Following what was stated in Episode #159, it’s time to yet again talk about New Year’s Resolutions for 2025. Vision boards, setting goals, and even planning for accountability are all on the table, again! We have already talked about these concepts last year in a whole series of episodes. What else could possibly be added to remind us of what we can do to move forward in what our personal, professional, or business development this time? Today’s episode challenges the status quo of what we have at our disposal, and examines what we can achieve using a non-traditional method you may have never heard about before.

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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

161 of Speaking from the Heart, and I know

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that I'm going to sound like the annoying

father, grandfather, uncle, whoever you

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might associate with me when it comes to

repeating the same advice over and over

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again, but today's episode is going to

focus into a little bit of maybe some

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things that you've heard of me say before

around this time last year when we were

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introducing some of these concepts, but

in direct correlation to episode 159, I

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want to expand a little bit about what

we had as our conversation last week

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of ways in which you can communicate

more effectively, but now dealing with

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your goals, because let's face it.

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Now it's yet another week, one step

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Have you set your resolutions yet?

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Is it still too early for you

to still be thinking about it?

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Are you going to wait yet one more

week when I talk about next week,

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which I promise you, I won't.

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I have a different topic for next week,

but I want to dive into a little bit of

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why, oh why, is it so important for us

to think about all the different types

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of tools that are at our disposal to

now communicate that message that you've

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been hiding, or even not sure of how you

should be saying it, this time around.

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Now, if you were missing last week's

episode, let me give you a quick recap.

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We talked about how it's so important for

us, especially when we have these great

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thoughts slipping our minds, being able to

communicate them effectively, we need to

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make sure that we're doing that, not only

for the people that we have in our lives

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that need to hear that message, but also

we need to be able to empower ourselves.

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We need to have the confidence

to charge forward, knowing that

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that's what we want to share.

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Now, there's a lot more that I offered

which I again encourage you to go back

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and listen before you listen to this

full episode, but before I even dig

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into this, let me ask you a question.

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Did you ever listen to any of my episodes

last year, even if you're newer to the

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podcast, when I talked about using vision

boards, setting goals, maybe even getting

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some accountability behind the table, of

all the things that you wanted to achieve?

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Well, I'm going to even refer you to

some of those episodes from last year,

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which if you start looking around

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start to see some of them pop up,

but I'm not going to spill the beans

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on what those were all about either.

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I would love for you to check those out,

and start setting up tools just like

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that to help you propel yourself forward.

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The goal here is not to give you

everything on a silver platter, but

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to give you some suggestions, some

tidbits, of ways in which you can

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navigate through some of the challenges

that you have with goal setting,

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accountability, and so much more.

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Now this time, I want to challenge the

status quo for those that have hung

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in there, thanks for bearing with me

as I got through some of those pesky

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little nuances, because the things that

are really the pesky nuances that we

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need to focus on is the way in which

we're able to empower ourselves to

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challenge that status quo, so that we're

no longer losing additional minutes,

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hours, days, months, or years on the

things that we keep on putting aside.

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We can't wait yet another year.

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We still got time this year to start

some of the things that we can achieve,

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and potentially even wrap up before

the end of this year, to become the

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best version that we set out to do.

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One of the things that I learned

in this year that was really

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empowering for me is to work on the

concept of narrative vision boards.

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It's the same sort of tack that you might

think from a traditional vision board, but

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now we're going to sway it with the things

that you want to achieve, putting it into

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a short little narrative that would help

you with writing the story of what it

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would look like to live in those thoughts,

feelings, emotions of accomplishment,

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envisioning what that empowered future

would look like, but at the very end,

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taking you on that visionary journey,

getting you to where you need to be.

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Narratives have so much context.

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They have so many different

directions that we can go in.

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I love using it, and I even used it for

the Federally Employed Women earlier

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this year with my workshop in which I

empowered them, each of those federally

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employed women, to work on their visionary

story of what they want to achieve

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in the workplace, and what they want

to achieve outside of the workplace.

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There is a balance between the personal

and professional aspects of our lives.

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We need to figure out what are the

best ways to have those kinds of

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conversations, have the types of

people that we want to have those

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conversations with, but more importantly,

feel like we're part of that table.

