Pick a Partner Who Holds You to Your Standard: Why My Wife Called Me Out at Midnight | 1PM: 160

Episode 160 February 28, 2026 00:04:05
Pick a Partner Who Holds You to Your Standard: Why My Wife Called Me Out at Midnight | 1PM: 160
The 1% Man Podcast
Pick a Partner Who Holds You to Your Standard: Why My Wife Called Me Out at Midnight | 1PM: 160

Feb 28 2026 | 00:04:05

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Hosted By

Bertrand Ngampa Bertrand Ngampa

Show Notes

Podcast Description

In this raw and vulnerable midnight recording, Bertrand Ngampa shares a powerful moment that just happened—his wife called him out for trying to quit early on his daily three-podcast commitment. After waking up at 4 AM, working a 12-hour shift, spending time with his four kids (including his 12-day-old newborn), checking on his mother, and being fully present with his family, Bertrand was ready to call it a night. He'd recorded two podcasts and figured he could make up the third tomorrow. Then his wife asked the question that changed everything: "Was that three podcasts or two? I thought you were nutting up. What's going on now?"

This episode isn't about Bertrand being perfect—it's about him being human, just like you. He gets tired. He gets exhausted. He sometimes wants to drop his own standards. But the difference between people who achieve their goals and people who don't often comes down to one thing: having the right partner in your corner who refuses to let you settle.

Bertrand draws from his military experience where they had a fundamental principle: "We don't train to time, we train to the standard." On active duty, no one goes home until the standard is met—not when it's convenient, not when you're tired, but when the job is done. In the reserves, that culture clashed because people had flights to catch and hours to drive. But the principle remains: standards matter more than feelings.

The core message of this episode is simple but profound: pick a partner who will hold you to the standard you set for yourself, regardless of how you feel. When the emotions are gone and the motivation has dried up, you need someone who sees your vision, understands your greatness, and pushes you to reach it even when you want to quit. This isn't about being harsh—it's about love. Real love means not letting the person you care about settle for less than they're capable of.

Bertrand's wife could have let him slide. She could have said, "You're tired, just do it tomorrow." But she knew his standard. She knew his mission. And she refused to let him drop it just because he was exhausted. That's the kind of partnership that builds empires, raises exceptional children, and creates legacies.

If you don't have a partner like this yet, become the kind of person who would attract one. If you do have a partner like this, thank them. They're rare. They're precious. And they're the reason you'll actually become the person you say you want to be.

SHARE THIS PODCAST: If you have a partner, spouse, friend, or accountability partner who refuses to let you quit on yourself, tag them right now and share this episode. Tag Bertrand @bngampa on all social media and let him know who holds you to your standard. Leave us a 5-star review and subscribe to The 1% Man podcast so you never miss the real, unfiltered moments that remind you we're all in this together—pushing each other to be great even when we don't feel like it. There is no tomorrow. It's today. Get it done no matter what.

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Episode Transcript

[00:00:01] I love what just happened to me. I literally just recorded a podcast episode and I was like, all right, great. I can go to bed now. I can relax. And my wife literally says, was that three podcasts or was that two? And I was like, man, I. I gotta, I gotta wake up in like four hours. And she calls me out, she's like, oh, I thought you were nutting up. What's going on now, right? [00:00:26] And the reason why I love that is because one, it shares it. I'm able to share with you that I am just like you, right? I worry about different things. I sometimes drop my own standards as well, right? I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm tired as hell. I'm tired as heck. I woke up at almost 4 in the morning, got ready, went to work, did a 12 hour shift. Coming home, podcasting, right? Being present, trying to be present with and give all my kids enough attention, right? Talk with my wife, give her the attention that she needs. Talk with my kids, give them the attention, right? Throw them around, throw them against the wall. How they. I say all against the wall, but I like to, like, put them on the walls they can climb like Spider man, right? Spend time with, with my daughter as well. Spend time with my mother, check in on her. Spend time with my little one, little, little, little one that can't even talk, just like, you know, literally 18, excuse me, 12 days old, right? [00:01:25] And that's a lot. That is a lot. But I do have an expectation for myself that I want to shoot three podcasts a day, no matter what, right? And having a partner that understands that, hey, I, I see your vision. I. I know where you're going. I know your standard that you have for yourself. I'm not gonna let you drop that standard just because you got tired, all right? And that's what, this is, what I mean when I tell you to have people in your corner that know your greatness, that understand how great you want to be, and that are going to push you to be that great regardless of how you feel. Because me, if I, if it was up to me, I'd be in bed by now. I would have took my supplements, I would have gone to sleep, and then I would have woke up tomorrow and was like, okay, I'll do four, I'll do four today so I can make up for tomorrow. But there is no tomorrow. It's today. [00:02:11] Get it knocked out. No matter what. [00:02:14] I used to remember in the military where you actually have this great, we have this great Gregory saying, we don't we don't train through time. We train to the standard, right? Until we get to the standard, we're not going to be done training. [00:02:29] And one of the things, you know, I was in the reserves, so a lot of the guys from active duty would come to the reserve side and we'll say, all right, hey, time, we gotta go home, we gotta cut everybody loose. [00:02:41] And they'll look around and be like, what? What? [00:02:44] And it is a glitch in them because they are so used to be on active duty, which is like full time military and where no one goes home until the standard is reached. Until we have completed and hit all the mark in the reserves, you can't do that because, you know, you gotta let people go, they drive off for hours, they gotta catch flights and different things like that. Right now we could talk about the, you know, morality and the rules and all that, but at the end of the day, uh, it's two different worlds and two different ideologies and cultures clashing in that. Right? Don't let, and I, I, I will say the main message of this whole thing is pick a partner that's going to help to help you to get to your mission, help you, hold you to a standard. That's really the, the whole thing. Pick a partner that's going to hold you to the standard you set for yourself regardless of how you feel. [00:03:39] When the emotions are all gone and the motivation is all gone, boom. That's it. Pick the right partner that's going to help you hold your standard. All right, that's my message for you. Hope you have a great day. Just voted recording my third podcast of the day and love y'. All. If you, if this resonates with you, hit the share, hit the like button. Let me know what resonates and I'll talk to y' all later. Peace.

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