How to Get Ahead of 99% of People

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How to Get Ahead of 99% of People"
The Mindset Mentor with Rob Dial
Release Date: June 16, 2025

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Introduction

In the episode titled "How to Get Ahead of 99% of People," host Rob Dial delves into strategies for personal and professional growth that set individuals apart from the majority. Co-hosting alongside Rob, the discussion centers on overcoming the pervasive addiction to technology and entertainment, emphasizing the importance of intentional learning and self-improvement.

The Problem: Technology Addiction

Rob and his co-host begin by addressing a critical issue in today's society: the widespread addiction to technology, particularly smartphones. They highlight how excessive screen time detracts from meaningful engagement and personal development.

Co-host (03:30): "When you get out and everyone's just looking at their phones all the time. What I want you to kind of figure out is how you can get as much knowledge into your brain when most people are usually trying to just entertain themselves."

The Importance of Education over Entertainment

The conversation shifts to the significance of prioritizing education and knowledge acquisition over passive entertainment. They argue that while entertainment provides immediate gratification, education fosters long-term growth and success.

Rob Dial (04:27): "Why don't you trade entertainment for education and for taking action."

Statistics on Learning and Reading

To underscore their points, Rob and his co-host present compelling statistics illustrating the decline in reading and knowledge retention among the general population:

• Average Screen Time: 4.1 hours per day on phones, with 25 minutes on social media.
• Declining Attention Span: Human attention span has decreased by 33% over the past 20 years.
• Reading Habits: 33% of high school graduates and 42% of college graduates never read another book after graduation.
• CEO Habit: The average CEO reads 60 books per year, highlighting a stark contrast between leaders and the average person.

Co-host (05:44): "If you look at the average CEO, the average CEO reads 60 books per year. That's more than one a week."

Personal Strategies to Overcome Social Media Addiction

Rob shares personal anecdotes and strategies to combat technology addiction, demonstrating practical steps listeners can take:

• Intentional Use: Limiting social media to specific devices and purposes.
• Screen Time Management: Actively reducing daily screen time from an average of five hours to two and a half hours.
• Creating Boundaries: Keeping phones out of sight to reduce the temptation to check them constantly.

Co-host (08:55): "I've decided to stop being a consumer of social media anymore. I just create on social media and then I don't use it at all."

Practical Tips to Replace Entertainment with Educational Content

The duo offers actionable advice on integrating education into daily routines, effectively replacing time spent on entertainment with learning opportunities:

1. Utilize Downtime: Replace music with educational podcasts or YouTube content from respected figures during activities like showering or commuting.
2. Leverage Technology for Learning: Use Kindle for reading and highlighting important book sections, making it easier to revisit key insights.
3. Micro-Education: Incorporate short bursts of learning into waiting periods, such as at the doctor's office, to continuously build knowledge.

Co-host (16:08): "Take the next six months, just this short period of time, you decided, I'm going to learn instead."

Conclusion and Motivational Takeaways

Rob and his co-host conclude by reinforcing the importance of setting oneself apart through continuous learning and intentional living. They encourage listeners to make deliberate choices that prioritize growth over immediate gratification, ultimately enabling them to become part of the elite 1% who lead and innovate.

Co-host (19:12): "If you do that, that is how you're going to be able to set yourself apart from 99% of other people."

Notable Quotes

• Rob Dial (04:34): "When most people are looking at cat videos and trying to, you know, watch somebody chug an entire Sprite on TikTok, you are going to become smarter."
• Co-host (07:02): "If you want to get ahead in life, you have to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing."
• Rob Dial (17:32): "Would you rather watch cat videos now or watch the sunset in Greece because you took action and created an amazing life."

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Connect with Rob Dial:
Follow Rob on Instagram @RobDialJr for more insights and updates.

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This episode serves as a compelling reminder of the power of intentional living and continuous learning. By consciously choosing education over fleeting entertainment, listeners can significantly enhance their personal and professional lives, positioning themselves well ahead of the crowd.

