Sometimes in life, the perfect type of opportunity presents itself when we least expect it. The perfect dream job…the perfect soulmate…the perfect house could all be examples of these kinds of opportunities. When we are a little short on resources (money, support, confidence) to fully accept what we have been presented with, it can be not only frustrating, but very challenging, to accept that this reality has been achieved. Today’s episode focuses on the “unbelievable” becoming “believable”, and how we can devise plans, and change our thought patterns, to become better prepared for life’s unexpected curveballs, which in turn, will provide dividends on our return for such amazing fortune. Showcasing our achievements should be a blessing, and not shown as a curse, to others!

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Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs

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 175 of Speaking from the Heart.

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I know what you're thinking.

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When you read the title of today's

episode, you thought, "Yes!

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This is the perfect opportunity to listen

to Josh Smith, podcast host of the show,

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telling me that the opportunity that

I've been waiting for all my life has

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finally come: getting that perfect job.

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Getting that perfect soulmate.

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Getting that perfect house.

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These are all things I've been

working on, so finally you're going

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to tell me the secrets and being

able to unlock all of that, right?

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Right?"

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Well, you might be thinking, "How

do I even go about doing that?",

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and you might be even asking, "How

did I ever go about doing that?"

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Well, I hate to disappoint you, but

I haven't quite gotten there yet, and

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maybe, just maybe, you're thinking,

"Why should I continue listening to

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this episode if you have nothing to

share with me?", but hear me out.

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I think today is really about

understanding how we can achieve

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the believable if we can go

through the unbelievable.

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In other words, can we get through

what obstacles, what patterns

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in life that have put us in this

situation in the first place?

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Can we change the unexpected

curveballs that get thrown at us

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so that we can see the other side?

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Are we able to achieve that, quote

unquote, perfection of all these items,

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all these things that we want to do?

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I have to start today's

episode with a somber note.

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For me, it hasn't never been easy.

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I grew up in a place that essentially

my parents didn't have much money.

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The money that they did cobble together

was given as gifts, as opportunities for

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me to flourish, along with my sister.

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Those opportunities in themselves,

whether they were with education, whether

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it was something that we wanted to

have as the latest video game system,

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or even, something that we could wear

to the high school dance that we were

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going to; being able to go out with

friends so we can see the movies.

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All those things were very

much far and few in between.

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Growing up on a farm, which I did

with alpine nubian goats essentially

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milking them early mornings, which

were very much tedious especially at

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my young age, really instilled with me

the fact that nothing is given to us.

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We have to work hard to get what we

really desire, and I think, if anything,

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my mom, more particularly, wanted me to

see that that's what it takes in order to

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achieve what you really desire in life.

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That reality, if you will, if you stuck

to a plan, whether that is getting up

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early in the morning, and also in the

afternoon, but to also see what it takes

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to keep on pushing forward when you have

those plans all laid out for you, that

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that hard work will pay off one day.

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I see that now, 30 years later, after

getting up in those early mornings with my

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mom, being able to work in the afternoon

then as well, as being opportunities for

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me to develop myself, to see that the

opportunity of a lifetime has finally

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shown up, but even then, that hard

work is still not quite good enough.

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Those 50 goats that I would take care of

in the morning turned into zero when I

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moved out of my parents place, and for

many years, even up until my suicide

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attempt, which I've shared in other

previous episodes if you're just joining

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us, has been an opportunity for me to

recognize that that work never stops.

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You have to build patterns.

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You have to be consistent with

your direction, but even when you

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lay out the best intended plans,

money, support, confidence and all,

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sometimes it's still stolen from you.

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In a bonus episode in which I

shared with you last year, I talked

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about some of those struggles.

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Being able to move out, which has now

been over a year since I found my own

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place, being able to build from the ground

up, to build this financial freedom that

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I've been achieving, but I have to admit.

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This year has been hell in itself.

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Dave Ramsey himself would be yelling

at me, frustrated at me, saying that I

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was not following his plan whatsoever,

and was spending so frivolously

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that I deserve to be going through

hell like I had been this past year.

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Rubbing together $100 or more with

groceries that I had, and being

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able to do what I needed to do just

so I had the basic necessities,

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especially as I continue to build out

my business, has been very difficult.

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Even fellow business owners that I

have talked to have even said how

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challenging this climate has been.

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It has been so tough, so difficult

to go through all these different

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things, but now seeing myself after

one year going through all the things

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that I have gone through, I can

safely say that the opportunity of a

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lifetime has finally shown up for me.

