How to Get Into a Flow State

First question, tell me one thing you do to create your best year ever.

What's up, buddy? Yeah, so I think one thing we're gonna be talking about is flow and I think going into 2022, one of my goals is getting into flow and staying in flow for longer periods of time. So to create the best year ever, I just want to get back into flow, bro.

Oh, I absolutely love that. I am always in flow. That's one of the declarations that I speak out loud every single day and I think about a lyric I hear from Jack Johnson that says, go with the flow, you don't stop. And I just sit there as like my flow is like this, almost like a wave in an ocean. It's just never ending. So I absolutely love that.

So welcome to Best Year Ever, a podcast designed to inspire growth and impact so you can create your best year ever. I'm your host Rob Cressy and I am oh so excited for this episode because it's going to be a unique one. Joining me today is Brendan Pettit, seven figure e-com seller. He is a friend of mine. He's a ride or die. We've done 75 Hard and Live Hard together. He's been on this podcast multiple times. Brendan, welcome back to the show.

What's up, buddy? It's good to be back. It's been a while since we've chopped it up live on a podcast. So we get together biweekly, obviously. We have sort of an accountability to each other and where we're at. You've had a lot of stuff going on in your life. So I don't know how you filled in the podcast, but with all that good news, but it's good to be back, man. It's good to chop it up with you as always.

Well, it's a very simple thing. I stack ones over zeros. Despite how much I have going on in my life, a lot of people think a podcast has to be an hour. I've created one minute podcasts. Boom. There's a quick little drip of Rob because remember energy is transferable. People can pick up on this. Boom. Let me give you a little nugget. And I'm actually looking at my whiteboard that I have in front of me right now. And what does it say? Who did I help today? And helping does not have a time limit to it. Boom. Just let me get a little dose of inspiration and help someone on their journey.

So, Brendan, today's episode, there's a good chance this is going to get broken down into three separate sections. So if you're listening to this right now or watching, this is likely to be part one. There's gonna be a part two and three. And the reason we're doing this is because I believe in the power of keeping things concise from a micro content standpoint. You and I are likely to jam for about an hour, but we're probably going to be keeping each of these sections anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes. That way we can be intentional about each of these.

And what's gonna make today's episode unique is the fact that you are the driver of the topics of what we're going to talk about. And of course, when you gave me the preview of it, I was like, boom, I can do this in two seconds. But this is inspired by you. So I'm gonna let you, step one, frame the overall topic about what we're going to do. And then step two, get into the first thing we're going to talk about.

Yeah, I love it. And this is a topic, like I said at the beginning, I'm looking to get better at getting in flow. I also have that declaration that I am in flow. And so putting some tactical things in place to allow myself to prime myself to get better at the thing through more tactical and creative ways. Right. So one book I've been reading, it's called The Art of Impossible. And it goes through a lot of techniques on how to create flow and to kind of set up the conversation, going back to the three part series. Flow essentially is broken down into three phases. It's motivation, it's learning and it's creativity.

All three are critical phases that really help you define and get into and stay in flow. So really, it's about trying to take that conversation, break it up into those chunks and really get into it. Because I think we know all too well what motivation looks like. But from like a neurological standpoint, some of the tactical things you can do to help you create that motivation template. Like, let's just get into that and kind of hash it out and get into it. You know what I mean?

All right. So step one in creating flow. And flow is when, so we can set the stage and we're all on the same page here. Flow is when you lose track of time in which you are doing something and then you look up and you're like, Whoa, two hours just went by. And for me, it is the bliss that I and we are always searching for when you are consumed or lost in what you are doing and you're creating. And you're like, man, I love it so much because if you love what you're doing and you lose track of time, man, that's the way to live life. Is that how you see it?

Yeah, absolutely. Before I started reading this book and really researching flow more, I always broke down, especially in like my business life. If I ever got into a new business, it has to be fun. It has to be purpose driven and it has to make money. Right. And when I started to break down into motivation and some of the things that, you know, keep you interested and keep you in flow and kind of create cultivate and create that motivation kind of pillar, if you will. Um, it really did.

