it's a perspective. And perspective is reality. When you and I first met, it was awkward for me because I'm looking at a camera when I'm talking to somebody. Because in television versus podcasting, it would be out of order to look anywhere other than at the person who is interviewing you. And I know you mentioned Oprah and some other host. The angle comes in because there are multiple angles. And we can talk about that because I think it's relevant because you represent a different demographic or let's just say generation of interviewing people. And neither is wrong. It's just simply different.

[Alan]

Thank you for having me. First of all, I appreciate it. And so you're mentioning the fact that I. So I have this sort of triangulation is what I call it. So I'm talking to you. I'm looking at you virtually, but I also have the camera as a side view. And then what you'll notice is I'll pivot and start looking. Looking and talking to the camera. If I'm talking to the audience, what I'm trying to do is virtually mimic something like an Oprah interview, where the interviewee and the interviewer are looking at each other and there's a live studio audience looking on. The live studio audience in this case is the camera. And you and I are kind of looking at each other. And Kevin and I, we have a podcast where we look at each other. So he has a side profile and so do I. So it works. Works kind ofNICE on YouTube.

[Mitch Carson]

I would get it. I understand if you are co hosting. And I did see that on your site, which is great. And you've got a very nice site. The two of you look like you work out together in the morning as well. And you've got this fitness thing going on. Yes, I get it. It's different. And maybe that works in your audience, or maybe that's the new perspective. And I work in the world of publicity. We're going to dig into what you do. Also, I haven't had a co host on the show yet. That's something that will be interesting. So if I'm having a conversation, I would be looking over here at my co host and then I would direct at the camera. Now our fire on television, I'm looking at the co host the whole time. But the, there are three cameras. So it's a matter of perspective. Three cameras. There's the one which takes both of us into the shot. Number two is looking at me because I'm the host. Number three camera will then pivot and look at the guest. So you, you're breaking, you're switching cameras all the time. Typically it's focused on number one, which is the both of us. And it'll get us this side view where it's looking in your ear right now. I see one earplug going in, which is good. Yeah. I don't know. You have a second ear as well. I just don't. I won't ever see it. There it is. It's there. It's alive. Alanhasanear.com that's a new domain.

[Alan]

You know it. So, Mitch, this is actually exactly it. Kevin and I are in the process of eventually doing two cameras each.

[Mitch Carson]

Okay.

[Alan]

Because I have a home office and so does he. And we think the 21st century is virtual. We have a virtual company.

[Mitch Carson]

Sure.

[Alan]

And we're trying to mimic that exact thing. So it's going to be four cameras instead of two. But it'll be interesting to try to piece that together virtually on YouTube.

[Mitch Carson]

Yeah, I, and I'm curious. I've come from a broadcast journalism background, been on television for decades and new angles, new perspectives are great. I mean, you do see a lot of these TikTok videos where people are talking, some of the big name individuals. I'm not going to give them weight necessarily now. We could talk about them later. But the view of going back and forth and that perception, maybe that's the new reality is where I'm mentioning this. So it's just an interesting conversation piece. Like I said, I've conducted quite a few interviews. I've never had anybody looking off camera.

[Alan]

Well, I can turn and look on camera.

[Mitch Carson]

Oh, whatever works. Whatever works for you, it's fine. It's just different. Well, I hadn't experienced that, but I experienced something new every day.

[Alan]

Exactly. And well, eventually it'll be virtual reality and we'll all be in a virtual world and we'll be conducting interviews there. And that's going to be interesting. VR, AR the virtual world is getting exponentially more intriguing and also scary, but also exciting. And that makes sense, right? That's what all technology does.

[Mitch Carson]

How do you know I'm not a robot, Alan? How do you know?

[Alan]

How do I know right now?

[Mitch Carson]

Robotic and I have feelings.

[Alan]

Yeah, yeah. So I worked at a company called iRobot in my early 20s. I am certain, based on my background, that you're not a robot. However, I do think eventually it might be difficult to tell.

[Mitch Carson]

Well, that's where we're leading. I mean, I was looking at audiobooks recently for a couple of the books that I've written and clients have written. And now it seems to be the norm to have the audiobook AI read, AI recorded. And it seems to be the acceptable norm instead of paying a voiceover artist. So there's one vertical job that can be going. It can be sent away or eliminated because it's now the norm with audible. They call it an I. I. The term shocked me, but it was book after book after book has already made the carryover. And if that's the new norm where it's not the author reading it, but a representation of his or her voice. Wow. What's to come?

