[Transcript starts at 0:40]
Hello, hello, hello, my podcast people, and thank you for joining me for yet another episode of my favorite online business podcast. If you are tuning in, listening, watching, on the little drops, it is Monday, July 20th. Summer is summering over here, fucking love it.
Every day is great here in the South Bay, in Southern California, literally every day. But summer is summering. I hope the season is seasoning wherever you may be.
Clearly, or actually clearly, you don't know, I am back from Gstaad. Lex and I are back. It's a nice little place in Switzerland, and this episode is all about that.
It's going to be about some life lessons that I picked up when I was there. So in case you missed it, Lex and I went back to Switzerland for a volleyball tournament. The tournament takes place, it's a professional beach volleyball tournament, takes place in Gstaad, and that is a, it's a bougie mountain town, mountain resort town, to be more specific.
It's in the Swiss Alps. It is like 90 minutes, 90 miles, not 90 minutes, 90 miles from Geneva, and you take like a three-ish hour train ride to get there. It is all Swiss chalet architecture, so it's like lots of wood, it's clean, it's green because it's summer.
There's mountains in the backdrop, there's cows and goats, and there's a river running through it that's cold as fuck, but clean as fuck. It's quiet. It's really nice.
It is, it's, there's one main drag, and it's like all like Louis Vuitton type stores, like very high end, but it's beautiful, and this is our second year going there. Last year, we went with people who were playing, professional beach volleyball players, which was really fucking awesome. We got to stay with professional players, and I'm like, yeah, this is like really cool.
This year, we took four friends along, three of whom we play volleyball with, and one was one of their husbands, and it was great. It was just so, so great, and we got the closeness to them as well, and it was just really great. They travel well.
Everyone took care of themselves. It was really, really good. So I batched the last maybe three episodes of the podcast before leaving, and so while I got back, we've been back for a bit, today's the, I'm recording on the 13th, we got back on like the 7th, you know, is that right, like the 7th, but I haven't been able to give you all a recap of anything, so I figured I would use today's episode for that.
So when it comes to content, my brain is like always kind of on the look slash loosely like, you know, thinking about and scanning for things that can be content. Spoiler, everything is content. So, you know, while I was on the trip, there were like a few like just kind of like, felt like lesson-y type things that popped up, and I wrote them down, and I was like, this makes the most sense to put in a podcast episode.
I thought about using them for an email, and actually did an email where I wrote about one thing, but it would just have been too long to have all these things in an email, so we're doing a podcast episode. Content creation tip, understand that certain mediums are better and easier for sharing things than others, so consider that, lean into that when you're making content. So without further ado, life lessons from Gstaad.
So number one, do it first. Do what? Whatever it is that you want to make sure that gets done, right? This is a very eat the frog type of lesson. So the story, backstory here is that Lex wanted a cowbell, right? Cowbells are a thing, I'm still not quite sure how I feel about them, because it seems annoying for the animals.
They have this bell attached to their neck, and whenever they walk, you can hear it. The cows wear them, the goats wear them, I guess it's for tracking, like where they went, and I'm like, can we use like an air tag? It seems very rich here, but there's a cool store there called Burkante, and it's like on the main drag, and it's like a, it's not an antique store, it is, they have like bells and all these little things in there that are used, and like official, like actual bells and stuff, and Lex wanted a bell last year, and we didn't get it, all right? We walked past that store, the store was called, like I said, called Burkante. We walked past the store on a Saturday as we were walking home, and it was like late or something, and Lex was just like, ah, whatever, I'll just go, maybe it was for lunch, I don't remember, but Lex was like, we'll just go back tomorrow.
Spoiler, it was closed the next day. Sunday, Burkante is not open. So I was like, you know what? We'll get it next year.
If we go back, we'll get it next year. So we flew all the way there this year, and the place that we rented was actually very close to Burkante. It was like, it's like down the street.
So the very first day when we got there, I was like, let's go. We still had all of our suitcases, and I was like, we went to the, we dropped our suitcases off at the rental, and I was like, let's go. So we go, we walk over there, we pick out the bell, but they don't take card, they don't accept cash, and they don't want American cash, not that I even had American dollars, but they don't want that.
And so I was like, all right, we have to come back. So we were like, all right, we'll come back tomorrow because we'll go into town because of the game, the matches, and we'll just stop there. I knew that there was an ATM at the train station, and I was like, cool, let's, we'll do that.
