SHOW DESCRIPTION

There exists a fine line between pleasure and pain. When you indulge in anything pleasurable, you reach a point where it can negatively impact you.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

When the stress of life gets to you, it’s important to recognize when you just need a personal day to relieve stress and center yourself.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Are your fantasies fulfilling your desires? Are your dreams and hopes being fulfilled by thinking about them? These are real questions that we need to ask ourselves honestly. Many of us fantasize about a better life or better version of ourselves. We have been told for years to visualize success and you can achieve it. The problem is we often change the phrase to visualize success and you will achieve it.

Visualization is the first step. It lets us know where we want to be. It is the starting point that tells us we are not happy where we are and want to be somewhere different. However, unless we take action by planning and moving down the road, we will just be in bed dreaming about a possible future and never get there outside of our dreams. Thought and visualization with no action is fantasy and as fleeting as a dream.

If you have been on social media and seen videos and posts about recipes that sound and look good and said to yourself “I can make that,” but never did anything about it, what does that say about your visualization. You saw it, said it looked good, and said “I can do it.” Why haven’t you then? Don’t allow your comfort zone to keep you from trying to reach higher and try new things.

I got a Ninja Foodi last year and said to myself, “I am going to cook all my meals in this thing and work through the entire recipe book before I try something else.” I tried one recipe. The food came out exactly how I expected, but for some reason, I never did another meal in that kitchen device. I went right back to the fastest meal prep patterns I have gotten used to. 

We need to get to a point where we are exciting ourselves about taking actions towards our goals. Force yourself to do something, anything that you have wanted to do but never gotten around to doing. If nothing comes to mind, try forcing yourself to smile for 20 seconds. This simple action will cause endorphins to flow and make you feel more positive. Your simple action just improved your mood for a few moments. Your actions determine your outcome. Your visions help you determine a goal and find the road to your destination. However, without action your vision and thoughts are wasted.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Why is it that we complain about our work life to people at home, but we complain about our home life to people at work? Isn’t that backwards? The people at home can’t really help us with our work and our work acquaintances can’t help us with our home issues.

Sometimes, our complaining could be just a way to vent our frustrations. It is common to go to someone we know will support us and empathize with our struggles. We will seek out the ones that are willing to help us and are willing to listen. The problem with this is that we are likely pushing our stresses onto other people who do not deserve them. Our wives/husbands will listen to our problems because they love us. They will offer the usual words of comfort or advice to make us feel comforted. What we need to make sure is that we are not dumping on our listener. Instead, try to make it a conversation and be open and honest about our negative feelings and experiences. Make it a discussion and remove the emotion from the issue so that you can work through the emotions and properly deal with the issues.

In other situations, you have people who bottle their feelings up. They are often the people who try their hardest to not bring people down. They are quick to offer the advice that they themselves may need to follow, but never seek out the advice because they feel like they might bring someone else down or be viewed as a hypocrite. It isn’t healthy to dump on someone else. However, it is just as unhealthy to bottle your emotions up. Share your feelings openly and honestly in a safe environment. Don’t dump on someone. Try to recognize the listener so that you know who you can trust and who will be able to help you recognize the path forward. Each person is different.

Don’t be like the cook who cooks for everyone else while eating fast food yourself. Be the kind of person that takes care of yourself the way you try to take care of others. If you are listening to others, make sure you take the time to find someone who can listen to you. If you share with others, make sure you listen to them. Venting is ok as long as you are not bringing others into a bad emotional state.

In anger management, I learned to find a healthy outlet for my venting. It was in video games and reading. Those activities gave me a chance to calm my emotional state and allow me to open rationally to others about my feelings. The next step is to make sure that you are addressing your complaints in a positive manner. If you have complaints about something at work, find a way to improve the situation at work. Seek advice from others, by all means, but instead of sitting back and complaining about it, work positively on it to find a solution so that is no longer something you need to complain about. Same thing for family issues. Seek counseling from others who have been down that road and found a positive solution, or look to professional help with the ability to help you get there.

Complaining can be a healthy form of venting if done properly, but all to often, it turns negative and dangerous. For those with a “Victim Mentality” you will always complain without trying to find a solution. For those with a “Victor Mentality” you look for positive solutions to the issues you are dealing with.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Are You Living Your Life Like A Gameshow? Are you even a main character in your own life?

Its final Jeopardy and the topic is Life. Here is your answer: “You do this to be successful.” If you are participating, you aren’t just shouting the answer at your tv screen like the average person does. This episode is all about making sure you aren’t being a side seat driver in your own life. Drive yourself towards success.

We all have seen a gameshow where we knew the answer or watched a sports competition where we saw the right play to make before the people actually involved did. We do similar things in our own lives. A great example is on how we are quick to offer advice for situations we wish we were involved in. “While your visiting New Zealand, make sure to visit Hobbiton. I always wanted to visit there myself.” Rather than living through other people, we should be looking to live our lives to the fullest every day. Try to make those things you want to do a reality rather than continuing to sit on the sidelines.

Part and parcel to this is personal responsibility. We all think we should be somewhere better in life. It is our dream to be better than we are, but we look to external factors to blame for why we have not made it. “I am uneducated today because the government did a poor job funding my schools growing up.” Are you telling me, that you understand that you are uneducated today, you understand that you are not where you want to be, but you haven’t done anything to fix that problem? You recognized a problem, but so far all you have done is point the finger at someone else saying its their fault. Great, you recognize, you have a problem, and that the other party is not doing anything to fix it for you. That only leaves one person who can fix the issue. You. You are a sum of all your past decisions. Once you get to that point where you understand that no matter whose fault you think it is, the only person that can directly change and affect your life for the better is you. You have the power to change your life for the better every day with making simple good decisions with what you are given, what you have, and what you can do.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Neil Degrasse Tyson believes that there are three different types of truths; Personal, Political, and Objective Truths. We all experience these 3 different truths every day in our lives. These truths have serious impacts in how we conduct ourselves in our relationships, or careers, and our personal lives.

The easiest to understand is the Objective truth. It is something that is true for everyone, everywhere, at all times. As an example; “We need oxygen to breathe.” A Personal Truth is best seen in a religious truth. “I believe that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.” You may personally believe that but Joe down the street does not. Finally, we have the Political Truth. Political Truths are what society has decided to be true. An example of this would be in how society changes its views on what is right, wrong, moral, and immoral.

The problem with 3 different truths is that everyone ends up mixing up personal and political truths with objective truths. We allow ourselves to believe that what we view as truth based on our personal experience or what society says is true must be an objective truth. This causes conflict between us. Religions have gone to war with each other in history over personal beliefs. Its not healthy. Personal truths are not unhealthy unless we allow them to blur the lines of objective truth.

To keep the lines clear, we need to be able to clearly understand where our views and understandings of the truths are coming from. A feeling of frustration in your life can be analyzed. Yes, it is a personal truth. The objective truth is in finding out why you are feeling frustrated. Get to the root cause of your feeling to truly understand your personal truths. Why are you feeling frustrated? Why is the thing you stated causing annoyance or frustration to you?

A personal truth can be a very self-limiting belief. As an example, a person saying they can’t get out of debt because the system is rigged against them. As a person who has been in debt, I understand the negative feelings, the struggles, and the hopelessness that creeps in. It feels like you can’t get out, or that it is too hard to do anything to fix it. However, if you dig deeper into why you feel that way the objective truth is often hard to swallow. We made choices in many cases that put us in debt. There are obvious exceptions to that, but most debt is 100% avoidable. So an objective truth is “in many cases we could make better choices to avoid debt.”

For healthier, more fulfilling lives, look at why you believe what you believe. Look for an understanding so you can better recognize what is a personal, political, and objective truth. Stay mindful of your personal truths and keep them from blurring the lines of objective truths so you do not end up putting up roadblocks that hinder your progress or opportunities.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

The movie 8 Mile resonates with many people. Many of us can relate to the feeling that we won’t achieve our goals and it is time to give up. Jimmy Smith (Eminem) said “You ever wonder at what point you gotta say F*** it. You gotta stop livin up here and start livin down here?” It’s the moment he starts giving up on his dreams and accepts that he will always be broke and nothing.

We, however, ascribe to a different perspective. If you flip the script, his words truly become motivational. “At what point do you gotta stop living down here and start living up here? Personal development has shown me that you get out what you put in. Your efforts and mindset will determine your outcome. It is way too easy to just give up. That is why so many people do it. They end up settling for what they have and think they can never get any better. They outlook turns negative or worse, complacent.

In the past we have discussed how stagnation is death. This is key in helping you focus on finding goals that force you to grow. Part of our message in in changing how you think. Stop using the same thinking that keeps you where you are. Try new things. If you fail, you have actually succeeded in finding one way not to do something. Look for a new way. The road to life is not easy and doesn’t always lead on a straight path. Events pop up that change your course. However, your goals should still be something you strive for. So, what. Your first plan fell through. Rather than giving up and “living down here,” look for a way to get back on track or a different route that will take you to the same destination.

Change is not easy. Sometimes roadblocks pop up and slow your progress or stop you in your tracks. One of the greatest proverbs my parents taught me as a kid was, Its not how  may times you fall, its how many times you get back on the bike to ride that matters. Giving up ensures you will never reach your goals. So rather than living down here, find a way to change your thought process and live up here instead.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

For many, creating your personal foundation for success as a leader or sales professional can be intimidating, and unfamiliar. In this episode, we welcome Zachary Ketner, Global Strategic Sales Director at Intermedia. He will walk us through the steps he took to build his own foundation as a sales professional, leader, and a positive role model for his family.

His LinkedIn article that he wrote on the topic of Creating Your Foudnation For Success can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/creating-your-foundation-success-zachary-ketner/

SHOW DESCRIPTION

We have discussed in the past how words have power. How we use our words can determine the outcome of many situations. This is especially true in the influence we have on our own decisions and the feelings and opinions of others around us.

A perfect example of this is in how children are raised. Children who witness abusive parents are more likely to grow up to be abusive themselves. They are surrounded by abuse and the actions and mental feeling becomes a norm that is accepted. The abusive parent in most cases doesn’t care that their actions will influence their children in negative ways down the road. They usually can’t see past themselves anyway.

Another example is something simpler and less damaging. We all talk about movies that we love or hate. We come out of the theater after watching a movie and we want to go tell our friends. When we get with our friends, our first inclination is to say how we feel about the movie we saw. This can cause the other person to shift their views on the movie to align more with ours. This is especially true, if they are close friends. They often don’t want to feel that we are offended if they disagree with our opinion so they parse their words differently than they would normally if they were alone. We have just unconsciously influenced their choice and response.

What we need to do is recognize those times where we are being the influencer and being influenced. If we are able to recognize those times, we can take steps to counter the influence. It is easier when we are with trusted friends and family who will love us even if we disagree or have different views, but it isn’t always that easy. Being honest without influencing is impossible. In the case of the movie discussion, when you are asked your opinion of the movie, your opinion will be an influence on others around you. You won’t always be able to prevent your unconscious influence. In the case of the children of abusive parents where external factors are the real influencer, being surrounded by positive influences can be the best counter. In any situation, you want to surround yourself with positive growth-oriented people and activities. Removing the negative influences or lessening their effects while increasing the positive influences will improve your mood, and even your health.

The problem with unconscious influences is that they are unconscious. The first step is always to recognize them. Look for the “why” in everything you do. “Why am I doing x, or saying y?” What has influenced my decisions? Understanding why will help you recognize what influences your decisions and will help you make better decisions about your own life. It will also help you be a better influence on others around you.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”- Jim Rohn

There are 2 types of pains that we all go through; the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Most of us have had to go through some harsh discipline in our lives. Parents correcting their children, teachers challenging their students, having to say no to things we love, etc. The one pain that we always seem to forget is the pain of regret.

The pain of regret has been with us throughout our entire lives. While we were young we took actions that caused us to regret them…usually due to the discipline or consequences that came afterwards. As we get older our focus on regret shifts. No longer are we regretting what we have done. We begin to regret the things we haven’t done.

Every single person out there has something they really want to do, but it always gets pushed off to “later.” Maybe things in life come up that take our focus away from our goals or desires, or maybe it is fear that causes us to hesitate when those things come up.

My mom came up to me last year and asked me to go with her to visit her brother-my uncle. I had never met my uncle and am not really a people person. My mom went with my sister and met with her brother without me. Fast forward to this year during the first two weeks of the COVID-19 quarantine in Washington State. We got a call from my aunt letting us know that my mom’s brother had passed away. It was at that time that I started to really understand the power of the pain we go through when we miss opportunities. I regretted not taking that time to meat my uncle and making that connection. That connection could have made my relationship with my mother stronger and given a profound memory that I could have shared and held onto. Now it is too late. I missed that boat.

