🤝 The Negotiation Nobody Talks About

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The Negotiation Nobody Talks About

Monday Mindset | Adam Kifer

The Open

Before you dive into tactics, before you think about goals or systems or performance, I want you to sit with one question:

👉 Where did the original version of you go?

The one with the embarrassing vision.
The one who had a number in mind.
The one who pictured freedom so clearly it scared you.
The one whose goals felt almost too big to say out loud.

Here is the truth:

The vision you were too embarrassed to say out loud was probably the most accurate one you ever had.

Somewhere along the line, you negotiated it down.

The Diagnosis

There is a question most founders stop asking:

Am I still becoming who I was built to be?

Not because they got lazy.
But because the honest answer got scary.

You did not lower your standards all at once.
You lowered them one reasonable decision at a time until reasonable became your identity.

The Moment It Happened

It was not one catastrophic choice that shrank your vision.
It was the accumulation of reasonable ones.

• "I will pursue that when things stabilize."

• "This is just where I am right now."

• "I am being smart about this."

Here is the real pattern:

Most people are not stuck because of what happened to them.
They are stuck because of the decision they made about themselves right after it happened.

The Tell

Ask yourself one diagnostic question:

When was the last time you felt genuinely uncomfortable because of how big the thing you were chasing was?

Not stressed.
Not worried about cash flow.
Actually uncomfortable because the vision was that large.

If you cannot remember, you have been living inside your comfort zone long enough to call it your identity.

The Spiritual Layer

That original vision was never ego.
It was design.

God did not wire you for comfort.
He wired you for the thing you have been calling unrealistic.

When you negotiated down your calling, you did not just settle on yourself.
You settled on Him.

At that moment your vision stopped being about ambition.
It became about obedience.

The Three Negotiations

There are three negotiations every founder makes.

Negotiation 1: The External Negotiation

Pricing. Positioning. Deals.
Most founders are decent at this one.

Negotiation 2: The Internal Negotiation

This is the deal you make with yourself about what you are capable of.
Most people lose this one long before they get to the external negotiation.
The loss is so quiet they never notice it happened.

Negotiation 3: The Original Negotiation

This is the deal you made a decade ago about who you were going to become.
You might not remember making it.
But you are living the outcome of it every day.

The Three Questions

Write these down. Do not rush the answers.

1. What did you originally tell yourself this was all for?

2. At what point did that change, and what happened right before it did?

3. Are you moving toward the original thing, or have you been optimizing a reduced version for so long you forgot the original existed?

The Re-Negotiation

I am not trying to show you who you could be.
I am trying to show you who you already were before life talked you out of it.

The work is not becoming something new.
The work is uncovering something original.

The Close

You can leave your kids an inheritance or you can leave them an example.
The example will always be worth more.

Right now, they are watching which one you choose.

Your one assignment this week:

• Find the original address.

• Write it down.

• Sit with it.

• Ask God if it is still the assignment.

If it is, stop optimizing the reduced version.
Start rebuilding toward the real one.

If you'd like, I can now create the intro, subtitle, closing, book recommendation, What’s Kickin’ On Social, performance report, and Facebook promo post for this week’s full issue.

This week’s posts focus on growth that lasts: building confidence and discipline through long-term practice, cultivating emotional intelligence by laughing at yourself, leaning into strong friendships to be your true self, creating wealth by giving generously, and maintaining focus and stewardship by staying all in. The common thread: real results come from mindset, consistency, and action, not shortcuts or entitlement.

🔥 Dave Kovar – Why Long-Term Martial Arts Matters for Kids
A few months of martial arts helps, but real growth comes with long-term training. Kids become confident, respectful, focused, healthy, and optimistic. Adults who trained as kids say it was the best choice. No one regrets it.
👉Read Here

🔥 Adam Grant – Laugh at Yourself, Grow Your EQ
Emotional intelligence isn’t just knowing others—it’s laughing at yourself. Studies show people who are amused by small mistakes are seen as warmer and more capable than those who get embarrassed. Take your responsibilities seriously, but your ego lightly. That’s a core life skill.

Read Here

🔥 Simon Sinek – Be Yourself Through Strong Friendships
It’s not that we don’t know ourselves, it’s that we don’t always get the chance to be ourselves. Strong friendships give us that opportunity—and help us grow into who we’re meant to be.
👉Watch Here

🔥 Dan Martell – If You Really Want to Get Rich, Give Everything Away for Free
Success isn’t about holding back. The more value you give, the more doors open. Share generously, help without expectation, and watch your influence and your wealth grow. Today is your final chance to register free and watch every session from the Time to Rise Summit. When today ends, the replays are gone.
👉Watch Here

🔥 Taylor Welch – Stay All In
Entitlement kills momentum. Success requires posture, poise, and active stewardship. Stay focused. Stay disciplined. Stay all in. Today is your final chance to register free and watch every session from the Time to Rise Summit.
👉Watch Here

💥 Apply what hits, share it with your team, and keep raising the standard in your school. 

😂 Martial Memes

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