It was, I was already kind of on that path, but I think it's about unpacking some of the little nuances that go into that, that you can kind of keep in tune with that when it comes to declarations, when it comes to you setting up your goals, when it comes to you actually getting tactical about how you attack that, uh, you can really be creative about how you do it.

All right. Well, I'm going to start with this when it comes to motivation. Step one, this is a default. So we show up motivated. So for me, it's why I like to use the word inspired. So, Oh, Rob, you're so motivating. I'm like, uh, uh, I do not get down with the whole, I'm motivating you to get off the couch to do your thing. I inspire you because for me, inspiring, uh, has an action orienting. Uh, motivating is more of like a raw, raw. And while there's a piece of that, I believe, uh, inspiring is more powerful.

So for me to set the stage, motivation is a default. There's going to be no motive. There's no talk in my coaching about let's get you motivated to do the things like we're growth oriented, high achievers. So by design, you show up motivated, but we're going to yes. And that and get a little bit deeper.

Yeah, absolutely. And let's break it up into two different categories because there's really intrinsic motivators and there's extrinsic motivators. So like intrinsic is like your core values, um, sort of what you're curious about, what, what keeps you passionate. Um, you know, the things that really drive that purpose that you're talking about, the extrinsic piece is the stuff that's like, you know, money, food, shelter, sex, you know, the things that are really like needed for survival. And I think when you, when you really break down motivation to, um, intrinsic drivers need to become the driving force for the longterm because short term, I think everybody can get that intrinsic fill.

But going back to what I just said about the sort of, it needs to make money. Uh, it needs to be fun. It needs to be purpose driven. If it doesn't have the purpose and fun attached to it, you lose a lot of, uh, the motivation or the longterm sustainability of motivation. You know what I mean? So you, you have to have all three to make it work and it's really about having like, yeah, extrinsic is good, but extrinsic is not going to get you where you want to go. You have to have that purpose, that curiosity, that, and then sort of the drive and the grit to get through it. You know what I mean?

And I, and I think Brendan, what you just said has become almost the pillars of how I coach and create because we live in a world right now, which is designed on extrinsic, uh, rewards where, I've got a job where I make a crap ton of money or I want this car or this house or this social media likability in this influence. So there's the vanity of things, but so many people have tons of money and are not happy. The inside of what they do is just not there and fulfilled.

So for me and the way that I coach and transform, and I lived this myself of for a decade, I worked jobs that I was great at, but did not like. I didn't wake up every day looking forward to slinging banner ads and text links, but guess what? All the rewards were there going to all the advertising parties and popping bottles and going to Vegas and driving nice cars. It's like all of that was there, but guess what? I would sit at my desk and dream of the day in which I could spend all day creating or working in sports or doing whatever I wanted my dream.

And there was no amount of money in the world that someone could offer me to not want to live my dream because I thought to myself, I'll regret it for the rest of my life if I don't give it a shot at making my dreams happen. And that's where all of a sudden the intrinsic side of things, this is the inside of your loins. It's why you and I, we talk so much about creating our being and our declarations. And this is the area that I believe is the number one thing that even high achievers are missing on.

I believe this is a 1% of the 1% conversation when it comes to talking about your core values, your purpose or mission statement, like your personal mission statement, the ways that you create your being and design yourself every single day.

Yeah, absolutely. And to summarize all of that into one statement, what got you through your teens and 20s ain't going to get you through your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond, right? It's like those extrinsic things. I think we all start out a little bit that way, just the way the world works, right? But you have to start developing and cultivating the curiosities that drive towards that purpose that you want and all the things that come along with that.

Because if you don't have that underlying things, really one being people, like it kind of needs to be people centric in some way, shape or form. Because to have fun, you're probably not sitting alone by yourself. And to create purpose, you're going to affect more than just yourself. So you have to have people to be involved in that as well. But yeah, to piggyback off what you said, I 100% agree.

