Episode #185 - Where Are We Heading? (2024 In Review)

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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

number 185 of Speaking from the Heart.

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Now, I waited a few weeks before

I released this episode because

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I wanted to let the new year sink

in for all of us, myself included.

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2024 has been a very busy year

for all of us, myself included.

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I know that for many of us this

though, as I've even alluded to

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in some past episodes, that it

might've been very tough as well.

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I can see both sides of it, and for those

that have struggled in: 2024

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that if you continue to hold on to your

ith, hold on to your passion,: 2025

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be a great opportunity for you to grow.

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As long as you keep that persistence,

that patience, for something to work

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out, whether that's in your life,

your professional development, your

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business, or even something else.

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I know that I have faith in you in order

to continue making the biggest gains of

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your entire life, but even then, I feel

like this is the time to really dive

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into how Your Speaking Voice LLC, along

with Speaking from the Heart, has really

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grown quite a lot in the last year,

and I want to share a lot, not only in

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today's episode, about what those growth

opportunities have been, but also paint

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the picture of what's ahead for us,

especially as we continue to dive into the

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new year, and go beyond that new year to

show you what might be in store, not just

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for myself, but for all of you as well.

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First off, I feel that I have some things

that I want to do yet from last year

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that I didn't get a chance to act on.

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I want to touch briefly upon those things,

especially as it relates to the podcast,

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because I really want people to know

what's ahead for the future of this.

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I know that for many of us, you have

been thinking about what else could we

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possibly talk about in the new year,

especially since we covered a lot of

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topics, not only in 2023, but now in 2024.

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What else could you

possibly talk about, Josh?

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Well, there is plenty of things that

we are going to be discussing, and one

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of the things that I even wanted to do

in the last year was talk more about

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different methodologies, different

things that would help us to be even

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better than we were in the past.

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I've been doing a lot of research on

different types of things that would

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be helpful for us to have those kinds

of conversations here on Speaking

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From the Heart, and I hope that

you tune in, and continue to tune

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in, because even some of the most

meaningful content comes from the heart.

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That's why we do this show.

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It isn't just about the fact that we have

all these guests that bring their personal

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experiences, but I encourage you to listen

to many of the monologue episodes that do

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give personal advice, professional advice,

public speaking, even business advice for

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that matter, so all those different things

are opportunities for you to engage,

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and I'm hoping all of you will listen

to some of those past episodes as well.

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They're still time related, and they

have a lot of great content that even

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talks about artificial intelligence, so

I encourage you to even speak about how

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those tools, especially as people get more

interested and more engaged, especially

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when it relates to the topic of AI, and

how it plays a pivotal role in our lives,

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and please, share these episodes with

your friends, family members, and others

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that might be interested in following

along, whether they're on any of my

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major platforms that this podcast is

on, let alone other places that you can

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access, even on the yourspeakingvoice.biz

website, or even on Speaking from

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the Heart's Captivate website, which

is always in the episode notes.

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Today, I really am enthralled

by the number of things

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that I've been able to do.

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I have gained over 20 some clients

this year, and it's been wonderful

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to work with each of them.

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Now, obviously, I don't have

all 20 clients still with me.

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Some of them have accomplished their

goals within the same year, but even then,

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I have many people that are returning,

looking for more opportunities to engage

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whether that's in their public speaking,

or even in their professional development,

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but what I've been more surprised about

is even the generosity and the support

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of so many that have recommended me,

and I feel that the word of mouth

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about my business is starting to grow.

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As somebody that does this as a

solopreneur, doing everything from

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financial aspects, marketing, and even

trying to plan the administrative,

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professional ideas that I want to do

for the new year, amongst running even

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this podcast, and now starting to write

a blog, which is something new in the

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last year, it can be very time consuming.

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It means I have to balance the needs

and the wants of so many different

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types of priorities, and that can be

very challenging, so if there's some

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things that you want to see more of,

especially as we enter this new year,

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even deeper than we already are at,

feel free to shoot me an email at

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contact@yourspeakingvoice.biz, and I

will gladly take any recommendations

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that you have, especially as it relates

to topics, maybe even some focal areas

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that you would like to have, but one of

the biggest things that you're going to

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see developing in the new year relate

to not only new workshops which I will

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be presenting not only as their own

standalone offering, but I also will be

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showcasing some new opportunities that

I've been working on as they come up.

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I've been really excited to continue

my partnership with the Federally

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Employed Women, which I've been

able to do in the last year.

