Win Today

#220 | The Consistency Blueprint: Lessons From 3 Years Of Monday Episodes

• Ryan A. Cass • Season 5

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After three years of publishing every single Monday without fail, I’ve uncovered lessons that go far beyond podcasting—principles that shape how we define success and live with purpose.

In this milestone episode, I share four game-changing insights drawn from conversations with world-class performers and my own journey.

You’ll discover:

  • Why consistency isn’t about perfection—it’s about keeping your word.
  • How even the most confident leaders navigate doubt without letting it stop them.
  • A new definition of “winning” rooted in growth and impact, not just outcomes.

Whether this is your first episode or your hundredth, these lessons are my gift to you—tools to help you win today and every day that follows.

Thank you for tuning in! If you feel led, please subscribe & share the show to others who you believe would benefit from it.
Keep in touch below!

SPEAKER_03:

Two hard things. Help one person. Be good and do good. Live a life of discipline. And you will always win. You have all the tools that you need to succeed. Welcome to win today.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you so much for tuning in. My name is Ryan Cass, and I'm your host. My purpose in this world is to help push people further harder than they believe possible and become unshakable in what matters most to them in their lives. Every week you're going to learn from meeting myself more renowned experts in their field, and we're going to unveil pieces of our playbook to help you win today. Please, if you love the show, subscribe and share it with somebody that will benefit from it. Let's take it.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. Thank you so much. I am grateful for you listening. Whether it's your first time, you're a loyal listener, or if you've listened to a few episodes here and there over the course of this journey. Now, while I'm always grateful for you, I don't always start off this episode with a thank you, although that's my intention, is that you can feel that in how I show up to the interview, whether it's a solo or an interview with an amazing person somewhere in this world. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to impart some wisdom or give you a tool each and every week. Today marks three years straight where we've published an episode every single Monday. Three years straight. But now what I know is that that's not what keeps me coming back. I I believe that each week this message is crafted for at least one person that really needs it that Monday. While I would love that there's a hundred thousand or a million people tuning in every Monday, every episode is intended for at least one person. And that keeps me coming back every Monday. And what I'm going to share are four things that I've learned so far over the last three years that are intended to serve as lessons, but again, maybe one, some or all of them are intended to equip you with a tool in your arsenal that you can add on or sharpen and keep moving forward. And the first one that I'm gonna lead off with is consistency and how we've been able to produce an episode every single Monday for three years straight. One thing I've learned about consistency: the easiest way to be consistent is simply to tell people what you're going to do. I've been saying for years now, even leading up to three year streak, because the podcast has existed for going on for now, that every Monday an episode will come out. And sometimes when I've said that, we've been three, four, five weeks ahead. Sometimes when I've said that, we haven't had an episode ready for that week until Sunday. But bottom line is that a commitment was made, and there's at least one person, I believe, that needs this message and is counting on when today and me to deliver it. I often find that people ask the question how do you stay so consistent? Whether it's the podcast or training for marathons or other goal-oriented pursuits. I wish that I could offer you perhaps, maybe I don't wish, but sometimes I feel as if I'm doing a disservice, and that's a narrative in my mind, that I'm only saying, hey, write it down and tell somebody about it. But now I'm backing this up with not only my personal experience, but when I've interviewed people all over the world now, prominent figures, notable authors, New York Times, Wall Street Journal bestsellers, CEOs in the Fortune 500 space, et cetera, there's a common thread in what keeps them consistent. One of the things that keeps them consistent is that they have made a commitment to the world of the thing that they are going to do. Whether it is posting a podcast episode, whether it is releasing a new book or a product, they tell people what they're going to do. And because they value their word, and that's a core principle that they hold, as I find that pretty much all high performers do, they go and execute. Whether they're ready to, whether they're half ready to, whether they don't want to, they get it done. So my one of my tricks, if you will, to keeping this going for so long is that I'm consistently telling people you will get an episode every Monday. And that is now my opportunity and my duty and obligation to hold my word and be my word. One book that I've referenced often in this podcast, whether it's through a solo or through interviews, one of the books that has made a huge impact in my life is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. The very first agreement of the four