Transcript

[Rob Dial]

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[Co-host]

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[Rob Dial]

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[Rob Dial]

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[Co-host]

Welcome to today's episode of the Mindset Mentor Podcast. I am your host Rob Dial. If you have not yet done so, hit that subscribe button so you never miss another episode. And if you're out there and you love this podcast, please give us a rating and review. However you listen to us, the more positive ratings and reviews we get, the more that these platforms show this podcast to people who have never listened to it before, which allows us to be found and grow and impact more people's lives. So if you do that, I would greatly, greatly appreciate it. Today I'm going to be talking to.

[Rob Dial]

You about how to get ahead of.

[Co-host]

99% of people that are out there in the world. We're going to talk about how to get light years ahead of everyone else in a super short period of time. And the reason why this is important is because, you know, I don't like to think, like I'm in competition with everybody else in the world. But if you're on the marketplace in some sort of way, if you're trying to improve yourself, if you're trying to grow a business, if you're trying to do something like that, you do have some competition that's out there in the world. And so I want to teach you.

[Rob Dial]

How you can improve exponentially in a.

[Co-host]

Short period of time compared to most people. And when you look out into the world and you walk down the street, you see what's going on. What do you. What do you notice of most people? Like, I notice a lot of things, but one thing that I noticed is becoming super, super obvious. And that obviousness, if that's a word, is that humans are becoming more and more addicted to technology. They're becoming more and more addicted to their phones. And I don't mean in a productive way. Sure, they are using it that way, but most people are usually just trying to entertain themselves or just trying to fill up the next seven minutes before they have to go into their next meeting. I was reading an article a couple weeks ago. It was about a guy who got out of jail, and he was in.

[Rob Dial]

Jail for 30 years.

[Co-host]

And they said, what do you notice that's different about the world? He's like, everyone's only just looking at their phones all the time. I was like, man, that must be.

[Rob Dial]

Really weird to go from 30 years.

[Co-host]

Ago when, you know, cell phones didn't really exist, especially like they do now, to now. You get out and everyone's just looking at their phones all the time. What I want you to kind of figure out is how you can get as much knowledge into your brain when most people are usually trying to just trying to get as much entertainment into their brain. The average person watches Netflix for 3.2 hours per day. The average person is on their phone for 4.1 hours per day in 2.2 hours, and 25 minutes of those four hours is on social media. And so when you look at this, what I've come to see is that.

[Rob Dial]

The human attention span over the past 20 years, statistically, has gone down 33%. The attention span of a human has gone down 33%. So you want to become a superhuman.

[Co-host]

Why don't you trade entertainment for education.

[Rob Dial]

And for taking action.

[Co-host]

When most people are looking at cat videos and trying to, you know, whatever challenge is coming up now, people trying to watch somebody chug an Entire Sprite on TikTok. You are going to become smarter. You are going to fill your brain with knowledge. You are reading a book that can.

[Rob Dial]

Further your knowledge and make you smarter.

[Co-host]

You're taking action in your business while your competition is probably sitting on their couch watching somebody chug a sprite. And what I want you to understand is this.

[Rob Dial]

When you talk about knowledge and the.

[Co-host]

Difference in the way people are getting knowledge nowadays. 33% of high school graduates will never read another book after graduation. 33%. Here's an even crazier statistic. 42% of college graduates, yes, more than high school graduates. 42% of college graduates never read another book after graduating. And 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year. 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year. But here's another weird statistic. If you look at the average CEO.

[Rob Dial]

The average CEO reads 60 books per year.

[Co-host]

That's more than one a week. So you can see the average versus the outlier. Do you want to be in the average in life, or do you want.

[Rob Dial]

To be the outlier in life? If you want to get ahead of.

[Co-host]

Everyone in anything, learn and learn. While they are being entertained, while they're letting their brains fry away on their phones, you are using your brain to grow and to get better, you have to take a step back and kind.

