The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex - Staying Calm Under Pressure

Episode Date: May 24, 2024

“Your Network is your NETWORTH!"Make sure to add me on all SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulalex/Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/realpaulalexFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealPaulAlexYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialPaulAlexLooking for a secondary source of income or want to become an entrepreneur?Check out one of my companies below to see if we can help you:www.ATMTogether.comwww.Merchantautomation.comFREE Copy of my book “Blue to Digital Gold - The New American Dream" www.officialPaulAlex.comLeave a review, like and share to help others and let’s level up together!In this episode, we explore a crucial skill for both law enforcement and entrepreneurship: staying calm under pressure. Drawing from my experiences as a detective and running multiple eight-figure businesses, I’ll share strategies to help you manage stress in high-stakes environments. Whether you’re facing an intense negotiation, a business crisis, or a daunting deadline, the ability to stay calm is invaluable. It allows you to think clearly, act decisively, and lead effectively.Episode Highlights:Preparation: Learn how being thoroughly prepared can reduce uncertainty and stress. From knowing the penal code in law enforcement to understanding every detail of a business project, preparation is key.Controlled Breathing Techniques: Discover the power of deep breathing exercises to regulate your heart rate and lower stress hormones. Use the simple yet effective 4-4-4 breathing technique to stay calm in tense situations.Maintaining Perspective: Gain insights on how to step back and assess the true impact of a situation. Asking if it will matter in five years can dramatically reduce stress and help you focus on solutions.Building a Support Network: Understand the importance of having a reliable team to share burdens and seek advice. A strong support network can significantly lower your stress levels.Personal Anecdotes: Hear real-life stories from my time in law enforcement and business that illustrate these strategies in action, including high-speed chases and high-pressure business negotiations.Keywords: Staying calm under pressure, stress management, high-stakes environments, law enforcement skills, entrepreneurship strategies, breathing techniques for stress, maintaining perspective, building support networks.

Welcome to the Level Up Podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight-figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together.

Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now. Today, we're diving into a topic that's close to my heart and critical in both law enforcement and entrepreneurship. Staying calm under pressure. Trust me, I used to stress all the time that I aged myself like 10 years, guys. So I'm going to give you guys the heads up and actually help you out with this one. Drawn from my years of experience as a detective and my experiences of running multiple eight-figure businesses, I'll share strategies that have helped me manage stress in high-stakes environments.

So, whether you're walking into an intense negotiation dealing with a business crisis or facing a daunting deadline, the ability to stay calm is invaluable. It allows you to think clearly, act decisively, and lead effectively. So the first step to staying calm under pressure is being prepared. In law enforcement, they used to train us day or night on going ahead, doing defensive tactics, knowing the penal code, going ahead and shooting your firearm. I mean, running, absolutely everything, day in, day out, for months. Why did they do this? Muscle memory.

When you're under a lot of pressure, guys, more than likely you're going to black out. You're not going to remember what happened. Imagine if you were in my position a few years ago and you're in a shooting, somebody's shooting at you from a car, right? And you're chasing them and you're going like a hundred miles per hour on the freeway or whatever, right? And all of a sudden, you know, your supervisor wants updates consistently. You have to watch out for the civilians to make sure you don't crash into anybody. And then you're still chasing a murder suspect crazy right but you got to know your abcs always be cool and in my profession this is what i always remember i always told myself look

life's already written and whatever happens happens but But at the end of the day, I'm going to go back to my training. And I was trained by the best. So apply this to any stressful situation. Being prepared as much as possible beforehand. Know your shit. Whether it's understanding every detail of a project or anticipating potential questions in a meeting, being prepared reduces uncertainty and less uncertainty means less stress. This goes back into business.

Every time I train a rookie in sales, I always question them. All right, what did you do to prepare for this? It also comes down to going ahead and applying for a job. Guys, I can rip off my hair right now and tell you how many people I've interviewed where they couldn't even tell me what my business is doing. And they're expected to get paid over six figures. I'm like, you must be out of your mind. So with that being said, you want to go into less stressful situations. You want to go ahead and actually lead by example. You want to

come off confident. You want the job. Prepare yourself. All right. Next, let's talk about breathing techniques. This might sound simple, but it's powerful. It's helped me a lot in life. During tense moments in the field, I relied on controlled breathing to maintain calm. Practice deep breathing exercise. Inhale slowly for four counts. Hold for four counts. Exhale for four counts.

And repeat. This helps regulate your heart rate and lowers stress hormones. Like I said, guys, if you're ever in a fight, if you're ever in a shooting, if you're ever in an intense sales objection, a call on Zoom, if you're speaking from stage,

if you're in court getting drilled, remember, take a deep breath, count for four, exhale, and repeat. This will help you go ahead and actually lower your heart rate and it lowers your stress hormones so you're able to think clearly. Another key strategy is to maintain perspective. In the heat of the moment, it's easy to magnify the severity of the situation. Take a step back and ask yourself, will this matter in five years? Will this matter tomorrow? 99.9% of the time, the answer is no. This perspective that I've always had can dramatically reduce the stress you feel and help you focus on constructive solutions.

There's always a solution to every problem, guys. Okay? Like I got wifey at home. We'll go and we'll go grocery shopping. And because the clerk didn't tell her good morning, she started stressing out. She's like, babe, but she didn't tell me good morning. That's not good customer service. I'm like, babe, it doesn't matter. What are we here for? We're here to buy the groceries. We're here to go in and out so we can start our day, right?

We'll cook a little breakfast, enjoy the rest of the day. But babe, I mean, back in the day when I was doing customer service, blah, blah, blah, blah. It doesn't matter. Focus on what you're actually there for. It's going to help you in life. Life is easy. We make it hard. And lastly, foster a support network. So in both law enforcement and business, having a team you can rely on makes a huge difference. Share your burdens, seek advice, and let others help you. Knowing you're not alone can significantly reduce stress levels. Guys, I got over 90 employees across all the board. We just did the count last week. It was crazy because we were like at like six or something. Now we're at 90. So 90 employees across three

companies is insane to me because, you know, back in 2020, when I was deciding to leave law enforcement, I was just like, man, should I do this? All right, let's do it. So now I got a humongous team. I got to look out for, I got a humongous team. I got a mentor and I got a humongous team. I got to actually go ahead and build the momentum for them and keep them motivated. So how do I do this? How do I do this? I mentor them.

Everything that I'm telling you guys on this podcast, I tell them on a daily basis. This is why my sales team, my customer service team, my executives, they're some of the best in the industries that we work in. So if you want to go ahead and stay calm under pressure, it's a skill that you can develop over time. But being prepared, having your breathing techniques, having a perspective of what you have to do as far as having a solution, mindfulness, and a very strong support network, someone you can actually talk to

like me, you can face stressful situations with a clear mind and a steady hand. Hope this helps. Remember, I always have your six. Make sure to share this episode with your family, friends, and anyone you care about. The world's already hard enough and we need to take care of each other. Make sure to share this episode on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and share it with the world. Do me a big favor and tag me, Paul Alex. Also, keep the five-star reviews on iTunes coming. This episode's going to help change the way the world thinks

and will help everyone level up in their life. And lastly, if you want to continue to level up, learn more about business and life, then make sure to get a copy of my book, From Blue to Digital Gold, The New American Dream, on Amazon or at officialpaulalex.com.