agreements is be impeccable with your word. Now, in the context of the book, be impeccable with your word, it's not just about doing something or saying something and then doing it. It also talks about the power of language in communication, which you guys also know I'm very big on. The words we speak matter. The words that we choose, spoken outwardly and inwardly, are make or break in some cases as to whether or not people are going to jump on board with you, whether you're going to then wire your subconscious to take action, the words we speak matter. So the fact that the very first agreement, be impeccable with your word, let that serve as additional evidence that, hey, language is the creator of all things, and it is critical that we focus on it. And this excerpt from it, I absolutely love. And this is again going back to valuing your word and doing what you say you're going to do, putting it out there. Be impeccable with your word. This is the first agreement that you should make if you want to be free, if you want to be happy, if you want to transcend the level of existence that is hell. It is very powerful. Use the word in the correct way. Use the word to share your love. Use white magic, beginning with yourself. Tell yourself how wonderful you are, how great you are. Tell yourself how much you love yourself. Use the word to break all those teeny, tiny agreements that make you suffer. It is possible. It is possible because I did it and I'm no better than you. No, we are exactly the same. We have the same kind of brain, the same kind of bodies. We are humans. If I was able to break those agreements and create new agreements, then you can do the same. If I can be impeccable with my word, why not you? Just this one agreement can change your whole life. Impeccability of the Word can lead to can lead you to personal freedom, to huge success and abundance. It can take away all fear and transform it into joy and love. Just imagine what you can create with impeccability of the word. It feels good to do the thing that you say you're gonna do. And as you put it out into the world and then you do it, you feel good about it, you generate some steam, some momentum. And the next thing that falls in line with this and has helped keep me going and keep this going, and I find this with high performers that I've interviewed as well, is that just by being consistent, whether it's with the podcast, working out, whatever the case may be, by you being consistent, even when you don't want to be, other people are going to jump on board with you, whether it's doing that exact same thing, or they're applying that same level of consistency and discipline into the thing that is meaningful to them. So in this case, there are a few other podcast hosts that have had the opportunity to mentor and become good friends with. And while I'm not taking credit for their success, what I've been, the feedback I've been given is that because of this podcast being as consistent as it has been, is what is driving them to continue pushing episodes out every week or to hit the 50 milestone, to hit the 100 mile episode milestone, etc. Think about how many people, because here's a common one, work out the way that they do, or take care of their physical health the way that they do, because of somebody in their life that has demonstrated consistency in that very thing that is important to them. Now, uh case, uh easy example of this, think about how many people are working out, getting up early every morning because they've read one of David Goggins' books. But that goes to show that through your consistency, other people, whether you know it or not, are going to jump on board with you. And now I see this as I see this as just another moral obligation and duty to go and get the thing done. Influence is greater than pressure. So I don't feel it as pressure that there's people watching now and there's there's people counting on on me. I see the influence being greater than the quote perceived pressure of all right, now you've got all these people on board. What now? No. Let's flip that into how awesome is it that we get to now we have people on board this ship that we built and we're we're navigating the w through the waters. How cool is that? So first thing to be consistent, make sure at least somebody knows what you are going to do. And then every now and then remind them here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to publish this podcast episode. I'm going to wake up early tomorrow morning and go and get it done. Make sure somebody knows. Now, one question I've been exploring lately, going into the second lesson, is that winning in life isn't always outcome driven. Rather, I want to say that winning in life isn't outcome-driven, but I recognize that somebody could hold that definition to be true for them. And that's okay, because there is no singular definition of winning. What I've found through self-inquiry and interviewing people all over the world, and now intentionally asking this question, what does winning mean to them? I have yet to find an outcome-based response. What's been interesting is that many people, myself included, when asked what was winning to you five years ago, 10 years ago, or longer, in many cases, it was outcome-driven. It was a dollar figure in the bank account. It was some sort of, we'll call it vanity metric. And in many cases, a lot of these people have since modified their definition or upgraded their definition as they've learned more, as they've spent more time in inquiry with themselves. But winning is not outcome driven. I've found