We all are presented with opportunities every day. Some small, others larger. The thing to do is to try to take as many opportunities that we can so that we live a life without regrets. If personal, financial, or work things get in the way of your plans or opportunities, take actions that will help you better prepare for those opportunities the next time they come up.

Get started with a savings plan so your financials are not the thing that hold you back. Make sure you complete your work projects in a timely manner so that you don’t have those last-minute fixes preventing you from taking time off when you need it. Make sure you communicate with those you have relationships with. Communication will help you plan around your everyday life. Don’t suffer the pain of regret because you failed to act. It is more painful than the inconvenience that we face when you do take the action.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Procrastination is the only thing that will prevent you from reaching your goals. Procrastination is that little voice telling you that “it can wait. I got time.” It is that thing you do that puts off truly important efforts for things that are more pleasurable or comfortable.

If we truly want to be successful, we will do our best to take all the steps we need to take in order to reach our goals. Goals are sometimes difficult and a real challenge to complete. There will always be something that is competing for our time. Life is exciting that way. We will always find things that are more pleasurable or more comfortable to do than work on our future selves.

We should all have an ideal vision of our future selves. Use that as a goal post. Compare that to yourself as you are today and look for the things you need to change in your own life to make your ideal vision a reality. You have just set a goal and have an idea of the steps you need to take to get there. Procrastination is what steps in in the form of your inner voice that says I can do this later, or I have a million more important things to do. Usually we just end up-as Kyle says-sitting on the couch watching TV and eating a bag of potato chips.

The most important thing to understand is that the world is not preventing you from reaching your goals. The dishes aren’t preventing your from reaching your goals. Even the television is not responsible for you not reaching your goals. You are in direct competition with yourself for your own future outcome. The effort you put in today will determine what you have tomorrow. Do not let the story of your life say you had a goal but something always came up and prevented you from reaching it.

You can compare yourself to other people, but that is not an accurate way to grow yourself. Emulate the characteristics of successful people, sure. However, it is better for your own growth to compare yourself to you. Look at where you are at the time you set your goals. Write down your hopes and fears. Make your goal a reality by committing in writing to yourself. As your work towards your goal, understand that things will pop up and you will tell yourself that they are more important or that you will have time later. The problem is you pile up enough “tomorrows” you will look back one day on a whole lot of empty yesterdays.

Start with your journal. Then do some health checks daily to mark your progress. Know where you want to be, set goal posts that are set in stone and work towards them. Don’t let your lazy self prevent your successful self from reaching the ideal you.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

There are many kinds of fear in life. Fear of failure, fear of things, fear of death, etc. However, there is a fear that many of us don’t even realize we may be experiencing. We experience it and sometimes allow it to hold us back. When we look at our lives and say to ourselves, “I should be further along than I am right now,” it builds up an anxiety that sometimes shuts down our drive.

We all have expectations for our lives. Maybe it is our income level, our health, our relationships, or any other number of meaningful parts of who we are. Sometimes we look at our lives and say, “I should have more money.” To many people in financial hardship, looking at where they are and comparing it to where they want to be can be very damaging. Why? We are afraid to see that we made poor choices. Some people will see the gap between their expectation and where they are and only see the gap. They start to say “can’t” or “it’s too hard.” Very quickly they start to hold off on making corrective actions that will get them to their goal.

Part of what we should do is realize that expectations are set by our own comparisons. We are comparing our current situation to what we envision for ourselves. Our expectations are only as accurate as the effort we put into them. Our vision of ourselves is only as clear as our understanding of ourselves. If we go into this with a clear understanding of how our expectations are set, we will be able to make better choices that will help us meet our expectations.

Understand, everyone will feel that they should be further along in life at some point. How we react to that feeling determines our character. Do we give up and let our defeatism creep in? Or do we approach it from a clear understanding of how we need to change to get to where we view ourselves in success? In my case, I wasn’t happy with my finances. I should have been further along in my financial goals. My current job wasn’t cutting it, and my expenses can only be cut so much. I could have given up and just accepted that I would work for someone else my entire life and die on the job, but I didn’t. I started looking for more ways to bring in more income so that I could be proud of myself and my progress. I saw that I was looking at things from a stance of lack rather than a stance of development. I only saw what I didn’t have versus what I could be obtaining. What I changed was how I viewed things. How do I get more, versus how do I spend less. My view changed from a limited perspective of how to cut the output I had and shifted to a perspective of how I could bring more in to make my life better.

It is important to analyze your life and see if you are where you want to be. If you aren’t, don’t let defeat settle in. Stand tall, recognize you got yourself to where you are and only you changing yourself is going to get you to where you envision yourself. It is a tough way to look at life, particularly your own. However, it is those hard glances we take into where we are and where we want to be that will help us make better choices or remove obstacles that prevent us from reaching the finish line and feel happy about the road we just travelled.  

SHOW DESCRIPTION

There is a vast difference between people who are interested and those that are committed. Interested people will always say “That sounds cool. I wish that I could do that.” Committed People will say, “That sounds cool,” and then find a way to make it happen.

For us, Podcasting always sounded cool. At some point, everyone involved has said that podcasting “sounds cool” or “sounds fun.” At some point, our interest shifted to commitment the moment we stopped talking about it and started doing it. Podcasting is not a free endeavor. We haven’t monetized anything in our podcast to date. Each of us invests our time and money to this commitment. We each find value in our product. Value that outweighs the cost of spent time and money.

We all show interests in something, but only those who move beyond the interest and start applying action are showing they are committed. This is true in relationships as well. There are people who say they are interested in their relationships and those that actively work on them. Rohit and Kyle always challenge me on my relationship status. Single and not ready to mingle is what they call it. These notes will probably be news to them, but I have been in 3 relationships since I joined the podcast. One where I was just interested in the relationship, but never worked on it. Another where I was working on it, but the other was not. And another where it was more out of convenience and no actual interest for both of us.

In your relationships, do you actively make time to develop it with your significant other? Do you take time to understand who they are and where they are coming from? Liking someone is way different than being committed to someone. If you are not actively working to make the relationship stronger every day, you are not showing an actual commitment to its success. You will find more trouble in your relationships than if you would dedicate yourself to the relationship.  

I recently committed to a goal of being debt free in 5 years. That means, house paid off, car paid off, no credit cards, and no loans. I was always dreaming of not having to pay bills. My pipedream was to not have to worry about mortgage, or car notes and just collect my money and save it. For years I worked paycheck to paycheck saying “I wish” a lot. After taking some hard looks at my life and the odds that I would win the lottery or marry a sugar momma, I decided to commit to a plan. I picked a path and started working multiple jobs putting everything extra I earn into my debt. It means I will not have much fun or get to hang out as much with friends. Winston Churchill said it best, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” The end goal is far more valuable than the challenges I am facing now.

Interests are fine. However, if all you are is interested, you will never get anywhere. Understand that commitment is hard. It pushes us and challenges us. Sometimes it feels like our commitment will break us. But, If you keep going, even if you feel broken, you will come out in the end stronger and more successful for it. Interests are a good feeling about something you wish for. Commitment is taking the action to make that wish a reality.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Albert Einstein said, “The thinking that has brought me this far has created some problems that this thinking cannot solve.” Your thoughts determine your actions. If you keep thinking about the same things and asking yourself the same questions, you will only get to the same conclusion.

If you aren’t progressing, you are settling and will eventually regress into the old ways that got you where you are at that moment. If your problem is finances, stop thinking of doing something based on what you have done in the past. If you find yourself short on money and living paycheck to paycheck, stop asking yourself where I can cut back on spending. Stop asking yourself the same questions.

Start asking yourself new questions. Begin by asking yourself “If I am currently making “x” amount with my current career, how do I bring in “X” more dollars.” Rather than beginning your analysis from the view of lacking, you start by looking for ways to grow what you have. Your mindset is what needs to change. One view keeps you looking at what you don’t have and how to get by with what you do have. The other says, I am getting by with this so far, but now I need to find new ways to bring in more. Reducing spending is great, but reducing spending is only one action you can take. I analyzed my status and decided that I need more money rather than just to spend less.

I was looking in the wrong place. Spending less kept me in the same situation, but never allowed me to get far enough ahead. I had to think outside the box. Did I want to continue as I was or did I want to grow and make new things possible? The thinking and planning I had done, would not get me closer to my ideals. I chose to look at adding to my income and reducing my output. Now I was spending less, but also bringing in more. My goal is to be 100% debt free in 5 years, owning my home and car outright, and working towards a retirement that would be more than comfortable. Getting debt free isn’t easy and requires significant work. Taking a 2^nd and 3^rd job sounded terrible to me, but it helped me solidify my goals and gave me something that would help me aggressively seek my goals.

The long and short of it is, you need to constantly challenge yourself in order to grow. Keeping the same challenges, thought processes, and goals will only get you to a place you have already been. Seek outside experiences, get a mentor, learn a new language, take a second or third job, develop a new skill. Do something to shake up your status quo and move forward. If you aren’t growing, you are dying.

Napoleon Hill wrote, “When people first come into contact with crime, they abhor it. If they remain in contact with crime for a time, they become accustomed to it and endure it. If they remain in contact with it long enough, they finally embrace it and become influenced by it.” This applies to many parts of our lives.

For me, growing up I saw bad neighborhoods and crime riddled streets. It wasn’t uncommon for drive-by shootings, gang violence, robberies and drug dealing in the streets. Our neighborhood was accustomed to seeing crime. You could see how people, in many cases were used to and putting up with the crime because they viewed it as the norm. Others you could see that they had embraced that lifestyle and allowed it to influence them, often becoming part of the perpetrators of the crime that at one time would have shocked them.

This quote can also be applied to the positive in our lives. It can be used to show our ability to adapt and overcome. If you start putting yourself in a position to be surrounded by positivity, you go through the phases. First, you may be annoyed by someone always greeting you and asking you about your feelings. Eventually, you accept it and tolerate it. After a while it becomes normal and you start looking forward to it. You may even start participating.

The issue becomes recognizing when you are no longer making positive progress in your life. Its tough. Change your routine up once in a while. Constantly look for new ways to improve your life, your productivity, your creativity, your performance, and your relationships. Remember that nothing in life is free. You have to work for what you want in life. At first, the work seems too hard, or painful. You end up hating it. Eventually, you are able to tolerate it and endure the work. Finally, you will find that you enjoy it, or you are at least able to look at the benefits of what you are doing. For me, working 3 jobs is stressful, but I set a goal for myself to be 100% out of debt, have my mortgage paid off, and my Car paid off within 5 years. I knew that what I was currently doing was not going to make that a reality, so I changed up my activity level. I started some side hustles that allowed me to work on my own time and earn extra money. That money now goes directly towards my bills paying off one at a time until all are paid off. The work is hard, and stressful. However, the end goal is in sight and I will be the first member of my family to be completely debt free, able to work because I want to rather than just to keep my head above water.

It is amazing what we are able to adapt to. Both the positive and the negative. Don’t settle on negativity, it will lead you down an increasingly dark path. Also, try to surround yourself with positivity. You will find that the quote from Napoleon Hill will come true for you even in those situations. Eventually you endure and accept the positivity. At the end you will be influenced by and could even become and influencer yourself.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Your Mindset is the most powerful tool that you have, yet it’s the one that only a few people take advantage of. Most look for external tools instead of examining their mindset and wonder why they aren’t achieving the results they say they want.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Some people feel that it’s the most wonderful time of the year, while others think of it only as a commercial holiday and lose the feeling in their hearts. In this episode we talk about how to make the most of this magical time of the year.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

We are all told that we need to find our passion in life, but what if you don’t know where to start? Or even how to know if you are passionate about something? In this episode we help you connect with a passion that you may not have known that you even had.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

In this day in age, saying anything without offending people can become very difficult. As a society, do we need to have thicker skin and not be as sensitive? Or do we need to be more tolerant and accept that we may need to sensor ourselves?

SHOW DESCRIPTION

We all develop our belief systems based on our past experiences. Sometimes our experiences lead us to healthy beliefs that nurture our growth and sometimes they lead us down negative paths that prevent growth. How we deal with our belief systems will determine how we interact with others. Will it develop a healthy relationship, or will it breakdown a healthy relationship? 

One of the best examples we can give about learning from a past experience and developing a belief system is the “fire is hot” learning method. A child is told not to play with matches because it will burn them. The child doesn’t believe and starts lighting matches. Eventually the child lets the match burn in their fingers for too long and its fingers get burned. That child then starts to develop a belief based on the experience of having been burned. Next time there are matches nearby, they will be less likely to play with them because they are afraid of getting burned. While painful, this is a healthy belief system.  