[Rob Dial]

Of see what's going on.

[Co-host]

What I'm seeing people do is the exact opposite of what I want to do. I've always kind of thought this way. I've looked at what people do, and I've gone, yeah, no, I don't want to do that. I'm looking at people, and they're on their phones all the time. I'm going, yep, that's not what I want to do. I don't want. That's not what I want to live my life. Like. Like looking at a screen, you know, it's. And it's not like. It's not like I never turn my TV on or I don't own. I only own a landline phone. You know, I don't. I'm not talking about that.

[Rob Dial]

I use all of the same things, but I try to be more intentional. Those things are designed to make you addicted.

[Co-host]

Can you make sure that you're one of the few that's not addicted?

[Rob Dial]

If you want to get Ahead in.

[Co-host]

Life, you have to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. That's going to meet you ahead way quicker than doing what everyone else is doing and trying to get further ahead.

[Rob Dial]

Everyone is becoming more and more addicted to their phones.

[Co-host]

It was very apparent to me. So we just got back from Italy, and I noticed people had traveled from.

[Rob Dial]

All over the world, and they're sitting in a beautiful square.

[Co-host]

And instead of looking at this beautiful square that's a thousand years old, majority of people are just looking at their phones and taking pictures of themselves in the square, editing the photos so that they can share it with other people online because they care so much about what other people think about them. There was a couple, we went to a resort in Tuscany, and there was a couple that was sitting right in this beautiful view, this place where we were at dinner, and they were sitting there and I was watching.

[Rob Dial]

I was like, man, they're on their phones a lot.

[Co-host]

And I was really, really, really, really trying not to judge. That's what I'm trying to become better at. But I was trying to look as objectively as possible, right? And I'm looking at them going, wow.

[Rob Dial]

They are just on their phones the entire time.

[Co-host]

And the husband, no joke, was on his phone 98% of this dinner. They're sitting in front of one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen in my entire life in Tuscany. Then the most tragic part about the whole thing, then the waiters come out and they sing her Happy Birthday, which shows that this is her birthday. And I kept watching, and it was like he sings her Happy Birthday and then goes back onto her phone or onto his phone. And she was probably on her phone 75% of the time. He was like, 98% of the time. But the tragic part was I was watching where it looked like she was looking at him like, can you just get off your phone? Like, can you just be with me? And I think so many people are just becoming more and more addicted. I'm trying to go the exact opposite direction.

[Rob Dial]

So instead of letting myself fall into.

[Co-host]

My phone and fall into my TV and falling into social media, I'm trying to use it intentionally how I need it. I've decided to stop being. And this is years ago. I'm not a consumer of social media anymore.

[Rob Dial]

I don't.

[Co-host]

I just create on social media and then I don't use it at all.

[Rob Dial]

I don't.

[Co-host]

I create. That's it. On my personal phone. I don't have any social media on my business phone.

[Rob Dial]

I've got it so that I can.

[Co-host]

Check my statistics and see how things are growing. That's it. But on my personal phone, I have zero social media, no Facebook, no TikTok, no Twitter, no none of those things. Because I know those things make me more distracted and less focused. In fact, I notice when I look at my phone, I actually feel more anxious throughout that day. So I'm consciously trying to remove myself from that. And if I spend 4.1 hours a day on my phone and I live.

[Rob Dial]

Another 50 years, 4.1 hours is average.

[Co-host]

And I live another 50 years. Let's say you, you know, let's, let's take your life.

[Rob Dial]

Let's say that you're right at the.

[Co-host]

Average 4.1 hours a day on your phone and you live for another 50 years. That would be 3,041 days of the remaining 50 years on your phone. That's almost eight and a half years on your phone.

[Rob Dial]

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[Co-host]

Go to shopify.com dial that shopify.com dial. And now back to the show. Like, what a waste of our lives.

[Rob Dial]

Staring at a screen. And so what I've been recently doing.