now that of the people I've interviewed and asked this question, many of them equate winning back to a way of being and a way of showing up and a manner of their presence. Most recently I had Sindra Kampoff, who I'll talk about her again here in a second. She was, she rather is a mental performance coach, the founder of the Mentally Strong Institute out of Minnesota, has worked as a performance coach for the Vikings, USA track and field. I asked her what is winning to her. And she said one of the definitions was consistently showing up as her best self. Notice how it's not a dollar figure in the account or a new NFL team reaching out to her or the new biggest star signing her on as their performance coach. Consistently showing up as their best self. And then I asked her, what would her definition have been when she was in college because she was a Division I athlete? And she'd mentioned that it would have been an outcome-based response. It would have been tied to winning. It would have been tied to her time on the track as a track athlete, which she found that she actually struggled with as an athlete was being so focused on the time and the metrics. In episode number 211, I dive deeper into what winning is and what it can mean for you. So you can help build your own definition, craft your own definition as to what it means. But notice that again, winning is not outcome-driven. Another person that stands out with this is Sahill Bloom. Saw Hill is the was was a Wall Street Journal, New York Times best-selling author of the five types of wealth which came out earlier this year. And we were fortunate enough to actually host him on a book club, which was then released as a podcast episode number 193. And Sawhill's book, he talks about the five types of wealth where wealth in life isn't equated solely to a financial figure. So there is more to wealth than money, just as there's more to winning than there are outcomes. And one thing that Sahil shared is this concept of being a time billionaire. So in this case, where our time is a form of wealth, of the five types of wealth, time being one of them, he talks about this concept of being wealthy in life is having so much time on our hands. Now, most of us listening to this podcast are somewhere in the age range of 20 to 60 years old. 30 years of life equates to about one billion seconds. So just about everybody listening, I believe, because I don't know who always listening to this every single time. They don't give me the detailed metrics. So uh what that means is I don't know if you actually listened to something if you tell me you did, but I'll take your word for it going back to number one. Anyway, most people listening are at the tail end in their 60s, which means that you are a time billionaire, assuming that you're gonna live to at least 100. You are a time billionaire in that you have at least one billion seconds of life left in you. He shared that nobody would trade places right now with Warren Buffett. Why? Because Warren Buffett, I believe at the moment, is 96, 97 years old. He is at best a time millionaire. I don't even believe he may even be a time millionaire anymore, but he's a time millionaire versus us, we are time billionaires. We wouldn't trade places with him because that would mean that we only have maybe four years left to live. We wouldn't be able to be as mobile as we are today. We wouldn't be able to completely alter and pivot the course of our lives as we can today. We could literally uproot our entire career and start something brand new right now, if we really wanted to, and still be okay. And we could actually do that multiple times. So winning as a form of looking at this from a wealth perspective is the fact that we have so much time on our hands, which really means we have so many opportunities left in our lives. So why would we feel like, oh man, I you know what, I just I just didn't figure it out with this life. Maybe I'll get another, you know, maybe maybe in another life, if that's what what you believe in. That'll be your opportunity. You're oh man, I'm 35 years old and uh, you know, I don't know what a savings account is, I don't have a 401k setup, or I'm not married yet, or I don't have kids, or I didn't go to college, whatever the case may be. You can completely uproot and alter the course of your life multiple times in between now and the next 30 years, and still have time to go. And I've found again that going back to the lesson here, by talking to people, whether it's the Sahils of the world or Sendras of the world, and countless other folks that that we've had on the show, winning is not outcome driven. So think about your definition and relationship with winning. And is that something that is perhaps holding you back when it shouldn't be? Which I believe we'll cover that in point number four. Going into number three, another thing that I've learned for number three is that nobody has it figured out. Nobody has it figured out the people that we often revere and admire the most and possibly create a narrative that they're the smartest and they've always been able to find the right answers, and they're just lucky. They've got the knack, they've got the gene, they've got the ability. No, they don't. They have the same thing that you and I do. You know what they share in common with us? Is that they're human. Now perhaps some people, whether it's the big names or just people there's people you may be thinking about, friends, mentors, family that get by with things more often than others, or just have a way of figuring things out, pushing forward. Those people