This reflection episode will look back at some of the common lessons explored in the almost 7 months since starting Speaking From The Heart, and share how we can apply them to the future as we enter the year 2024. We can learn so much from the guests, interesting ideas, and perspectives that we have been blessed to receive this year, and if you have not had the chance to listen to them all, we will showcase where these areas of personal and professional development are to create that best version of yourself yet!

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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 71 of Speaking From The Heart

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and the final episode of a monologue

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I don't think I would ever have been able

to say that if it wasn't for many of you

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that have continuously supported the show

and have allowed me to become the best

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version, the best podcast host, of myself.

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From the bottom of my heart already,

I want to tell you thank you so much

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for being there, for helping me become

what I am today as a result of working

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on all these different things that

I've been able to embark as a result

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of doing Speaking from the Heart.

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It's been a weird seven months, being

able to do this and help so many different

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people, countless of others that I would

have never thought I would ever reach,

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if it wasn't a result of starting this

project, and I want to share a little bit

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about what got me started in this in the

first place, overall in case many of my

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listeners have not been joining us on a

regular basis since May 30th of this year.

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It was a very weird situation in

which months leading up to it, I was

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very hesitant about putting myself

out there, because for the business

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in which I just recently opened at

that time, Your Speaking Voice LLC,

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I realized that I needed to put more

content out there about myself, and

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also what I wanted to share about what

my worldview is in which other people

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could appreciate and enjoy, and maybe

gain some perspective, about what they

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could do to help themselves become the

best version of whatever they want to be.

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I hemmed and hauled for many months

because I was afraid of what I would

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become and many early episodes that

many of you might have listened to at

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that time talked about that imposter

syndrome that we sometimes have;

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sometimes holding us back from really

seeing that if we add value to our

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audience, is it really adding value?

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In other words, are we actually creating

something to help other people become

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whatever they want to be because

we're afraid of what we are sharing?

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I consistently said that John Schuchman,

the host of the Real Estate Survival

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Guide and a very successful real estate

agent, continuously applauded me to keep

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on trying, to keep on doing this, to

keep on wanting to help others, because

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he saw that vision in me to become

something in which I'd be able to share

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to a wide variety of different people,

in that not only would I be helping

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my business, I would be helping others

as a result of what I would be sharing

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through my unique story, which many of you

already know has been about the suicide

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attempt I had almost four years ago now.

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On May 30th, 2023, launching this podcast

was something of a great treat, because

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Episode 1, What Is On Your Heart?, is

still the enduring question in which

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I'm still asking all of you to not only

participate in, in order to understand

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whether you really have what's inside

that heart that really wants to share

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the radical transformation of what

you want to become, but for me, is

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continuously the enduring question that

we're answering on every show that we

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do, whether that is inviting a guest to

talk about their experiences, or even

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the monologue episodes in which we're

creating some of those opportunities to

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become the best version of who we are.

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I have to admit, I never thought

in a million years that when I

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started this, that the podcast was

just going to be about not just the

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financial aspects of which I wanted

to help my business grow, but I also

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just wanted to have more numbers.

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I wanted people to tune in to

just listen to what I had to say.

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I was desperate for it, but then the

realization came early on that it

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isn't just about the relationships.

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It isn't just about the money.

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It's about the fact that I was actually

putting myself out there for the first

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time, and it's been really a treat and an

enjoyment to hear from many of you, off

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and on, about the importance of what this

show has meant, and I still would love

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to hear from many of you that I know are

actively listening to know your thoughts.

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What can we do to make this show better?

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What would you like to hear as topics

that would help you in the personal

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professional struggles that you go

through, not only to become the best

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version of who you are, but also to

work on the values in which I always

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have talked about: relationships,

confidence and determination?

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Something changed about midway through

that forever shook me to the core about

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why I was doing this in the first place,

and it was because of guests that I've

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had on this show, and I'm super excited

for what is in store for the new year

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because there are a number of people,

both friends of mine that have not yet

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been on this show, let alone other people

that I have never met before, that will

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tickle you with opportunity, excitement,

endurance and maybe even challenges,

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that will help you to grow, and continue

to be what you might be in this new

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year that you have written down, and I

know that many of you have written it

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down because you have continuously told

me about those opportunities that you

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have, and I really am excited for many

of you to continue working on those

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goals, but there are people that I would

never have been able to do this with

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if it wasn't for the fact that they

have been challenging my world view.