[Alan]

Agreed. Agreed. I. I do audible all the time. I love audiobooks. I love books in general, but audiobooks, what I frequent. Yeah, yeah. I got the books in the background and I always loved it when the author read it. I really enjoy when the author personally reads the book.

[Mitch Carson]

Okay.

[Alan]

And puts their emotion and meaning into it. But I do, I do think eventually that will go yeah, well.

[Mitch Carson]

And some people are writers. And if you're to look at the profile of the writer, it's an introverted person, wears glasses as in front of their typewriter. For my generation now the keyboard who may write and is probably a gamer in their off time. And it's a different job than someone who's vocal and wants to speak. And I do appreciate the passion behind it. Yet we're consuming information in this AI world in a different manner. Man, the world has changed.

[Alan]

Yes.

[Mitch Carson]

And I'm welcoming it. It's cool to observe from mile high view. And I have been out of this orbit more than once. I won't talk about the 60s with you.

[Alan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I computer engineer with an mba Computer engineering I was at. So I was mining for bitcoin with my roommates in my Dorm Room in 2007, so.

[Mitch Carson]

Oh, wow.

[Alan]

I. And again, at the end of the day, tech is fascinating and I think the world has changed. In technology more in the last 30 years than the previous 300. And so it's getting wild and I'm here with you. So anything you want to ask, I can definitely talk intelligently on the subject and anything that I don't know, I'll just make it very clear that I don't.

[Mitch Carson]

Well, that's good. Well, it's wonderful you have that background. I have an MBA also and one of my old mentors from a mastermind I was in after I completed it. I was proud that I had completed that education after my BA in broadcast journalism from the University of Southern California.

[Alan]

Nice.

[Mitch Carson]

Led into my media career background. And then I got the MBA and, and there were two of us in this group of about 16 of us. And the man that we were paying money to who wasn't educated was a fellow named Dan Kennedy, who's a well known marketing author and legend to the copywriters in the, in the US and abroad. And he said, oh, Mitch has now he's going to overanalyze everything and he's got an mba. For more bad advice. Do you. I thought it was a cute acronym that he spun his way to embarrass me. And then he privately said later, I have a regret. Maybe I didn't go to college or something. You know, it was, it was off the cuff humorous at my expense. But I look at my MBA as a obviously I'm more of a fan of having it than not having it because I earned it. Went to school for 27 months to get there. How has it affected you? Coming from a technical background. And then let's jump in. What did it do for you? Getting more practical business knowledge than getting into technology and how to apply it.

[Alan]

I think that so I came from a background of engineers. I was the big math and science nerd in high school. And then I went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It's kind of like a mini MIT in Massachusetts.

[Mitch Carson]

I'm aware of it. They have a classic molding department.

[Alan]

Awesome. Okay. So and I actually spoke there a couple months ago and it was interesting because it's changed in many ways and then in other ways not at all.

[Mitch Carson]

Great school, technical school.

[Alan]

Phenomenal. So the engineers that I was around just math and science nerds in the best way.

[Mitch Carson]

Okay.

[Alan]

And you know, most of my ex roommates are at different tech companies, this whole thing. And so then I got my MBA and I went into business and I realized that a lot of the engineers have the best what I consider modality of thinking. I, I, so I think there's four modalities of thinking. This is what I've uncovered in coaching, training, podcasting. One is numbers, rationality, probabilities, equations and formulas. That's the rarest. Most people do not think in mathematics. That's sort of the engineering mind. The second one is words, concepts and conversations. That's most likely yours. And that's what most of show business is. And then you've got pictures, images and vision, the visionaries among us. And then you've got vibe, energy and intuition. And that's. Women tend to be better than men at that one. And we all have all four, but we all tend to have a really good one and a really bad one. So my really good one was mathematics. My really bad one was vibe, energy and intuition. And so I think in mathematics, I think in numbers. And to answer your original question about the mba, what I've come to understand is that most people who think in mathematics are terrible communicators. And I really struggle to communicate my ideas because it's all. I had a client once, his name was Udi. He was an ex roommate of mine, and he came back 10 years later, and I was trying to help him sort of do his startup, and he was pitching to investors in Boston. And I came up with these 25 impact points of effective communication. Because he came to me and said, alan, you were always good at communicating. Like, how do you do it? How do I communicate like you do? And I remember thinking to myself, brother, your first language isn't English. You're. He's from India. You have a thick accent. You're gonna have a really hard time. And you think in math. And no one else does. Not no one, but a small percentage of people do. And so I said, okay, let's. Let's work on it. And we did. And since then, I've been sort of tracking the 25 impact points of effective communication. Storytelling, tonality, powerful pauses. You obviously are a good communicator and you study communication as well. That's very clear to me. Most people don't, certainly not engineers. So what my MBA taught me is that the most intelligent people, from an engineering perspective, are very rarely the most successful people, Unfortunately, I would agree.