Another example is a man who has a relationship and the girlfriend cheats on him. He had a very painful experience and develops a lack of trust in his future relationships. This lack of trust, though based on a painful experience, isn’t a healthy belief system. While all fire is hot, not all people will cheat. The lack of trust in a relationship will eventually drive a wedge between the two people causing them to have difficulties in communication and could even lead to the end of the relationship. Both this, and the example of the child above are examples of belief systems developed based on a fear of being hurt. 

There is also a belief system based on the fear of looking foolish. We see examples of this everywhere we go. There is no greater example than the current political climate. People will develop beliefs based on their own personal values and end up moving into an echo chamber because they are afraid to challenge their beliefs. Rather than talk to someone with a differing view than their own, they will start to only interact with people and things that support their own belief systems. The resulting echo chamber leaves you stagnant and growth is prevented. It is healthy to challenge your belief systems because it breeds critical thinking and helps you find solutions to complex problems. If all you do is propose ideas to a bunch of “Yes Men,” you will get a ton of support from people just like you but will reduce the probability of success in your life. You also end up shunning the people who disagree with you, but otherwise would be great friends to have.  

Belief systems can be healthy but if you allow them to take root in the wrong areas of your life for the wrong reasons, your growth will be limited, and your relationships can suffer. Take the time to journal. Journaling forces you to think about what you are writing. You are forced to slow your thoughts down long enough to write them out on paper. It also helps you organize your feelings and dig down to the root of why you believe what you believe. I have spoken in the past of my anger journal that I used to get over my anger issues. I would write out my feelings and then ask myself why I feel that way. I ask myself that same question for the same situation 3 times so that I am sure to get beyond the surface level answers. i.e. I feel angry about “X.” Why do I feel angry about “X?” Because “X” hurt me. Why did “X” hurt me enough to get angry? Because I believe this to be true. Why do I believe that to be true? Because I experienced this with “Y” in the past. 

Journaling can help you see where your logic is faulty, and your feelings may be skewed. It can help you clear up the mess in your emotional thoughts and removes the excuses you build for yourself. Probably the most effective way to learning how your belief systems were developed will be in journaling. It will also help you see how much you have grown when you go back through your old journals to see where you were in comparison to where you are. Don’t let your beliefs prevent you from having healthy relationships by alienating others. Analyze your beliefs, know why you believe the way you do, and keep an open mind to listen to differing beliefs. You will have stronger relationships for it. 

SHOW DESCRIPTION

We all develop our own belief systems over the years. Whether religious, political, or any other belief system, there are beliefs that we develop that we end up defending vigorously. Our defense can be so strong that it ruins relationships. Fights can break out at the drop of a hat over deep held beliefs.

In politics, we see people blindly follow along party lines. They only listen to politicians that align to their strict party label. Anyone who runs as the opposite party are the enemy. Republicans support republicans. Democrats support democrats. Everyone will say they don’t choose based on party and will complain about those who do vote for their party blindly. In the end we have this divide where everyone points the finger at the other saying “you’re doing it wrong,” all while refusing to see the hypocrisy in their own statements.

The problem with sticking to your guns like this is that you end up in an echo chamber. When all you hear is agreement, you never get anything done. You can’t experience anything new or grow beyond a certain point if all you do is stay in a place with only people and practices that support your already developed beliefs. Step outside the comfort zone and listen to people with differing opinions. Challenge breeds growth. It causes us to experience other viewpoints that make us think.

Rohit says there are 5 things you need to do challenge your beliefs. First, get an external view of yourself. Try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and see how they must be seeing you. Second, look at your circle of influence. Make sure you have surrounded yourself with people who will challenge you in supportive ways. Third, get a mentor. Mentors are a great way to model yourself after successful people. Find someone who has achieved something you want in life and learn from them. Fourth, grade yourself on your health and your wealth. This will take the emotion out and help you see more clearly where you need the help. Finally, process your thoughts in the form of journaling. Journaling forces you to slow your thinking down so that you have time to process your thoughts.

Beliefs can be powerful and help us achieve great things. However, they can also cause us to pull back and prevent growth. Make sure you are taking the time to challenge your beliefs. Try out the 5 steps Rohit mentioned and let us know what your think.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

One of our most popular episodes has been “Toxicity in the Workplace.” This is because we all experience it. We go through jobs that we absolutely hate. It gets so bad that we just can’t stand even stepping foot into the building. There are also those jobs that we work at and absolutely love. The environment makes us look forward to going in. Our conversations are uplifting, and the opportunities are enriching. Its important to look at the effects of the culture in developing either a toxic or positive work environment.

What are the qualities of a positive work culture? Rohit talks about his experience with his new job. People greet him and introduce themselves. They are positive and trusting. He mentions that the business he works for now goes out of their way to make you feel wanted. There aren’t managers watching your time and there are free food and drinks in the building. The employees are personable and want to get to know you. A positive work culture lifts you up and makes you want to go to work.

In negative work cultures, the employees don’t feel valued. They feel like management doesn’t care, they aren’t recognized for their efforts, and everyone talks negative about their own company. This type of culture makes people feel expendable and devalued. Their productivity goes down because no one wants to over perform for a company they view doesn’t value them. My dad left a job recently because the place was nothing but negativity. The employees did nothing but complain, the managers didn’t train new people well enough for them to be successful, and management was verbally abusive about performance when goals were not met. It got so bad that employees came in did the bare minimum and then watched the clock so that they could hopefully get out of the building before the next shift manager came on.

Companies that have a negative work culture tend to have higher turnover. One of the greatest quotes I ever heard about why people leave jobs is , “People don’t quit jobs, they quit managers.” Leadership sets the tone for the culture. If leadership shows nothing but negativity towards their teams, their teams will show nothing but negativity towards their job. Negativity breeds more negativity.

Positivity is a tough road to walk in today’s career paths. If it is done successfully, you will have employees that will stay even if they get better paying job offers. Richard Branson has created hundreds of thousands of jobs around the world. His quote is something that will help you determine if you have a positive or negative work culture. “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” Leadership should care about people leaving, but they should really start looking at how they are treating their people when they can’t keep people within their organization for more than a year.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Many of us go through our lives reaching for the stars. We try to set goals that put us at the top of the totem pole. Nothing but the best will satisfy us. Whether it is in gaining wealth or knowledge, we try our best to be on top. Yet others sear that they are happiest when they focus on what makes them happy now. Is it settling or being content? When is it that we decide whether we are better off having more or wanting less?

It’s a tough thing in life to fail on a dream. We make plans around what we are going to achieve, the homes we will live in, the type of partner we will share it with, and the type of wealth we will amass. Life sometimes comes along and kicks us in the teeth and we fail to achieve our goals. In some cases the hurt of the failure is enough to cause people to give up. Is it settling if we learn to be happy with what we have or is it growth in that we know ourselves better?

I think it is different for each person. Take Mother Teresa as an example. She gave up all wealth and personal material belongings living her life as a missionary. She wanted less material things and accomplished so much. No one would argue that she led and impactful and fulfilling life. Some might argue though that her ambition was centered in wanting and having a deeper relationship with God.

I think the ambition should always be to strive the best version of “me” that I can be. Look for ways to improve yourself so that you can have more and want for less. Have a more enriching life full of experiences and wisdom versus a life full of material belongings that leave you feeling hollow. Read books that build your knowledge. Find new passions and develop new skills that lead you towards fulfillment in those passions. You can want all the material wealth in the world, but if you are not growing as a person you will find no happiness in what you have attained.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Abraham Lincoln once said,  “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” This quote really hit me. I started asking myself, “What am I preparing for.” Just the exercise of asking yourself can be painful or rewarding.

If you aren’t preparing you are preparing to fail. Planning for things will help you be ready to take advantage of new opportunities. Recently, I was forced to look at my career goals. Did I want to continue working for my current employer? What will happen if my employer decides to cut my position or terminate my employment? It was at this time that I realized that I hadn’t prepared myself properly for either instance. I view myself as a confident person and feel that I wouldn’t have trouble finding a new job given the time, but time out of work is money lost and bills unpaid.

Planning for the future takes practice though. Make yourself get into good habits. Start small if need be and stick to it. Lay out your clothes for the next day the night before. Prepare your meals for the week and freeze them so all you must do is grab and go on your way out to work.

Get into a good habit of ordering your life. A great quote to help you along comes from Admiral William McRaven. “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” From personal experience, I love coming home and seeing that my bed is already made and inviting. It is a pleasant feeling that lowers anxiety and promotes a small feeling of safety and comfort. The quote means so much more than just having a comfortable bed though. If you can’t even order your own life, you can’t prepare for the future. Take small steps and make small decisions of discipline that will enrich your life. Prepare for the good and the bad. Build yourself a strong foundation so you are ready to grow and can take advantage of new opportunities when they come up.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Everyone experiences indecisiveness in their lives. Most of us have different levels of indecisiveness. Maybe you can’t decide on what shirt to wear, what food to eat, what phone to buy, or any number of different things. What causes indecisiveness?

Let’s first look at the different types of personalities. Of the four personality types (Lion, Monkey, Owl, and Koala), 2 of them standout the most with indecisiveness; Owls and Koalas. Owls and Koalas have very different reasons though. Owls tend to refrain from making quick decisions because they have a desire to have all the information beforehand. Koalas tend to hold off to make sure they are not upsetting or inconveniencing someone else.

Owls will take something that many of us consider trivial and over analyze it. Is it the right price, does someone else have it cheaper, Is there a similar product that will do the same job, but also provide more or cost less? Koalas will usually wait for others to make the decision. At group gatherings, or outings, they often hold back from suggesting what to do so that they don’t exclude one person or another. Will they want to do this, does everyone like do go here, what time works best for everyone, will everyone find value in my suggestion?

None of the above is necessarily a bad thing. However, it is important to understand why we hesitate or why we have a hard time making decisions. A negative indecision comes from a sense of permanence. We delay deciding because we can’t see the results today. In those times we often feel that because we don’t see an immediate result, we need more information before making the final decision.

The importance for us is in recognizing when we are letting indecisiveness prevent us from moving forward with our improvement. Kyle gives a great example of a man wanting to talk to a woman he likes. The man goes through several internal questions before mustering up the courage to talk to her. Or he doesn’t. I went through something similar. I asked myself all the self-doubting questions that started building up my wall of excuses and ultimately led to me not talking to a woman I was interested in. Yes. If I had just gone to talk to her, I might have been shut down, or viewed as weird. True, I could risk upsetting that person, but I never took the risk and therefore, never had a chance.

There is a great statement that works in this situation. “If you don’t make a decision, you might not like the decision that is made for you.” Look at the decision before you. When you notice yourself building walls, ask yourself why you are building up defenses. Force yourself to make the decision. Start small, and you will find that deciding can be more fulfilling than waiting for others to make decisions for you.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Many of us have daydreams about being billionaires. However, not everyone wants to be a billionaire. Does this mean that those people are less ambitious than those who do want to be billionaires?

A quick way to find your answer is to ask yourself some tough questions. The first question you should ask yourself is “What do I want to be?” This answer is simple for yourself. We all have images of what we want in life. Paint that picture for yourself. Get down to every detail of what you want to be in every aspect. Look at finances, health, relationships, and career.

The next question you want to ask yourself is “What steps have I taken to make this a reality?” For many of us, this is a difficult question. Not because we don’t know the answer, but because we know that we haven’t taken the steps necessary to get where we want to be. For me, an example would be in losing weight. My goal is to lose weight to be healthier. When I asked myself that question 6 months ago, it was painful because I realized that I didn’t do anything lasting to get where I envisioned myself.

Understanding why you made these decisions is also important. Ask yourself “Why” until you get beyond the superficial excuses. Understanding the “why” makes it possible to strip away the false excuses we have created for ourselves and make it easier to move forward.

We all start out wanting to be as successful as we can be. However, somewhere along the line, we start settling for less than the best. We start putting in less effort at work, we eat something unhealthy out of convenience, or we watch tv rather than work on a project that we should have completed already. It is always easier to settle because it allows us to get comfortable and stay within a pattern we created for ourselves. The problem with staying within a pattern is that it gets harder and harder to grow into who we wanted to be.

There is a fine line between not wanting to be a billionaire and settling for less. Understand yourself and look at where you truly want to be in life. Don’t sit back and let your success turn into a pipedream. Make your success. Don’t sit back and let failure come to you.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

What is a scarcity mentality and how does it affect us? This line of questioning should help us understand why we do the things we do in times of need. As we have said many times in our podcast history, “understanding why we do the things we do will help us break out of our self-made patterns and grow.”