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That table, whether it's with somebody

else that is our boss, whether it's the

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owner of the company, or it could be even

what your employees are dealing with,

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being that you're in charge of them,

that would help them to see what they're

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capable of doing, and that, my friends, is

the exact reason why I want to empower you

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today to challenge what your mindset is of

what you can potentially become, and what

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you can encourage yourself in doing, to

become the best version of yourself with

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that idea or that thought accomplished.

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New Year's resolutions

don't have to be scary.

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They don't have to be something

that is really out of reach.

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They can be within your grasp.

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It's just using the SMART goal methodology

which we have continuously talked about

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on this show, and maybe even something

that you've already utilized in your

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own daily life, that would help you

to make more specific, measurable,

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attainable, realistic, time bound goals.

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Those processes are even laid

out in yet another episode, so

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you might be throwing your hands

up in the air and saying, "Josh!

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You keep on pointing yourself all over

the place to all these different episodes.

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What's the point of

even listening to this?"

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Well, here is the point that I'm trying

to make, and if you give me a few more

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moments, you will start to see how the

power of narratives can change everything.

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As somebody that has really studied

public speaking for a living, and has

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been able to do that now for almost 13

years through my Toastmasters experience,

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one thing has rung true, and even in

episode 159, I started to discuss with

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you about how table topics, the impromptu

portion of those meetings, have made such

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a significant difference in my overall

viewpoints, the ways in which we can share

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our thoughts, opinions, feelings, whatever

is on our mind, to an audience, but the

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one thing that I didn't describe in last

week's episode was about the power of what

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prepared speeches can do, and what the

power of stories can ultimately share.

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One of the most rewarding things

about being able to work on

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yourself is to be able to then

share the results with others.

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It's essentially a testimony, a

legend, an ability for us to create

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that level of context for others to

follow our footsteps, which I've always

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said, it's about creating your own

path, but the power of stories and

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being able to share them in so many

different ways has allowed me to see

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what I'm truly capable of becoming.

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It has allowed me to see that I do

have gifts that I otherwise would have

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never seen in this ever changing world.

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A matter of fact, many of the people

that had growing up with me, never

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thought in a million years that I

would be able to share the stories that

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I've been able to share, because they

didn't believe in what I had to offer.

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We talked about, in so many different

ways, about how we can create those best

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personal lives, professional lives, even

business development lives, in our whole

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entire existence, and there's so many

more tools, there's so much more to share.

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This could go on for quite a while, but

yet, the stories that I've been able

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to learn to tell through Toastmasters

and through all the experiences with

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the clients that I have, have certainly

shown that nothing is impossible.

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It allows us to challenge the status

quo every time that we think about

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ways in which we can empower our

audience to become better, not only

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with the things that we're teaching

them, but in the ways in which we can

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inspire them to take action today.

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If it isn't for that call to action,

my public speaking would never

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be at the level that it is today.

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It has the power to change it all

if you're willing to interweave

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and interconnect all the different

thoughts, all the different pieces

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of string, and combine them all into

one wonderful tapestry or picture

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that you're trying to create.

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Those are masterful speakers that are

able to share so many types of messages

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with different types of context.

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Even for some of the people

that have never even heard

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of this before, hear me out.

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If you are able to just work on a couple

of speeches in which give you the basic

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premise of what you're trying to share

with your audience, trust me on this.

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You already then have over 50 types

of speeches that you could give to

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a variety of different audiences.

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"50!

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Is that what you really said, Josh?

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50 types of stories?"

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Yes.

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That is just the baseline of the

amount that you could even give

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to audiences across the globe, but

you're not that type of person,

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I'm sure you're asking yourself.

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"I'm just a guy, or a gal, that's just

working in a low key job that doesn't

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really have to have that kind of power.

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I'm comfortable with where I'm at.",

but the thing is is that you also

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have a message just as important

as a keynote speaker, somebody

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that has been accomplished making

millions, even billions of dollars,

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doing what they're doing now.