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Whether it has been people that have

challenged the team in which I have

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surrounding me; maybe even the lifestyle

in which I have continuously lived and

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making me want to change even further;

or maybe just putting on a smile, knowing

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that even if I'm not feeling it today,

there are going to be other people that

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are looking towards that smile in order

for them to be happy about what they

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are doing, and they want to see me be

just as successful as they want to be

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successful in their own right, but I

know that for many of us, if we have that

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opportunity to continue to be blessed,

we have to continuously learn and grow

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from those experiences, and I've been so

fortunate to have accomplished authors,

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accomplished lecturers, accomplished

fitness experts, even other people that

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have had unique talents and situations

and stories that have come a long way,

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including some of my travel companions,

Christopher Hulse and Mark Snow, that

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have even talked so much about their

experiences in their episodes, in which

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I ask you to listen to, because you'll

get a completely different perspective.

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I have to say that even as we continue

to think about what has been done in

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the past, we have to look at what's

in the future from what we've been

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able to achieve and what we can do to

move forward, and I'm super excited to

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continuously work on plans that will

radically change not only the format

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of this show in the new year, but maybe

even help you become that best version

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with new enhanced topics and discussions

about a variety of different things

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that we have yet to scratch the surface.

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I think that those things, in which

I'm very vague about right now, will

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certainly change as we continue to move

forward, in which even after this episode

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airs, I can't wait for you to listen to

more opportunity that we'll talk about

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not only with what the business holds,

which we're going to talk about in the

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next episode of the New Year 2024, but

we are going to talk about what it means

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to not just work through some of the

personal and professional struggles that

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you have to be able to understand that

there is a brighter side to the other

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side of the fence that you're going

through, but yet there's always going

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to be that nagging question, and I'm

sure you're asking that nagging question

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even this moment: what is it that you're

going to do to help us realize what

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those areas of improvement will be?

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Well, that question, which might be very

tedious in nature to answer in a less

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than 20 minute monologue about what we

can do to create those versions of who

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we are, might also mean that we need to

look at some of the bigger things that

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you want to accomplish in the new year.

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I mentioned the fact that this was really

a very tough choice in the beginning of

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the year to even do this podcast, but

something clicked inside of me, which

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I want to share with you a perspective

that might help you, especially if you're

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still struggling a few days before we

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become that best version of yourself,

and it's this: when we know that we're

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doing something right for the first time,

in which we're learning to love and care

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about what are the things that we're

trying to do to help us become better,

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we often stop to examine what we can do

to change those circumstances, in which

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episode number 69, that we were just

literally talking about this, might be

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helpful and it might be a doorway in which

you can walk through to examine what those

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choices are that you are able to make,

but it goes so much more beyond that.

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I think that we often get so hesitant of

the fact that we want to do something in

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our lives that might be really impactful.

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Things on which we might want to change,

not just the nature or the course of

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the direction that we're heading in,

but it's also about the fact that we

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often are scared, maybe you're confused

or afraid, of what those things might

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be on the other side, and maybe you're

not that type of person, but you do have

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some anxiety, even as change happens,

which many of us experience over and

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over again, about why it's important

to just fix when that problem is

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happening at that very moment so that

we are able to keep moving forward, but

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anxiety isn't just the root cause of

all the things that we're dealing with.

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There's obviously circumstances or things

that happened even before that, that

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made us feel that way in the first place.

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I think that we have to understand that

when we explore and even learn from some

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of the lessons that we have with all the

different people and all the different

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places that we've been, that we can

receive perspectives in a variety of

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different ways that we often never thought

we would ever receive in the first place,

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if we're just willing to try something

new, to be bold in which we're creating

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the new avenues in which we can explore

our humanity, and I will tell you that in

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this humanity in which I've been exploring

the last seven months on this podcast,

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has been nothing short of incredible.

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It's had my mouth drop open to even

some of my closest friends, even people

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that I have never met before, of some

of the unique experiences that they've

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had, but also the most important of

lessons in which they have shared,

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and I've often mentioned, even on this

show, about the importance of Matthew

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Roda, in which he has challenged me

so many different ways this year in

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becoming the best version of myself.

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I think that we learn, too, that

we have things that happen to some

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others that we think, "Man, that

will never happen to us", but then it

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does happen when you least expect it.

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I often talk about the fact

that we might lose our jobs.

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We might get a divorce.

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We might have to shift because the

change in which our lifestyle is,

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whether that's in our control or not,

and I have to tell you that even in the

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world itself, it's a very challenging,

dangerous place sometimes when we're

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going through some of those things that

might be very hurtful or very hateful

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in which we don't want to have any part

of it, but yet, it still stares at us.

