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Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed and unproductive? Do

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you want to achieve your personal and professional goals

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while still having time for the things you love?

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Then you need the 25X Productivity

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System. As a productivity coach with

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over 17,000 satisfied clients,

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I'll guide you through the T

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framework and 25 steps to productivity

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mastery, helping you double your personal

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productivity, be happier at work, and

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have an extra five hours a week of free time. So

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if that sounds good to you, visit 25xcoaching.com to

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get more information

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on our coaching program. Welcome

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to The Productivity Show, a podcast where we

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believe that you can get the important things

0:40

done without sacrificing your health, family, and things

0:42

that matter too. My name's Tam

0:45

Pham. I'm the founder and CEO of Asian

0:47

efficiency, where we help people become more productive

0:49

at work and in life. And today

0:51

is Wednesday. And you know what that means. You

0:54

are going to get actionable productivity

0:56

advice in less than 10 minutes. Now

0:58

we're almost midway through January and

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I want to share a personal

1:03

story about resilience, determination, and

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how these qualities have helped me

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achieve a dream goal against all odds.

1:09

Now, back in

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2009, I was a college student who just

1:14

committed Cardinal sin number one of any Asian

1:16

kid, and that was dropping out

1:18

of college. It was actually so bad.

1:20

I didn't talk to my parents for about two

1:23

and a half years because they were so upset

1:25

that I dropped out of college,

1:27

but I pursued an opportunity that I

1:29

thought was going to change my life. Even though I

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moved from the Netherlands to Los Angeles to

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go to school and ultimately,

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you know, live my dream life. LA

1:38

is an interesting city. It's a city

1:40

where dreams are made, but also where

1:42

things can quickly go south. Now,

1:44

mind you, I dropped out right after

1:46

the 2008 crash and times were

1:49

tough. Money was tight and

1:51

the path was anything but clear, but

1:54

I had a big vision. And

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one of the things that was on my vision board

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actually was to. own a particular

2:00

car. Now despite these challenges, my

2:03

dream car and the vision

2:06

that I had that I wanted to pursue was

2:08

owning a Lexus IS

2:11

300. Now if you're not

2:13

a car guy or gal, you might not

2:15

know what this is, but to me this was

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like the ultimate success car. And

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so I had it on my vision board. It's something

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I was looking at every single day. And if you

2:24

listen to last week's episode, you know I mentioned this,

2:27

but to me this car was like

2:29

a symbol. It represented a goal. It

2:31

was like a measure of success that

2:33

was tangible. And so

2:35

I dropped out of school to work at this life

2:38

coaching business. And I was just

2:40

obsessed about what do I need to do

2:42

to save enough money to buy

2:44

this car. And I was looking at this car every

2:46

day because it was the background on

2:48

my computer. Now achieving

2:50

this wasn't easy. There were definitely

2:52

a lot of moments of doubts,

2:55

financial hurdles, and setbacks

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that just seemed insurmountable.

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And especially as a broke college dropout, I

3:02

mean pretty much every penny counted. I saved,

3:06

I pretty much cut back on almost everything.

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I remember nights when dinner was just like

3:10

instant noodles and going

3:13

out was a luxury I

3:15

couldn't afford. But here's

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the thing about resilience. It's not

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just about enduring hard times. It's

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also about how you navigate them.

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I kept my focus razor sharp,

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constantly reminding myself of the car

3:29

waiting at the end of this journey.

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And every dollar I saved was a

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step closer to my dream. So

3:36

anytime I had to make a decision about what

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to do, all I could think about is what gets

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me closer to my goal. So

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the road to saving for that Lexus i300 taught

3:44

me an invaluable lesson about

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perseverance. There were times that

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I definitely wanted to give up and times

3:51

when the goal just seemed so far away

3:53

if not too far. But

3:56

with every setback I learned something.

3:58

I adapted. I grew more. determined

4:01

and then after countless sacrifices

4:03

and relentless determination, the day

4:07

finally arrives. I

4:09

remember walking into the car dealership and there was

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my dream car, even though it was a

4:14

used car, it was my dream car, the

4:16

car that I could afford. And

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man, that feeling was indescribable. All

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the struggles, all the sacrifices, all the setbacks,

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all the things I had to overcome, they

4:27

were all worth it. And

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now that I look back at it, I

4:32

can see that it was a stepping stone

4:34

for something much bigger. Once

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I accomplished buying my dream car,

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honestly, my life really didn't change that

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much on the outside. I was still the same

4:43

guy, except I had different wheels. But

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internally, I felt more confidence.

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If I could complete this goal, what

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else could I do? And

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this confidence to me, now when I look

4:57

back at it, is priceless.

5:00

It gave me the confidence to eventually what

5:02

is now Asian efficiency, which

5:04

has now been going on since 2011,

5:06

and also go after

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bigger goals. Once I achieved that

5:10

goal and got the car, it gave

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me the confidence to do much bigger things

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in life. And that to me is

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ultimately the most important thing. So

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why am I sharing this story with you? Because I

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know many of you right now might

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be facing your own Lexus

5:27

IS 300 moments. It

5:30

could be a personal goal, a

5:32

career milestone, or

5:34

a life-changing project. I

5:36

know the start of the year is often when we feel

5:38

most inspired, but also when we

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can feel the weight of our challenges the

5:42

most. So here is my

5:44

big idea and message to you here today.

5:48

Embrace resilience. When

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you face setbacks, and you will,

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remember they're not the ends. They're

5:55

merely obstacles on your path to

5:57

success. Stay focused on your goals.

6:00

adapts and keep moving

6:02

forward. Your resilience will

6:04

be the fuel, powers your journey

6:07

to achievements. And as we

6:09

can navigate this new year, let's do

6:12

it with a resilient spirit. Let's embrace

6:14

the setbacks as part of our

6:16

growth, as part of the journey that we're on. And

6:19

let's keep our eyes on the prize, on the

6:21

goal, the thing that we want most, matter

6:24

how distanced they may seem. And

6:27

as you become more resilient and achieve

6:29

your goals, which you will, you'll become

6:31

the type of person that can

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accomplish anything you set your mind to. And

6:36

that honestly is the most

6:39

important transformation that you'll make and the

6:41

most rewarding. Thank

6:43

you for tuning in to The Productivity Show.

6:45

Remember, every setback is a setup for

6:48

a comeback. Keep pushing, stay

6:50

resilient, and let's make this year a

6:54

year of achievements and

6:56

success. I'll

6:58

see you next week. Can't wait for you to come

7:00

back to what we have in store next

7:03

week on The Productivity Show. I'll see you then. Have

7:05

a great year. Have a great week. See

7:07

you soon.