Being able to pick up our pens to write a new change into our lives can be difficult, overwhelming, and downright frustrating. Find that effort to keep moving forward means testing ways to feel empowered to write that "new narrative", whether for personal, professional, or even organizational reasons. This episode will explore how that short burst of effort can explode into a realm of potential, even if it seems to be a bit disorganized.

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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 67 of Speaking From The Heart.

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Today, we're going to challenge the

stories that we have in order to have

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a change of heart, or maybe even having

just a chance to change, and I think

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that as we even talk about this topic

as we approach the new year, I think

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it's really important to keep in mind

that change is always inevitable.

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Change is something that is always

constantly happening in our lives,

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whether they are personal, professional,

or even organizational for that matter.

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Especially as we get closer to the end

of the year, we might be evaluating

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some of the things that have been

successful and maybe some of the things

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that haven't been successful as well.

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Having people to talk to, having places

to go, and having things to do, oftentimes

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creates those opportunities in our lives

to keep moving forward; to keep testing

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the ways in which we can feel empowered

to write that new narrative in our

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lives, and I think that one of the things

that we can absolutely do right away

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in order to create that systemic change

is to listen to episode number 65 of my

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podcast in which I talk about this type

of subject of challenging our mindsets;

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to really put on the line everything

that we've been able to think about in

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order to help ourselves move forward.

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Today, I want to talk a little bit about

maybe some strategies that you can use

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to help you get started on that path.

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One of the first things that you

could absolutely do, that I have

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been finding to be very influential,

is to have a vision board.

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Now, if you've never heard of the concept

of the vision board, it might be going all

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the way back to your grade school years.

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You might have cut out some magazine

pictures, some notable quotes, maybe even

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some influential situations or events

that were happening, but they were all

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defining ways in which they were creating

some of the things that were happening

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in your young years, and I think that's

essentially what we're trying to say here.

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In your adult life, what are some of

the people, places, and things that

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are happening that might make up who

you are, and what you want to be?

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To have a vision board, though, is to

actually create not only those things

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in which we want to have, but to also

have the opportunities to be able to

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explore in the new year what we can

do and what we can become as part of

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a picture narrative, so grab those

magazines, grab those individuals, grab

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those opportunities that you might have

all around you, because we can start to

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change that story, that narrative that

we have in our lives, by just putting

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it down where we're at now and what

we want to look like in the future.

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Even though we're talking about a vision

board, which might be more personal in

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nature, what do you do when you're looking

at a professional realm or even looking

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at an organization for that matter?

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Well, it might be a little bit easier

for you to do this type of exercise

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even if you are an individual, which

is essentially writing down what are

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the things that you were able to be

successful for in one column, and

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writing down things that you weren't

so successful in, in the second column,

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so if you haven't grabbed that sheet of

paper yet, I'd encourage you to do so.

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Have that sheet of paper along with

a pen to be able to start writing

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down some of those things that you've

done, or even just bring up a Word

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document and creating a simple table.

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It has potential to really show you what

you've been able to truly achieve this

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year along with so many other things.

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If you're an person that likes to really

write about everything that you do,

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whether it's on Facebook, whether it's

on a blog post, maybe even on an old

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fashioned journal for that matter, it

might be time to start paging back through

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some of those entries that you've done

in order to create those opportunities

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that you might have for the future.

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Now it's all simple and maybe

easy to do to cut out pictures and

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quotes, maybe to write down certain

things, but from an organizational

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aspect, where do you even begin?

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I always think about, even as I have

reached towards the end of my first year

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being open with Your Speaking Voice LLC,

about all the things that I did very well,

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but also all the things that I didn't do

so well in, that aligned with not only

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the mission of my business, but also

the values that aligned with it as well.

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Now, in the early episodes, starting

from episode 3, I talk a lot about

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what the mission of my business is and

the values: confidence, determination,

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relationships, not particularly in that

order, in this podcast, so if you're

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interested in checking out what I talked

about in those, you can certainly review

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those episodes, but I even look at my

values and think about what are the

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things that I've done to continuously

achieve the organizational success that

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I want to see, not only in my business,

but also myself being a sole-member LLC.

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I have to keep remembering though,

that even though I'm doing things

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that are helping the business, what

are the things that I'm doing to help

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myself, and my clients, and my future

clients for that matter, to keep

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continuing to write that new narrative?

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In other words, what are some of the

offerings, or some of the things that

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I could do to change it up for the new

year, not to just change everything about

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what I've been doing because some things

might have been very good in which I

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was doing, but keeping in mind, what are

some of the things that I might be able

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to change that might make it better?

