Episode #65 - Preparing For Our Next Adventure (In The New Year)

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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 65 of Speaking from the Heart.

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Today, we're going to tackle the

inevitable conclusion of this year.

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The biggest thing that will ever

happen to you in which that will change

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everything that you know about yourself.

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It will be something that is radical

in nature, but yet you have to be

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prepared for what's ahead, and that is...

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the new year.

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That new year is soon upon us, and I can't

believe how quickly it has come by, and

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I'm sure that for you, it might be even

a reflection of a moment of time in which

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you have to say, "Wow, I can't believe

this has flown by", and even you might

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be saying too that you might have not

done what you really needed to accomplish

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in this year, but yet, here we are.

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We're going to be setting

goals for ourselves.

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We're going to be taking on maybe those

challenges that we have in the new year

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coming up, and we're going to be planning.

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We're going to be putting together the

things that we need to put together in

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order to become that new best version

of ourselves, because we are able to

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create not only those opportunities

in our own lives by doing it by

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ourselves, which I'm sure we have done,

or even with someone that has been an

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accountability partner in the past,

but maybe some of those things that

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have been successful have now changed.

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They might have evolved into a whole

new opportunity in itself, and you

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even have some things that are going

to be taking even a little bit longer.

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Maybe these are the things in which you

have been working on for over a year,

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and now you're going to be entering year

two of the next set of plans, but this

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is always the time of the year in which

I start to hear not only the little

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things that are being accomplished or

thought about when it comes to what we

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want to be in the new year, or even what

we want to try as something different,

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but I feel that there's always this quote

unquote mundane repeat of the actions and

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steps that we're always going to take.

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I think that we often have to take

a big step back and think, "Is this

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really going to work yet again?

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Are the things in which that I am going

to set out for in this new year going

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to work out for what I think is really

the best version of who I am now?",

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because let's face it, many of us

were successful in doing what we were

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doing, and for that, I applaud you.

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Congratulations for being able to get

to the end of your goal by achieving

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many of the things that were on your

list before even this year started, but

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for some of you that are listening to

this, you might have buyer's remorse.

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You might be feeling a little guilty

about what you actually have accomplished.

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Maybe you are feeling a little bit

ashamed of maybe those things that

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you should have been doing all

along, but there's hope, isn't there?

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You're going to employ the same sort

of techniques and the same sort of

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strategies that you have done time and

time again, and get back on that horse

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that you've been riding on, hoping

that the same result that we have been

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doing over and over again will actually

turn a new leaf for our own lives.

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Does that sound familiar?

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That's the very definition of insanity.

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It's doing the same thing over

and over and over and over again,

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thinking that you're going to have

a different conclusion; maybe a

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different result for that matter.

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I think that we have to think about

not just those things that we have

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accomplished, not only those aspects of

our lives in which we have worked on,

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but what has changed all around us that

maybe those things that we were successful

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in doing before might not work again.

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It's a cruel reality; thinking that you're

always going to be able to do the same

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thing over and over again, and you're

gonna have the same results, great!

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If you think that you have set up

that world for yourself, perfect.

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If you think that you have everything

in order for that to happen, fantastic;

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but this message, in this episode,

is for those that might not even

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be thinking outside of the box.

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The plan that we are going to be embarking

in for the new year will be completely

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different than maybe other years past.

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As a matter of fact, you might be

thinking that your purpose, or that

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mission that you want to set out for

in the new year, is going to actually

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happen by simply switching on that

new piece of technology that you have.

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Ever heard of artificial

intelligence, better known as AI?

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This year really gave us an

opportunity to explore more of the

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tools that are available because of

the enhancements of technology to

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help plan those new opportunities,

and feel free to use ChatGPT, to be

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using the new CoPilot feature within

your Microsoft Windows computer.

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Feel free to ask Siri to help you out

with all kinds of other things that

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maybe you need to be working on as

well, but I think that we have not only

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those responsibilities in which we are

researching not only the opportunities

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that we have in front of us but

also behind us that we can rectify,

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but I think that there's something

critical that we might be all missing

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when it comes to this big formula.