One example of a scarcity mentality is the person who just lost their job and is worried about having the “necessities” they have grown accustomed to having. This person focuses so much on not having (scarcity), that they are not able to spend the brain power necessary to completely plan for the future. All they are focused on is the lack of money for bills and food that they often miss other important details. Very quickly, a credit card gets maxed out buying the “necessities” so that they don’t run out while looking for a new job. At some point, the credit is gone, the last of the money is gone, and there is nothing left to pay bills, or even get a tank of gas. We call this tunnel vision.

Tunnel vision occurs when you focus too much on the one problem and not enough on your surroundings. You look at a problem like not having enough money and don’t spend enough time planning for future needs. When we fall into the pattern of tunnel vision due to a scarcity mentality, we make it more difficult four ourselves to get out of the pattern.

Rather than wait until times of scarcity, make plans to be prepared for the future if the worst should happen. One of the best decisions I ever made was to talk with a financial advisor. Financial advisors help us budget and plan for those times where we don’t have an income. They help you have a pre set plan that helps you during those bad times. That way, you don’t end up panicking about “not having enough.” Instead, your plan kicks in and you start making important decisions to get yourself out of the bad times.

I think the real important take away from this episode is that if you make simple good choices and plans for the future, you can be prepared for dealing with issues that come up in a growth-oriented manner. If not, you risk falling into that old path of tunnel vision and scarcity mentality.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Have you ever been questioned about your level of ambition? It can cause a myriad of feelings to run through your mind. You might feel angry, defensive, devalued, disappointed, mistreated, and underestimated. It can be painful to hear someone in a place of leadership question your ambition and suggest that you might not be providing value at your place of work.

Recently I went through this situation at work. I was pulled into one of the many quiet offices we have, and the manager bluntly stated to me, “You’ve been in this position for 6 years and haven’t been advanced. You must be doing something wrong that management wouldn’t see fit to advance your career here.” My mind immediately jumped through all the hoops mentioned above. I even considered walking out and quitting right then and there.

Why do we feel this way though? If you really like the job you have, should you be trying to advance into other roles? There is a fine line between liking your job and settling for something safe. If you truly love your job and that is all you ever wanted to do in life, do it. Keep developing in that job though. Don’t get to the point where you are doing the bare minimum to get by. If you find yourself doing the bare minimum and it gets to be a tough internal argument to go into work, you are most likely just settling.

In most professional settings a business looks for ambitious people. Someone who exhibits the right amount of ambition is someone who isn’t complacent in their role. They have a plan for where they want to go from where they are now. They see that you have a goal, plan things out, and have trackable milestones to create some accountability. These are all good signs that a person has a healthy work ethic to a company. They call this ambition. If they don’t see that in their employees, they can’t count on the employee always performing their best.

I had to take a deeper look at my role at the company I work for and analyze whether I was giving my best. I know that I am, but I haven’t shown leadership through my communications. It has never been part of who I am to call attention to the things I am doing at work. I show pride in what I do when it succeeds and work hard to right any failures. The one thing I lacked was the desire to move out of the safety of where I was and branch out to get noticed. If you are noticed, your flaws can be seen by people who can decide if you keep your job or not. It is an uncertain way to live because you know what you can expect from the safety of your comfort zone. However, there is very little room for growth as a person in this way of thinking.

The point is that we don’t want to mistake comfort with satisfied. Just because you are comfortable with your job, doesn’t mean that is where you should want to stay. Look for opportunities to become more successful. If not in a new position, make sure you are always expanding your skills and knowledge for where you are. That will keep you fresh, and show your coworkers/managers that you are always giving your best.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Bare Minimum Mode. What is it? How does it take hold? Understanding this will help us all recognize when we need to make changes in our lives.

Rohit says that we can very easily fall into a mindset that causes us to settle for the bare minimum to get by. In our careers we might recognize it in our appearances, or in the urgency we present in our tasks. Maybe you started at a new job wearing the best clothes you own. You come in dressed to the “nines” and put on the ultimate professional air. You show your dedication to your job on your sleeves and do everything with 100% of your abilities. Somewhere down the line though, you have those moments where you just don’t want to do as much work. Maybe you feel dejected because your team isn’t pulling their own weight. Maybe, you are just having an off day, but you decide to put in less effort. No one around you notices. This gives you the feeling that since no one noticed, no one cares.

The problem with this mindset is that your effort goes down, you do just enough to get by and not get noticed, and you settle into an auto pilot mode where you just go through the motions. If anything comes along and upsets your auto pilot mode, you get frustrated. Its hard to see things in a positive light and causes stress. Your mindset in Bare Minimum Mode is to get by without any disturbance to your standard routine. The slightest deviation can ruin your day.

How do you break this terrible habit? If leaders want to avoid their teams falling into this trap they should make sure their teams efforts are recognized. If you have a person going above and beyond, give them credit. Recognition gives a person a reason to improve. It can motivate others to do better in their jobs as well. If they are seeing their peers get recognized for good work, they know that they can earn that recognition as well. It is also important to encourage those who don’t get as much recognition. Let them know that they are not forgotten. A forgotten person feels like they are not valued, so they often resort to putting in less effort.

Outside of leadership, we can affect ourselves by setting challenges for ourselves. In my career, I think of new ways I can train and enable the people I work with and make the training a fun experience. I let my management team know what I am planning to do so that it gets on their radar. Once I complete my new project, I send out my results to everyone that I think might benefit from the project. This process helps me keep my job fresh, exciting, and challenging. In times when recognition is low, I can keep motivated and drive my own form of recognition.

Bare Minimum Mode is so hard to break up because it is human nature to take the path of least resistance. If we aren’t challenging ourselves regularly and if we aren’t looking to grow consistently it becomes all too easy to fall into the rut of doing just enough to get by.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

If you have never had a Beignet, you are in for a treat. However, this episode is not about pastries. It does help drive a point home though. Why not take the time to truly soak in the special experiences in life?

Kyle brings up a movie called “The Chef” starring John Favreau. In this movie a line really made an impact with Kyle. “Slow down. That is your first Beignet.” The character was telling his son to slow down and savor the experience of his first high end pastry. This one line can be applied to every part of our lives.

How many “first time” or “special experiences” do we rush through and miss the real impact of the event. Not to mention the in between moments that we disregard as “normal” or “mundane.” Kids getting a new candy to try are a perfect example. They wolf it down greedily trying to get as much sugar into their mouths as possible like there will never be another piece of candy given to them. It is gone so quickly that the memory of the taste isn’t as strong or doesn’t exist at all. If the child would slow down and take their time to enjoy every sensation of the treat, they would build a more intense emotion and feeling that the enjoyment is enhanced.

I can remember many of my “first” experiences, but others are more difficult. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with my father growing up because he was always busy with church stuff. When we did things together it was always a special thing for me. He took me to my first MLB baseball game. It was 94 degrees out, the grass on the field was so green, the sky was so blue, and the players looked larger than life in their uniforms standing on the field. The smell of the food was strong, the crowd was loud, and it was exciting to step out of the shaded area into the open to see all of this before me. We went to our seats in the bleachers and my Dad put me up on his shoulders so I could see better. I never wanted that moment to end. We need to live each new good experience like that; like we don’t want it to end.

There are also those in between moments that we mis out on. Technology and social media has hurt how we experience things in life. We are all guilty of it. Going out to meet up with friends or family, we sit down to eat, and we pick up our smart phones to sift through notifications and social posts while we are sitting with people right in front of us. Its almost like we have forgotten how to have meaningful conversations and experience the amazingness of each other. Our moments on this earth are limited and our time with each other is fleeting. Make the most of each moment you have been given. Put the social media down and focus on living your life and stop living through other people’s posts. Savor every moment because your “firsts” never come again.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Everyone feels helpless at some point in their life. Maybe you face a situation that you feel is beyond your control. Maybe you see a friend going through a tough time and you want to help them out. However, you may not know how to help, and you don’t want to make things worse. The feeling of helplessness can build and even end up affecting your health.

Communication is key to breaking the feeling of helplessness. My sister went through a tough medical time not long ago where her life would be impacted forever. I didn’t know how to help her and saw her suffering daily. She really didn’t know how to share what she was going through either. We never were good at communicating with each other growing up. Finally, I decided to start the conversation. I asked her about how she was holding up. The discussion led to how I wanted to help but felt helpless. Our discussion went for hours as we broke down walls that we had been building ourselves. The walls were there to shield us from our own insecurities and others from the pain we were carrying. In the end, we both felt better, grew closer as brother and sister, and our communication strengthened. We understand each other on a deeper level and know where to push, resist, and wait.

There are personal times when each of us feels helpless against the issues we face. Financial problems crop up and you don’t know where to go for help or how to fix the problem. Rather than seek that help, many of us bury our heads in the sand and wait for the problem to “fix itself.” The problem with that approach is that it doesn’t always fix itself. In many cases, it just gets worse. Communication could fix the problem, but we feel too embarrassed to reach out for the help we know, deep down, would be offered if we just asked. We feel ashamed of our problems in many cases because we know we made bad decisions. We can’t possibly let our closest relations see that we are human and make mistakes. The fear of being seen as a flawed person who can’t face his problems alone is sometimes a very real and strong fear that we carry. It is not healthy to carry that fear. Those who love us will accept us, flaws and all. They will be there to love and support us if they truly love us. Don’t let helplessness hold you back and drag you down. Reach out for support when you don’t know where to go. Let go of problems you can’t control. Understand the difference between the two and you will have an easier time growing through the problem every time.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Time is money. At least, that is what everyone says. The problem with saying it that way is that people really don’t understand how much more valuable your time is than money. We exchange our time for many things in life; for laughs, for companionship, for money, for growth, and for frivolous things. So, just how valuable is your time?

Most people don’t understand or really know what their time is worth. In our lives, most of us have jobs where we exchange our time and effort for money that we use to pay bills and buy stuff. A business will hire you and define what your actions or tasks should be while you are on the clock. They determine what they are willing to pay for a person’s time to do said tasks or make such efforts. You decide whether your time is valued correctly by the business or if you think your time is more valuable if spent elsewhere.

Rohit draws a great comparison of time and value when discussing mowing the lawn. If you feel your time is worth $30 an hour, but there is a neighborhood kid who will mow your lawn for $10, you will come out ahead by $20 by letting this kid mow the lawn for you. However, if you are not spending that time in a productive manner that leads you to make that $30, you have wasted your time and your money. Only you can determine if your time is more valuable or not. Your decisions tell everyone else-and more importantly you yourself-what you think your time is worth.

Another thing to consider is “Are you filling time, or fulfilling your time?” Many of us will do things that just fill time. You know. Its those times when you don’t know what to do, so you sit down and turn on Netflix, Hulu, or cable, and just flip through to find something to watch because you “have nothing better to do.” That is the ‘average’ person’s view. A successful person will take those moments and look for things that enrich their lives or grow their earning potential. Instead of binging on a new show, grab a book, or look for ways to develop a new skill. I cut cable and streaming services because I found I was just filling time and wasting money. Instead, I started watching YouTube training videos on how to edit videos and build a growing stream channel audience. Find a way to get value out of your time because you will never get it back. We are only here for a limited time. How will you spend your time?

SHOW DESCRIPTION

One single fact is true of most people today. We do not know how to recognize our own magic. It goes against our programing to step up and celebrate ourselves. At a very early age we are taught to not be prideful and to lift up others. In many cases we are taught to be shy when others compliment us or our achievements.

Why should we recognize our own greatness? It is important to our own mental and emotional growth. Now, we are not saying that everything you do needs to be celebrated as if you are the greatest person and should be worshipped. Instead, we are saying that we are success oriented. Successes make us feel good about ourselves and what we have done. Celebrating those successes lets ourselves know that we are making progress. It reminds us of where we started, all the trials we went through, and the feeling we felt having reached each milestone along the way.

We have this misconception that celebrating our success is prideful. While in certain situations that might be true, there are times when it is necessary and completely appropriate. The celebration of reaching milestones is important in all our goals. It is proof of our efforts and dedication to our continued success. However, when you stand over an opponent and gloat, rubbing their failure in their face, that is no longer a celebration.