are often asking the same exact questions and have the same exact doubts and fears that you and I may have. It's one of the biggest surprises that I've encountered along this journey of interviewing and studying some of the best of the best. When I've had best-selling authors, people that have exited their companies for seven figures, eight figures, share that they often question at times if they can take the next step, if the next step is the right step. Are they qualified to take the next step? Can they go run this marathon? Can they go do this race? Can they go start this next company? Can they leave corporate and go on their own full full time? I was shocked. I was like, what? You you you ask those questions? You have those fears and doubts and thoughts? Because on these little square boxes on Instagram or LinkedIn, it looks like none of that exists. People are human, nobody is void of fears and doubts and thoughts. What separates these people now from perhaps from some of us, or just in general, what separates them is that they don't allow the narrative to stop them. And they're aware of the narrative and they work on that. They have mechanisms in place to catch themselves when these narratives are created. They know that that's just their human that's coming to pay their being a visit, meaning that, hey, we're human beings, but it's often this human side that influences our being, meaning that I too have had many doubts along the way, just on this podcast journey alone, that is this the right thing to do? Is this really worth it? There's not a whole lot of people that are downloads are low this week, this month. Is this really worth it? Like, are you that good? What I know is that that's a narrative that a false narrative that is coming to pay me a little visit to test me. And what I have to combat that now is years of positive feedback. And one person, one, one, one, one, one person saying that, hey, this episode this week helped me reach out to a loved one that I've been avoiding a conversation with, avoiding to connect with. This helped me sign up for a marathon. This helped me get off my ass and start working out. We don't need to wait for thousands of people to buy the product, to download the podcast episode, to jump on the train. It's one person that can be the antidote to the narrative that we are that we're often creating. And then look at, don't forget to look back at all of the evidence that you've built for yourself outside of the feedback. So nobody has it figured out. When I had Sindra on the podcast on episode 216 not too long ago, I asked her if some of these NFL linebackers and running backs and people that look like they're the most confident beings in the world, if they have doubts. And what did they come to her with? And she said, absolutely. Absolutely. They they share fears and doubt. The difference is they don't let the narrative stop them and they've got mechanisms in place. So the question for you is if if you is as if you're hearing this and you may be thinking about some things that you're holding yourself back on. A question I'll offer you is what makes that true? And a second one is what evidence do you have that supports this claim in your mind? Is it true that you can't run a marathon, that you can't put a podcast out, that nobody's gonna listen, that it's gonna suck? Are you just saying that because maybe you don't have one piece of feedback from one person yet because you haven't put it out there? Or you haven't started taking the steps. I I think about this too. We often let an untangible force stop a tangible being. Like, isn't that crazy? A narrative in our mind, it's not something that we can touch. But our physical being, the thing, the very thing that is going to take the action, that's gonna go on the computer, that's gonna build the business plan, that's gonna get in front of the mic, that's going to lace up the shoes and go and run can be stopped by this invisible force. Are you kidding me? Imagine that. We're gonna let put yourself as a third party. You're gonna let some something that you can't touch stop this thing, this being that can run right through a wall, that can run distances that are unfathomable to humankind, that can captivate an audience with their words, that can spread love in the community by reaching out to one person and telling them how awesome they are. It's our it's okay. Nobody's got it figured out. Just make sure you've got the awareness of the Story and you've got your defense mechanism ready to go. The last one is a perfect segue to feed this one. And it's that the best of the best are the people that I've noticed and had on the show that have done so well. And then through independent studies and reading books and inquiry, self-inquiry, to get where you want to go, spend more time asking better, deeper questions. So another way to say this is that the more questions, not even the more, but the right questions can help us push past the very thing that is holding us back. So it's not always a new course or a new book, or the answers aren't in often are not contained within one extra thing, one new course, one new degree, one new sign-up. The answers are within yourselves, and it's spending more time asking yourself the right questions. The greatest discoveries in life come not from finding the right answers, but from asking the right questions. So one quote book, and I'll say quote book for a reason, that I just finished, is from somebody that I deeply admire, who I see as a mentor, but just someone that I have the ultimate level of respect and admiration for, and