What were you doing when you were 4 years old? Playing with blocks, perhaps? Starting to color somewhere near the lines, maybe? Pretending you're in a rocket ship that's bound for outer space, if you're lucky? Not Ben Austin. At the tender age of 4, Ben Austin already had the drive to answer life's really, really, really big questions. In today's episode I have the honor and pleasure of interviewing author, coach, and soon-to-be podcaster, Ben Austin. Ben runs a successful blog called StopStartDo.com, where he publishes articles and other content geared toward personal development and achieving life's biggest goals. He calls himself a Personal Development Architect. He will help you design the life you want. You will have to build it. Today, Ben and I cover some incredible topics such as taking responsibility for everything that happens in our lives, tracking our habits that lead to the most success, and finding the motivation to make progress toward our best life ever. Without any further ado, I give you the soothing sounds of Ben Austin (he's got the coolest voice, ever!). Play by Play 1:30 Surprise, I’m giving a TEDx talk! 4:00 Ben takes it all the way back to childhood, y’all 5:00 The one question that pushed Ben to trying to cure cancer at age 12 6:00 What happened when Ben’s wife got a rare nerve disorder and no one knew how to help her 10:15 The fundamental mental shift that has changed Ben’s life 11:40 The things that stand in our way to taking responsibility in our own lives 12:30 The “motivational seesaw” tactic to making anything happen in your life 13:30 The mental hurdles Ben and I had to get over to launch podcasts 14:15 How to beat perfectionism 15:30 The “tipping point” of life and how to get ok with improvement over perfection 17:00 How Ben got empowered to turn wasted time into value-added time 17:45 The “matrix method” for tracking your habits 18:30 How Ben discovered 25 “success habits” that lead to having an awesome day 20:00 The cause and effect that determines whether you have a good day or not 20:30 Ben’s best “success” habits that you should try tomorrow 22:10 The best way to figure out how you’re spending your time and how much value those activities have 23:15 The #1 thing you need to have to make real change in your life 24:30 The best strategies for your own personal self-discovery 25:10 If you don’t know where you start, start here 26:10 How to get clear on what you want by writing down what you don’t want 27:00 How I got all twisted up about happiness and Ben set me straight 28:15 The pinnacle of human achievement… we found it 31:30 Ben’s morning routine that leads to the best day ever 33:15 How to not let your morning dictate your whole day 34:10 Ben’s best catalyst habits to get a measurable increase in the awesomeness of your day 35:30 Ben’s 4 principles of unstoppable motivation 37:00 How I learned to measure my life to lead to more happiness 39:30 The “put your mask on first, then assist the child” model of life 40:00 How Ben discovered what he actually finds fulfilling 40:30 Ben’s #1 best seller from when he was 5 years old 41:50 Ben’s #1 piece of advice for you right now 42:10 Why it all starts with responsibility 43:00 Ben’s freebie for you! 43:30 Connect with Ben @benaustinblog and me @thetracytimm