So let's actually dive a little bit deeper into fun because I've been a solo entrepreneur for more than a decade. And I know, Brendan, you've done a lot with small teams, large teams, a little of everything in there. But we can certainly relate what it's like to be isolated in your sort of studio or your grindhouse when you're just sitting there doing your thing. And remember, fun isn't every day is going to be naked laser tag.

While it would be amazing and for a large beginning of what I was doing with Bacon Sports, I was creating events and creating apparel and communities and all of this stuff. And it was like the epitome of fun. But then as things evolve, I think that fun for me is a way of being and showing up. So one of the declarations, I am the happiest person on earth, shining my light on everyone. So I show up every single day happy.

So now my lens and prism of the world and the way that I'm walking around is a positive disposition. And I'm team good vibes. So I don't have negativity in my life. And I'm inspired to do the things that I am doing. And I enjoy helping and creating and making the world a better place and delivering transformations for others based on myself as well. So for me, that is fun. Fun. But to juxtapose that against naked laser tag or the world that I used to live in, it's a different version of fun. It's your own way of saying, how do I want to show up every single day?

Yeah, 100%. And to start that off too, videos or it didn't happen with the naked laser tag. But I totally feel you, man. I mean, I work in the e-commerce space. So I not only own multiple brands in the e-commerce space and we sell on Amazon and off Amazon. But I also help entrepreneurs through a mastermind network called Titan Network. And what we focus on really is just helping people get across the line.

And a lot of these things are part of like that 80-20 rule. You know, 80-20 kind of applies to everything as a general rule. But a lot of times people think that it's 100% data and it's 100%, you know, I don't know, what the market is doing. And there's all sorts of things you can get caught up in. And that last 20% is the most important.

It's, to me, if you're a brand owner and you're selling products on Amazon or wherever you might be selling them. And you have anything that affects people or you're trying to problem solve or create a solve for the problem. You need to understand why you're doing it. And you need to actually have some skin in the game on caring about what you're doing there, right? So that last 20% is the most important piece because if you don't bring that to the table, it's going to become very, very hard to stay motivated and curious and passionate about that brand or that problem that you're solving.

So one of my number one things that I always try to go into, and it kind of sideswipes people because they're like, yeah, but I need that tactical bullet point on how to do PPC. It's like, yeah, but let's talk about your listing first. You know, let's talk about the message that you're sending. Let's talk about the core driver to why you're a 21-year-old single male launching baby blankets. Like, let's talk about that first. You know what I mean? And a lot of times people miss that piece. And I think it could be one of the most impactful. Again, like maybe not short term. It won't show up. But long term, you'll see the ripple effect of it. And you might not even know it. You know what I mean?

So I love what you said. One of the things that I wrote down as a mantra on my 10X Planner for years was cross the finish line. And it's always been a mindset of myself that so often we get to the one yard line. And it is just the absolute hardest. And it reminds me of a quote from Chuck Yeager, who is a fighter pilot that says, just before you break through the sound barrier, the cockpit shakes the most.

And I love that quote because so often we want success or happiness or fun to be easy. And it's easy to give up at the one yard line when you don't see the results. And when things are the hardest, you need to program yourself to say, when they are the hardest, I am the closest to the breakthrough. And in an entrepreneurial journey, certainly both of us being more than a decade, we know the number of times in which we've just been sitting there just grinding our gears. Like, when is this going to work? I'm just, I want this to happen so much.

But then you just keep hearing over and over again, like the quote, success leaves breadcrumbs. Don't quit at the one yard line. You're almost there. You're almost there. And so many people, and this is the separator. It's why I burned the boats. There's no turning back. There is no quit in me, but I always want the constant reminder. Cross the finish line or another term I'll use is close the loop. So if you think about the project you're working on as a loop, let's make sure we get the full loop and not 75% of the way because it is no longer a loop then.