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I think we have to think about the fact

that with all these things happening

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in our lives, whether it's personal,

professional, or even organizational

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for that matter, it's about the concept

of time that we have to enhance,

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that we have to embrace, in order to

create those reasons for that change.

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This is the time of year to do it,

especially as we get closer to the end,

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which for many of us, I know this will

be crunch time, especially as we get

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towards this end of year to make sure

that we have all the presents wrapped,

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to make sure that we have money in the

bank account in order to come up with

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unanticipated expenses, maybe those

year end expenses that we need to

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shove in before we go and report our

taxes to the dreaded IRS, the Internal

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Revenue Service here in the United

States, but even abroad for that matter.

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What are some of the things that you're

doing right now that not only create

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the best version of who you are, but

maybe some of the things that you want

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to create as the stepping stones or

the building blocks for the new year?

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I know for me, personally, as I start

to reflect on what those things are for

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the end of the year, I think of numerous

things that I can do, and I've already

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shared about how I've been breaking

this old Josh version of myself into

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something that is brand new; something

that's radical in nature, and I know

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that I'm really excited to be sharing

some of the new enhancements that we'll

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be doing here at my business and even

through this podcast for that matter,

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in the new year, but it's so much more

than just getting ready and anticipating

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for the new year, more than it is to

create small little steps that help to

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transform us and help to push us, into

that right direction, and this is where

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many people fall into the trap of just

writing big, hairy, audacious goals,

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but they never put a plan behind them.

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Now for me personally, I know

that we can talk on and on.

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I'm going to have some guests here in the

near future that we're talking about even

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some of the things that we are setting

as goals for the new year in the fitness

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realm, amongst other areas, but I will

say that even with all those things that

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we do, one of the consistent themes that

I continuously have in my own life that

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I'm trying to do better with is to break

it down into small, actionable items, and

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that's even what I do for my business.

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When I work with clients, I don't want

this to be an overwhelming BHAG, or

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Big Hairy Audacious Goal, process.

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I want this to be something that allows

them to take actionable steps today.

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I don't want them to feel like they are

moving back and forth trying to determine

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what is really the best course of action

in order for them to write that new

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change in their lives, but the truth of

the matter is, some people don't even

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know what those steps are, so I'm telling

you right now, if you haven't started

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thinking about it now, if you have

never worked with a coach before, this

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is the time to go and reach out to one.

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It doesn't have to be me.

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It could be anybody that you know

personally, or you look up online, that

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you feel attracted to that will align

with the values that you're trying

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to achieve, even for the new year.

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Now is the time to start today.

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Even though some people might have their

calendars booked all the way through

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the end of this year, It doesn't mean

that you have to put it off either.

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Having a plan in place in which you're

starting to think about what some of

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those things are that you wish to work

on in the new year, whether that's

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in public speaking, whether that's in

your interview preparation, whether

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that's even having life coaching done

to help you go through a traumatic

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situation and you need that extra level

of support that's beyond a therapist.

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Having some of those steps now can help

to change the story that you have in order

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to create that best version of yourself.

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Let me say that again.

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Starting that change now can create the

story that you wish to have in the future.

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Now, it's really important

to think about this.

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Not only are you entitled to that new

story that you wish to have, you are

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willing to create some of that effort that

goes behind it by starting to pre-plan

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what you want to talk about with that

coach, who you want to work with as that

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accountability partner even if it isn't

a coach for that matter, because even

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if it's a personal, professional, or

organizational goal in which you want to

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achieve, one of the biggest things that

you can do to keep moving forward, to keep

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testing the ways in which you can feel

empowered to write those new narratives

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in the new year, means actually doing

some of the things that I just mentioned

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earlier in this episode: doing that

vision board, writing down what you've

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done well and what you haven't done well.

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Those are some ways in which you can

start; but the real test, in which if

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you really want to challenge yourself

to create that best version of who you

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are in the new year, to radically go

in a completely different direction

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than maybe you have been before, is

to really sit down and contemplate

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what your relationship is, not just

with others, but with yourself.

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Here we go again.

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We're going to talk about how we might be

our own worst enemy, which we've talked

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about in other episodes, but here's the

key: if you are able to surround yourself

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with opportunities, if you are able to

create those best versions of yourself,

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you have to create the right mindset,

but even with the right mindset, you

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could still fall into the wrong trap.

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You could be leading down a path where

you might not be able to come back from.

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What do I mean by that?