So we go to do that the next day. Totally forgot because the things, it ended up raining so bad, and so everything got all mixed up, and then we ended up going home because it was raining. It had a big rain delay, and we didn't go to the train station, just totally forgot.
So we go, and I was like, shit, like, if we don't get it today, we have to wait till tomorrow because we're going to go, we were going to walk back to the matches. And I was like, you know what? Let's figure this out right now. So checked at the, there's a gas station that was real close, a really good, really good location.
And I was like, we're going to figure it out. I'm going to figure out how to get money out of this thing, and we are going to do it today, right? Because Lex was like, oh, we'll do it tomorrow. And I was like, did we learn nothing from last year? We are not waiting, missing out.
We're going to make this happen. So we made it happen, and the lesson is, you know, don't put it off. If you want to make sure something happens, you want to make sure that something gets done, do that shit first.
Eat the frog, front load the tank. All right, lesson number two, do what is necessary to get the outcome that you want. So this is a very control the controllables type thing.
So it was also in a very American approach to the situation you'll see in a minute. But the entire tournament, it takes place at two venues. The final day is all in one of the venues at the main stadium.
It's called the Gestadion, loosely called that. The first match is at 10. Gotta love those Europeans, love that.
And seating is first come, first serve. It's a big stadium, it's like 4,000 people, 4,500 people. First come, first serve, sit wherever you want.
So first match at 10, what time did I get there? 8. Last year, I got there at 9 because I had the receipts we wanted, but it was just the two of us. And so it was like, fine, I didn't really know how early to get there. I got there at 9. There were some folks that were already there.
But this year, I was like, I want these very specific seats and there's six of us. So I'm not going to leave anything up to chance. I'm going to control the controllables.
I wasn't even sure they would be open because online it said that the ticket was opened at 8. And I was like, well, we'll just get there early. Well, excuse me, it said it opened at 9. And I was like, whatever, we'll get there. And if it's not open, we'll just fucking wait.
Lex and I, I was like, well, I'm going to go there early. And so got there at 8. And we were the first people, literally the first people, very American, the first people in the stadium. And then the next person that came in was actually another American, this guy, Loon, who I met through Instagram, very nice guy.
But the lesson here, control all the controllables that influence the outcome that you want. Control all the controllables that you can control that influence the outcome that you want. You cannot control everything, but the things that you can control, control them.
Number three, everything is easier the second time around. Exception here may be launching, but the actual logistics of launching are easier the second time around. Sometimes the actual launch itself doesn't go as well because you've exhausted the other adopters, but the logistics and actual execution easier second time around.
So this was our second time going to Gstaad. And while the first time was honestly very seamless because we went with Kim and it was second or third time, this time we were the seasoned vets. Dux and I were the seasoned vets and everything was just easier.
We knew where to eat. We knew the grocery store schedule. We knew like, hey, get this ahead of time because it's going to be closed then.
We knew what we wanted to buy for food. We know what things said because I translated it last time. Basically all the groceries the first day.
We knew where we want to stay when we were looking for rental. We knew the trains, understood the train schedule and how to get the tickets and everything like that. Even though this time we were going from Geneva instead of from Zurich.
Either way. But we understood it and we knew everything and it was easier because the second time around, right? All this to say, repetition is your friend. I know this is an online business podcast, right? And so if you relate this to the online space, definitely think that in the online space and in many business space, like novelty is a thing.
Shiny object syndrome is very much a thing. And I just want to offer up the opposite, right? We're just leaning to repetition. Do the same thing over and over and over and over again.
Everything is easier the second time around and thus even easier, you know, with subsequent bouts. All right. Number four.
Ball is round. So this is a phrase that I first heard from our Italian friend Donata. We met him at the tournament last year and we saw him again this year.
But we also heard this from a player from Latvia. Her name is Tina Gardena. I love her.
She's very fun player. Very sweet. Very kind.
But she'd also said this. And it basically means that depending on the situation, anything can happen, right? The ball's round. This is obviously not true for like every single situation, but I'm sure that you can think of plenty of situations where there isn't a predetermined or, you know, 100% guaranteed outcome.
And in this case, it may behoove you to really remember that, right? Volleyball wise, what this means is that, you know, I'm thinking about specifically the example that brought this up is there's the Japan team, the female team. So fun to watch. And the players, 5'5 and 5'8.
That is unheard of. That is like incredibly short for beach volleyball. Mind you, I'm only 5'6, right? But I'm not a professional volleyball player.
All right. 5'5 and 5'8. And they took down two very big and very tall teams.