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Now, I might have been talking in

riddles for the last few minutes about

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what I might be really hinting at, but

if you have followed along with my many

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other episodes, even the last one for

that matter, in which we explored those

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different ways in which we can tackle

this busy season, I think that you will

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actually come to the conclusion that

this episode isn't just about the fact

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that we need to have the right motivation

or the right intrinsic qualities in

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which we're able to move forward.

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No, it's much more different than that.

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As a matter of fact, it's about not

just having that intrinsic quality

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that we have inside of ourselves to

be able to evolve and to create some

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of the best versions of who we are,

to have the best of relationships with

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people, and even new ones for that

matter, to have the confidence to even

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hold those conversations and be able

to hold ourselves accountable, but

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to have the determination as well,

but it's so much more than just that.

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It's something that even I have stumbled

upon in my new life that I've been trying

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to lead for so long and learning that

sometimes that solitary confinement that I

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have put myself through might not actually

be the answer that I was really looking

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for to try to find that new solution.

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If you haven't yet figured out what I'm

talking about, here's the answer in which

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we all need to be embracing as it comes

to preparing for our next adventure in

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the new year, and that is: our mindset.

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Now, I know that for many of us, we

have talked in various episodes up to

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this point with numerous guests that

we have been featured on this podcast,

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Speaking from the Heart, about the

opportunities in which we're able to

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create those best versions of who we

are, to be able to create not only

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those significant achievements that

we have deep inside of ourselves, but

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to realize that we just need to have

that switch flip on, and we might be

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pleading and arguing with ourselves,

and even others for that matter, to

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have that answer once and for all.

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We might have been looking for something

deep down in our silos to which we might

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want to change that mindset; to which

we want to have that new life; to which

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we have all those awesome resources

behind us, but the thing is, mindsets

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are not handed out at the grocery store.

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Mindsets are not something that

you can Google, or even ask ChatGPT

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or CoPilot on your computer.

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You can't ask Siri.

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You can't ask Facebook.

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You can't ask X, formerly

known as Twitter.

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You can't ask your Instagram, TikTok,

Snapchat, whatever method of delivery

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that you have used, you have to

understand something right now.

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If you don't change your mindset for

what you want to accomplish for the new

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year by investing in yourself, by reading

good literature, by listening to the

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podcast shows like myself, even listening

to the things that we have around us,

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we will never amount to the things

that we really are able to accomplish.

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That is the bottom line.

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Did that sink in?

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Did you know that that mindset

that we have inside of ourselves

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might need to be rattled sometimes?

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To be challenged?

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To be able to move into a different

sort of plane of existence in order for

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us to truly wake up to what's ahead?

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A lot of times, even in this past year,

I have learned so much about not only

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myself, but the ways in which I have

created that value in my own life.

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Starting Your Speaking Voice LLC has

been really the truest honor that

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I have ever accomplished, not just

because of what I've been able to do.

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No, no, no.

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It isn't just about me

in this whole adventure.

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It's been about all the different

people that have come alongside

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of me to say to me that you have

this gift inside of you, Josh.

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You have to unleash it into the world,

and it's been about not only changing

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the status quo of what coaching has been

all about, which I am on that mission

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of doing, to help others see their voice

in this ever changing world, come alive,

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but I know that for some people, they're

never going to be able to change that

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mindset until something changes inside

of them, and maybe yelling into the

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microphone just now, hearing my voice

tell you that if you're ever going to make

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a difference, to change all the habits

that you have inside of you, it means

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changing your mindset actually starts

you on that path, I'm pretty darn proud

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of you for being able to listen to that,

and still continue with this episode.

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I often wish, that I would have more

people surrounding me on this new

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adventure that I'm on, and I know that

even in a new year, I am the most afraid

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that I have ever been in my entire life.

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It doesn't mean that I'm scared of what

it means to take chances or to be able

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to create that opportunity that lies

ahead of me, but what it does mean is

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that I never felt so alone in my entire

life at this very moment as I record

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this episode, thinking that the next

adventure is pretty scary because I'm

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the only one that's on that journey all

by myself, but as I continue to even

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think about the fact that there's been

many people that have helped me this

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past year, I realized something else.