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It's really important to understand that

you need to know your worth, so hear me

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out when I say to you that that message

that we were talking about last week,

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is even more important now, because of

everything that you're going to set as

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goals, the things that will hold you

accountable, the narratives that you are

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trying to create for yourself, easily

rub off on somebody else, and that is

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why, we need to be reminded today, that

in order for us to move forward into

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this new year that we're soon going

to be in, we have to be reminded of

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what we're truly capable of becoming.

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That is why the power of storytelling can

have severe ramifications, whether it's

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for the positive, or for the negative.

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The stories that we have, especially

the stories that I've told myself

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especially, can be gruesome.

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You might be uncomfortable with what you

have to share, and even the narrative

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that you're telling yourself you might

not exactly believe, but when you manifest

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goals, and you put them together with

the story that you really want to tell of

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yourself, the future version of X, Y, and

Z, that can be such a visionary journey

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to create the ultimate potential that you

have on what some coaches might even call

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the Wheel of Life, but it's not by random

choice, or even if it is that you believe

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that because of your religion or creed,

just know that because of all the things

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that have already been predetermined,

you have something that is worth sharing.

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My friend who happened to be the very

first guest on this podcast in episode

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two, Chris Hulse, even has said that

to a number of different Toastmasters

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now that he's moved into his role

as District Director of District 38.

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His motto, You Have A Voice!, is based on

numerous types of things that relate to

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even our subject today, which is trying

to find that ever changing message, that

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story that you have inside yourself, but

he has shared something that is from

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Robert Brown that I think might be even

more important to our context of this

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conversation today, which is as follows.

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"If you can speak, you can influence.

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If you can influence,

you can change lives."

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Isn't that why we're here, listening

to Speaking from the Heart?

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Isn't it about influencing others to

be able to change their lives, whether

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we think it's such a small deal, medium

deal, or big deal, when it comes to

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the things that we have gone through?

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This podcast has always been an example

for others of what we can ultimately

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unlock within ourselves, but even with

knowing that you have a voice, it means

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that you have to understand, inherently,

what you can create, not just from the

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manifestations that you have inside

yourself, but how you can create so

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many other opportunities for people, in

all the different areas of your life,

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that really desperately need change.

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Your example, your story that you have to

share can magnify all kinds of different

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opportunities across the globe, regardless

of what you might feel, whatever you

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might be holding back towards, know

that being able to share that story and

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manifesting it into existence if it's

not here today, can have things that

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you never ever dreamed of coming alive.

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For a period of my life, I had believed

that I would never amount to anything.

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I would never be able to find a voice

to be able to share my visionary board

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that I have narratively, because I

thought I wasn't creative enough.

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I thought that I lacked the persistence

or the pursuit of what I thought would

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be my ultimate manifest destiny, but the

thing is, is that we have this composure

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within ourselves to be able to step up,

to be heard even if we're just given a

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few minutes to share what we have as an

ultimate tale of redemption, of success,

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no matter how great or small it might be.

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I think that you need to stop saying

to yourself that your story and what

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you have to achieve mean nothing, and

change the status quo of what it means

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to really, truly step out of your

comfort zone, just like I am doing

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on this microphone every single week.

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I know that if a bunch of women that are

federally employed can do it, and if I

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know that a gym, right up the road from

me, can also do the same, I know that you,

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my listeners, can achieve that as well.

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Sure, it might be a little bit

uncomfortable to begin with, and

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you might have a little bit of the

heebie jeebies trying to figure out

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whether it makes really much sense

or not, but that's why I'm here.

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That's why coaches exist.

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We're willing to be sounding boards

without any judgment whatsoever,

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and if you are seeing someone that's

judging you, they are not a coach.

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They are not helping you.

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They only have their best interests in

mind, and you need to understand that

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you need that extra layer of support;

that extra encouragement to become not

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just the best version of yourself, but

to see a visionary future that you can

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live in, and you can accept on your own

terms, because I think that you have

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every equal opportunity, just like my

clients, to become what you always wanted

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to be, even if it was when you were a

little kid, dreaming those big dreams

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that you always had, and let's be real.

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It had to be said yet again.

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You are worthy of everything

that you always wanted to

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achieve, and so much more.

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Thanks for listening to episode

number 161 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.