In order to celebrate success, we have to have goals. In order to celebrate goals, we need to have milestones. Milestones are a useful tracking tool that help us stay positive and adjust course as needed. We often set goals with no roadmap. The goal is the end destination for one trip. However, the best part of the road trip is not the end destination. It is in the road trip. The same goes for our goals. We are only able to track our progress in life and in each of our goals if we track our milestones along the way. The milestones give definition to the trip towards success.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

When 4 men sit in a hot room to talk about happiness, you really don’t know what to expect. While we sate in this hot recording studio, we explored why certain things or activities bring us happiness and who the real stakeholders in your happiness are. This is important to understand where our happiness comes from and whether it is healthy or not for us.

Stakeholders are just the people that are either reliant or integral to causing our happiness. In healthy relationships, you will always here from the individuals that what is important is the other member’s happiness. A husband cares about the happiness of his wife. The wife cares about the happiness of the husband. This is a great way to maintain a healthy relationship with your significant other. However, it may just be detrimental to your own happiness.

When people are so devoted to the other person in their relationship, they might lose sight of things that make themselves happy in favor of things that make the other person happy. I see this a lot in my parents. My Mom is one of the most loving people in the world to me and she goes out of her way to make us happy. However, she does everything in her power to make us happy, but anytime her happiness comes up she can’t express herself. She will go to movies with my family that she wouldn’t necessarily like, but when we ask her if there is something she would like to see, she will deflect and say, “well, what do you want to see?” This happens in many relationships and it can end up causing resentment from one or the other.

There are also times that we know what makes us happy and we want to share that experience with someone we love. We believe that what makes us happy will also make them happy and we set an expectation. Our expectations can lead to disappointment when the other party isn’t as enthralled as we are. Kyle talks about liking ski, but his other doesn’t. If he put his happiness investment in how the other party feels, he loses some of the experience he could be having while he is there.

We should actively seek to make sure our friends and family are happy. However, if we fail to make sure we are also happy, we build up resentment and negativity. Conversely, if all we do is focus on our own happiness, we cause negativity and resentment to build in our relationships. Balance is important for healthy emotional growth.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some people are good at one thing and not so good at another. You may be great at public speaking, but terrible at writing. You could be able to fix any technical problem in the IT world, but maybe you are not so great at working with other people. Which is more important; understanding a person’s strengths or their weaknesses?

Kevin and Kyle explore from differing perspectives. In this discussion, Kevin supports the idea that understanding a person’s weaknesses is more important. It gives you an understanding of what a person can’t do, and what they can work on to become stronger. In hiring, you want to know what a person can’t do. You don’t want a person who can’t read writing training journals. However, if this person is great at communicating ideas with a team, you might put them in an environment where their ideas and thoughts will build a stronger, more productive team. Some people are just not comfortable with doing certain tasks. A lack of confidence can be a weakness. With that knowledge, you can then take action to build up the confidence so that the weakness turns into a strength.

Kyle comes from the point that knowing a person’s strengths is more important. It is good to know where to start with a person to get the best productivity out of them from the start. It’s like building a home on a site where the house has already been torn down. If the foundation is already strong, you can continue to build the house on that foundation.

As a group, we understand that it is important to know both. Having a balanced understanding of what a person can and can’t do will inevitably lead you to stronger team dynamics. You will be able to shift people around to where they are most skillful and make plans to strengthen areas where they need the most help.

In our personal lives it is just as important. When you know your current limits, it makes it easier to make your plans to either strengthen your weak points or play off your strengths in any given situation. Knowing yourself is key to growing yourself.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Technology is a testament to how mankind has grown. Since the dawn of time we have been inventing things to make our lives easier; the wheel, the steam engine, telephones, computers, etc. We have technology that has made our lives so much better today than anytime in our entire history. However, is there a point when technology is a detriment to our lives and our growth?

For the most part, we do have easy access to information. We can look up information on anything we want right in the palm of our hands. Our cell phones are mobile computers that give us what we need; Navigation, reference material, news, recipes, and entertainment. There is a real problem with this easy access though. Everyone knows that it is easily accessible and fewer people know how to actually research information for themselves. If you ask a student in high school today to do a simple math problem without the use of their phone or a calculator, they would probably get a look that of a deer looking head on at a semi truck’s headlights. Ask a driver to go anywhere unfamiliar and take away their access to GPS units and they would be lost.

The problem with an abundance of technology is that we end up relying on it so much that we are invalid when it is taken away.

Family-time has also struggled. The TV or radio was something that the family used to gather around in the evenings. They would watch shows together, and in my case, would talk about our days during commercials. I always wanted a tv of my own in my bedroom and my parents always balked at the idea until I got into High School. Once I got my own TV I was able to watch shows in my room whenever I wanted as long as I had a TV cable or a VCR (Yeah…I’m old). Now everyone can stream on multiple devices anything they want to see. People go into other rooms or put on headphones and watch what they want. The social factor is now taken out of the picture.

From manual labor jobs, to Information Technology jobs our jobs have been made easier with technology. A draw back to this is the fact that as technology improves, our productivity increases and the fewer workers a business may need. We lose some jobs to technology. McDonalds is a prime example of this with their digital ordering system. People can now walk up to a digital display to build their order, or they can use an app on their phone. Now McDonalds needs fewer cashiers.

It is important to understand that technology is important to the improvement of our lives, but if we rely too heavily on it, we will end up hurting for it in the future.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Teams are only as good as their individual parts allow them to be. I am not necessarily talking about the individual people, but the individual internal parts each member holds. These are things like belief, dedication, effort, trust, support, and accountability just to name a few. Without these things in place, the best rated leaders and team members in the world will fail.

Teams can make projects easier to complete, but only if the team shares the same vision. A few examples of good Teams with a shared vision are the ’85 Chicago Bears, the 2013 Seattle Seahawks or the 2016 Chicago Cubs. In the aforementioned cases, the Teams were united in their presentation of their goals, the work they needed to put in to get it done, and they believed in their vision. When they had those things in place some natural leaders stepped up and led the vision. They each held each other accountable, but the leader made sure the path ahead was clear.

A leader will tell their followers where to go, but a good leader will show their team the way to get there. A team with a singular vision will find it easier to follow a good leader because those leaders will offer encouragement that builds up both the top and the low performers. A Good Leader will inspire their team members on to better performance. This is true with all types of teams; whether sports, business, or whatever.

We all have had bad team experiences in our lives. Either the team wasn’t unified in their vision, or the leader didn’t promote a healthy competitive environment. If the leader is bad, the team will lose focus and stop believing in their vision. If the team stops believing in the vision, the leader will lose respect and control of the team. If you want a Team to be successful, you need to have a unified vision, accountability, trust, and leadership. If a single piece of that is missing, the team will eventually fail. If you are part of a bad team, find a way to bring in a shared vision. That will start the ball rolling in the right direction.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

There are several things that come to mind when I think of “Average Person.” Average people do not plan for the future, do not have assets, have lots of liabilities, spend more time in front of the television, and don’t read books. Investing in oneself is not something an Average Person does. So why do people live Average lives?

Many people don’t even realize that they are just “Average.” This is because we always think of ourselves as above average. We are more likely to look at someone else and judge them by their actions while we judge ourselves by our intentions. Maybe it is because we just can’t see that those people may have had good intentions as well. It could be that we don’t trust that everyone has as good of intentions as we have. This leads us to use excuses for why we aren’t successful. “I’m not that bad,” or “At least I don’t have his/her bad habits.”

Changing your life in drastic ways really doesn’t take huge life altering decisions. It can be something as simple as having a glass of water. For me, my go to drink used to be soda. I would drink half a 12 pack a day. I switched it to juices at first to get the sugar but cut back on the caffeine. Then I started drinking water at my desk at work throughout the day rather than juices. Now I am having water at work, at home, and whenever I go out to eat with my family. Simple small steps end with you on a totally different path than you began on. I have also done something similar with my eating habits. I started with switching up breakfast to include a salad instead of fast food. Now I am cooking more at home and cooking healthier foods. Instead of potato chips for snacks I am grabbing a bottle of water or an apple.

I may not see immediate changes in my size or health, but over time, if I look back, I am amazed at where I was vs. where I am now.

The Average person looks for excuses where the above average person accepts that it is no one else’s fault for where they are in life. It is easier to sit back ad blame circumstances and blame someone else for where you are in life. It means you don’t have to deal with the embarrassment of knowing you screwed up your own life. You don’t have to take ownership because you can just blame the government, your co-workers, your family, or insert your boogey man here.

If you don’t want to be average, it is simple. Don’t be average. Take ownership of your life. Don’t complain about something if you are not taking actions to change it. Don’t point fingers and say you are better than someone else. Focus on making good decisions and learning from the bad ones and you will not be an Average Person. You will not end up being a Basic Bitch.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Our team is always talking about the benefits of personal development. However, there are some very real risks involved. Not that the steps you take to improve yourself involves risk to your physical health or anything like that. It is more the risk of having the wrong mindset and the problems that arise from that.

One of the biggest issues many of us may face when involved with personal development is going through depression. In personal development we are supposed to focus on growing into the best version of us that we can be. However, many of personal development ‘followers’ start comparing their lives to those of the people they want to be. The problem with this is we will always see the ‘ideal’ person as being better than us and we will never be good enough. Mainly, we are looking at the other person and saying the only reason we aren’t them is because we lack something. Then we end up giving up because we don’t have what that person has so why even try.

The point of personal development is not to make us into someone else or to become another person. It is to simply become the best ‘you’ that you can be. We can’t do that if we are looking at someone else saying we want to be them. It creates a false goal that doesn’t get us to where we need to go and makes it harder to reach our potential.

Personal Development is a lifelong process full of little successes and many failures. In many cases, you won’t be able to recognize the changes right away. However, if you look back after a long while you will see where your small changes in healthy decisions have completely changed the direction your life is going. It may not be recognizable at first glance, but as you improve and look back over your life, you will clearly see how you got to where you are. You will also find it much easier to see what changes you need to make to get where you want to go. The trick is to improve your life, not compare it to someone else’s. It is ok to have someone to look up to for inspiration or for advice, but don’t fall into the trap of comparing your life to theirs and giving up.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

As a team, we decided to go through one of Rohit’s worksheets to help him test out a piece of his upcoming 30-day Life Reset. After completing the worksheet, we decided that it would be a powerful episode to discuss on air.

In this exercise we used a graph to chart our lives from our earliest memory to our current day. We marked off our high points and our low points where either great things happened, or bad experiences brought us down. What we noticed is that we had a pattern. Anytime we were in a bad place we worked hard and we saw improvement. However, once we reached a place that we were comfortable we almost always had a steep decline where we sort of crashed.

When we experience these deep dips in our positives and negatives, it is usually because we got complacent or comfortable. We let off the gas for our goals and we ended up failing. Failing hurts and can put you into either a fight or flight situation. You will either fight to get out of a failure or continue to run from facing it making it worse in the progress.

Life is a series of ups and downs, but the only reason we have steep crashes in our personal lives is because we let it happen. We are ultimately in control of where we go with our lives. There is no one to blame for where we end up. When we realize that it is our own decisions that led us to where we are, we can begin to take the right steps to get back on a path of growth and success. Analyzing our lives’ highs and lows can help us recognize the patterns we create for ourselves and set new habits that counteract our bad habits.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Summer comes around every year and many of us are caught off guard. We look forward to the sun, and claim we are looking forward to the fun. However, most of us end up just killing time. Students take a break from learning to just hang out and have fun. People take vacations that feel thrown together and have very little value. How do we take control of our summer?

First, don’t just fill your time. Use it wisely. Filling time with meaningless activities does you and your growth no good. Conversely, killing or wasting time does you no good either. Take your summer time and try to make memories. Do something you don’t normally do. We all have something we have said we wanted to try. You know those things that your friends posted about on their social media that made you instantly say “now that looks fun.” Make the effort to make some memories. It enriches your life just being able to say you have tried something different rather than looking back wishing you had.

Kyle makes a great point in this episode. Don’t let your summers be planned for you. Be proactive and take control. Giving up control to outside forces makes it easier to make excuses. “Oh I had a meeting,” “I had to work,” “My significant other wanted to ’x’ this summer.” Remove the excuses and plan something different that you haven’t done before. Then make sure to take some pictures. You don’t have to go overboard with the pictures. Just take some so that as you refer back to them over the years, you have an object that calls forth specific details about that particular moment and what it meant to you.

We are all looking to do different things for our summer here at GYST. Kyle is looking to go camping. Glen is taking a train half way across the country rather than the usual plane ride. Finally, Rohit is planning on holding an actual Barbeque and Game Night rather than ruin his burgers with a George Foreman. Whatever you do, make sure it will enrich and not waste your time this summer.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Every time we get together to record, we realize just how lucky we are. We have a support structure built in that we can rely on. Our relationship with each other has grown and helped us in many ways. I personally know that if I am having a problem or experiencing something difficult in life, I can reach out to Rohit, or Kyle and they will be there for me. They constantly challenge me to grow personally.

