Episode 122
Episode #117 - Why Am I Not Making Any Progress?
Much difficulty of achieving goals can easily be attributed to making goals way too broad, not realistic, not time bound, not measurable, and even relatable. Using the SMART Method, however, is not the end all, solve all solution that will help you achieve what is necessary. What are you doing to not only hold yourself accountable, but what can you do to break down the tasks into manageable, bite-sized pieces to show that you can, and were, making progress? This episode explains the problems in today’s busy world with managing big endeavors, but to demystify this process to create, engage, and deliver on what you set up for yourself.
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Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs
Transcript
Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and
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:determination all converge into
an amazing, heartfelt experience.
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:This is Speaking From The Heart.
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:Joshua: Welcome back to episode
117 of Speaking from the Heart,
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:and I know what you're thinking.
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:Another episode of goal setting,
trying to solve problems, and so much
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:more is in store for today's episode.
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:Not.
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:We're not going to cover that.
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:We've covered it so many different times.
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:Matter of fact, I could go on and on and
on about SMART goal development: Specific,
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:Measurable, Actionable, Relational,
Time bound, but even with all of those
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:things said, even if you wanted to try
to be relational, realistic, whatever
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:you want to fit into those acronyms,
because you noticed that I said it wrong.
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:It's not about just
SMART goal development.
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:It's not about having all these
solutions so that we can make
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:our lives magically different.
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:It's about really understanding, "Why,
oh why!", even with all the goals set and
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:working with all the coaches of the world,
you still are not making any progress, and
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:yes, I've had clients that also come in,
we think that it's going to be some sort
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:of magic formula, and it's not quite what
they expect it to be, because it's the
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:hard work, it's the dedication, it's the
time after time of being successful that
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:makes them truly successful, so in today's
episode, I don't want to talk about SMART
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:goal methodology and how you go about it.
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:What I want to talk about is how you can
break down all these things into small,
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:manageable, bite sized pieces so that
you are able to make that progress, so
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:that you are able to see the light at
the end of the tunnel, and you will be
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:able to see some of the best results
that you've ever seen in your entire
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:life, but it's not as easy as just making
goals and putting them down on a sheet
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:of paper, maybe even analyzing who you
are and trying to figure out what really
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:works best, and I have to laugh at
some of the other coaches that do this.
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:It's not just about setting goals.
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:It's not just about these quick plans
that you can do in 60 or 90 days.
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:Sure.
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:If you want an intense, penetratable
sort of goal that will be able to be
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:accomplished in no time flat, spend
your 3,000 to 5,000 dollars in hiring
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:one of those coaches, but if you really
want to have a long term success, why
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:don't you put 3,000 to 5,000 dollars
in a year of working on your goal?
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:Now that starts to become a little
bit more manageable, and, you're able
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:to take it one small step at a time.
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:We can easily be dismayed
though, because we have all
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:these things that we have to do.
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:"Well, I got to do the
dishes today, Josh."
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:"Oh, well, something else came up, Josh.
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:I can't really work on that today,
or tomorrow, or even the next day."
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:"Oh, you asked me to do that, Josh?
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:I totally forgot to do it."
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:I've heard every excuse in the book
at this point, and I've only been
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:doing this for a little over a year.
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:I get it!
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:You are not paying attention.
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:You do care, but the problem is
you have the lack of motivation
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:to carry through, so I hear you
out there, ladies and gentlemen.
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:It's not just about what you
are doing as those time pushes
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:that we've talked about even in
productivity episodes on this podcast.
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:It's about how you holding yourself
accountable when you need to be
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:accountable for everything that you
do, and I think one of the first things
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:I have to talk about without even any
hesitation, because I have this problem
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:myself, is making sure you have the right
environment to be able to be successful.
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:Environment in itself doesn't always
mean though that you have to win
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:and win and win in these sort of
walls that you set up for yourself.
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:It means you have to find a place, that
little spot, whether it's at the dining
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:room table, maybe it's at an office that
you rent, maybe it's in the most busiest
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:coffee cafes that you could ever find.
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:We all thrive in different environments.
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:I've seen people even drive RVs all
across the country to work on their
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:self development, and if travel is your
game, I'm here to stay, but you have to
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:realize that these sort of environments
are the reasons why we are thriving,
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:making ourselves so successful, to be
able to achieve greatness when greatness
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:comes from being and thriving in the
places that we enjoy being the most,
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:so if there's anything that you get out
of this episode, make sure that you're
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:creating the right environment and
the right attitude for yourself within
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:that environment to be successful.
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:There's no time to be playing games.
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:There's no reason for you to
have distractions by your phone.
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:Turn all of it off and focus.
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:Nowadays, computers have the ability to
have you focus in 30 minute sprints at
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:minimum to be able to do that, even less
time if you need that time, to be able
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:to do small tasks, but when we talk about
these big, hairy, audacious goals, or
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:BHAG if we like to call it short, we have
to realize that these are things that we
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:don't do one bite sized piece at a time.