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I want to thank that organization,

especially Ivana Miranda, along with

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FEW's president, Pamela Richards, for

allowing me to always be back, being able

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to educate the fine women of the federal

workforce in a variety of different

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ways, but I like to be looking out for

even new opportunities like that, so if

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you do have an organization or business

that you are looking to bring a speaker

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in, or even to engage with a workshop.

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I offer many different things, which

even includes my certification in Crucial

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Conversations For Mastering Dialogue.

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That is a certification that helps

people, especially teams for that matter,

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work through difficult conversations,

while being able to appreciate both

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sides of it, and frame the conversation

in such a way that it is a win win

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with actual results at the end.

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We all know that conflict is the number

one thing that can destroy teams, let

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alone organizations, and I've been

fortunate enough to provide a mini

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preview of this type of work through

the Carlisle Young Professionals, which

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I have to thank Allison Lunde, one

of the presidents that have been part

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of the organization for supporting me

this past year, giving that opportunity

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to have a showcase of that fine work.

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I have to thank the Heralds of Hope, Arlin

Horst, who I've been able to work with

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this past year, giving me an opportunity

to work with their organization on a

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variety of different things that they had

as they're advancing their platform to

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reach an international audience, which

has been a very exciting thing that I

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was so privileged to be part of, working

with one of the team members and helping

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them become better in their public

speaking delivery on a podcast medium,

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but even then, I think of the folks

at Next Generation Personal Training.

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Those are the people that I've been so

thankful to work with, and their team

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has exponentially grown in so many

ways through the work that I've been

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doing with all their members, both

individually, with their leadership

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team, and being able to do that as a

whole with many of the workshops that

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I've worked with in this past year.

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Again, if there's anything that

I could ever do for any of your

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organizations, let alone even yourself

for that matter, you can always visit

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my website at yourspeakingvoice.biz,

and set up a time with me using the

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schedule feature that is located there.

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There's a number of different services

that I do provide and have added in the

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last year, which include developing your

own podcast, which I'm super excited to

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be providing now as an offering using

the experiences that I have been able

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to have through this platform doing it

on my own, but also fractional coaching.

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Fractional coaching is something

that we talked about in a previous

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episode earlier in the 2024 year,

that is now available for your use.

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If you feel that you need to have

those sessions, whenever you need

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them, especially in a certain

time frame, they are there to help

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assist you get to that next level.

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Going back to what I really want to

do this year, not only do I want to

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create more workshops, but I want to

give you, not only my listeners but

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also my clients that might be looking

out for me as potential opportunities

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to grow even further, ways in which you

can engage with our newsletters that

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I'm hoping to start developing even

more so in the new year, getting more

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of a reaction from what content you

might want to see through there, but

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also trying to find ways in which you

might want to help with building this

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platform that we have, this community.

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One of the things I will be exploring

is potentially having a small group

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that consists of a number of different

individuals that are looking to improve

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themselves in an irregular basis, meaning

we would have a schedule, but it won't

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meet as frequently, knowing that we have

very busy lives, but also providing value.

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As we meet, you're able to grow

and prosper in the ways in which

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those skills that we will talk about

will develop you, but I also want

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to bring out new opportunities for

you to come and be on the show.

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If there's something that you have as

a story, or even individuals that you

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know in your life that might be a good

fit, sharing what is on their heart,

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having that authentic conversation on

the podcast, that's something that I

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would like to have more of, especially

in South Central Pennsylvania, or even

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in the United States for that matter,

so if you do know of anybody that

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might fit the criteria and you've been

a long term listener, feel free to

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also send their contact information,

or even them, for that matter, to

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contact at yourspeakingvoice.biz.

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I have to say that 2024 was a way for

me, personally, to grow so much, not only

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because of the guests that we've had on

this show, which have been numerous in

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nature again, but knowing that a full

year has passed, and seeing the growth

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of Your Speaking Voice heading into

year three, has really warmed my heart.

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It's something that I know is working, and

that's something that for business owners,

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you know that that persistence, that

attitude to continuously keep growing, and

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moving that needle in the right direction,

is very tough, especially when you are

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crunching numbers, and being able to

figure out whether you can make it or not.

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It doesn't mean that we always

have everything in play.

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It means that we still have to work

hard, and we know that there's a number

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of people that need to be served, so

I'm asking for all of you that have

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ever been served, whether it's through

this podcast, or if you are a client

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and I have served you in the past

or currently in the present, please

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continue to think of me, Joshua D.

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Smith, with Your Speaking Voice, LLC,

for anything that you might need.

