129: Rory Vaden – Why The Best "Take The Stairs"

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Ryan Hawk interviews Rory Vaden about sustained excellence, self-discipline, and multiplying time. Vaden argues that success comes from doing what you know you should do even when you don't feel like it, and that leaders must learn and apply, not merely think and critique. He contrasts procrastination with intentional delay, critiques overreliance on prioritization, and explains how significance—not just urgency or importance—should guide decisions.

Main Topics: Self-discipline as the core of sustained excellence: Vaden argues the defining habit of successful people is doing necessary work regardless of motivation; he frames success as choosing the stairs over the escalator. From personal struggle to business mission: He describes how his own debt, weight gain, and business failure led him to study procrastination and build a consulting business focused on action and sales performance. Southwestern Consulting and scalable team building: Vaden explains how Southwestern Consulting grew from a small startup into a large sales-coaching business by building systems, partners, and consultants who can serve clients without depending on him personally. Procrastinate on Purpose and multiplying time: He clarifies that deliberate delay can be strategic when it frees time for higher-value work, and that the book is really about creating more time through systems and focus. Critique of prioritization and the role of significance: Vaden argues prioritization alone only shifts time between tasks; he proposes adding significance as a third lens to judge how long a task will matter over time. Learning leader vs. thought leader: Both host and guest emphasize that the best leaders are active learners who apply what they learn in real businesses, not just commentators who analyze ideas. Mentorship, Zig Ziglar, and speaking mastery: Vaden recounts how Zig Ziglar mentored him after a speaking contest, reinforcing the importance of skill-building, evaluation, and disciplined practice in becoming a compelling speaker.

Key Arguments: Success is built by consistently doing what you know you should do, especially when you do not feel like it. Procrastination is harmful when it means avoiding necessary work; strategic delay can be useful only when it reallocates attention to more significant tasks. Prioritization is valuable but limited because it only reshuffles tasks; it does not inherently create more time. Significance should be added to the urgency/importance matrix because it captures how long a task will matter, not just how soon or how much it matters. Multipliers think in terms of creating more time tomorrow, not just choosing the most important task today. Great leadership requires learning plus application; merely critiquing or thinking about ideas is less valuable than acting on them. Building a durable business requires team systems, not heroic individual effort; the company was built by partners and consultants, not just the founder. Deadlines can force creativity, but procrastination as a strategy has costs in stress, quality, and relationships.

Data Points: Weight loss / starting condition: 45 pounds heavier - Vaden describes his personal low point before changing habits. Personal debt: $50,000 - He cites debt as part of the trigger for studying procrastination and self-discipline. Startup growth: 4 founders to 115 team members - Southwestern Consulting grew from a tiny founding group to a larger organization. Business size: About $12 million - He says the company reached roughly $12 million in 10 years. Clients served: About 5,000 - He says the coaching program has served roughly this many clients. Active clients: About 1,600 - He notes the number of current coaching clients. Daily time wasted: 2.09 hours per employee - Vaden cites this as the average amount employees self-admit wasting per day. Annual cost per employee: $10,396 - He calculates procrastination cost using a $40,000 salary baseline. Speaking practice: 304 free speeches - He says he practiced extensively over 18 months before returning to the competition. Evaluations received: 2,200 evaluations - He used feedback to improve public speaking performance. World Championship participation: 25,000 contestants - He describes the scale of the Toastmasters competition. Competition result: Second place - He says he came in second at the World Championship of Public Speaking. Public speaking frequency: 60 to 70 dates a year - He describes his current speaking travel schedule. Podcast/web reach: Over half a million views - He says his TEDx talk How to Multiply Time reached this organically. Podcast/web reach: About 3 million views - Mentioned in discussion of Tim Urban’s TED talk, not Vaden’s.

Pivotal Quotes: "successful people have formed the habit of doing things they know they should be doing even when they don't feel like doing them" — Rory Vaden: His core definition of sustained excellence and self-discipline. "success is never owned, it's only rented, and the rent is due every day" — Rory Vaden: A signature quote he uses to emphasize daily discipline and consistency. "I want somebody who learns and puts it into action" — Rory Vaden: His explanation of what makes a true learning leader versus a mere thought leader.

Implications: The episode encourages listeners to shift from passive productivity and commentary to disciplined action, system-building, and long-term significance. For leaders, the message is to learn actively, apply quickly, and measure work by its future impact.