Ready to level up your personal and professional life? It’s not about working harder—it’s about working smarter. Imagine harnessing the power of delayed gratification, pausing before reacting, and setting goals that are both concrete and achievable. 

In this episode of the Productivity Smarts podcast, host Gerald J. Leonard sits down with Dr. Emilio Justo—Cuban refugee, eye surgeon, TEDx speaker, and author of The Power of Pause: Mastering Delayed Gratification for Success. Together, they explore the power of pausing before reacting, setting meaningful goals, and harnessing delayed gratification to achieve lasting success.

Dr. Justo shares the inspiring "Cuban triad" of self-discipline, perseverance, and delayed gratification, along with his concept of positive obsession. This conversation dives deep into the role of passion, commitment, and self-discipline in unlocking peak productivity. Whether you're aiming to work smarter, find your focus, or level up in every area of life, this episode offers the tools and inspiration to make it happen.

What We Discuss

• [00:02:01 ] Introduction to Dr. Emilio Justo

• [00:11:34 ] The power of pause

• [00:12:02 ] Delayed gratification and productivity

• [00:18:28 ] Building habits for pausing

• [00:22:19 ] Goal setting and its importance

• [00:26:27 ] Embracing failures and leveraging setbacks

• [00:36:53 ] Resilience paradox

• [00:42:24 ] Cuban triad of success

• [00:44:52 ] Cuban quartet concept

• [00:45:23 ] Finding Dr. Justo online

• [00:48:30 ] Closing remarks

Notable Quotes

• [00:07:57 ] "Life has dealt you some lemons right now, but it's up to you to make lemonade." - Dr. Emilio Justo

• [00:12:17 ] "When we pause and be patient, digest what comes our way, and think things through before making rash decisions, we often build something greater later." - Dr. Emilio Justo

• [00:20:17 ] "I don't need to have a wide circle of friends and parties; I'm so comfortable just sitting in a room, sometimes turning the lights off, and thinking about things." - Dr. Emilio Justo

• [00:23:27 ] "Each time that we achieve something, we've got to be able to rejoice and celebrate. Emotionally, we want to celebrate so that we can recharge ourselves to get to the next step." - Dr. Emilio Justo

• [00:25:28 ] "The goal of the goal is who we become in the process of accomplishing that goal, and that's why it's so important to create a goal that's a little bit bigger than we are." - Gerald J. Leonard

• [00:26:56 ] "We need to be in a mindset where we rejoice in having failures because when we have those failures, it's going to teach us something and further accelerate our progress in the future." - Dr. Emilio Justo

• [00:43:21 ] "We have to be obsessed, and obsessed means to have passion for our goals and what we're trying to achieve." - Dr. Emilio Justo

• [00:46:36 ] "If anyone out there is looking for a keynote speaker, fill out that contact page, and I will answer you within 24 hours." - Dr. Emilio Justo

• [00:47:37 ] "The best investment any of us can make is in a book because, for the cost of a meal, we can gain 5 to 10 years of somebody else's experience." - Gerald J. Leonard

Our Guest

Dr. Emilio Justo is a Cuban refugee, renowned eye surgeon, and two-time TEDx speaker. With his third TEDx talk, he earned recognition as the third most-viewed TED talk of 2023, amassing over 9 million views. As the author of The Power of Pause: Mastering Delayed Gratification for Success, Dr. Justo empowers others to embrace intentional decision-making and long-term success. His expertise in both medicine and personal growth has established him as a sought-after speaker, guiding audiences to unlock their full potential through resilience and mindful living.

Resources

Dr. Emilio Justo

• Website -https://dremiliojusto.com/

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/emiliojustomd/

• Book- The Power of Pause: Mastering Delayed Gratification for Success

Productivity Smarts Podcast

• Website - productivitysmartspodcast.com

Gerald J. Leonard

• Website - geraldjleonard.com

• Turnberry Premiere website - turnberrypremiere.com

• Scheduler - vcita.com/v/geraldjleonard

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