I came into this podcast with preset beliefs about what “personal development’ meant. My beliefs were cultivated from my religious background and what my family taught me about how we should view ourselves. Many in the religious community have a closed-minded belief about personal development. They are more likely to reject it as “New Age” or “Sinful” to focus on developing your own life. This stems from the belief in many religions that you are supposed to be selfless and focused on helping others first. Some cultures are like this as well.

When I sat down with the podcast crew and we started discussing some of our topics, I came to the understanding that personal development is something that can only enhance our lives even in a religious sense. In every religion, you are asked to be the best person you can be. Personal development is the core principle in all religions. We want to be the example for others of our religion which means we need to develop ourselves into an ideal version of ourselves.

My advice to anyone listening is come with an open mind. Realize that we are not trying to change anyone. We are trying to help you change yourselves through our journey. No one’s journey is exactly the same, but we all have experiences that someone can relate to. If those experiences can help someone improve their life and how they approach it, we will have done what we set out to do. Each person must choose for themselves who they want to be. Then they just need to take the steps they need to in order to reach that ideal version of themselves.

This week we welcomed-officially-Kevin Barquest to the podcast. He will help us create content and provide a new perspective on our weekly podcast topics. Welcome to the team Kevin.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

What kind of plan do we have for the future? Where do you want to be in your career, family, and personal life? These are important questions we should be asking ourselves. They help us understand where we are in our lives currently.

Most people do not plan for the future. Their goal setting is nonexistent. It could be that they don’t want to think about uncomfortable feelings, or maybe they don’t want to risk what they already have. Going through the motions and going with the flow often gets you lost in the drain. You get to a destination, but not a destination that you created for yourself. You end up going where outside factors push you.

When you have a clear plan for where you want to be in 5 years, you are able to set goals and understand what steps you have to take to get there. For instance, if your 5-year plan for your health is to be 50 pounds lighter you already know that you need to lose 10 pounds a year to meet that goal. Then you can see what actions you need to take to help you lose 10 pounds per year. Maybe that includes walking 10000 steps a day, eating salads instead of burgers, and cutting out soda 5 days a week.

It isn’t enough to have a 5-year plan. It is equally important to write that plan down. When you write it, it becomes real. You have a written record of your plan and are now responsible to yourself for follow through. Writing your plan down allows you to also write out and think about the steps you need to take to achieve your success. When the steps are written down, you are already more likely to succeed.

Whether you are looking to have a better career, a better family life, or better health, having a 5-year plan will make it easier to be more successful. All you need to do is visualize where you want to be, and then make sure to take the action steps needed to get there. Don’t overcomplicate things with “what ifs.” Keep your eyes on your goal, take your actions, and adjust as needed to move you forward. That is the way to find success in your goals.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Have you ever wondered why you are feeling down even when you have no reason to feel that way? Do you look outside and have an immediate drain in your mood? Kevin came up with this topic after discussing his moods after coming back from Hawaii. We got onto discussing how moods might be affected by the weather.

There is an actual mental condition that most people go through without even realizing it most of the time. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) affects your mood with specific weather patterns. Some of us notice that we are more prone to sadness and depression during rainy weather or more prone to anger and frustration during warmer weather. This is usually an unconscious mental response to our environment.

It is important to recognize the many different things that influence our emotional state. When we recognized the things impacting how we feel we can take steps to correct it and/or make conscious efforts to change how we are viewing our situations. If the rain gets you down, add a UV light to your work space. Try getting as much sun as possible because the sunlight helps your body metabolize the vitamins necessary for your physical health and produces healthy body and brain chemistry that affect your moods.

To improve your mood in weather you don’t necessarily like, try looking for the positives in the weather. If you don’t like the grey, rainy days, look for the positive side. Rain brings growth. Here n the Northwest, we get a lot of rain, but everything stays so green and beautiful. Sometimes all it takes is the conscious effort to change the negative into the positive.

If SAD is affecting you so much that you can’t see the positive, there are other avenues that can help. Go on vacation during the worst parts of the seasons that bother you. Try setting up different lighting or add oxygenating plants for your office space. If it truly is so bad that these don’t work, seek professional assistance from medical or emotional professionals. Maybe look into moving to a climate that is more in line with boosting your moods. The point is, understand what affects your mood and take control. You have the power to change how you feel. Stay positive my friends.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Social Media is so pervasive in our everyday lives. We don’t even notice now how often we are checking it. We are looking through Facebook posts from friends, checking our favorite person’s tweets, and looking through the latest photos of those we like on Instagram or Snap Chat. The question becomes, how much time do we actually spend in social media rather than building a social experience.

Every year, Kyle Reed takes a break from Social Media for Lent. For me, social media is a platform that allows me to rant and debate. We both noticed that it creates a set of bad habits. We would reach for our phones during meals, while we were sitting with friends, or even during movies. It tends to take us out of the moment and lessens the experiences we should be focused on. Our works suffers, our relationships can become strained, and our overall well-being can be affected.

If we were to drop social media for a time we would notice a couple of very specific changes. We would be more productive at work. Our relationships might get deeper as we would be forced to visit or call our friends to hear about their lives. Our conversations would get more engaging as we would be forced to do more than post and walk away.

Rohit sees some social media users as procrastinators. Not procrastination as in just putting something off until later. It is more of a self-comparison type of procrastination where you see others doing things you wish you were doing so you do everything you can to show the best parts of your life to others. “You challenge your reality” is the way Rohit puts it. While there is no such thing as “your reality,” there is your belief about reality and I think this is what Rohit was trying to point out. When you look at the snippits you see from friends and family doing great things on social media and you have those moments where you wish you were able to do what they were doing, you almost feel compelled to let them know that you are doing equally fun or different things. What we often forget in these moments of life envy, is that we are only seeing a split second of a day that people choose to allow us to see. The rest of that person’s day could be boring, or stressful. We only see what others allow us to see in that very specific moment.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Introverts and Extroverts both have different lifestyles. Introverts are more at home by themselves while Extroverts love being in more social environments. Each has their own strengths, but opportunities come more often the more social you are. Each person must decide how they want to live, but what we are trying to explore is “where does being an Introvert become an excuse?”

I have been an introvert most of my life. It started at a young age when I moved around a lot. When you don’t have a chance to develop social skills, it becomes easier to be an introvert. I preferred hanging out with people only into the same things I was into, or preferred being alone. This can be very lonely and detrimental to a person’s development.

Over the years, I did learn how to be more of a chameleon. I learned to blend in with people from all walks. This was more of a coping mechanism for me. I was able to go into a group setting and strike up a conversation with anyone. It made it possible to go into any situation with no anxiety. No matter who was at a gathering, I was able to model my behavior to theirs. I noticed that I had more friends and found better opportunities in those moments of being an extrovert.

Extroverts will find more opportunities from being open to social experiences. They feel comfortable holding a conversation with people and being in larger social settings. I find it much easier to learn from the experience of others in these settings as well. However, Extroverts have a hard time being alone with their own thoughts.

One thing we all believe is that there should be a balance in our lives. In the event of the extreme on either side, it is important to develop the opposite side. Introverts should work on expanding their comfort zones so that they can find more growth and opportunities. Extroverts should learn to be at peace with their own thoughts and emotions for the same reason. It allows them to learn more about themselves and grow on a personal level beyond the surface level stuff.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Humans are competitive by nature. We want to improve on ourselves, and on those who came before us. Competition is what has gotten us to where we are. We often mistake unhealthy with healthy competition.

There are several main facets to unhealthy competition. One example is when people want to get their piece of the pie. By this, they are trying to make sure they get some of the attention because they view success as a limited commodity. They try hard and compare themselves to others. However, in doing so are quick to lose heart because they are never good enough. It turns into a negative to see someone else successful when you view yourself as being just as successful, but you don’t get the same level of attention you perceive them getting.

The next unhealthy display of competitiveness is someone who always competes just to thump their chest. When you see someone constantly talking about how they are the best and no one can compare, they are not doing it to be the best. They are just competing to be viewed as the best. We see this is athletes today. When an athlete blames the team and doesn’t look to where he/she needs to improve, it often breeds negativity within the team. The rest of the team feels negativity and resentment to the person thumping his chest and they lose the will to perform to their best.

The next unhealthy competition habit is found in the “One Upper.” The “One Upper” is the person who always has a better story. They always did something just as amazing or just slightly better. You tell a story, but they come back with a similar situation but did something better. No one likes to involve these people in conversations.

Healthy conversation lifts you up and is focused on improvement; Either improvement of self, or improvement of others. If you are trying to be the best version of ‘you’ that you can be or trying to lift others up to make the team successful, you are on the right track. Competition that drives you to be better without losing who you are in the competition is healthy. In leadership roles, your success is shown in how you drive healthy competition. How can you make the team better. If you end up pitting team members up against each other to where negativity forms, you breed unhealthy competition. Instead of lifting one person up and telling others to be like that person, try pointing out the successes of everyone on the team. This will breed a healthy teamwork environment and keep competition healthy.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

There are several ways in which we can make our lives easier, more productive, and all around better. We call these things life hacks. They can be something simple that affects our health, or could be deep and profound that affects our emotional wellbeing.

The first Life hack is meant to affect your meals and health planning. Take some time on your day off to plan and prep your meals for the entire week. Get some Tupperware-enough for all three meals for every day of your work week. It will be easier to plan healthier meals, you wont have an excuse to go to fast food when your time is limited, and you might even save some money in the long run.

The next life hack is in keeping a food journal. After a meal, take stock of how you feel. This will help you in understanding how food affect your body, and your mood. If you are able to keep that in mind, you will find yourself making healthier food decisions, and will think about the after effects of the stuff you put in your body.

A quick tip to make your day more efficient is the 60 second rule. Think about the tasks in your day-to-day life. If a task will only take 60 seconds, do it now. Don’t put it off. You will get more done, and you will be less likely to get overwhelmed at the end of the day. Sort your mail on your way back from the mail box. Set out your clothes for the next day if you are traveling. If it is a simple task that won’t take long, just get it over with and out of the way.

One great hack is prioritizing your day. Make a list of all your important tasks. Compare each item on the list to the others, ranking them by importance and urgency. It will help you set your priorities where they should be.

If you want to start your day off on a positive note, start your day with positive music and positive messaging. Write yourself some positive uplifting messages that your read first thing. Post them on the door or on the bathroom mirror. Just post them somewhere that you will see them right away. When you get your shower and get your day started, turn on positive uplifting music. Put away angry negative music. It sets your mind in a negative position. Prep your day the night before so you don’t throw your day off with a negative feeling of being rushed.

If you want to find ways to help others feel happier, take notes about what brings them joy. For me it is simple, video games, burgers, and Chicago deep dish pizza. For Rohit, it is anything Mariner’s baseball. For Kyle it is shots on air. Keep notes of what makes your friends and family happy. You can then go back to that list for gift ideas, and things that will help you get them into a better mood if they are feeling down.

If you really want to enjoy something new. Immerse yourself in the ‘thing.’ Rohit loves everything flying. He goes to flight museums, finds free flight lessons where you can sit in and learn about how to fly. Being an open person, he also talks to pilots while waiting to take off so he can talk shop with them. Get passionate about something and then immerse yourself by learning all you can about that thing.

To stay organized with your events, we recommend having a shared calendar with your loved ones. You can put in all sorts of events and plans. If you have parties you want to go to, birthdays to remember, meals to cook, bills to pay….put it in your shared calendar so you and your loved one can also plan their schedules accordingly. You will both then be able to see when you need to make more time for each other and how to avoid having to let someone down because you forgot an event.

There is one great life hack that will help you manage your emotional state. Keep an emotion journal when something causes your emotions to change. Write down the things that affect you in a negative way. This will help you gain perspective on the things affecting you in a negative way. It forces you to look at the emotion and the event causing it and analyze it. Why am I letting this affect me in a negative way? You will find yourself less affected by negative situations.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

It is the hardest thing in the world to forgive someone who has wronged us. We fill ourselves up with the negative feelings left over when someone fails us or hurts us through their words, actions, or inactions. Holding grudges can breed distrust, creates animosity, and prevents us from moving on. While we know it is important to forgive, how do we forgive someone and move forward?

Many religions and philosophical beliefs discuss the importance of forgiveness. Having been raised in a Christian home, we were taught about forgiveness as one of the foundational beliefs of our faith. The problem is, no one tells you how to forgive. What steps do you take to forgive? How will you know that you have succeeded in forgiving?