[Co-host]

That'S been helping me a lot that I think will help you as well is to take your phone whenever you're home and put it in your drawer in the kitchen when it's not around. I don't think about it as much when it's in eyesight. I reach for it all of the time. It's just I am as addicted as every other person. So I'm trying to get myself away from the addiction the same way that if, like, someone's addicted to alcohol, it's a lot easier to, you know, not drink alcohol when there's no alcohol in the house. But if there's alcohol in the house, they know that it is, and it's out and it's on the kitchen table. It's gonna be really hard not to go there. So I check my phone when I need to use it in the kitchen, put it back when I'm done. And so I've gotten my screen time. I've been really working hard on my screen time app. I pay attention to it more than I ever have, down to about two hours per day. And I run my entire business on my phone. You know, I have 45 people in my company in almost every single one of them is not in Austin where I live. And I had.

[Rob Dial]

I had friends over at my house.

[Co-host]

A few months ago, and one of my friends was like, let's compare screen time. And so we compared screen time, and I looked at it, and mine was like two and a half hours at that point. And the average of my friends is about five to six hours. One of my friends, eight and a half hours a day he spends on his phone. He's always on social media. He's always playing video games. And I love the guy to death, but he is the most stressed out out of all of my friends. Not because of real life, but because he's constantly involved in this thing.

[Rob Dial]

And so another way that I've replaced.

[Co-host]

Education for entertainment, and this is what I would recommend for people is to. If you're buying books and you're trying to improve and you're trying to get better, I prefer a physical book. But this is a hack that I Found that really helps me out. I'll download it on Kindle and I'll read books on my iPad.

[Rob Dial]

And when I find a part of.

[Co-host]

The book that I like, all I'll do is I'll just highlight the book. So I'll just highlight it, I'll put.

[Rob Dial]

Some notes in it as well.

[Co-host]

That's one of the benefits of Kindle, is you can highlight it, you can notate whatever it is that you want to. Then what's really cool about it is that if I go to the doctor's office. So like two weeks ago, I was at the doctor's office, and while I was waiting there, instead of me just going on social media, I didn't have social media on my phone anyways. Instead of me going on social media at the doctor's office, all I did was I went back to my Kindle.

[Rob Dial]

Looked at all of the old books.

[Co-host]

That I have read before in the past, and I looked back and I.

[Rob Dial]

Was like, which one do I want to reread today?

[Co-host]

Clicked on one of them, and in.

[Rob Dial]

Kindle, you can actually look at just your notes. And so I clicked on my notes and all I did was just sit.

[Co-host]

There and reread all of the highlighted.

[Rob Dial]

Parts from a book that I read four years ago.

[Co-host]

And this is one of the benefits. I love physical books. I prefer them, but I also just want to entertain. I also want to want to educate myself whenever I can. And so it was basically in those 15 minutes I was waiting at the doctor's office, I was rereading the most important parts of a book that I read four years ago instead of being on social media, this is a little tiny way where you can start to.

[Rob Dial]

Have education seep its way into your life so you can keep learning.

[Co-host]

So think about that. How can you take action and do things that move the needle in your life instead of just being entertained? How can you trade your entertainment for education some sort of way? Like, where else? And I want you to think about this and write it down if you want to. Where else can you fit small bits of micro education into your life? So, like, for instance, one of the things that I like to do is when I'm showering and getting ready, I'll listen to something on YouTube. I'll find someone that I respect. I'll listen to them on YouTube so I can get as much knowledge as I can into my brain. And this is probably 95% a day. Some days I'm like, you know what? I'm listening to music that's okay, no big deal. Sometimes I'm like, I don't want to listen to anything. It's just complete silence. But majority of days, like today, while I was taking a shower, while I was getting ready, getting dressed, all of that, brushing my teeth, all I did listen to somebody that I respect on YouTube. That's great. I learned while I was doing that. Whenever you get into your car, listen, you could definitely listen to music if you want to. I love music. I recommend that you do. But for the next six months, try it out. Just trade out your music when you're driving.

