We each have a voice to share so much in this ever-changing world. The message that we have, however, can be simply “lost in translation”, especially with the number of different messages as a whole that we are faced with on average (325 emails, text messages, & ads combined!) How do we stand out from this overwhelming amount of information? Today’s episode takes us back to basics: knowing your purpose. Learning how to communicate to a smaller group first that can propel your message forwards can help your message excel its wildest potential.

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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 191 of Speaking from the Heart.

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325.

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That magic number is the number

of emails, text messages, and ads,

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combined, that we see on a daily basis.

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325!

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Can you imagine receiving so many

inudations of different text messages,

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emails, and ads throughout all the

social media, different things that we

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see at work, even personally, that we're

trying to comb through, sort through,

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trying to figure out which one is more

important over another, or even just

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putting it into spam, thinking that we

don't even need to pay attention to it.

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Can you imagine, especially as human

beings, being able to process so much

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information, sifting through all these

different types of things that are

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coming into our inboxes or phones,

even the different things that we

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have coming in our junk mail or coming

into our traditional mailbox at home?

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Even think about the fact that all

these things, especially with all the

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messages that we receive are telling

us to do a number of different things.

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"Buy this."

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"Consume that."

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"Try to have this as your rent

free opportunity to start your

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own business, maybe even rent a

new apartment, get a new car!",

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but all these things, all these different

messages get blended into having this

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voice, and this voice that we have,

whether we're really trying to reach

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out to somebody and be really authentic,

or even trying to say something that's

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really important, gets drowned out by all

the other influences, all the different

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thoughts, feelings, and emotions that come

alongside looking at all these 325 things

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per day, so in today's episode, this

is about sharing that important message

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that you have, but making sure that you

stay on point, getting back to what it

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really is all about: knowing your purpose.

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Now, I have to say that for a lot of

us, you're probably not receiving 325

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emails, text messages, and ads, but if

you imagine that, if you in your data

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with so many different things, you

have to find a way to read through it.

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Even for public speaking, if we're

having so many different types of

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influences surrounding us especially as

we give that speech, as we try to share

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that message especially in a campaign

that's driving up new business, new

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opportunities, maybe even helping you

to be better than you once were, what

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are you going to be able to figure out?

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I know for me starting my business, Your

Speaking Voice, LLC, I struggled a lot

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with what I wanted to really identify

as, and trying to still identify that,

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even after a couple years is still

a struggle in some ways over others,

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but I always go back to the point of

who am I ultimately trying to serve?

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It's usually the people that are less

fortunate that don't have the opportunity

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to really get services like I offer to

the bigger scheme, to the bigger group

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of people, and even with businesses

that are able to afford multi million

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dollar contracts with consultants, firms

that specialize in different types of

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information technology, financial, or

other training methodologies, maybe even

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solutions for that matter, your voice,

especially with trying to develop human

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capital for that matter, being swept away

by all the different opportunities that

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are provided through all these mediums,

means that we are often forgotten about,

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small business owners, individuals for

that matter, so for even us, people that

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are consuming all these different things.

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Where do we even stand when it

comes to bigger corporate America?

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Maybe even some of the things that we

are doing in our job, public sector for

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that matter, or even nonprofits suffer

from this kind of problem, especially

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with the limited funding and resources

that they have available to themselves,

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but don't even get me started with AI.

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I'm sure that for many of us, using newer

tools, such as Google's Gemini, which

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can summarize inbox messages and decide

whether you really want to have certain

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things or not within them, or even trying

to use ChatGPT to give you a new rule, a

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new modality if you will, to sort through

your mail, and not even have a care

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of reading for detail, to even process

what kind of information is even in

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those emails to begin with, is certainly

even a developing tool that doesn't

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always get it quite right, but even with

all those things, all these different

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tools, all these different areas, we

still have to go back to the basics:

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what is it that I'm trying to convey?

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I think for the longest time, trying

to figure out how that works means

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that we had to also develop different

training manuals, different ways

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in education, especially going back

to grade school, of what kinds of

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things that we needed to share.

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If we wanted to have something

from somebody, we would say,

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"please" and 'thank you", trying

to cater to their interest.

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If we wanted to also develop some

knowledge, being able to develop our own

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skills, I remember in my library having

to pull encyclopedias and dictionaries

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off the shelf, being able to come through

and learn about the basic terminologies

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and definitions of certain words and

phrases so that I would even understand

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what that looks like and that's going

way back, especially now since we

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have things like Google, Yahoo, and

other search engines like Bing, that

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automatically do that for us with the

assistance of artificial intelligence

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but knowing your purpose means

not only understanding what you're

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trying to say, but understanding who

you're trying to share that with;

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the actual audience, for that matter,

that you're trying to lean into.