[Mitch Carson]

One of the individuals who's quite popular, and I thought of him immediately because of his embracing the media so well. And he bought a platform called Twitter, which he named X. As Elon Musk comes from a heavy engineering background. That was one of his answers. What. What career track do you want for your children? He said, engineering, engineering, engineering. I Don't remember which interview it was but he said engineering helps you think clearly and practically and he's the ultimate pragmatist and he's got that type of response but yet he communicates very well. When he's interviewed and someone says something to try to poke him, he usually turns the table and they look like dunces.

[Alan]

The engineering modality of thinking is very strategic. It's very logical and rational and most people think with emotions and words and concepts and they don't. I'm not necessarily a fan or not, so don't associate me with him. What I will say is I love his first principles thinking. I love that he's all about accurate thinking to me, everything, statistics. You, most people are sharing things and stories and that's all great but it's very anecdotal and it's not based on accuracy. So to me we're all kind of like a self driving car where you don't know your current location, you don't know your destination location and you have inaccurate data. So you think it's a cliff or you think it's a road, it's actually a cliff. And so you keep driving off a cliff and then blaming the world. And I think one of the things that I have a really hard time with and I'm so grateful to be here, I appreciate the interview. I have a hard time communicating mathematical principles in a world where the majority statistically don't like math. The majority of people do not like mathematics. But mathematics is the study of the universe. Mathematics and physics is the base, that's the base of how you understand the world. And unfortunately it's unbelievably difficult for people who think in those modalities to explain these concepts to people who don't. And so we have great storytellers like James Cameron, but. But we don't have engineers who have learned how to communicate effectively. And I do agree. So you said Elon's a strong communicator. I agree he's a strong communicator. I'll leave it there. But I have someone who bought a lot of stock in one of his companies and she came to me and said I'm so mad. He communicates like crap. He needs to watch what he says. All stuff. And she said she thinks he needs a PR director and he probably has one first of all. But number two is she thinks he's a terrible communicator.

[Mitch Carson]

I would disagree. I'm a media professional and I disagree.

[Alan]

Same I did too. I remember saying to Her, I remember saying, honestly, I disagree, but here's the truth. And this is going to be hard for some people to hear. People of lower intelligence will are more likely to think he's a poor communicator, in my opinion.

[Mitch Carson]

He says things that evoke emotions. And that is why she probably perceived him or perceives him as a poor communicator. He hits her buttons.

[Alan]

Yes.

[Mitch Carson]

He. He's not part of the woke society. Some of the things that. I'm going to go ahead and go on. On a limb. I'm. I'm a senior citizen, Alan, and at this point, this is what happens when you get to my age. If people don't like what I have to say, they compound sand.

[Alan]

And I.

[Mitch Carson]

Because I've earned my. My right. I don't. I'm not concerned. And it's not because I'm a zillionaire like he is. And that is where he's coming from. And he speaks his mind without filters. I respect and admire communicators like that. And sometimes it may hurt, but his reality is his reality. Remember we talked about realities? You're. You're mathematical. That's great. It would be interesting to study the statistics of, let's just say, looking off camera versus on. I would love to have that conversation with you one day because. Yeah. And if I'm. If I'm incorrect in the new movement is how you're communicating looking off camera. I'm all in. Because. Yeah. I come from a communications background and I happen to be one of those who loved math. I was in the gifted children's program in school because math was easy for me. It just wasn't the career path that I chose for myself. But I embrace your type of thinking. My college roommate was an aerospace engineer.

[Alan]

Nice.

[Mitch Carson]

Yeah. So electrical engineering background. We got along famously.