Yeah. Well, and let's talk about that because we talked about a little bit of the nerdy stuff with the neuroscience and all that. Like there is something to be said about things like dopamine. Like when you complete a task and you're able to check something off your list, you get a hit of dopamine the same way you would if you're playing Candy Crush and you're able to crush those candies the right way and get to the next level. It's all the same.

And so when you stay, obviously the passion piece of it and the curiosity, staying curious is one piece of it. But you have to be able to, one, be able to set some hard goals that once you achieve, it gives you that spike of dopamine. It gives you that fulfillment that you need. And then you need to keep being able to keep things in front of you that help you keep checking things off the list. That's one piece about it. And that's, I think, what we got so much out of like 75 Hard and all of that.

When you're able to create that list every single day, you got those five at first and then eight, like the next couple. And then you keep, that has to go along with your other five things that you do every day or 10 things you do in the other three meetings. And you're checking things off the list constantly. And you're doing this bigger, more impactful physical and mental challenge. That really, I think for both of us, really cultivated that and infused us with that sort of aura of like the dopamine high. You know, like it just, you're constantly checking things off the list and it just perpetuates into this positive momentum cycle. You know what I mean?

Yeah. And what Brendan's talking about is Andy Frisella's Power List. Hey, what are the five most important things that you want to get done every single day? Boom, rinse and repeat that every day over the course of a year, over 10 years, you are guaranteed to live an amazing life. So Brendan, what I want to do is sort of give a recap or a takeaway or action items based on this section of motivation. Then we will move to the other one. So do you have a takeaway or an action item as it relates to creating flow via motivation?

Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the things that really helped me get this lined out and it's something that you can relate to speaking to the course that we went through to help us really narrow down the subject matters that we were curious about. It's make that curiosity list. What are the top 20 things or maybe even shorten it up to 15 or 10 things that you're most curious about? What are the problems that you really want to see solved? And be as specific as you can be, right? Because what you're going to do after that is the action item two is to see if there are commonalities or intersections between those curiosities.

You know, like one of the examples used is like, I want to learn how to be a better pass blocker, left tackle, like as specific as you can do. And then with that, if you're working on diet structures, you might want to cross intersect that with what is the best diet structure for a left tackle trying to get better at his craft, right? And so you'll find intersections with the things that you're most passionate about. I know you probably do this all the time, Rob. So those two action items can be really, really helpful because it can also give you a really quick hit of just like clarity and perspective. And then you can obviously get that dopamine that we're talking about as well.

So it really helped me narrow down a lot of the topics that I was interested in. And then it can also really hyper focus you on the noise or shut out the noise because the number one thing that we all get inundated with is information and, and, you know, social media. And it's just a lot of noise and that's all over the place. You need to be able to sort of turn your blinders on a little bit and focus on the things that you're most curious about, most passionate about and the problems that you want to see solved. So start there and then move on to, you know, how do you learn about it? And then the creativity involved in setting aside that time.

And my action item is actually around creating your purpose statement. And I don't care if you are just starting out or you are a seasoned entrepreneur or CEO, having a purpose or mission statement for yourself is paramount. Mine, I'm a positive force for good that leads others to what's possible. When I show up every single day, that is what is coursing through my, my loins and in my veins that I'm here to help others through my own transformation so that they can see what is possible for themselves.

Because for me, I'm default motivated because I don't got to worry about that because I know why I'm showing up every single day. So I encourage you to write your statement of why you are showing up every single day to do the things that you are doing. And if you realize, wait a second, I'm not doing the things that I want to be doing. Great. This is an amazing opportunity for you to hit reset and say, all right, let me design the life that I want to create the feelings, the life, the people, everything that I want inside of it.

Yeah, absolutely. I 100% agree. I love it.

A conversation between Rob Cressy and Brendan Pettit. Transcript cleaned up for reading.