Pod Insights LifeBlood 2607: Put an Oar In the Water About this episode Most people aren't stuck because they're incapable, they're stuck because they're drifting.
Putting an oar in the water, grabbing the rudder, raising the sails, and using the spyglass can help you stop drifting and start intentionally building the life you want.
If you've ever felt busy but unsure whether you're actually moving toward what matters most, this episode is for you.
Want to say “Thanks!” You can buy us a cup of coffee.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeblood
George’s newest book is available! Get your copy of You’re Money Isn’t the Problem- You Are here:
https://amzn.to/4uDYFRz
Feeling busy but unfulfilled? The Meaningful Few helps you identify what truly matters, eliminate distractions, and live with intention and clarity. Learn more here:
https://www.mymeaningfulfew.com/
Thanks, as always for listening! If you got some value and enjoyed the show, please leave us a review here:
https://ratethispodcast.com/lifebloodpodcast
You can learn more about us at LifeBlood. Live http://lifeblood.live/, Twitter https://twitter.com/ourlifeblood, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifebloodlive, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lifeblood.live/, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNQ9Gc4mMwCHZKUHjbt0-qA and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lifebloodlive or you’d like to be a guest on the show, contact us at contact@LifeBlood. Live.
Stay up to date by getting our monthly updates https://george-grombacher.aweb.page.
Copyright LifeBlood 2026.
Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 OnDeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, OnDeck's loans up to $400,000 help make it happen fast. Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and earning thousands of five-star TrustPilot reviews, OnDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at ondeck.com. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.
0:45 Speaker 01 There are plenty of moments in life where it feels like we're moving. I'm busy. I'm occupied. Things are occupying my attention, taking up my time, sucking my energy, responding to emails, getting through lists, paying bills. I'm going to meetings, I'm running errands, I am scrolling through feeds, I am handling responsibilities, I am moving. Potential energy converted to kinetic, let's go. But motion and direction, they are not the same thing. A leaf floating down a river is in fact moving. It's just not choosing where it's going.
1:29 Speaker 01 It is literally drifting. And drift is one of the greatest dangers that we human beings in modern life experience. Not because it's something dramatic or crazy or scary, just because it's pretty subtle. Because nobody wakes up one morning and says, "Today, I'd like to slowly become a less healthy, less happy, less fulfilled, less connected, less purposeful version of me." That sounds awesome. Today's the day to do that. But that's not how it happens. Of course, it happens a little bit at a time. Skipping the workout, deciding to not have that uncomfortable conversation that we really knew that we needed to have,
2:13 Speaker 01 kicking the can down the road on that opportunity. "I'm going to get started tomorrow." The thing that I told myself was most important today, I postponed that. I rescheduled the meeting. It's a dream deferred. And before you realize it, before long even, time has elapsed, days, months, quarters, years, you've been moving the entire time. We've been busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, but not necessarily being busy, busy, busy, or moving where it is that we wanted to go. And the solution, I think that we're, we're pretty aware of at this point is that
2:55 Speaker 01 it's not more, it's not working harder, pushing harder. It's simply realizing that to start moving in the direction of what we want, instead of getting carried along like the leaf in the river, we simply need to put an oar into the water. Because the current is a real thing. Life is full of different currents. Some of those currents are helpful, pulling us in the direction of the things that we actually want. Some currents are really, really, really, really dangerous. Not pulling us in the direction of what we want, frankly, the opposite. Different tech has currents, our culture has currents, obviously,
3:39 Speaker 01 politics has currents, and advertisement has currents, and we have expectations, our families, the places we work, there's all currents that are pulling on us, carrying us along, pushing against, that we're swimming with, or we're swimming against. Our habits have currents, the people around you, just like you have currents, they have currents too. So if you do nothing, you will end up somewhere. You will get carried along by the currents of life. And obviously, obviously, it's the question being, is it going to be where you want? The place where these currents take you, because they will take you. All
4:24 Speaker 01 of those things, social media, family, work, they are pulling on you. Just if they pull on you for long enough, and you are not resisting, or you are not intentionally moving, I don't know where you're gonna end up. I don't think anybody does. And there's a lot of us out there that spend our entire lives just doing that. Or just reacting to those.