In this episode we explore the importance of forgiveness, some of the situations we have found ourselves in where forgiveness was needed, and how we moved on. When I was recently wronged, I found myself slipping into anger and animosity towards the person who had wronged me. I felt angry and let the feeling build to the point where my health was affected. My blood pressure was up, I had to struggle to keep my voice level and my words controlled around this person. It took me a few days to realize that this person wasn’t feeling any of the anger that I was holding. Hell. He wasn’t even aware that he had done anything wrong.

It was at this point that I realized that holding onto the anger didn’t really hurt him at this point. It wouldn’t make the situation better and wouldn’t change his attitude. It was a hard pill to swallow. I was keeping the negative feelings alive for me and hurting myself in the process. It was at this point that I realized that in order to forgive, I had to confront the issue I had with this person and let go of the anger that had built up. At this point, I decided to let go of my anger, give voice to my concerns and then walk away from the situation.

Letting go of the anger meant accepting that what had happened could not be undone. It meant that I had to understand where my feelings were coming from. Holding a grudge over something, no matter how big or small only hurts you in the long run. The person you have a beef with may never even know that you are angry with them. To truly let go, write your thoughts down and organize them. Express them and then walk away from the feelings. You have voiced them. You are free from them and it is up to the offending party for how they take your feelings and behave moving forward.

Once you have let go of your feelings, you must be careful not to let them back in. If another situation comes up, you don’t want the negativity affecting how you react with someone else. In terms of relationships, you don’t want to start seeing everyone else as possible offenders to the point where you can never fully trust someone. Don’t forget the past but put it into context. The wrong that was done was done then, by someone else, at a different time is not necessarily going to happen with the next person to come into your life. You are free to grow past grudges and bad times. Then you will truly be able to be free from the negativity of that one negative experience.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

We all have things that we should be doing. We also, know full well, that we need to be doing these things. It may be different for everyone, but everyone has that list of things that they know they “should do.” Whether it is, saving money, losing weight, learning a new skill, etc. we tend to build up an impressive list of “Shoulda, Coulda, Wouldas.”

Our minds are complex. It is a super computer that runs our body, but also programs our actions during different stimuli. Think about one of the earliest lessons we learn. Fire is hot. Most of us learned that lesson the hard way. We stuck our hand over the fire or onto a hot surface and learned that it hurts. This is a learned response from 1^st hand experience. A learned response is based on past experiences that we know to be true for that specific situation. Fire is always hot, so we know that we will always burn ourselves if we touch the flames.

Another type of program our minds create for us is based on emotional responses based on our beliefs. We see that in an example of our relationships. If you have ever been hurt by someone in a relationship, you might also know how hard it is to trust someone else later down the road. That is a response on an experienced emotion. You believe that you might get hurt so you hold onto negative feelings moving forward.

It is important to define our patterns and understand why we are doing the things we do. It will help us break bad habits and change our mindset so we can grow. Start by looking at a specific situation. Ask yourself where you started to believe that about that situation. In the example of the relationship from above, you would say I started not trusting people because someone hurt me in this situation in the past.

Next, analyze if it is a learned response based on experience or if it is a learned emotional response based on a belief. If that one person hurt you, will it happen with the next person you trust? No one can say that trusting someone will always end in disappointment and pain, or in Happiness and mutual respect.

Once it has been analyzed, it is time to redefine how you look at it. Using the same example, you may have been hurt in the past, but a new relationship is a blank slate. The situation and the people are different. Do not forget what happened in the past, however, do not let the past rob you of a new possibility. Try to recognize that your beliefs are influencing your actions and take steps to counter them. If someone betrayed your trust, try to forgive and move on. It is more important for your mental health than you may realize.

Beliefs are powerful and affect our actions al the time. Religious people try to shape parts of their lives around what they learn in their religious community. Kids beliefs are shaped by the words and actions of their parents and role models. Often, it takes years before we realize whether the beliefs we have built up are for better or for worse. It is not an easy path and takes years of active reflection. However, it is necessary for our mental, spiritual, and emotional growth.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

How can you tell if your life is a success or not? Would a 10 year old ‘you’ look at you today and say you were successful? This exercise explores the definition of success, but the definition of success as we see it in ourselves. It forces us to define what success is to us, and then hold ourselves up to account for where we are.

Success as defined in the dictionary is just the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. So I ask myself, have I reached my aim or purpose? This can get broad and vague. How do we measure our lives as success? It is much easier to break things down into different pillars of life. Financial, Relational, Physical, and Spiritual.

How do we know if we have a successful life financially? This is much easier to answer. Is your bank account where you want it to be? Do you have a job/career that is providing you what you envisioned? If not, you do not have a successful life financially according to the very definition of success. Usually we have a very clear idea of what we want to earn and how we want to be set financially, but when we are forced to look at how we are performing, we end up seeing our own failures. Rohit said something that is very true. Our priorities are out of touch. If we have no choice we will find a way to make our financial needs happen.

If our finances are not successful, it is time to look into why. Look through your expenses. Write down every single expense you have for an entire month. Then separate them all into 2 categories; Needs and Wants. Put items that are necessary for your survival into the Needs Category, and everything else into the Wants Category. If you truly want to be a success, you will be able to see what you need to cut out to save more and build your finances up. You can also look at your career and see if you are on the right path or if changes are needed. Is your career helping you reach your goals? If not, how can you more align it with your goals?

Apply the same level of analysis to the other 3 pillars in your life and make the necessary adjustments. From there it will be easier to see where we are holding ourselves back from reaching our goals. We find that our excuses really don’t hold weight when we dig this deep. We are responsible for our outcome and no external force is responsible for our decisions.

It isn’t an easy thing to do when we look this deep at our level of success. However, if we truly want to reach our goals and be a success, we need to be able to look at our goals and our efforts to determine if we are where we want to be. Only then will we be able to make the necessary changes to get us to where we want to be.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

As a society, we have allowed ourselves to get to dependent on technology to fill our time. We see it everywhere. While eating at a restaurant, you just need to look around to see most of the people looking down at their phones rather than talking to the people right in front of them. You go to the theaters and you can see people checking in on social media or taking pictures. How can we get back to a place where we are able to enjoy each other’s company and go back to a place where technology doesn’t rule your free time?

What we did as a group was, we turned off our power for 24 hours. We turned off our phones and got rid of all external distractions that normally fill our time. From there, we were able to focus on clearing our heads. Meditation is so much easier if you can clear away the external distractions. It is just you in the silence with your thoughts. Let you mind wander and fill with happy, motivational, or challenging thoughts.

If you enjoy reading, try reading by candle light. It gives you a stronger connection with what you are reading. Personally, I find myself getting drawn into the story much easier and my mind clears of negative thoughts. I get drawn into the story as if I am a participant/observer. It is refreshing, exhausting, emotional, and that much more exciting.

Technology has become our crutch. Granted, some technology is designed to make us more productive or make our general existence more comfortable. However, when we rely to heavily on technology, we will never truly be able to live without it. When we use multiple monitors for work, are we truly being more efficient? Take a look at your performance. Are you really saving time, or are you just filling space? We found that sometimes we have too much stimuli that takes away from our productivity and it takes a power outage or an activity like this to help us see that we have just been filling time. Try this exercise. Take a 24 hour period where you turn off all distractions. Do it as a family, or by yourself if needed. Talk with each other. You will deepen your relationships and come to a better understanding of each other. If you are alone, try journaling about your 3 powerful questions that we suggested during Episode 146. You will find deeper meaning in your own thoughts and possibly find a positive way forward.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

It’s hard to dig deep and analyze your life in a way that is both constructive and honest. We often make excuses and lay blame on external factors. How do we separate the external from the internal? The easiest way is to ask yourself 3 questions. Do you just ride the train of life and let others determine where you are going, or are you a driver that decides where you are going?

1. Where am I?: Take a moment to look at your life and analyze your current circumstances. You are a collection of your past decisions and have no one to blame for who you are other than yourself. You ultimately decide who you are going to be. Victim. Victor. It is entirely up to you. This is something that hits personally with me, especially today when people are quick to play the victim and make excuses as to why they are where they are. This question forces you to look deeper, throw out the Bull Shit, and look at who you decided to be at that moment.
2. Where do I want to be? I took this time to look at the path I laid out before myself and analyzed where I would like to be in my emotions, relationships, my career, and my health. This question is so much more than that though. You have a blank canvas in front of you. Paint the perfect picture of your life. Where do you want to be? What kind of person do you envision yourself in the future? What are you doing? Where are you living? Get deep and really look at where you want to be. Get creative but make sure it is you. This will help you set a goal for question 3.
3. How am I getting there? This question helped me analyze how I am going to get to my goals. It makes it possible to create a plan and take steps that move you closer. For example, one of my goals is to become a successful streamer. Writing that as a goal, I can look at the steps t will take to get there. Improving audio and video quality, setting up the best equipment, and marketing my stream are now part of my plan to get to where I want to be. Also, I am working on losing weight. I set a realistic goal of living healthier first and the weight will follow.

These 3 questions are not meant to depress you or make you feel bad about where you are. Rather they are designed to make you be honest with yourself, understand where you are, want to be, and give you a method of planning your course of action moving forward. This exercise is meant to help get you out of any rut you are in, get you off that train where you are not in control, and give you personal responsibility and define your direction better.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

When emotions are high, it is difficult to find a good time to walk away from a situation. It becomes difficult to distinguish between our emotional state and what is the best response to a situation. Maybe you’re in a situation that gets your anger up, or a situation where your desire makes it harder to respond I a healthy manner. Knowing when to walk away is one of the best skills that we can practice.

If you are in a heated argument, things can quickly get out of control if you allow your emotions to push you into a response. We all have situations where we get a little heated and angry. Sometimes we let our emotions take control and we start to lose control of our responses. This is dangerous and can hurt ourselves, and others around us. Our response should in these situations should never be made with emotion.

Conversely, there are times When we let our excitement drive our decisions we make. We have those moments where we want something so bad and our excitement for the thing is so high, that we forgo our rational thought and make an emotional decision that may hurt us down the road. Using buying a car as an example. If you go into a dealership and find the car of your dreams, but you want to try to get the price down, your emotions need to be in check. When a salesperson sees that you are emotionally vested in a specific car, they will take advantage of your emotions and you may end up with a deal you don’t like.

What I like to do when I feel emotions building is to take a step back and analyze my feelings. If it is a tense angry situation, I will walk away and take a cool down break. This is a good practice to get into. Especially in relationships where arguments will happen. If you feel yourself getting emotional, take a break and walk away before your emotional response causes more harm than good. Tell the other person that you need to walk away for a few minutes to clear the emotions and go to a quiet place for yourself. Then take stock of your feelings and what caused them. Once you understand your feelings, try to put yourself into the shoes of the other person and see the situation from their eyes. This will make it easier to keep your emotions from taking control when you go back to finish the discussion.

Another great way to know when to walk away is to have guidelines set before you make any big decisions. In the example of buying a car, know exactly what you can afford, what features you need, what you can live without, and what you want. Know which vehicles you want beforehand and go in with your guidelines in place. Set the tone during the discussion with the salesperson and don’t let them deviate from your guidelines. They want your business, it is up to you to hold your emotions at bay in order to know when to walk away.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Why do New Year’s Resolutions have such a high failure rate? Everyone sets goals and resolutions at the beginning of the year to lose weight, save money, go on more trips, or any number of promises. We act as if the start of a new year is the start f a new you. It’s like a new blank slate where we are starting fresh and forgetting the failures of the past. Because we fail so often at these resolutions or goals, we often treat them like they aren’t really that important; creating a false finish line.

One of the leading causes of us creating false finish lines is that we constantly set goals based on a yearly calendar and don’t hold ourselves accountable. Instead of just setting a date to lose weight by “x” date, try setting goals that improve your health week to week, month to month. Have a goal to lose weight but set goals and actions that you follow through with that will help you in your effort. I used to say I want to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year. Now I say I want to lose weight by the end of the year, but I am starting this week by cutting out Fast food breakfast and having a salad, an apple, and water. The next week, I continue the salads, but add on 30 minutes of walking during lunch. The next week I continue that but add some simple stretches when I wake up. A goal with no follow through is a lie you tell yourself to make yourself feel good. A goal with follow through is a success story waiting to happen.