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I often talk about the fact that this

has been a very challenging year, and

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I've mentioned this to many of my friends

and acquaintances, not only just on a

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personal level, but looking at all the

different things that have happened across

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the world, across the United States, and

they are things in which do not have to

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be named specifically, and I'm not even

talking about the mainstream things.

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I am talking about the deaths that

have happened in many families

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this past year, the many hardships

economically that many people are facing.

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I am talking about just getting through

the day to day: do you have enough

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food, water, and even housing, to

feel safe, to feel warm, to feel that

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you have a place to hang your hat?

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Do you have what it takes to just

keep moving forward, unless you

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have lost that hope along the way?

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This is a very tough year for many of us

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that maybe if you're listening to this,

you might not be the direct recipient of

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some of those issues, but there are also

other people that are going through a hard

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time, but if there's anything that I've

learned as a perspective of doing this

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podcast through my business, Your Speaking

Voice LLC, it's simply this: what are some

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of the things that you could start doing

today that maybe might help other people

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feel just a little bit better about the

circumstances in which they're living in?

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Maybe that's volunteering at a soup

kitchen; maybe that's helping to pack

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clothes, other necessities for people

across the world, in which I know of

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somebody that is doing that in Mount

Joy, Pennsylvania, in which there's a big

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warehouse that allows other people to help

others that are are going through some

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desperate times, but even with all those

things said, there are many, many, many

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ways in which we can give back, whether

that's through the talents, or even the

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strengths that we have lying dormant

inside of ourselves, and I continue to

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encourage you, even as I have mentioned

in other episodes, to do just that,

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but the biggest, strongest thing that

you can do, and which is the biggest

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reminder that I have learned by doing

this podcast, is that you can listen.

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Listening; simple as that.

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Somebody just wants to have a little

bit more attention, where they might

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not normally get attention, and have

you ever stopped and paused to just

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listen, instead of just opening your

mouth and giving your perspective?

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We're given two ears, one mouth,

and I know that's such a cliché

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statement, but it's so true.

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Last time I checked, I do

have two ears, one mouth.

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That means that I speak slower than

what I can listen to because of the two

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ears that I have, and even if you are

reading this as a transcript because

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you are deaf; maybe you have hard

of hearing, but even if those things

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do happen, listening can make such

a big difference in someone's life.

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I think that we can feel blessed by the

fact that we do have two ears, because we

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can start to learn different perspectives

about what other people are going through,

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and that might be the key to unlocking

some of the best opportunities that have

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yet to come, especially if we're able

to continuously challenge that status

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quo, where we showcase not only the

personal and professional struggles, but

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we learn how to create that voice, quote

on quote, in this ever changing world.

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I think if you're ever going to explore

some of those common lessons in which you

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are learning, especially myself that I've

been learning this past year, it's by

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doing this: holding that future far ahead

of you, you're going to be happy that

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you listened, because that perspective

might have changed the course of what

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lies ahead, not just in the new year, but

maybe in the next 5, 10, 20, maybe even

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40 years in the future, and you might be

saying to yourself, "Josh, that's funny.

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I'm not going to live another 40 years

because I've already lived a long time."

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Well, maybe you could save that for the

new world that you might be entering

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because we all have that opportunity to

create that best version of who we are,

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especially as this new year approaches.

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I can't thank enough the fact that we

have guests that are coming up that will

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make this idea come alive to make these

perspectives, create new opportunities, to

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be blessed continuously on every episode,

to be able to share what is on our heart,

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because the enduring question that is

what is on our heart remains the same.

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We need to continue to pursue that,

and I hope that you will join me in

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doing just that, but for those that

have listened to that so far for the

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last seven months: Thank you, and I

encourage you to please drop me a line at

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podcast@yourspeakingvoice.biz, because I

would love to read your testimonies on my

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podcast show, maybe even invite you to be

one of my guests, because let's face it:

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change is inevitable, and what the future

holds ahead for us can be mighty great, as

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long as we're able to listen, and as long

as we're able to speak from the heart.

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Thank you for all of those in 2023 for

making this a successful year launching

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this podcast, and for you being one

of my valued listeners because without

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you, I would not be the person who I

am today, the best version of myself.

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Thanks for listening to episode number

71 of Speaking From the Heart, and

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I look forward to hearing from your

heart, in the new year, 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.