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I think that we have this opportunity in

: 2025

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been hard, not only because of financial

concerns, especially as you've seen the

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economy take a turn for many different

types of jobs being lost in many different

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sectors, but also trying to reinvent

ourselves, using skills and redefining

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our knowledge and abilities that we have,

to be better, to be able to showcase them

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to talent that we have out there, so if

you do need help with your resume, if you

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do need help with interview preparation,

those are services that I would love

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to have even more clients engage in

as we enter the new year even further.

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If you think that coaching is about all

the money that you can give me, or that

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I'm begging for more people to help out,

that's really not all that it's entailed.

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I think that we learn about our

opportunities to grow and prosper not

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only through the things that we develop

inside of ourselves, but realizing

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the hidden potential that we unlock.

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It's essentially turning the key on

a lock that has been locked for so

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long, and that's something for me, in

: 2024

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Personally for me, it has been a

very tough year, not just because

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of things that I've had to work

through personally, but I've had to

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realize that I can't do everything.

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I know that I've been tediously working

on a number of different things, but I

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cannot wait to take a big step back for

a little bit, and rest, knowing that I

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have put this work in, and reflect even

more on this adventure that I have.

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As I even record this, I know that

I have this ability to help you and

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others just as much as I've been pouring

into myself to continue to build this

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presence, to build this opportunity, to

help others to become the best versions

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of themselves, so, are you ready for the

surprise that I've been hinting in the

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episode description of what that entails?

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I really want people to see what I'm all

about, so what I'm going to do for the

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next 30 days after the air date of this

episode is allow you to work with me

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for your first three sessions for free.

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That's right.

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Your first three sessions; that entails

your life, professional development,

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or public speaking coaching.

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If you have anything that you're

individually working on, if it fits one

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of those three things as it is listed

on my website, and you successfully sign

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up for me for at least a month, I will

throw in the first three sessions for

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free, so if you want to take advantage

of this special offer, all you need to

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do is reference episode 185 when you

contact me, and you set up a time with

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me, and we'll build that right into your

proposal, and have you engage with me,

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either in life, professional development,

or public speaking coaching, for the

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first three sessions, all for free.

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It's on the house.

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I really believe in what I provide,

and I have seen the results with a

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lot of different reviews that I have

now collected over the last two years,

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being fully operational in my business.

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If you don't believe in the power of

coaching, or if you're still skeptical

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about it, I want you to know that

where we're heading is to reaffirm

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our commitment, here at Your Speaking

Voice LLC, that it is about results.

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It isn't just about faking

something until you make it.

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It's actually digging deep, allowing you

to see the true version of yourself, being

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able to see what you're capable of doing,

which is exactly what I've been working on

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for the last two years, and being able to

be so successful knowing that I'm building

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that consistency, and building the

brand, that allows us to be who we are.

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Much of this is exciting.

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The unknown is still out there and

I still love to have more guests

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and more opportunities to continue

the conversations that we've had on

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Speaking From The Heart in order to

help you become not only just the

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better version of yourself, but to

help me, the better version of your

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podcast host, and founder and owner

of Your Speaking Voice, LLC, Joshua D.

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Smith; but friends, even as we

wrap up today's episode, there

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is something I have to say.

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As we head into the 2025 year,

I've been enthralled and excited

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to see what's ahead, given how

much has been so successful for me

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to get my name out there in 2024.

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Even with all the unknowns, and all

the things that I have yet to do,

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I know that I can count on you, my

consistent, loyal base of followers,

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to help me and pursue small business

as an opportunity to really excel.

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There's nothing wrong with creating

ingenuity, excitement, and opportunity,

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whether that's in your life,

professional development, public

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speaking, business, or any of the

other offerings, including my podcast

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and fractional coaching, to help you

become the best version of who you are.

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There is nothing that would ever hold

you back from reaching your unlimited

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potential, except if you keep on saying

to yourself that you cannot do it, which

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I highly doubt, given the fact that

many of my clients, starting out, were

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very skeptical about what I'd be able

to provide, but I've been able to show

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them, through testimony and through

excitement of their own life, that they

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are able to accomplish many things,

o what are you waiting for in: 2025

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If you think that someone's going to

hand it to you, that's not the case.

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I encourage you getting that team,

as we've always talked about in these

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episodes, along with your coach, can

help you not only see what you're

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capable of building with relationships,

confidence, and determination, but

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it can help you see what you're

truly worth in this ever changing

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world, because you do have a voice.

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Whether you speak it out loud or use

action behind it, I know I can count

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on you to not only see what's ahead,

but to see what's really far ahead as

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we continue to head into the 2025 year.

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Thanks for listening to episode

number 185 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.