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:It means that we have to manage the
expectation of eating that big piece
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:that we're taking off that elephant,
but sometimes the managing of the
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:expectations means that we have to
have the right tools alongside us.
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:I see it all the time in which
people fail and I do this myself.
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:I fail because I brought the
wrong tools to the table.
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:When I needed to have a
fork, I brought a knife.
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:When I brought a plastic fork and also
a plastic knife, I should have had a
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:real knife because the things I was
going to cut were not going to be cut
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:by some sort of dingy plastic material
to be able to eat, but I think that we
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:have to understand if we're ever going
to make progress, it means that we have
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:to learn that not just the environment
matters, but the tools that we bring.
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:If we're not able to bring the right
tools, whether we have to borrow them
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:from somebody else, we have to buy them,
or even get a loan to buy them, we have
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:to be able to put the right investment
of tools into the right perspective.
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:I'll give you a perfect example.
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:One of the things that I always wanted
to work on in my business, especially
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:starting out, was having a number of
workshops, and I always failed at doing
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:it because when you start out, you never
realize how much, uh, work is involved
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:with everything that you have to do, so
I had all these workshops, but I never
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:got them off the ground because one thing
after another started: having clients,
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:being able to do interviews with other
people that were coming in as clients.
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:The consultations along with the
administrative burden became to
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:be way too much starting out.
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:Now I've gotten a lot better about
my processes and learning as I go
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:along, which is always the value of
being a small business owner, but when
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:you're developing, even yourself for
that matter, manage your expectation,
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:even with all the tools, with all the
environments that you are creating.
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:Do not overdo it.
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:When you start to realize that when you
take these microchasms of things that
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:you need to work on, and you work on
them very diligently to the point that
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:you feel satisfied with it, that's when
you know that you're making progress.
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:Now, I already hear you.
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:You're saying to yourself, "Hmm.
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:That's fascinating, but how
do I know when is too much?
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:I'm terrible at managing
those expectations."
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:It's sometimes a trial by error,
and every time that you do it, it's
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:going to be a little bit different.
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:What you might be able to do in a
30 minute sprint one day, you might
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:need about an hour to do in the
next day, and it might be because
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:of the way that you're feeling.
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:It might be the weather outside.
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:It might be other things that
you're asked to do, whether it's
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:at work or at some other capacity.
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:There's all kinds of factors, so I always
encourage, take the maximum time that
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:you need to be able to work on those
things, but don't overdo it either.
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:If something as simple as setting up
a Word document so that you're ready
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:to type your next novel takes you four
hours, that's not managing expectations.
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:That's why I always think it's important
to have a coach to work alongside.
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:They'll be able to help you with
understanding not only the importance
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:of focusing and creating that
meaningful content that you're trying
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:to develop, whether that's physical,
mental, or social, or cultural.
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:It also gives you an
accountability partner.
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:Oh yes, there's wonderful people in your
life that are going to hold you to the
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:fire and ask you why it was never done.
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:I know that for many people, the aspect
of working with somebody that you do
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:not know is the most scariest thing.
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:What if they take my ideas?
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:What if they don't really deliver
on what they're promising?
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:Even more importantly, what if they
never show up, and I've had people
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:that have been working with me for
so long that they have been committed
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:to continue to work on themselves.
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:Sometimes they're more of a struggle
over others, but they still get
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:the job done once they realize that
they have been working on themselves
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:and being more intentional about
the time that they're utilizing.
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:Oh yeah, time.
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:Heh heh.
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:I'm sure you probably were thinking
about that too, as I got so much to
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:do and so little time to do it in.
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:What makes you think that I'm going
to be able to make any progress,
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:because that's why I'm not making
progress in the first place.
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:What do I do about that?
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:I think that goes alongside of your
environment, and having the right
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:tools, and managing your expectations.
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:When you love doing something
that you really want to do,
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:you will make the time for it.
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:You will find that time will never
be enough to be able to do all the
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:things that you want to accomplish,
but when you figure out that time is
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:on your side, and that time is yet a
fleeting concept, but also the ability
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:in which we manage our productivity
can make such a big difference, then
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:you start to realize that time It's not
just the thing that might stand in the
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:way, it can become your best friend.
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:What I mean by that is, when you
love something so much, just like
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:I love doing this podcast and I
love working on my business, Your
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:Speaking Voice LLC, I start to enjoy
not just what I do on a daily basis.
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:But I also start to enjoy
working with others.
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:It allows me to enjoy what I have
forgotten about life, and what its magical
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:powers can do to help me in my physical,
my mental, all the other things that
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:are important in my overall development.
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:I've been on many podcasts, even on
other shows for that matter, that have
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:expressed this concept, happiness.
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:Being able to see your authentic self,
which ironically enough, other people do
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:the same concept, or is it not so ironic,
but even people that dig deep into the
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:psychology of what's really involved,
and I think of Michelle Wolfe, which
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:I hope Michelle's listening to this.
