The end of the year is almost here…almost 40 weeks in! Goals that were set 366 days ago may not be the same shape, form, or even mindset, of what they were once formulated. If they are not the same as they used to be, are they still worth fulfilling? This episode covers this important question, but more importantly, examines how to “wind up” to the unlimited possibilities of seeing those goals through to the very end, even if they are not achieving what we once thought.

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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

157 of Speaking from the Heart, and that

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time is almost here: the end of the year.

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I know it's a scary thought.

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It's something that I

have even dreaded myself.

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I know that fear of the unknown might

be even paralyzing for some of you,

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while on the other hand, many of you are

jumping up and down out of your seat,

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super excited about the fact that it's

almost over, and I know that with so

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many weeks yet to go, I think that one of

the biggest things that we have to worry

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about is how we're going to get through

the holidays, how are we going to get

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through all these different activities,

especially if we have kids, balancing

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all the deadlines that we have for

the end of the year with our work, our

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personal lives, our professional lives.

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The things that we have set 366 days ago

might not be in the same shape, form, or

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even mindset in which we first formulated

it in, and today, I want to talk about

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why, oh why, we should continuously self

evaluate, look at the bigger picture, but

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more importantly, answer the question,

"Are these things that are still left

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on my plate, worth fulfilling?", and

I know that as we wind things up, it's

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so easy for us to think about why we

can just move those things into the new

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year, but before you even give up, let's

talk about why that is even the case.

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Why do you want to move

it into the new year?

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So that you have something to actually do?

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So that you can actually say to your

friends and family, "Oh, well, I put

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that off last year, and I have something

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that we have so many opportunities to

be able to say to ourselves too that

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we have so much more knowledge, we have

so many more skills, we have more self

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awareness of our surroundings, what we're

capable of doing, the list goes on and on

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and on, but why would you put something

off that you originally committed to

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all the way back in the year 2023,

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It makes zero sense!

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It doesn't make any understanding

for me, as a coach, why would

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you want to put that away.

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Why would you want to push that aside?

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Why would you want people to say

that you don't do anything at all?

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The truth of the matter is you might

be putting it off for more reasons

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than maybe what's on the surface,

and what other people might actually

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understand in the first place.

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Why you think you have to wind down

this year by putting everything away,

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and letting the holidays take over,

makes zero sense, and it has never

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made any sense to me, especially as I

continuously work on myself, even with

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the years of experience that I have

in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

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I have seen so many people take time

off, not taking advantage of what they

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can work on for the rest of the year.

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Before you go and raid my inbox at

podcast@yourspeakingvoice.biz, and say

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to me, "Well, it doesn't make any sense

why you would bring that up, Josh.

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I have a life.

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You don't."

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Hear me out.

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Of course it's really valuable to take

time, especially with things that you need

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to do that are really important to you.

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But what if those things that you have to

do actually have impacts on other people,

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and you continuously push them away?

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Even if you had thought that you

were going to achieve those things,

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what makes you think that you can

continuously push that needle backwards?

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That all important needle, in which

I've even examined with so many of

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my guests this year so far, have even

looked at the variety of different

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ways in which we can do that.

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Whether it is a shift in mindset.

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Whether it is about a thought

process that we can challenge.

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Whether it is something else that we

have deep inside of ourselves that we

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can yet unlock, and unleash that hidden

potential that we have so deep inside of

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ourselves, is it still worth fulfilling

if we keep on saying to ourselves that

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it's not worth the time and effort

this year, better luck next year?

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It is so easy for us to throw in the towel

knowing that these holiday seasons are

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always busy, and I mean, for many people,

it is a laborious task of just making

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sure that the family is fed, making sure

that all the cookies are baked, which

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I know for many of us, cookie making is

really important, but if you're making

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the goods in the kitchen, why can't you

make the goods that help you fulfill your

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mindset, your journey that you've been on?

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In the year 2024, I have been faced

with many significant challenges myself,

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trying to change that status quo, being

able to learn how I can even change my

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mindset by pushing away the things that

I can't do, and working on the things

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that I can do, and that I have that

control and power of doing, has really

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enabled me to unlock my potential.

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The things that I know that I'm capable

of becoming have finally turned a

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corner, and I've been so proud of not

only the things that I've been able to

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personally accomplish, but seeing what

my clients have accomplished as well.