Another problem with setting goals is that we tend to have a start/stop mentality. We start a race and once we reach the finish line we call the race over and make no more forward progress. Just like in the above examples, we should be continually challenging ourselves to become better. Don’t set a finish line to better yourself, and then go back to the old habits after you reach your goal. Continue to push yourself, to challenge yourself so you can reach greater heights.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

We all say thank you. It is a pair of words that many of us take for granted. Sure we mean them from the bottom of our hearts one minute, but the next we are just using them out of courtesy. How do we allow ourselves to slip into that mindset where being thankful isn’t easy?

Rohit asked us to keep a weekly gratitude journal where we closed our eyes and said thank you over and over until we felt the words. Then we wrote down the things we were grateful for on a specific topic for that day. At first, it was difficult. Things didn’t pop up that easily into my mind that I am grateful for. It started with surface level stuff like my possessions, or my family. However, As I started looking deeper inside at why I was grateful, I found that my gratitude was pretty shallow. It all centered around what others do for me or what I get from others.

When it got to the journal day for family, I realized that I hadn’t been as thankful as I should be. It allowed me to put into perspective how good I really have things today. We are all grateful to have friends or family. We are all grateful to be healthy or have clean clothes, or a car that runs. However, It is the deep down gratefulness that brings out a positive mindset that we often are lacking. We focus on the negatives in our lives far more than we do the positive.

Take steps to actively change our mindset, we find it is easier to stay positive. It will be far easier to express how grateful you are to that special someone, or how much you appreciate your co-worker’s efforts. This exercise can help you change your mindset and help you gain a new perspective on everything. We challenge you to try it.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

For over a century people have enjoyed going to the movies. There is something about going to the local theater to watch a big film, grabbing some popcorn and a coke while getting drawn into a story. We each experience movies differently. Whether for the sights, the sounds, the smells, the gathering of friends, the story, or any combination thereof, we have all found different things to enjoy at the movies.

Watching a film in the theater has a greater impact on your experience than watching the film at home. There are so many distractions that can take you out of the story or out of the element. Your phone might ring. Your dog might need to go outside, or you might start flipping through social media and take yourself out of the experience. At the theater, you have already made an investment into your time there by purchasing a ticket-usually at a high price-and setting aside time out of your day where you are planning to be entertained. Your mind is already set in a “me time” mode where distractions take a backseat.

Make sure that when you go to a movie, you are setting yourself up to have a better experience. Turn off the phone. Don’t just silence the phone. Many phones will still vibrate, and the distraction can take you out of a moment. Go in knowing that ticket and snack prices are high. If you are already expecting the prices to be high, you get two benefits; you are less likely to get caught off guard and have a more positive experience overall. Get into the theater early. Not only will you have a better experience if you aren’t missing any of the film, but you are also not being a distraction to others who are also attending the movie. If you keep these things in mind, you will find a more enriching experience at the theaters regardless of how good or bad the movie is.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Our emotions are powerful tools and heavy burdens. They can help us process what we experience and convey our feelings to others. However, they can also hinder our progress and destroy lives. How do we recognize the difference and how do we manage them so they don’t cause harm? We don’t want to be controlled by our emotions, but there are times where we lose control of our emotions and they control our responses.

There are times that our emotions are a good thing. Happiness can brighten our day, and lead us in a positive direction. Managing happiness usually isn’t a big problem. However, happiness can also be used against you. When buying a car, if the dealership sees you are happy and desire a specific car, they will use that to control the conversation and possibly move you in a direction that you didn’t want to go. If you go in with a game plan and manage your emotional presence, you will be able to recognize those moments where you are moving away from your gameplan and giving control over to others.

Anger is a strong emotion that is often associated with negativity. Being angry is not a bad thing. However, when you bottle up the emotion, it grows like a cancer and poisons everything you do. You might lash out and hurt others, or your stress levels might rise and you end up hurting yourself. An expectation is created and you end up reacting to those situations with anger more easily each time. Take a moment to recognize what makes you angry and find a healthy way to release that emotion. I use a form of momentary journaling to write down what I am feeling and why. This offers me perspective and helps focus my thoughts on logic. It also gives me an outlet for those emotions. I take those angers and burn them as a form of release.

Perspective is the most important part of managing your emotions. If you have a clear perspective of the causation of your emotional state, you can take steps to prevent those emotions from filling you up or bogging you down. Learn what sets you off, and take a moment to look at it logically. Analyze and deconstruct how you are feeling and how you go there. From there you can make forward progress towards a healthy release and prevent a breakdown from occurring.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

The holidays are a time of rejoicing for many, and a time of frustration for others. How you view the holidays will tell you a lot about your mindset. I find that there are two camps of people in the holidays; the Carolers, and the Humbuggers. Each has their own view of the holiday season and each reacts differently to them.

Carolers are excited and happy for the holidays. They listen to Christmas music, they feel happy when they see decorations, and love going through the retail stores and looking at their holiday displays. The positive feelings and happy memories are always on their mind.

Humbuggers can’t stand the holidays. They look at the negatives and get frustrated by them. Their experience is hindered because they will focus on the commercialism, the traffic, the inconveniences and the busy schedules.

Not everyone has happy memories of the holidays. They might have been abused as children. They might have had a financially challenging childhood where there weren’t a lot of gifts and their families might have been constantly fighting. People in these situations tend to grow up hating the holidays because they see other people happy and feel that they have missed out.

A time of year, or a specific holiday are not to blame for the experiences a person has had. However horrible the holiday season might have been in the past for you, you can still find enjoyment in them now. If you don’t have happy memories of the holidays, make some. Start fresh by making some new memories and traditions with friends. Find a way to keep your mind on the positive message of any holiday and you won’t even notice the negative side anymore. You will see your mood brighten and your outlook lift. Set a new tradition for your personal life as well. It can help you find a way to view things in a more positive light. I reread a book that I grew up reading and remember the time I met the author and fell in love with his stories. It helps me keep things in perspective and clears my mind of negative feelings during a stressful time of year.

Get together with some friends and set some group traditions. Rohit Rohila and I go out on a shopping trip every year. It is always a different place and we always experience new things. Sometimes we bring others with us and sometimes it is just us guys. We might not even buy anything, but we always go out and just hang out.

The holidays are not just a time of rejoicing and good food. They are also a time for reflection. Take this time to reflect on your year. Write down some of the things that have made you happy this year. Review that list of happiness and keep it I your heart. Happiness in the holidays can spread if you keep it alive.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

What separates an Entrepreneur from the average person? It’s all about the mindset. This episode all started when we had a discussion over lunch about our paychecks. We were talking about how our holiday pay schedule was different due to the normal day we would get paid falling on either a holiday or a weekend. Rohit mentioned that he couldn’t even remember the last time he worried about a steady paycheck and it all snowballed from there.

Rohit worked most of his life for someone else and just last year started working for himself when the company he was working for cut his department. He could have panicked and threw himself into the same cycle we all know of looking for another 9-5 making money for someone else while earning a steady paycheck. Instead, he started thinking outside his comfort zone and moving into his strengths.

It became less about “how do I trade my time for money” into “how do I create the income stream I need to be successful.” He turned his situation into a competition with himself. “How do I create more success with what I have?” It is all about perspective with him.

If you ask yourself “how do I make more money” you are looking at things from a perspective of “lack.” It has negative connotations that directly impact your abilities to succeed. You are always looking at things from the perspective of “I need to do more to keep what I have.” You never have enough. When you look at things from a success standpoint, you are constantly asking yourself, “What can I do to improve on my results.” Both, you might argue, have the same messaging. “I need to improve to keep what I have.” However, the difference is in the beginning. One looks at it as I need to keep what I have by offering more. The other looks at is as “I have what I have, now how do I improve or grow it or create more.” That is the entrepreneurial mindset.

Your time is precious. Our jobs take up a large portion of our day. We are selling our time and effort to a company to provide a specific service. They can replace us with another person no matter how much we think we know or do for them. We are a resource. However, the rest of our time could be spent in improving our lives and growing what we have. Be it in relationships, knowledge, or whatever else you value, you need to be the master of your life. Remember that the more time you spend at work, the less time you have to do the things you want or need to do for yourself.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Spoiler Alert! Everybody hates spoilers. Social media is fraught with people spoiling TV shows, upcoming movies, books, games, events, and activities. We believe it could be a couple of different reasons. If everyone hates them so much, why do people still do it?

The first that comes to mind is malicious intent. The true meaning of “spoiling” an experience is to ruin the experience for others intentionally. We all know that one guy that always tell s the ending of a story before we hear it. No one wants to hang out with that one guy because he ruins every movie/TV show and gets off on the feeling of power he/she gets over sharing knowledge that he/she believes no one else knows.

The second reason is more common. A person unintentionally spoils the experience by hinting at things or “foreshadowing.” These people truly love the story or activity they are involved in, but have a hard time avoiding information that affects your experience with the activity. They mean well, but have this annoying habit to set expectations of something yet to happen.

Why do these people do these things? Having been guilty of both a time or two, I think the first is just looking for the attention that they get from having the knowledge. The second truly enjoys the activity or story, but can’t separate their feelings from those of other people. They are the ones that say “don’t get attached to these characters,” or “just wait until the next episode. I read the book and the next episode should break your heart.”

Whatever the reason, spoiling something for someone has a real impact on their expectations of that activity or event. It limits their ability to fully experience or enjoy something new. If we are more cognizant of how we are sharing with each other, we might be able to recognize when we are guilty of these things and begin to correct it. It is difficult not to project our experiences on others. Therefore, we should try to be aware of how we might be trying to create an experience for someone else based on our feelings, and not theirs.

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Ask 10 random people if they have some stress in their life, and all 10 will say yes. Stress Management is such a powerful topic out there, and one that we all try to find solutions for. In this episode we help you alleviate your stress by asking yourself one simple question…

SHOW DESCRIPTION

We’ve mentioned several times over the podcast that it’s difficult for us to see our own magic such as talents, skills, and key characteristics. We downplay these things and pass them off as “no big deal”, even though we have dedicated hour upon hour to crafting our skills and abilities.

If our life was a movie, what would be the key defining moment? A moment where you step into a new you, redefining yourself as the main character in your own life? Finding such a moment can be difficult, but so important to developing your confidence moving forward.

One of the first things that you can do is what is called the Victory Pose. You know, the way Superman stands with his hands on his hips, chest out, big smile on his face. Or maybe you have your hands up like you just won a marathon race. Both of these poses are scientifically shown to increase the positive chemicals in your brain and trigger feelings of happiness.

Once you have done that, reflect on your life. What moment would you choose to be your movie moment? What did you have to overcome to get past your comfort zone? Thinking about these things will help propel you to a life greater than you are leading today, and then the next day, and so on ?

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Quick quiz for you:

1. Are you happy with the status of your current bank account?
2. Are you happy with the results of your current health?

If both of those answers are no, which I’m sure is 100% of you, you need to take different steps, change your beliefs, and then take action.

This can very quickly lead to a situation where you feel overwhelmed. For many, even answering those two questions honestly can be overwhelming. So we think we only need to change our actions and it will get us different results. However, if your thinking doesn’t change, you will be back to the way that you are. Did you know that the majority of lottery winners are back to the same amount of money that they had before they won within just a couple of years? It’s because they didn’t change their thinking.

If you have created your life around only $80k a year, and then you get $2m a year, that’s so far outside of your comfort zone that you will go back to repeating the same programs that got you to $80k a year.

In this episode, we take a look at why that is, and how all it really takes is 20 minutes a day to make a dramatic improvement in your life. It’s easier than you think it is. What do you have to lose, isn’t 20 minutes worth the life without the frustrations your currently experiencing?

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Quick quiz for you:

1. Are you happy with the status of your current bank account?
2. Are you happy with the results of your current health?

If both of those answers are no, which I’m sure is 100% of you, you need to take different steps, change your beliefs, and then take action.

This can very quickly lead to a situation where you feel overwhelmed. For many, even answering those two questions honestly can be overwhelming. So we think we only need to change our actions and it will get us different results. However, if your thinking doesn’t change, you will be back to the way that you are. Did you know that the majority of lottery winners are back to the same amount of money that they had before they won within just a couple of years? It’s because they didn’t change their thinking.

If you have created your life around only $80k a year, and then you get $2m a year, that’s so far outside of your comfort zone that you will go back to repeating the same programs that got you to $80k a year.

In this episode, we take a look at why that is, and how all it really takes is 20 minutes a day to make a dramatic improvement in your life. It’s easier than you think it is. What do you have to lose, isn’t 20 minutes worth the life without the frustrations your currently experiencing?

SHOW DESCRIPTION

We can be our own worst enemies. Negative Self-Talk can be a very powerful destructive force or a driver. The difference comes with the balance of Positive Affirmations, and in this episode, we explore just that.