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The goodness that's inside of our

hearts are usually the ways in which

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we dictate how we move forward.

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How we accomplish what we want to

accomplish usually starts with what

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lies inside not just our heart, but in

our brain: the thoughts that manifest,

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but even in the emotions that convey

those thoughts, but even deeper than

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that, there's a soul inside of each

and every one of us that has a fire,

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wanting to continue to create not

just those opportunities that we have

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inside of ourselves, to see the true

light that shines above all else, I

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think that we often forget about the

fact that we might be the only ones

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that will have the right mindset in

order to radically change the entire

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process that we've ever been through.

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When I was going through my suicide

attempt three and a half years ago, soon

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to be four as we enter the new year, I

realized something about my whole body

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of thought process, and that is this: if

we're ever going to be able to reach into

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a new adventure of a lifetime, in which

we're going to be able to challenge not

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the ways in which we've been doing things,

but to move into a path that we never

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thought that other people would support,

we have to realize that sometimes it means

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taking a bold step in the right direction.

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Now I get it, there might be reasons

why you shouldn't do that, whether

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they're political, they're social,

they're economical, there might be

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some feedback culturally, socially,

maybe there are other things that are

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happening that make you afraid of being

willing to take that first step, but

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I think that the plan ahead for you is

really just starting with the basics.

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It can be as simple as picking up that

book that you have laid around for over

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four to seven years, and I'm so specific

about four to seven years is because

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I was doing that for the longest time.

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There was a book that had

influenced me beyond all else.

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There has been something that had been

missing in my life that I really wish

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that, even as a kid, I would have wanted

to have even around this time of year.

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That book isn't just any

sort of religious text.

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It isn't just some sort of philosophy

about what somebody else said.

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It's the book in which I wrote

about myself; never thought that I

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would be talking about my book about

myself, but the thoughts that I

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wrote many years ago still surface.

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"You are nothing!

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You are not worth it!

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You are disgusting!

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You are a piece of shit!

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You will never amount to anything.

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You are not a good person.

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You will never amount to anything.

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You will not have a

relationship with a woman.

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You will not ever overcome.

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You are a failure."

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Those words, even to this day,

still radiate inside of me.

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They make me feel that sometimes I'm

not ready for that next adventure

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that's lying ahead, but then I

realize that that mindset that I was

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reading was really a past version

of your podcast host, Joshua D.

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Smith.

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I don't know what lies ahead

for you, and I don't know if you

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resonate with any of the things in

which I say in this episode today.

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I don't know if I have reached the many

people that I need to reach yet, but you

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know, there's something interesting about

doing something like this type of project.

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It allows you to have the creative

control and the ability to reflect

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on many different things that you

can hear, not just about what you are

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doing, but what I am doing as well.

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Going all the way back to episode one,

where I asked the question, "What is on

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your heart?", I think that we often have

to ask ourselves that question even in

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this season of busyness, which I challenge

you on whether you are really busy on,

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because I don't want to live in that

mundane repeat of what I've been through

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in my entire life, and I know that for

whoever's listening to this, I want you

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to know this: not only are you worth it,

but you never have to make those phrases

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that I said just a few minutes ago come

alive in your heart, because you are

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something of great value, and if you are

listening to this, and you are reflecting

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on what's lying ahead, throw that book

away that is about you and your past, and

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get a new book in which you write those

new versions of yourself, no matter how

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extreme they are, so that you're able to

not only start changing that mindset that

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you have, but maybe this is the year that

you, X, Y, and Z, start to become, not

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only the best versions of yourself, not

only successful in what you're about to

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do, but you have a sidekick by your side.

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It's you, yourself, and me, because I will

always be there for you, no matter what.

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You will always have that person

that will love you for who you are,

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no matter what, and despite what

anybody will ever tell you in your

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entire life, know this: I appreciate

that you are speaking from the heart.

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Thanks for listening to episode

number 65 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.