[Alan]

But that's also you. So you and I. I don't know if you've read any of Stephen Hawking's work, that kind of stuff. I would read Stephen Hawking's book and think this makes perfect sense. But if you have a strong math background, you're going to think Elon's a better communicator than he really is. So if you understand mathematics, you're going to understand him way better. The other reason, too, I think this is fascinating. He triggers people. And I understand he's very candid. Without filters. Yes. One of the reasons why I have the camera the way that it is, you'll be fascinated to understand this is because I also trigger people. So it's less direct. Instead of saying, hey, you think inaccurately and honestly, you need to really self assess and try to be more intelligent. It's less, it's like I'm talking to you instead of at them.

[Mitch Carson]

Because the velvet hammer, isn't it?

[Alan]

Yes. It's very important for people to not feel talked down to or talked at. Instead I'm talking to you. And that's why the side profile is very.

[Mitch Carson]

I love it. I mean, I mean it's. No, it's fascinating. Alan, I would love to look at the data. If there's the data supporting what you're doing, what versus what has been traditionally done, I would love to see that.

[Alan]

And I think it's only based on me because most people are not super confronting. So we have a score called the intimidation factor and it rates you from 0 to 10 on 30 facets of your character. And you know, basically the more intimidating you are as a human being, the more people will be triggered by you. And so the side profile would only work well with people that have high intimidation factor. So for me, uniquely, that's why I do it. Whereas my business partner, Kevin, he's very warm, very loving. He doesn't trigger people nearly as much. And so it would depend on the person.

[Mitch Carson]

What's his background? Since you have a business partner, maybe we can mention him too.

[Alan]

Yeah, absolutely. So Kevin. So he, he comes from sort of. So I was sort of white collar professional. He was blue collar background. I mean his background, he didn't go to college, he was a gas station tenant. He talks about it all the time. He was sort of the bootstrap. Start from nothing, make something of myself through hard work and work ethic. And so it's, it's been really interesting for him and I both growing up without fathers to start this business together. So he, he says, not me. He says that if he could rename our podcast playfully, we're not going to. He would call it the genius and the Joker. Oh, I like that because he's really funny. He's, he's, he's intelligent too. He, he dumbs it down, but that's really what he was. Not the math and science nerd like me. He didn't. But he didn't have that. Yeah.

[Mitch Carson]

And Alan, would you agree intelligence comes in different ways?

[Alan]

Yes, of course. There's a book called Multiple Intelligences that talks about the nine modalities. There's there all kinds of kinesthetic and all that. So. Absolutely.

[Mitch Carson]

And you are good at math. I mean that is your, your superpower let's just say. And in most cases, people of your education track are not great communicators, I have found. Agreed. My former college roommate is not a great communicator because after every sentence he uses an annoying tie down. Right, Right. And he says it with punctuation. And if I didn't know him, I'd want to punch him.

[Alan]

Yeah, those filler words. Yeah, yeah. They're very hard to get rid of.

[Mitch Carson]

Well, for some people. And I suggested he go to Toastmasters. Why do I need to do that? He didn't like it. So he did have that emotion. This is so many years ago. I haven't talked to him in a while. He's a very nice, warm hearted family guy, fantastic person. He communicated like that and used the filler words. Those were batted out of me years ago during my undergraduate studies because we had to give speeches every week in every class. Learn that. And as a professional speaker myself, I know it's annoying when someone says right. And when I conduct my speaking courses, I say laughed. Left. Oh, what? Yeah, you got to sting people to stop it. It's the proverbial paddle on your buttocks. Stop it. Are you going to get a spank and just stop it? It's annoying and it's demeaning when you say right. No, maybe it's not right. It could be left. Or maybe it's nothing. Stop saying right. Or you know and you know. No, I don't know. You're telling me, so stop it.

[Alan]

Those filler words are very challenging to get rid of. You know, like. Right. Those are the go to fill space words for the insecure speakers of the world. And we all start there. So I also. We used to have an, um, jar. I used to have to put a dollar in a jar every time I said we had to get rid of that quickly.

[Mitch Carson]

Was that Toastmasters or some other.