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Social media and marketing companies

would tell you that it's all about knowing

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those two things, along with identifying

tags and social media posts that would

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help you, maybe even blogging, for that

matter, that would refine and really

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generate those types of ideas, those

purposes, and I oftentimes work with

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clients that are building a message to

also help them with their social media

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to also promote themselves so that they

can align with what they're trying to

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deliver, but propelling your message

forward isn't about even just exciting

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the base, or the audience for that matter.

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It's about knowing what

is it that motivates them?

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What is it that gets them excited

about what you're going to share?

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Is this just going to be another

informational topic in which

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you are like the professor

from Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

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Brrrah, brrrah, brrrah, brrrah.

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That's what I usually hear.

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Maybe even thinking of Charlie Brown

when you hear that, but even with all the

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different noise that is surrounding that

message, you have to be on your toes.

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You have to be very good about

what you're trying to share.

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That means there's

sometimes no room for error.

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It means that if you don't share it

quickly and even instantaneously in

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the first 10 to 15 seconds, sometimes

even less according to some studies,

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you have already lost your audience.

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You have already lost your purpose

and your way of being able to

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find that audience and connect

with them on a personal level.

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Regardless of what kind of material

that you're trying to share, or what

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you're trying to solve as a problem

for them, the purpose of your whole

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entire message should be what you

can succinctly write in one sentence.

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Speaking from the Heart is a podcast

that helps you not only find your

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voice, but to generate new ideas and

new possibilities in your personal,

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professional, or business related lives.

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That one short sentence, which might

not be so short according to some

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people, really helps to define where

I'm trying to lean myself into when

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it comes to developing this show.

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It's something that I always turn

myself back to every single time

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that I have a guest on that's

considering being part of the show.

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Even my trailer, which if you have

not listened to, I'd encourage you to

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go all the way to the very beginning,

listen to the trailer of the show,

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and see how I'm able to wrap that into

less than a two minute pitch about

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why you should listen to this podcast.

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It's about not only developing

yourself, but it's also

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getting that emotional feeling.

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It's the only episode that I

have that has background music.

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Now, if I started to play a little bit

of background music, maybe I might be

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having you fall asleep on me, and I

certainly don't want that to happen.

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I want this to be serious.

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Even the voice, Michael Dugan, opening

up this show each and every time is about

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not only getting the mood set, but also

helping you to push into a direction

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that I want you to feel a little bit

more comfortable about every single

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topic that we do and taking it seriously.

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That is what my purpose is,

so it isn't just about words?

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Is that what you're saying,

Joshua Smith, podcast host?

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Yes!

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That's exactly what I'm saying.

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It's about what that emotional connection

is It's about that feeling that I get,

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and sometimes that feeling isn't always

going to hit the mark, so if you try

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to branch out, if you try to get as

many people as you possibly can, you

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are also going to miss as many people

as you can because you're too broad.

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Not every person is going

to align with your message.

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The very few elite that do oftentimes

are given money to talk about those

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certain products, those certain services

that people want to hear about, so

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even then, you have to be sponsored.

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You have to feel like you can align

with that person, that company that

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might be helping you get every step

along the way, but this overwhelming

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amount of information, especially that

we share, what we try to cram into,

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means that we have to have a defined

focus, which again points us right back

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to the purpose of what you're sharing.

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Communicating this, especially when it

comes to even a small audience, means

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that you have to keep on working on

your craft, and even after 13 years of

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being in the organization that helped

me get started with this platform,

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I still keep working on my craft.

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I know I'm not perfect.

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I know that I have some wrinkles that

I have to iron out, and I also have

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some structural changes I need to

shift in my framework when it comes to

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working on not only my speaking part of

the business, but also helping others

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to understand what I bring as value.

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That important message that we share means

that we have to also move with the times.

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We also have to move with what

people's tastes, preferences,

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and other ideologies are.

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It doesn't mean that we stay

stagnant, because in this

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world, It never stays stagnant.

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It's ever changing, which is why the

biggest part of even doing what I do is

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about not only sharing, or conveying,

what it means to go through these

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different notions, these different

attitudes or perceptions, but also

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sharing with you why it's important to

take these things into consideration.

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With the amount of things that we have to

offer, we are lost in translation because

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we have to stand out in front of a crowd.

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It doesn't mean that we always have

to record that TikTok video, that

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30 second reel, for us to stand out.

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It could be hitting the right message

at the right time at the right place,

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and even the things that I have been

through in my journey even opening up this

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business, has been about getting in front

of the right people, conveying what it

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is that my purpose is, which is to really

help people become the best versions of

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themselves, using their voice, in this

ever changing world, and being able

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to show that passion, that conviction.

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If you don't have that elevator speech,

that 30 second to one minute video

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that talks about who you are, whether

that's in an audio or visual format,

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you have to start working on that now.