Tina Gardena, the one that said ball is round. She was one of the teams that they beat actually. Big, big, big upsets.
And no, they didn't win the whole thing. They didn't go and win the whole tournament or anything like that. But like these are two very big wins to get.
You know, beach volleyball is very cool and very unique and very frustrating. And that momentum is very real. Energy shifts play a huge role in things.
The elements are very much either your friend or your foe. Like they can change things. And the better team doesn't always win.
So this is something that I think we can apply to life, you know, apply to online business and figure out situations where it applies, right? Where the outcome is not guaranteed. The outcome is not set in stone, right? Obviously, you have to be realistic about this, right? Japan, they won because they're still very good. They're still professional volleyball players.
They're just very short, right? They're not complete novices and somehow whatnot. Like they are very good, right? But ball is round, right? The lesson to take away from that, don't count yourself out before you start, right? Sometimes in certain situations, anything could happen. All right, number six.
We got two more. Number six is a year goes by really fast, right? I think you probably know this, you folks watching this, listening to this. But it really does warrant its own talking point here.
Like I feel like we were just there, right? So I'm speaking about being there last year. And then suddenly like we're back and I remember booking the tickets. I remember deciding that we were going to go because we were up in the air.
We didn't know. It feels like it was fucking yesterday. And then we're going back.
And now I'm already on the other side of that. It was already done. It's behind us.
An entire year and now then some, an entire year and week has gone by. And like that, right? In the blink of an eye. And it definitely goes by faster, the older you get.
I've read something about this and like the science, like such the math behind this. And it's literally that, you know, things literally feel shorter. A year literally feels shorter and goes by faster because as you get older, because a year represents a smaller percentage of your total life.
And I'm like, oh yeah, that makes sense. All right. It's just went by so fast.
So I think the lesson here is twofold. The takeaway for me is twofold. One, make the most of each day.
That shit goes by so fast. And number two, don't be afraid to commit to something for a year. Because also that shit goes by.
So fast. All right. Number seven, last one, experience it yourself and encourage others to do the same.
Caveat here, let's learn from the mistakes of others. We don't need to experience all of those ourselves, right? But in this case, the lesson was inspired by the award ceremony at the end, right? We'd already been there for like 11 billion days. The tournament is Wednesday through Sunday.
We're at the courts for seven to eight hours a day. We had watched 30 plus matches at this point. And on the women's side, the team that came in first place, it was actually a three-peat.
It was my favorite team, but they came in, it was the third year in a row winning. And just like we always see them win from the United States. But there was definitely temptation to pack it up because the match ends.
And first of all, the stadium wasn't even as full as I think it could have been because it was two US teams playing for first and second on the women's side. And so the people are already leaving. And so there's temptation to pack it up and leave with the rest of the people.
Lex and I had already seen this whole thing. We stayed there last year. We watched the whole thing.
And Diana, one of the women that we went with, we're deciding like, hey, you know, do you guys want to stay? You want to go? And Diana said, we came all this way. You might as well stay and watch. And I was like, absolutely.
Right. And after she said that, I was like, damn, I wish that I had just from the jump said, yes, let's stay and watch, right? I did want to leave it up to them, right? As I know, I personally could watch volleyball all day, every minute of the day forever. Like I'm watching more volleyball when we came back.
So but I'm also like just so and I'm also so autonomy driven, agency driven, right? Where I want everyone to be doing what they want to be doing and just making the decision that fits them. But staying was definitely the right call, right? The whole thing was like 15, 15 minutes long. Anyway, like we may never see it again.
They're not having a tournament next year. They'll have subsequent years, but they're not having it next year. But maybe, maybe the rest of the other four of us, you know, all six of us may not be there again together.
There's no, there were nowhere that we needed to be. We were, you know, why rush? Why? All right. So in that moment, I was like, this is a lesson.
And the lesson to me is when given the opportunity, experience things yourself and encourage others to do the same. All right. All right.
I'm looking at the time we got through this one. Bingo, bingo. I'm gonna wrap it up there, right? This was a fun one.
This is fun. One of the outline, this was a fun one to, to give, to record. It's like, I had to like go back to last week and being there.
It was just such a great trip. It really, really was. I'm so grateful for that crew and Lex and Kim and everything, you know, all things afforded, you know, coming together the way it did.
But this was a fun episode and hopefully you enjoyed it. You know, it's nice to just riff this way every now and again. So if you got requests for episodes, you know what to do.
And as always, endlessly, endlessly, endlessly appreciative for every single one of you. Until next time friends, Maestro out.
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