[Alan]

Just our own. Okay, that was Kevin and I. We just. We master the craft of effective communication. And like I said, I have those 25 impact points of effective communication that I teach and we have thousands. I think between him and I were at like 6,000 podcast episodes between our show and, you know, all the collective shows we've been on. That's just a lot of practice, but it's intentional practice. Effective communication is something that has been wildly humbling. I'm 36 years old. I've been practicing pretty much every day, no joke, for the last 10 years. And it's still. I'm very humbled at how difficult it is, particularly when Someone asks me a new question that I don't know how to articulate.

[Mitch Carson]

Have you heard of the power of pause?

[Alan]

Like as a concept or a book?

[Mitch Carson]

Neither as a communication technique. When you don't know the answer, some people will say the. For the jar. I've studied this as well and that's why we're having the conversation. I, I love this topic. If you don't have an answer, there's nothing wrong with a pause versus or that's a great question. Which buys you the time necessary to then go into where your mind can search for the answer and come out with something that might be perceived as intelligent. It could be accurate or inaccurate. And it could. Well, what do you mean by that? And now the well. What do you think of the well?

[Alan]

Anything that indicates that you are not centered in yourself is probably going to come off to anyone else's unconscious perception as insecurity. That's been really hard for me because I speak for me. The hardest part is pacing. I'm, I think, very fast. So I talk very fast. Especially when someone asks me a question that I have a little bit of a difficult time articulating. I'll get insecure and I'll just rattle off a lot, especially numbers. So Pareto, 80, 20, and I just start going down the rabbit hole. And Emilia and I have a podcast together, my partner and I, my intimate partner and I, future wife. And then Kevin and I. And so we are constantly giving each other feedback on what we could improve. Kev thinks that I speak too fast. So, for example, we only have 5 minutes and 22 seconds remaining in this interview. How do I make sure that I don't start speeding up too quickly, which I think I probably already am.

[Mitch Carson]

You're not too fast for me. I think you're fine. And a person who speaks quickly is perceived to be more intelligent than someone that speaks slowly as though they're from rural Alabama spitting tobacco instead of tobacco. So I think you're fine.

[Alan]

What about someone who speaks way too quickly? See, there's. There's an optimal stopping problem there. Too much pace and you start to lose people. And you're not connecting too little. And people perceive you as unintelligent.

[Mitch Carson]

Correct. So if they're speaking fast as though they're a carnival barker or someone that is an auctioneer, I've never looked at an auctioneer and think the guy's a dumb doe, so he's doing his job and he speaks quickly. And that high level speech and communication frequency is good for a short period. Of time. It'll wear people out long term, but for a. It's got its space. I sold on television on a channel called Home shopping network for three years in the 90s. When I sold a product and I was going into the clothes, I sped up naturally. It's just part of who I am. It's in my DNA today. I've done it so many times. We're having a communication, we're conducting a conversation right now. This is me. But if I were to sell you something or get excited about a product or service, my speech will go 20, will go up 20% without even my intention. It just triggers and that comes through the power of repetition. You've been working on your communication for 10 years to improve it. Little bits at a time. I think that's great. Did you ever read the book Outliers?

[Alan]

Yes. Malcolm Gladwell.

[Mitch Carson]

There's a something that's hung in my brain since I read it when it came out a while ago. I'm a big fan of his if his books. Ten is, is 10,000 hours. Mm, 10,000 hours. So much so that the management of Lifelong Learning, which is the biggest public learning institution in Singapore, which is a very big audience for me, spoken there many, many times. Most of my clients are in Singapore. The stairwell leading up to the second floor has 10,000 hours written on it. That's all it says, 10,000 hours. And then Malcolm Gladwell beneath it. It's related to that book. In order to become a master, you've got to put in the time and you, it looks like you have a sports background. You look fit. I was very fit for most of my life. I was on the pro karate circuit in the 80s and when I and I've tested many, many students. I had a school for many years. I would tell my newly minted black belts that I tested, you've now mastered the basics. The real training begins now when you're able to teach it. That's what'll stick with you long term, is teaching it, getting better at it. So what does your company do? Talking about teaching all of this is quite interesting. And don't worry about the time. We're on a great track. I love the engagement that we've had and, and if you can remember, Alan, I would be grateful to you before I learn about your business and how you help people. I would be grateful to you because I want to learn from you and anyone else that's a guest. I look at this as a two way conversation. If you've got data about looking off Camera during a podcast interview versus an in person when we have. That's different. But doing it during a podcast interview, if this is the new norm or it's a greater way to engage people, or you've got some data that's reliable, it can be more than you just talking to your podcast buddy. And if there's data out there that some data scientists took the time to do it, please share it with me. That's my.

