Episode 344 · Mar 1, 2021

Why Your Next Step Is the Most Important Step You Take

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There is a moment that almost every entrepreneur and high-driver knows well: it is the middle of the night, your mind is racing, your eyes are wide open, and that little voice inside your head will not stop talking. In this episode of The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III shares a simple but powerful reframe for those moments. You do not have to fix your whole life, your past, or your future. You only have to focus on one thing, your very next step.

George opens with a line from Michael Jordan that sets the tone: "I can accept failure, but I cannot accept not trying." From there he builds a practical philosophy for taking back control when your thoughts try to run the show.

Why You Are Not the Voice in Your Head

One of the most freeing ideas George returns to is that you are not your mind. Drawing on Michael Singer's book The Untethered Soul, he reminds you that the voice narrating your doubts and concerns is not who you are.

You are not your mind. You're the one listening to your mind. You're the one listening to the voice, not the voice.

That distinction matters. When you stop identifying with every anxious thought, you create space to choose your response instead of being dragged along by it. The voice will still talk. Your job is to decide whether you let it determine your direction.

How to Take Back Control in the Moment

George is honest that grabbing the wheel in real time is hard. Sometimes you do it at 2 a.m., and sometimes you do it the next morning after a restless night. Either way, the point is not how quickly or how perfectly you do it. The point is that you do it at all.

It's never too late for you to jump in the driver's seat of your life and become aware of what's going on.

That awareness is the lever. Once you notice the cycle, you can step out of it and back into the driver's seat, regardless of what kept you up or what is weighing on you.

Why the Next Step Is the Only One That Counts

The heart of the episode is the title itself. It is never about what you did in the past or where life might take you in the future. The only game you can play is the one happening right now, in this moment.

When you take that next step in the direction you most want to go, you've won the moment. You've won the battle. You've taken control.

When you stop trying to solve everything at once and simply ask, "What is my next step?", the overwhelm starts to lift. You do not need to get your entire life back on track today. You need one step in the right direction.

How Momentum Actually Works

George frames progress as a chain reaction. Motion is what gets it started, and everything else follows from there.

The sequence he describes is straightforward: momentum comes with motion, motion creates emotion, and emotion creates the actions that produce results. You do not wait to feel motivated before you move. You move, and the feeling follows. That is why focusing on a single step is so effective. It is small enough to actually take, and it sets the whole chain in motion.

What Conscious Awareness Looks Like Day to Day

The practice here is not complicated, which is part of the point. When you are struggling, distracted, stressed, or overwhelmed, you do not need a grand plan. You need conscious awareness of where you are placing your next step. That single focus quiets the noise of the past, the future, and even the pressure of the present.

Action Steps

When your mind races at night, remind yourself that you are the listener, not the voice, and let the thoughts pass without arguing with them.
Stop trying to fix your whole life at once. Ask one question: what is my next step in the direction I most want to go?
Take that step before you feel ready, knowing motion creates the emotion and the momentum, not the other way around.
When you get off track, get back in the driver's seat through awareness, and do not waste energy judging how long it took.
Treat each moment as a fresh chance to win the battle by choosing the next right move.

You cannot control the past or guarantee the future, but you can always choose what you do next. Take the next step, then the next, and watch the direction of your life begin to change. It's never too late to start living the life you were meant to live.

READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT

Welcome back to The Daily Mastermind. George Wright III here with your daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education. I want to talk to you today about a thought that I have, but before I do that, I want to give you the quote of the day. The quote of the day is by one of my favorites Michael Jordan and the quote is I can accept failure but I cannot accept not trying I love those words because number one he is a absolute champion and as we say a lot of times your perspective is going to determine your prosperity and happiness and so being able to say to yourself you can accept failure but you just cannot accept not trying is two completely different thoughts that I love one is that you know you've got to learn to accept the failure, right? Because Michael Jordan, just like many great athletes or great champions, have had many failures. But you have to be able to say to yourself, you'll never accept quitting. You'll never accept not trying because that's the key difference maker. So today I want to talk to you, really kind of share a thought that I feel like maybe some of you need to hear. And it's because it's something that, you know, we all go through. At least I feel like most entrepreneurs and high-driven individuals do. When was the last time you woke up in the middle of the night? You know, you're just mind racing, your eyes are wide open, you just can't sleep, which happens to a lot of entrepreneurs and individuals that are trying to strive to create their life. You know, you're having all these thoughts and problems or ideas, or maybe it's even opportunities and being anxious about some great things that are coming. Or it could be anxiety or stress or depression or situations or circumstances. Well, the reason I bring this up is because I had kind of one of those nights last night, and I just thought to myself, it kind of stepped back a little, and I thought, you know, what happens when this happens? Like, what do you do? Does your mind keep racing? Does that little voice inside your head just start jabbing away, you know talking to you like mine tends to do those little suckers inside there just talking to You know what happens You know do you let that voice kind of lead you down a path like it often does where it starting to talk to you about circumstances or doubts or concerns and you know how we naturally tend to go kind of into a, you know, an opposing negative type of thought pattern at times when you've got a lot of things going on because that voice is the thing that keeps you awake a lot of times. You know, do you start talking back with it and having conversations, or worse yet, are you trying so hard to get to sleep that you just let it talk and talk and talk and talk? You know, we talk about this because a lot of times, in fact, I've mentioned that book, I like, The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. We just have to understand, and this is something that I think I can never talk often enough about, that you are not your mind. You're the one listening to your mind. You're the one listening to the voice, not the voice. And you have to understand that this voice is going to say things that sometimes bring out, you know, doubts and concerns and stuff that you have, things that you need to kind of get off your chest or that might be swirling around inside there. But the key is how are you going to break this cycle and ultimately at what point, right? The reason I bring this up is that you have a decision to make when things like that happen during your day, whether it's in the middle of the night or whether it's before a big presentation or whether it's while you're doing business, are you going to let that voice and those thoughts distract you? Are you going to let them determine your direction? Are you going to let them just keep going down the road and you're not going to take any control? Are you going to get in the driver's seat and realize that you are not those voices, that you are not the thoughts you have, even if it's the positive thoughts that are taking you in a direction where you want to achieve and achieve more than you have? Or are you going to get in the driver's seat? And are you going to take control? Now, it'd be great if you could do it in the moment. But listen, I understand that it's sometimes harder in the moment than afterwards. But remember this. It's never too late for you to jump in the driver's seat of your life and become aware of what's going on. Oftentimes, you know, I'll get going in the morning after having a long, restless night without sleep. And I decide at that moment in the morning to take control But make no mistake you need to make the decision to be in control of your life And here the point that I wanted to make with that It's not when or how quickly or how effectively or, you know, the way that you get back in control or the driver's seat of your mind and your life. It's simply important that you do. And that's why I titled this episode, Your Next Step is the Most Important Step. It always is the most important step. It's not about what you've done in the past or how you've responded to situations that have happened in the past or reacted. It's not about what you're going to be doing in the future or where your life's taking you. All that matters is that in any given situation or any given moment in your life that you take the next step. Because when you take the next step and take it in a direction that you most want to go, a direction that is in the direction of the life you most want to live, when you take that next step, then you've won the moment. You've won the battle. You've taken control. Because the only game you can play in life is the one in the moment. So you have to take control of your life in each of those moments, despite the past, present, or future circumstances. Do you realize the power of that? Do you realize the impact that your thoughts can have on your life? And that at any given moment, you can choose to step off the current path you're on, even if you've gotten off track and you're not going the direction you want to most create for your life, and take one step onto the path, and that's when you will unleash your ultimate destiny. And I bring this up because so many of us sometimes get caught up in our thoughts and our mind and everything else, And it's a very overwhelming thing to think that you have to get back control of your thoughts or get back on track when all you really need to focus on, the only thing you need to think about is what are you going to do with your next step. As long as you taking a step no matter how big it is forward then you are going to create the life that you want to live Because the momentum comes with motion Motion creates emotion and emotion creates actions which create results and that all you can do So I think, as always, that your perspective is most important but if you can change your perspective to say, I'm just going to focus on that next step, especially when you're in difficult times. Obviously, when you're doing well, you can level up and you can work on things that will help to unleash your potential even more But what I'm saying to you here is that most of the time when you're struggling or when you have things you're doing or you even get distracted or you get overwhelmed or you're stressed, the very next step is the one that will take you on the right path. Only focus on the next step. It doesn't require any more than that. It doesn't require any more than being aware of where you're taking your next step. That conscious awareness is key. And so that's the thing that I really feel like some of you may want to think a little bit more on, and especially if you have a lot going on in your life. Stop getting overwhelmed with the past, the future, or even the present. Just take the very next step, because if you take the next step, you're going to be going in the direction you want. You're going to feel growth. You're going to feel movement. You're going to feel emotion, and it's going to get better. And I really believe that there are some amazing things that are going to be happening this year. I'm super excited about some stuff that we're going to be launching out. We had an amazing event over the weekend on Saturday. I'll tell you more details about that later on with some global initiatives that we're working on and some books and things that will be coming out. I'm also super, super excited about the Stuburg Mentoring Academy that will be launching in the end of this month in April. And so I hope you're off to a good start. Remember, this is the first day of the rest of your life. It's March 1st. It's a Monday. Today is the day. Today is the day for you to be able to make a change and start going in the right direction. Only focus on and worry about that next step and then the next step. So let's get moving today. I look forward to talking with you some more. Let me know what I can do to help you out. I appreciate you listening and joining me for The Daily Mastermind. Once again, my name is George Wright III, and this has been The Daily Mastermind. Have a great day. Thank you.