4:52 Speaker 01 We respond, we're just managing, we're treading water, we're trying to survive. And we, in essence, become passengers in our own lives. But I think that, deep down, we know we're made for a lot more than that. Certainly, there's chunks of people in the population that are just going to get carried along by the currents of life. But then there's you, because you're a smart person listening to this. You're made to navigate. You are designed to pick up that oar and to dip it in the water. That's that first, simple step, to take action. Any action, a small action, consistent, intentional action.
5:36 Speaker 01 And that really, what you're doing through that action is you are picking up that oar and you are putting it into the water. And an oar in the water changes everything. Because the moment that you begin rowing, you've stopped being entirely subject to whatever current that you are part of. Maybe you're not rowing quickly, maybe you're not really moving in a perfect way. The boat's kind of rocking back and forth, and you're a little bit worried that it's going to tip over. But you're at least moving deliberately.
6:06 Speaker 02 GLP-1s are changing weight loss.
6:08 Speaker 03 My sister had amazing.
6:09 Speaker 02 The ideal treatment is.
6:10 Speaker 04 Seems like everyone's a GLP-1 expert these days. But when it comes to your health, it pays to listen to someone who actually is. Like OrderlyMedds.com, with 50% off your first two orders and personalized support along the way. We're making it easier to get started. Visit OrderlyMedds.com. Bringing orders to the chaos of GLP-1s. Individual results may vary. Eligibility and prescription required, not medical advice. Visit OrderlyMedds.com for details. Compound and medications are not FDA-approved.
6:36 Speaker 00 Cash flow crunch? OnDeck's small business line of credit gives your business immediate access to funds up to $200,000 right when you need it. Cover seasonal dips, manage payroll, restock inventory, or tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. With flexible draws, transparent pricing, and control over repayment, get funded quickly and confidently. Apply today at OnDeck.com. Funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.
7:08 Speaker 01 And that's where this beautiful thing that is personal agency, that's where it begins.
7:14 Speaker 01 And it's not that you know that if you put this ore in the water, you're going to get exactly what you want. No, there's not certainty that's involved here. It's not guaranteed that if I attempt to do this and I start rowing in the direction of that thing that I want, that I'm going to end up there.
7:32 Speaker 01 But you're taking action. If you want a better marriage, if you want a better relationship with your significant other, put an ore in the water. If you want better health, put an ore in the water. If you want financial security and the opportunity to have financial freedom, whatever that means, or financial peace of mind, whatever that means to you, put an ore in the water. If you want deeper faith, stronger relationships, greater purpose, more peace of mind, you put that ore in the water.
8:03 Speaker 01 You start paddling. One today, another tomorrow. Because direction and action, it kicks the crap out of intention every day of the week, every time. You can grab the rudder. Because action without direction can become exhaustion. No doubt about that. So you need a rudder. And that rudder is really going to determine where it is that you're going.
8:34 Speaker 01 And this is where really understanding, this is the stuff, these are the things that are most important to me, these are my meaningful few things. Because these are the things that matter the most. Your meaningful few, those are what matters the most. The opposite of what matters the most to you are the trivial many. And there's an awful lot of that, an infinite number of trivial many things that I could engage in, that I could consume, that I could give my resources to. I can't pursue every opportunity. I can't take on every obligation. I can't, I can't engage with every different distraction that comes my way. Otherwise, that's all I'd be doing.
9:17 Speaker 01 We need to know the few things that create the most meaningful outcomes for you across the things that really matter to you.
9:26 Speaker 01 I talk about the six areas of life all the time. Family, community, your work and your money, your well-being, your personal development and your peace of mind. In each one of those areas, what matters the most? What is it that you are trying to construct? What life are you trying to build? What does success actually look like to you? Because if you don't have a rudder, if you don't have an oar in the water, every wave that comes your way is going to be a crisis. It's going to potentially wipe you out. We need to not be rudderless. We need to have a rudder. We need to be pulling, pulling, pulling water, moving ourselves, propelling ourselves in the direction of what we want. Every wave can crush you.
10:10 Speaker 01 Every opinion becomes important. And how ridiculous is that? If you had a lot going on, if you were busy building the life that you want, you wouldn't care at all what anybody had to say to you or what they think about what you're doing. If you were building the life that you wanted, you know distractions would be like water off a duck's back. Just you'd move right past them. You wouldn't even pay attention. But if you're not, if you're just sitting around, getting carried along by the currents of life, everything that pops up seems like an urgent thing. So when you decide what matters, your decisions also become a lot easier because you know where you're going.