that is Scott Cornwall. And he recently published his quote book, but I'm gonna call it, he published his experience called The Present Executive. And Scott is the president of the Center for Intentional Leadership based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. I met Scott in 2011, right before I was embarking upon my knob year or my freshman year at the Citadel, which is a small military college here in South Carolina. I saw Scott as I was walking out of Forest Hill Church with my mom, and I saw this gentleman that that had a Citadel ring on, because that's one thing that's special about the Citadel is the ring is noticeable from a long distance. And once you have it, it's this special bond and community. Rather, it's a special community of people that share a challenging experience together. And very deep relationships are forged because we have this mutual, challenging, four-year ride that we've all been on to be able to wear this ring. So, me being a soon-to-be freshman, eventually someone that will wear the ring that wears the ring now, see Scott, and I go introduce myself and learn that he's class of 1994. And I exchanged contact information with him. Scott was a leadership development executive at Bank of America in Charlotte at the time. And he was so gracious with his time and really helping take me under his wing and be there as a as a guide, as a resource, shared a lot of wisdom directly, but also indirectly by his way of being. This takes courage, vulnerability, and curiosity. This means you will be asking yourself and others some challenging questions. By the way, there is nowhere to quote, to arrive after finishing this book. On the contrary, my intention is that you will find a way to approach life that will provide years of meaningful inquiry, discovery, and change. So that's why I call the book an experience rather than a book that you read it and then you get a bunch of insight from somebody else. It's really, hey, this is how you can go and look at yourself, which what I've found again, interviewing people all over the world, they ask themselves the right questions, the deep questions, and they do it frequently because answers can change to these questions over time as we evolve as beings. So here's here are three that really stood out. What labels have you put on yourself? How have those labels helped you get to where you are today? How might they be limiting you in terms of what you are moving towards in your life and leadership? So that one with that, really take time to sit with that for a while. These aren't questions that you can answer quickly. The intention with these questions, whether it's the ones that are in Scott's book or some of the others that will offer, is that they're not intended to be quick answers. They're intended to be questions that require you to dig deep within so that you can understand, oh, okay, here's here's a layer that I've had that I need to break down. Oh, yep, here's something that I didn't know resided within me. Next one. What beliefs do you hold that might be designed to ensure your security and hold you in place? What beliefs do you hold that might be designed to hold your security and hold you, quote, in place? So I love that one because again, that's that's one that's gonna really open your eyes. Like, holy smokes, I did not realize that that was the thing that has been holding me back for so long, or I had no idea that that resided within me. I like to call it emptying the quote theoretical backpack that we are all wearing. Okay, and the last one that really stood out that I'll that I'll offer here, but really I encourage you to get a copy of this experience, not book, and it will be really game-changing. What could you be protecting in your life or leadership that is limiting possibility? Spend time asking better, deeper questions. Spend more time inquiring within yourself, discovering within yourself, what are the things that are pushing you forward? What are the things that are holding you back? What are the false narratives that have been created? What's most important to you in life? How do you want to make an impact? What holds these thoughts true? What evidence do I have that can support these claims? The more time we spend with ourselves seeking answers and asking others for feedback, the further along we can push ourselves, the closer we can get to our destination, perhaps. And the more weight we can shed that we didn't realize we were holding on to, which will allow us to move more swiftly, to more freely, rather. So as I started with a thank you, I'll end with a thank you. In that you are the reason, you are a huge reason for this existing and carrying on for three years in a row. And I believe that these four lessons that have been discovered over these last three years can help you see things that you didn't perhaps see before, help you move forward, give you encouragement that you don't have to have all the answers, you don't have to have everything figured out. The best of the best are doing the same thing. They're asking the same, they're having the same experience, but they don't stop from the narrative. And now we know how to catch the narrative, how to be aware of the narrative. Tell people what you're gonna do, build in public. You have all the tools that you need. Don't be so concerned with a number. Winning is about more than outcomes. I really appreciate y'all. Thank you so much. And cheers to the next three years. Let's go.

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Ryan Cass

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