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That is what's going to help

you to find that purpose.

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Regardless of whether it's a job in

which you're applying for, whether

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that's even helping with your wife,

or some of your kids that are dealing

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with difficulty of finding that job,

even working on yourself, getting that

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ability to pitch yourself in front of

a business to get that grant funding

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that you've been wanting to have for not

only your nonprofit, but for the ability

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to help others, means that you have

to know what you're trying to achieve.

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I can't stress that enough.

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If you're not sure what your

purpose is and how to achieve that,

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here's a couple things that you

can do to get started with that.

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The first thing is, again, writing

in one sentence, what is it

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that you're trying to achieve?

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You can use this in any sort of exercise.

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It could be as small as writing a

letter to somebody that you deeply

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care about, wanting to show your

appreciation for what they have done.

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Being able to write that purpose means

that you're going to be able to reflect

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on that for every single sentence of that

letter that you write, regardless of the

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number of paragraphs that you write down.

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Staying that focused, allowing you to

just have that one sentence, will allow

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you to achieve what you really set out to

do in the first place with that letter.

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That's number one.

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Number two is, get a small group together.

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Have people that know what you're trying

to achieve, what you're trying to do, and

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have them help you with getting to where

you need to head in terms of direction.

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The power of other people is understated.

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It's sometimes a fearful concept to be

able to reach out to others, thinking

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that you're going to be able to share

what's on your heart, what's on your

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mind, and help yourself get into that

position, that place that you want to be,

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in order to grow, be able to achieve, be

able to do, but to be honest with you,

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if you're not working on that purpose,

if you're not trying to drag yourself

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out of the mud of all these different

thoughts that are swirling around you:

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imposter syndrome, what it might mean to

say this to somebody, or even trying to

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speak out loud what these words are in

front of others that you can trust that

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will give you the right feedback, of

course this is going to be very tough.

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Of course it's going to be

challenging for you to achieve

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what you ultimately set out to do.

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Being able to have that

small group of people.

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will help you with getting

started in the right direction.

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Although they might not be able to help

you all the way, it will at least be

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a start with helping you to get that

message across, but the last thing I

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have to emphasize that is really more

important than anything else is practice.

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Practice, for me, has been something

that I have went back to my roots

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as of recent, and now decided that

I need to keep on working hard.

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I need to be able to have that

ability to share that message and

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project a sense of comfort, to know

what I'm doing, to show my authority

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in that I am able to provide value.

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If you don't know if you are able to

provide that value or not, if you are

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projecting a lack of confidence, trust me.

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Other people will know that

you're projecting that, and

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they won't be available for you.

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They will tune you out.

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They will make you feel inadequate,

because they won't buy your services.

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They won't want to talk to you.

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They won't have anything to do with that

text message, that email, or that ad

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that you sent, and you'll find yourself,

and that message, using the delete

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button, being pushed into the trash can.

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I don't want you to be

put in the trash can.

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Your message is just as important

as everybody else's, but with this

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huge world of other people offering

similar things, you have to stand out.

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Whether that's in public speaking,

whether that's in your own business,

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whether it's just for you, being

able to stand out doesn't mean that

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you have to go to great lengths.

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It just means embracing

your vulnerability.

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Embracing who you are as an

individual, and making that stand out.

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It means that you have to be willing

to take on the rejection, the

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thoughts and feelings of possibly

putting yourself out there is a

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scary prospect, but I promise you.

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The more that you keep putting yourself

out there, the more comfortable that

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you will feel in this ever changing

world to know what you stand on, your

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values, your ethics, your code for

that matter, so today work on yourself.

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Don't get lost in translation.

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Don't be one of the 325 emails, text

messages, and ads that get thrown

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at us, and thrown right into the

trash can, or some other disposable,

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recyclable area, of our house

that we will never be seen again.

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I want you to be the 326th piece that

will be read, that will be recognized,

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that will be shown and will face not

only the opportunity of a lifetime that

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gets into the right hands of somebody,

but knowing that your purpose is being

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heard, loud and clear, because you've been

practicing it, other people have vouched

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for you, and you know in one sentence

what you stand for, your message, and

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yourself for that matter, will be heard.

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You will stand out above all else, and

by standing out front, not only are you

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leading the charge, but again, as I've

always said, you're helping to inspire

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others to achieve their own greatness,

their own ability to stand out as well,

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and it doesn't mean being a copycat.

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It means finding your own individuality,

which by showing them how you are an

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individual, you can create not only a

following of your own, but also a lifetime

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of different people, different places,

and different things that will help

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them become the best version of their

own voice in this ever changing world.

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Thanks for listening to episode

number 191 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

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for more information about potential

services that can help you create

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the best version of yourself.

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See you next time.