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I think that for many of us, we often

get afraid of what that change looks

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like in our lives because we have to

work on not just the very essence of

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the things that we need to do on a daily

basis to create that change, but we

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also have to work on ourselves, because

working on ourselves might be some of

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the barriers that stand in our own way.

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No matter if you're an organization,

whether you are a working professional, or

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you're just working through some personal

stuff that might be affecting you, and

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how you can ultimately change, it's really

important to think about not only about

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the concept of holding on to maybe what

you've been through, but it means letting

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go of some of those things that aren't

helping you at all; maybe it's going to

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that fast food restaurant; maybe it's

going to have that dry cleaning done;

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maybe you can put that off for another

week; maybe it's about holding off on that

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luxury car that you always wanted to buy.

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Regardless of the pipe dream that you

might have, even if it is owning your

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own home for that matter, I think the

biggest thing is that we are faced

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with challenges and being prepared for

the unknown might also mean having an

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understanding of how we can create those

opportunities to keep moving forward,

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to keep understanding that sometimes the

brightness that we have inside of our

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lives might be disturbed by some unknown

challenges that come along the way.

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I think that part of writing our new story

means understanding that there will be

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new roadblocks that come along the way,

sometimes those things in which we are

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not prepared to handle whatsoever, but

yet here we are again, facing something

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similar to what we have been dealing

with before, but I think that if we're

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ever going to shine brightly, we have

to understand that there will be things

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in which we might be having to handle

because they are going to come up.

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I think of it this way: we have the

feelings, or the emotional literacy,

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in which we can address those things,

if we're just starting to work on

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what is truly important, but, as part

of this, we have to work on not only

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our thoughts, our abilities to use

the words in which we have, but we

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also have to have captive distortion

in which we create that opportunity

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to just throw off those negative

thoughts into a different dimension.

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That sounds pretty meta, if you ask me,

and I probably would agree with you that,

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really, I don't think we're going to have

that distortion field to be able to throw

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things into a different direction, readily

available, but it really builds upon this.

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If you really think that it's about

just working on a set of goals, having

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a little bit of tasks that go alongside

of it, and also understanding that

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maybe you can create those efforts

in our lives in which we can just do

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a little bit of bursts in order to

understand how we can be better in the

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future, I think you got it all wrong.

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This is a long, drawn out process,

and for some people, they like to

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rush it, and then when they rush

it, they will get rushed results.

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They won't be as complete as they

really should be, but the truth of the

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matter is, if you really want to have

systemic change, you have to build

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the right habits, so start today.

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You've still got time in this year and

you can still give yourself credit in that

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left side column in which you're saying

you're successful, but the possibilities

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are endless when it comes to potential

and even if it seems a little bit

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disorganized for that matter, you know

that you at least made your best effort.

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Starting out with that effort is what

is key, because the story that in which

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we're creating is going to be messy.

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They are going to have pitfalls.

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They're going to have loose transitions.

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They're even going to have mistakes,

just as much as when I edit this episode

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every single time, but yet as part

of this whole editing process that we

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go through in our lives, we have to

understand that picking up the pen is

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just only one step of that process.

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If we're ever going to have the chance

to change our story, if we're ever going

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to have the chance to change what we have

personally or professionally, or even

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within our own organization, whether it's

a for profit, non profit, or something

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in between, we have to understand one

thing: that it starts with just us, and

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that even if we are able to create that

us story, which will evolve into our

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story, I think that it will be worth it

in the long run, but there's always going

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to be people that will help you explore

that realm of potential possibility and

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whether you throw distortion waves or

throw words into the air, thinking that

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you have this literacy of understanding

what other feelings are being gone through

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to create that best version of who you

are, know this: it isn't as easy as you

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think, but as long as you're willing to

put that effort and that commitment to

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something, that's what matters the most.

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You don't have to be perfect, because life

would be pretty dull and boring without

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that opportunity to keep changing, to

keep evolving, to keep moving forward.

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I think becoming who we really meant

to be with the voice that we have means

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understanding that, in this ever changing

world, things will not always go to

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plan, so here's my real question for you.

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Even with all the vision boards, all the

successes and non successes, even all

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the things in which you are working on

in yourself, are you ready for change?

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Are you really ready for exploring what's

inside your heart, because let's face it.

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If we're ever going to have a chance to

change, if we're ever going to rewrite

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the story that we've been writing for

all our lives, even for this past year

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as we enter the new year, it might mean

examining not just what's inside our

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hearts, but changing the words, and

changing the thoughts, and changing the

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feelings of how we associate, not just

with ourselves, but with each other.

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Thanks for listening to episode

number 67 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.