10:55 Speaker 01 Your rudder keeps you pointed towards the life that you want. We can raise our sails. A lot of people make the mistake that they think that success is only about effort, rowing harder, working harder, pushing more. But great navigators understand leverage. They don't fight the wind, they harness the wind. And that's what your most valuable resources are for. Time, energy, attention and money. These are your winds. These are the winds that are available to you.
11:31 Speaker 01 Just question always is, are you using them intentionally? Are you putting them to work for you? Because every day you are allocating them, you are spending them. Question is where? Time spent, attention spent, energy spent, money spent. Regardless of your goals, your MVRs, your most valuable resources are flowing somewhere. Raise your sales. Align those most valuable resources with your meaningful few priorities. Direct your time towards what matters. Focus your attention on what matters. Protect your energy for what matters. Put your money towards what matters. Most people don't have a money problem.
12:15 Speaker 01 You've got an allocation problem. Most people don't have a time problem. They have a prioritization problem. When we raise our sales, that means you're bringing your resources into alignment with your direction. And then we take out our spyglass. One final responsibility is to look up, to look towards the horizon. Too many people spend their lives staring just at the deck of the ship or looking in the rearview mirror. Not that ships have rearview mirrors, I'm not sure, maybe they do. If you only look at today's tasks or today's frustrations or problems or the headlines in the newspaper this morning. A newspaper was a thing that used to be printed and people would read. What you will do is just stay stuck.
12:58 Speaker 01 So we need to climb up the mast, take out our spyglass and look farther ahead. Use that spyglass, look towards the horizon. Ask yourself, where am I headed? And if I continue on this course for five years, where will I end up? 10 years, 20 years? What kind of person am I becoming? What kind of life am I building? Your spyglass helps you with a perspective. It helps you to distinguish between what is urgent and what is important. It helps you see the storms before you are in the midst of them. It helps you recognize opportunities that other people are going to miss. And most importantly, it connects, reconnects your daily actions with your long-term purpose.
13:45 Speaker 01 A meaningful life is not built by accident. It's built intentionally. It's built by people who are willing to stop just drifting. It's built by people who are willing to take and accept responsibility. People who navigate, people who put that oar into the water, take action, grab the rudder, decide what matters, raise your sails, line your most valuable resources, look towards the horizon and chart your course. I'm not controlling the wind or the currents or the weather, but I can control whether or not I drift. And that's enough. Because the person who knows where they're going and consistently rows in that direction eventually arrives somewhere very different from the person who simply floats.
14:27 Speaker 01 Our lives, your life and my life, are vessels. Your MVRs are your resources, your meaningful few is your destination. The six key areas of your life are the waters that you are navigating. The question is this, are you drifting? Or are you ready to have you finally put an oar in the water? I guess the deeper question is, are you doing your part by doing your best?
14:57 Speaker 02 GLP-1s are changing weight loss.
14:59 Speaker 03 My sister had amazing.
15:00 Speaker 02 The ideal treatment is.
15:01 Speaker 04 Seems like everyone's a GLP-1 expert these days, but when it comes to your health, it pays to listen to someone who actually is. Orderly Meds makes it easy to get started with personalized support along the way. And with your first month's order, we're giving you the second month free. Visit OrderlyMeds.com. Bringing orders to the chaos of GLP-1s. Individual results may vary. Eligibility and prescription required. Not medical advice. Visit OrderlyMeds.com for details. Compound and medications are not FDA approved.
15:27 Speaker 05 Network freedom and flexibility, that's what you want in a healthcare plan. With a Humana Medicare Advantage PPO plan, you can see any doctor in the country who accepts Medicare, including specialists. No referrals, no kidding. Learn more at GetHumana.com. See any doctor who accepts Medicare and is willing to bill Humana. Humana PPOs may not be available in all areas. Benefits and costs share may vary. Humana is a Medicare Advantage PPO organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in any Humana plan depends on contract renewal.
Previous 2606: Don't Fold Your Cards Next 2609: The Weight of Caring Page updated November 9, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated