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Many of you know, as I've even

continuously said on this episode

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about the relationship that I have with

Next Generation Personal Training in

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Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, their team

is absolutely doing a great job shifting

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the culture, changing the status quo of

the personal training business, entering

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into cycling, doing contest posing.

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They are absolutely rocking it, but

it didn't start with them just having

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this idea of saying, "You know what?

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I'm just going to jump into it, both

feet forward, and see what happens."

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No!

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They had to put a plan together.

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They had to face some truths and realities

of things that they had going on right

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now in order to create a culture that

allows them to thrive that they're doing

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today, and I have to publicly acknowledge

that, because not only do they, and

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their trainers, do that, but even some

of my own clients, many of them facing a

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significant number of challenges, which

include but are not limited to time

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management, divorce, starting their own

businesses, even dealing with productivity

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issues so that they can become more

efficient, even those that are looking

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for a new job, trying to be better public

speakers, and manage their social media.

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These goals, and so many more that my

clients are continuously accomplishing,

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are things that they have been moving

that mindset forward, shifting that

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perspective, helping them fulfill

what they ultimately have been

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setting out to do since day one.

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Does it mean that those things change?

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Absolutely.

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Part of my four step process that I

even work with in my business is about

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continuous improvement, refining on

what we have actually accomplished,

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breaking down what we have yet to do,

but also addressing the challenges

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so that they were able to become

the best versions of themselves.

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That's it.

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It's as simple as that, but for many

people, that means acknowledging that

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change has to occur, and sometimes, that

change might not ever happen, because it

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means that they have to acknowledge that

something is wrong in the first place.

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When we talk about winding down,

I'm not just talking about the

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leaves falling off the trees.

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I'm not talking about the weather

turning from very nice to very cold.

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I'm not talking about the Indian

summers that we have here in

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Pennsylvania in between all those.

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I'm talking about all the things

that are happening within your brain.

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They're happening in your

mind, your body, your soul.

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They're changing the things that

are becoming the priority that were

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once the priority earlier this year.

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It might not look the same way

as it first did, and that's okay.

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Part of this process is learning how

to adapt and how to overcome, with

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all these aspects in mind, so that

you're able to stay continuously

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moving in the right direction.

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That means that you have

to keep pushing forward.

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It means that you have to listen

to your mind, your body, your soul.

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Give yourself that grace some days of

knowing that maybe you're not going to

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get what you needed to get done, but

it's okay to tackle other things that

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are necessarily becoming the priority,

that are challenging you, and challenging

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others, to become better versions of

themselves, regardless of the personal,

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professional context that they belong in.

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We've had many episodes in which we've

even talked about what that looks

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like, and I know that those episodes

or opportunities for you to go back

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and listen to how you can overcome

those aspects, because I know many

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of you haven't had a chance to listen

to those yet, but that's the problem.

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If you're not staying consistent on

creating that opportunity, if you're

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not willing to address the fact that

why is my body saying that I need

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to wind down, instead of winding up,

then you're never going to be able to

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unlock that hidden potential, because

you're always having distractions

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get the best of you, and holidays,

sometimes, are the best excuses to say

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that we can't work on ourselves today,

that we'll put it off for next year.

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It doesn't have to be

these big, massive steps.

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You don't have to be leaping up

three flights of stairs at a time.

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It absolutely means, though, that

you have to find a way, the balance,

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whether it's carving out on your

schedule that time that you work on

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yourself, or you work on the things

that you ultimately need to achieve.

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It means, though, that you have to

focus on what the big picture is.

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You don't just wind down, thinking

that everything's going to work out,

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especially when you pick it back up.

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It's not going to look the same

way as it does even right now.

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Once you get into January 2025, I promise

you, things will not look the same.

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They might even look tougher than they

once were, all because you stepped

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aside and you let it be something that

you waited for until this very moment.

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Now for the last eleven minutes, I've been

harping and throwing down all my cards,

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saying that you should be not winding

down, you should be winding up, and it's

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really easy for us to say that, "Yeah.

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I get it.

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I know that I need to be listening to it,

but how can I hold myself accountable?"

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Even if you did some of the smallest

things that were on that list that

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you always wanted to do in order to

achieve that goal that you ultimately

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set forth, that's what counts the most.