[Rob Dial]

Listen to a podcast, listen to a.

[Co-host]

Book, listen to YouTube from someone that you respect. When you're working out, instead of listening to music, how can you listen to something where you're learning? How can you constantly be learning? You know, hours of our life are spent in silence or spent listening to music. And I recommend silence. I really do. I recommend music. I love music. I moved to Austin because I thought I wanted to be a musician, right?

[Rob Dial]

But what if for the next six.

[Co-host]

Months, just this short period of time, you decided, I'm going to learn instead? Maybe you're like, you know what? I'm going to start my online business.

[Rob Dial]

And so what I'm going to do.

[Co-host]

Is I'm going to find people.

[Rob Dial]

Whatever industry your online business is in.

[Co-host]

You'Re going to find people on YouTube. And instead of listening to music, you're going to replace it with. With education. And you're going to learn in the time that you normally would be just.

[Rob Dial]

Showering and getting ready.

[Co-host]

You're going to learn in the time that you would be driving. You're going to learn in the time that you would be working out. You're going to learn in the time.

[Rob Dial]

That you're sitting in a doctor's office.

[Co-host]

I'm not saying, and I don't want you to think this. I'm not saying, don't be like, never.

[Rob Dial]

Be entertained ever again. I'm saying, can you lower it?

[Co-host]

Sure, watching cat videos is entertaining, but you know what's better? Watching the sunset in Greece, because you took action and created amazing life.

[Rob Dial]

Would you rather watch cat videos now.

[Co-host]

Or would you rather delay your entertainment and watch the sunrise or sunset in Greece? Hopefully you're choosing Greece right now. The problem with that is that you get dopamine immediately when you watch a cat video. You don't get the dopamine from the Greek sunset for another year or two years, whatever it might be.

[Rob Dial]

So if you can distance yourself and.

[Co-host]

Start looking at humanity and saying, you know, People are great. I love people. People mean the best. But I'm gonna do the exact opposite of everybody else. And you just learn more and learn more and learn more.

[Rob Dial]

Considering that most people don't read books.

[Co-host]

Most people are not trying to improve themselves, and most people are not learning. 80% of US households didn't buy a book last year. You're going to become more like a superhuman. And what I mean is, you're going to. Your education is going to go up, your focus is going to go up.

[Rob Dial]

When most people's focus is going down.

[Co-host]

And you're going to set yourself apart massively from every other person out there. People are talking about wearing goggles in the metaverse and all those things. Personally, I'm not going to take part of it.

[Rob Dial]

I don't care.

[Co-host]

I really like the universe that I currently live in. I'd rather travel to an amazing place and see it and taste their food and understand their culture than sit on my couch. I'd rather eat pasta in Italy versus watch, you know, play virtual tennis with someone that's in another city. That's the way that I look at it and the way I see the world is going. I'm planning ahead for the next three, four, five years, and I'm going, yeah, I'm really going to double down right now because I'm going to set myself apart from everybody else.

[Rob Dial]

And I'm not resisting it by saying.

[Co-host]

Oh, back in my day, you know, I'm watching what's coming in the future.

[Rob Dial]

I'm planning how I can make myself.

[Co-host]

More valuable for myself, for my family, for other people, for the marketplace. And then I'm just going to do the exact opposite of what most other people do. And if you do that, that is how you're going to be able to set yourself apart from 99% of other people. So that's what I got for you for today's episode. If you love this episode, please share it on your Instagram stories tag me obdialjr. R O B D I A L J R. And if you to learn how to coach with me outside of.

[Rob Dial]

The podcast, I do weekly sessions, group.

[Co-host]

Coaching sessions every single week. You can learn more about it if you go to mindsetmentor.com, once again, mindsetmentor.com and with that, I'm going to leave you the same way I leave you every single episode. Make it your mission to make somebody else's day better. I appreciate you, and I hope that you have an amazing day.

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