[Alan]

Yes, I absolutely will. And thank you for having me. And you mentioned the 10,000 hours. I actually have written over here. 10,993 hours.

[Mitch Carson]

And there's a reason for that. And you're going to share it?

[Alan]

Yes. So I have something called a P3 target. I say one's too few, fives too many. I have three priorities. I have coaching, training, podcasting. Coaching is one to one, training is one to several, what you would call a speech. And then podcasting is one to scale. And they all feed each other. And I have. I started 10 years ago. I used to track them in little black notebooks. Eventually I digitized.

[Mitch Carson]

Oh my gosh. Oh, my gosh.

[Alan]

Eventually it was flashcards. Then I digitized it, and so 10,993 hours. I track all of my coaching, training, and podcasting. Why? Because I agree with you on the 10,000 hour rule. And it actually took me a decade to pass 10,000 hours, which is crazy. And now I'm averaging, I think 47 a week is my latest average. So I'm a big numbers guy, track everything. But thank you so much for having me. Really appreciate it. I forget what your question was. I apologize.

[Mitch Carson]

No, no problem. Tell me how you help people. What does your company do? We've had an interesting conversation and never am I scripted. I failed as an actor, grew up in LA and tried to be an actor. I'm not scripted. I'm an extemporaneous speaker. And I go where the energy takes us. That's why I'm effective at what I do. I don't like to follow a rigid guideline we've talked about quite openly here. I do have all these questions that we could follow, but I think it's more interesting the way our interview has gone. Conversation.

[Alan]

I like conversations as well. That's what my first podcast was. Conversations Change Lives was the name of it. So my company, what we do is we help people reach their own unique potential through fitness, personal development, and business. I'm a business Coach. I have 21 clients currently. One of them is four times a week, three of them are twice a week. I do weekly, biweekly and monthly. And they're all early to late stage, personal, brand focused entrepreneurs, similar to what you do. And they're trying to carve a space for themselves on the Internet in the 21st century and turn their passion into purpose, into profit. That's the best way that I can describe it. And really my job is to help them reverse engineer the finish line. So we do dreams, goals, priorities, metrics, habits, skills and identity work. And if all of those are in alignment, you just will win. It's all math and science based. And the science of achievement. This is what I say. The science of achievement does not care about your feelings. And quite frankly, most people I don't think are going to be very successful. Statistically, you can look this up. Only three people, 3% of people, I'm sorry, last time I researched this, have clear written goals. And so we're all wandering around aimlessly a lot of the time and we're listening to our feelings. I always say listen to your gut with people, listen to your brain with business. Sometimes business and people intersect a lot of times. So who do you listen to? Your gut or your brain? Your gut or your brain. It's very hard. And so sometimes you got to listen to the engineering mind and sometimes you got to listen to your gut and it's tough to know the difference. So I think everyone needs an engineer in their corner.

[Mitch Carson]

I would agree.

[Alan]

And that is really what NLU is built on. What you'll never learn in school, but desperately need to know. 1% improvement in your pocket from anywhere on the planet. Completely free. Next Level university. It's on YouTube, it's on all the podcast platforms. But ultimately people who want to reach their potential in life and business, they can reach out to me. And thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

[Mitch Carson]

I appreciate your time, Alan. This has been great and national. Unpack the NLU again.

[Alan]

Yeah. Next Level University.

[Mitch Carson]

Next level. Not current level, it's next level. I like that. And I pres. I presume legacy is part of that. Deliverable.

[Alan]

Absolutely.

[Mitch Carson]

Well, great. Alan, you've been a great guest. Thank you for your time today and I'm going to have you back in the future. If you'd like to accept my invitation in because I think you're. There are so many tracks we could go down together and it would make it very interesting and I know the listeners would enjoy it.

[Alan]

Mitch, I'd be honored. I appreciate it. Let's do it.

[Mitch Carson]

Thanks for tuning in to the amazing authorities Podcast if today's episode inspired you, take a moment to subscribe, rate and leave a review. It helps more experts like you rise to the top for behind the scenes access and free resources to boost your authority. Head to MitchCarson.com until next time, stay amazing.