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If you're able to do that, if you're

able to even showcase your ability to

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become something better than you were

yesterday, the day before, even what

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you were doing in the future, for that

matter because you're taking these small

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steps, that level of consistency, that

authenticity, that accountability that

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you've always wanted to work on, is

finally happening, and sometimes when you

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have that memory, that muscle memory if

you will, of what you have been able to

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accomplish, what you've been able to be

successful in, that can make such a big

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difference in the grand scheme of things.

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As I record this, I recently had attended

a mega mixer in the South Central PA

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area consisting of multiple chamber of

commerces, and during that networking

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event, I've met many people inside

and outside of my local chamber that

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allowed me to branch out and have new

relationships with people, and to even

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get my business out there to places

that I normally don't get to, but there

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was one woman that I have to shout out.

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Her name was Margie.

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She was sitting at a table, and on

her name tag, not only did it have her

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first name, but it had two other words

that gave me flashbacks of why it was

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so important in a period of my life

to not wind down, but to wind up, and

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those two words were Dale Carnegie.

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Many moons ago, I learned about

Dale Carnegie because I was going

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through, during my teenage years,

a series of different issues.

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Now, it would be surprising for you

to know, my listeners that have not

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known me for very long, that I was very

much in trouble with the law almost

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every other time, and I know that that

sounds crazy, but I was very hurt.

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I was very much in pain from people that

were not accepting me for who I was, which

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ultimately led into one of the catalysts

that I experienced four and a half

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years ago, which is my suicide attempt.

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Margie gave me some opportunity to

share a little bit about my experiences

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going through what used to be called

the Dale Carnegie: Next Generation

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Program, which essentially has been

rebranded to focus on young leaders,

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young communicators, people that want

to work on their confidence using time

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tested materials that Dale Carnegie

started over a hundred years ago with his

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book, How to Win Friends and Influence

People, and all the secret successes

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of sales strategies that helped other

people become better in their profession.

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I shared with her what that experience

meant for me, especially in a period in

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life in which I was winding down, and

I could see her eyes light up because

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she was very concerned, especially being

a trainer recently starting with the

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company, that she was uncertain about

whether she would be able to make strides,

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especially in this ever competitive

market, that coaches and trainers live

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in, but the truth of the matter is, is

that I saw in her eyes the authenticity

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of why she's doing it, and it reminded

me of why I'm even doing what I'm doing

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now in this business, Your Speaking

Voice; why I do this podcast, Speaking

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from the Heart; why it's so important

for me to keep on helping others, whether

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it's in an audience format, or talking

with others in general, about why it's

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so important to keep working on your

voice in this ever changing world.

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Friends.

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You have to learn that even when you

wind down, you're actually winding

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yourself back up with ways in which you

can help others to see that they have

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all the gifts, all the avenues available

to them, to become more successful

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than they ever thought possible.

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Being able to hold yourself accountable,

being able to help yourself see what

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you can ultimately become, means

that you have to give yourself that

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push, and that Dale Carnegie: Next

Generation course that I took over

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22 years ago changed my life forever.

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It helped me become not just the

best version that I can be today,

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but why it's so important for me

to keep moving myself forward.

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My classmates, in which I originally took

the course, many of them I still stay

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in touch with today, and how even four

years after that original class, as I was

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helping out the instructor as a graduate

assistant, why I was able to create so

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many opportunities to see that I have

the ability to help so many become not

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just the best versions of themselves,

but learning how to do that at a young

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age, so I say to you, don't give up.

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I'm not saying that you need to be

young to do all these things, and

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you should just wind down anyway,

but they are still worth fulfilling.

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Don't give up yet.

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We have plenty of weeks yet to go.

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It's all about being able to know when

those times are that you have to put

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it aside and work on other aspects,

including making those holiday cookies,

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carving the turkey, or even slicing the

ham, but you have to also know, more

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importantly, that when you wind yourself

up to the unlimited possibilities of

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seeing your goals go through at the very

end of the day, even when you think that

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you're not achieving anything, remember.

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It's about those small little steps, and

sometimes those small little reminders in

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life, especially Margie at Dale Carnegie,

that remind you of the opportunities that

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you have, not only to become the best

versions of yourself, not only to help

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others achieve what they ultimately set

out to do, but when you start to wind

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yourself up, you won't be slowing down.

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You're going to go breakneck speed

through the rest of this year, and

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hitting of stronger stride in 2025.

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Thanks for listening to episode

number 157 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.