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:I've recently been on her show
talking about the struggles as a male
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:relating to even figuring out what
are some of the things that hold me
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:back from reaching my true potential
and why I want to work with others.
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:that want to seek the same.
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:Our stories are so intertwined.
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:They create some of the best values if
we're just willing to stop and listen
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:to what other people's experiences are.
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:In other words, if you really are
struggling, 9 chances out of 10, someone
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:else has been struggling with it too.
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:I guarantee you, you can find a blog,
you can find a podcast, you can find
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:somebody close to you that will be able
to work with you to figure out what
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:are some of the struggles that stand
in your way of not making progress.
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:Now, I joked about earlier, starting out
with this episode, about the importance
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:of goals and really, maybe they shouldn't
have mattered today, but let me revisit
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:that subject now, because one of the
things that you might have realized is
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:that if you don't have the right plan,
none of this will come to fruition, and
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:that's what this is really all about.
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:If you have the right plan in
place, if you have the right tools,
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:you have the right environment,
you have the right mindset, you
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:have the right accountability,
you are going to make progress.
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:Things happen for a reason and such
is life, but when you make life
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:an excuse over and over again, are
you really going to continue asking
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:yourself, "Why am I not making any
progress?", the title of this show?
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:I think that you would understand
that maybe, just maybe, you need to
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:stop giving yourself excuses, and
start giving yourself deadlines.
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:The big endeavors that we have in our
life don't have to be this big mystery.
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:We can create a process for us
to create, engage, and deliver
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:what you set up for yourself.
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:It's just a matter of setting up those
expectations for yourself, and holding
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:yourself accountable to it, whether
you need somebody else's help or not
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:is totally your choice, but the choices
that we make in our lives really dictate
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:the success that we're able to create.
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:If you're too broad, you're never
going to get to where you need to be.
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:If they're not time bound, you're
never going to meet those expectations
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:of where you're trying to get to.
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:If you're not realistic about it, or
maybe even real about it for that matter,
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:you are never, ever, ever ever going to
leave fictional world, and be stuck in
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:a whole platitude of different things
that you always wanted to accomplish.
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:If you're not measuring, you're not
succeeding either, but even if you were
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:relatable, having the relationships
with someone to be able to hold you to
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:that accountability factor that you need
to have, can make such a difference.
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:There doesn't have to be this big
mystery sauce that you have to
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:consume in order to figure out that
goal setting and goal achieving can
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:be attributed to not only helping
yourself grow, but to prosper as well.
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:Don't let yourself be held back from your
ambitions, your desires, your dreams,
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:because you think that there's some
artificial wall that stands in your way.
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:The wall that stands in your
way might be something that
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:you created a long time ago.
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:And it's time now to revisit whether that
wall should have ever been erected in the
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:first place, and if you can't easily tear
that wall down, get someone to help you.
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:Any sort of coach, any sort of
facilitator, anybody that works in
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:the realm of trying to overcome those
fears, are somebody that you should
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:become friends with, and very soon.
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:Even if you can't do that right now,
look at yourself in the mirror and ask
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:yourself, "What is holding you back
from being the most beautiful person
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:in the world to be able to achieve what
is necessary for you to be successful?
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:If you can break down those things
into not only the opportunities
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:of a lifetime and make them small,
manageable, bite sized pieces, those
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:BHAG goals, or those goals that have
looked very big as an elephant, start
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:to break down a little bit further.
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:One of the last things I'll talk about
is the fact that behind me, in my
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:very office in which I meet with my
clients, is a picture of an elephant.
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:The picture of the elephant has many
words that make up the drawing, the
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:illustration of what the elephant
looks like, which, the elephant is one
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:of the wisest, one of the strongest
mammals that ever walked the earth, and
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:yet, at the same time, mammals, like
elephants, are often looked at as big.
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:They cannot be taken down.
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:They are very noble creatures.
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:I think that each and every one of
you are elephants, and that every
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:time that you walk across this earth,
you are nurturing and helping others.
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:That's why I have that elephant behind me.
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:It's always looking over my shoulder
and looking at you, every time
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:that you're able to accomplish
some of the best things that you
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:could ever accomplish in your life.
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:All it takes is just changing that
mindset, having the determination
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:and having the confidence to keep
moving forward, and oh yeah: creating
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:that environment to be able to do
the same, because let's face it,
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:why you're not making progress?
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:It's simple: you letting your own
self get in your own way, and you
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:letting other people tell you the same.
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:Stop making excuses.
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:Start leaning into what you know is
the truth, and when you lean into the
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:truth, nothing is impossible to achieve.
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:Thanks for listening to episode
number 117 of Speaking From the
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:Heart, and I look forward to
hearing from your heart, very soon.
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:Outro: Thanks for listening.
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:For more information about our podcast
and future shows, search for Speaking From
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:The Heart to subscribe and be notified
wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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:Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz
for more information about potential
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:services that can help you create
the best version of yourself.
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:See you next time.