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This amazing fortune, this ability to

showcase these achievements is something

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that is why I'm sharing this with you.

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I'm sharing a little bit

of my own vulnerability.

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Being a business owner doesn't mean that

I have a human component to myself, and

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I have to be honest and transparent,

especially with the fact that we all

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go through these difficult struggles.

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We all have different things

that we're trying to work on.

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It doesn't mean that it's given to

us clear cut because we were able to

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establish what we needed to establish.

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Ladies and gentlemen, this is why it's

so important that even if you're in the

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lowest of the lows, if you're willing

to be disciplined, if you're willing

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to get up early in the morning and

stay up late afterwards, and work on

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yourself, read, digest new material, and

grind, and grind, and grind, trust me.

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It will all come together, but we have

to focus today on the unbelievable.

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How can we achieve that?

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Sharing my example, sharing what I have

been through as a small snippet to the

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bigger picture, which I'd be more than

willing to talk to you offline if you're

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interested in how I achieved this, is

something that we have to grapple with.

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This reality that we live in today,

especially as we approach the end of

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2024, might be very tough for some of us.

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It might mean that this

opportunity that we've been working

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towards is still out of reach.

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While it might be in grasp for me after

working so hard this year, it's within

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my reach, it doesn't mean, though, that

it's not the same for anybody else.

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You, my fellow listeners, listen

every week, trying to find that

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inspiration, that encouragement,

to keep on pushing forward, to

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keep on seeing that through these

conversations we can be more authentic,

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and be more real with ourselves.

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That is why we keep doing this show.

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That is why that even with little

resources, we can still accept the

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fact that we have a long way to

go, but we can keep on working hard

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knowing that we're going to get there.

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Where does this come from?

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Why are we always conditioned to

say that we need to be able to

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have this with the snap of finger?

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The truth of the matter is, social media,

other influencers that you see on those

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channels, have taken this phenomenon

of having instant gratification, having

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something just as simple as clicking

a few buttons, to be able to feel

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pleasure, to feel excitement, to feel

like you can do this, but then realizing

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that there's so many more steps, and

it takes so much work, and you have to

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dig deep in order for that opportunity

for you, and for others, to arrive.

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Finding that perfect job, that

perfect soulmate, or even that

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perfect house, all have different

variables, and I don't necessarily

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need to break that down for you today.

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I'm sure for many of us, we can think

of people that have been working

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so hard towards one of those goals.

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I can think of, even in each of these

components, why I've been always trying

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to find that perfect job, which I feel

like I have now being the business

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owner of a coaching/consulting company.

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Finding that soulmate?

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It's still out there, somewhere.

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I'm sure that that woman of my dreams will

soon walk in my life, woo me and excite

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me, and make me stop doing Speaking From

The Heart, but today, I'm definitely

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going to keep going, because there are

zero prospects for me, as of the date of

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this recording, but that perfect house.

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Of course!

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I have no equity.

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I'm not able to do that quite yet.

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It's because I've saddled myself with

thousands of dollars of student loan

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debt that I'm finally able to get

control of, and it was all because

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I believed in this rat race dream of

thinking that when I invested in my

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education, I was going to get something

in return, but that was only a condition.

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That was only one of many requirements

in my life in which I had to get

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to this point to realize that

the work was still not done.

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Regardless of the stupid mistakes that

I have made, whether you think they are

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stupid or not, I say to you today that

it's not just about becoming believable,

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it isn't just about changing your plans

or changing your thought patterns.

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It's about realizing that you

have to be a little bit more

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vulnerable about your story.

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It means that you have to open up

about the challenges that you have.

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I know that for many people, listening

to this might make you think that it's

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just another show where I'm being pitched

a product or service, and that I am

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really trying to get your business,

and sure, it's a business podcast.

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Of course I'm going to do that.

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I'm going to sell you my products

or services, but the thing is,

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is that I genuinely mean it.

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Seeing what I have been through and

knowing that I can get to the other side,

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I believe in you getting to that other

side, whether that's in your personal,

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professional, or business endeavors; maybe

even doing your podcast as well, it's

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something that we can devise plans on.

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We think our ways in which we strategize

how we get through our day, but more

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importantly, knowing that we have the

capability, we have the ingenuity to

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achieve what might be impossible to some.

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Being prepared to pay dividends on this

amazing fortune that we can create, this

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ability for us to see what is above all

else, can help us with not only that

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dream job, that dream soulmate that

we want, but even that perfect house.

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All those things, and even so much

more that I'm not even listing.

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Even perfect health.

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Even perfect clarity in our focus, our

direction could be avenues in which

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we achieve greatness, but friends.

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The opportunity of a lifetime arrives

when you're ready to accept that what

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you've been doing is completely wrong,

and you need to change direction.

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Now, you might be very much ashamed,

maybe hurt, that I said that

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kind of statement, but it's okay.

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I've been lied to all my life.

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Being told that if I did this and

did that, I would be able to do what

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other people are able to accomplish.

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Making millions of dollars, finding

that beautiful soulmate of my life, and

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having the perfect house to host, to

have comfort, and enjoy what life has

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to offer all across the world, but as

I've traveled, as I've even done this

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very podcast, as I have even seen the

growth and potential of my guests, and

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even the clients that I have worked

with thus far, one thing rings true.

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If you don't stay focused, if you don't

keep the course, and you don't keep

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on reflecting on what you have done,

even if it's very small baby steps, all

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of this, this opportunity that you're

trying to strive for, is for naught.

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I think in this holiday season,

we have this way of thinking that

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everything is going to be great.

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The cheery lights, Santa Claus, and

all the other magical opportunities

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that exist, whether that's at the ice

skating rink, drinking hot cocoa on a

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winter cold night, or even doing some

of the things that bring cheer to other

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people's lives, are just the start of the

way in which we can work on ourselves.

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This is just a season.

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If you step out of this season, especially

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going to keep holding on to those values?

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Are you going to keep doing what

you need to do in order to create

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that opportunity of a lifetime?

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In other words, are you going

to keep spreading holiday cheer?

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Are you going to keep on helping

others that are less fortunate?

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Or, are you going to be stuck right

back in your 2 out of 10 ways, thinking,

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"That I'll never get out of this?"

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I have read so many people's

biographies, including people like

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Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and others.

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They are just like you and I.

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Starting with a petty idea, having zero

dollars in our pockets and bank accounts,

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and coming up with wild, imaginative

ideas that would allow them to form

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multi billion dollar corporations serving

a variety of products and services.

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Whatever you might think about those

individuals, or even think about others

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that come up, all these different people

that you might think of, that might be in

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your life, that might be people that you

admire, whether they are sports figures,

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celebrities, or something else, just know,

that they achieved greatness, because

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not only have they worked with others,

but they have worked on themselves.

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What is the plan for you today?

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What is the opportunity of a lifetime

that you want to achieve, that is

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all the way in the distance, but

you're starting at ground zero now?

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I was like one of those people.

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Zero dollars in my bank account,

have very little self confidence in

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myself, and I didn't expect too much

from others, but I was hating that

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other people weren't helping me.

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I was the problem.

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I could not take responsibility

for my actions, and that, my

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friends, was what was really holding

me back for the longest time.

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Maybe it is you.

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Maybe it is, indeed, somebody else,

but whatever that might be, stepping

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outside your bubble, stepping outside

your comfort, making sure that you

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are able to go on that road that

is ahead, no matter how long it

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might take, it can be frustrating.

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It can be challenging.

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It can be very demoralizing.

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You could be depressed, but I'm

telling you, to become able to believe

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that you can do this, it's time.

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In this season of holiday opportunity,

to become better prepared for

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what's ahead, and to be able to

receive some of these things that

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we are talking about, it's time.

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Step outside, and see what is around you.

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See what's inside of you.

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Look very deep.

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Dig into what it is.

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Have somebody, like a coach, help

you with figuring out what it is that

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you really want, because if you're

able to showcase those opportunities,

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not only will you be blessed, but

it won't be a curse on you anymore.

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It will help you, and others, to

see that you have what it takes, to

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have this opportunity of a lifetime

that even though you think you might

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have been granted it, you haven't.

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You have to work hard, and I know

that through hard work, perseverance,

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and sacrifice, you not only could be

the next Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, all

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these different people that have been

very wildly successful, but you can

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also speak from the heart, sharing

your relationships, confidence,

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and determination, and creating the

opportunity of a lifetime, because

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literally, it's staring right in front

of you, waiting for you to latch on,

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and take you to brand new heights.

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Thanks for listening to episode number 175

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of Speaking From the Heart,

and I look forward to hearing

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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.