If you have ever played truth or dare (any version of it), the consequences of each choice (and its corresponding answer) can be challenging to decide which choice to make. When others then challenge you to act on the choice you make, even though you may be waffling on that choice…do you still act on it, regardless of what happens, or do you hesitate to carry through? Today’s episode “challenges you” to keep your commitment to the choices that you make, even if you feel unsure if it is the best one, to maximize the results and/or lessons learned. By being able to pursue opportunities that challenge our position and help us to keep pushing forward, there are opportunities that open up that we would otherwise not been able to do before.

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Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs

[00:00:11] Joshua: Welcome back to episode number 151 of Speaking from the Heart, and today we're going to play Truth or Dare, so what's your choice? Truth or Dare? I'm sure that many of us have played this game in not so conventional ways, which we are not going to be that promiscuous on today's episode, but I'm sure that many of you have always weighed what the choice you should make be. Truth, if you're not familiar with the game, is when you want to have a question answered that somebody else has asked that is not only straightforward and honest, but you're hoping that they tell it like it is, regardless of what kind of answer that you're expecting. While dare, on the other hand, is a little bit more [00:01:00] risqué. It might be challenging someone to go into the status quo, and stepping outside of that, in order to be able to do what they're asked to do. Well, I don't think I'm going to give you either of those choices today, because I want you to be challenged. I want you to take the dare, because when we challenge ourselves to act on the choice that we make, even if we're wafering on that choice, do you still act on it, regardless of what happens, or are you one of those people that hesitate to carry it through? Sometimes fear is the benefiting factor that doesn't allow us to keep pushing that concept forward, which is why we need to keep challenging ourselves. We have to make that commitment. Usually we have coaches that help us with that commitment to keep on pursuing what we set out to do. When there are roadblocks or other obstacles along the way, either we can move them ourselves, [00:02:00] or enlist the help of others that will help us to move it out of the way, maybe even talk ourselves through that process, in order to maximize those results, learn some lessons from it, and keep moving forward towards that challenge that we're trying to do.

[00:04:47] Joshua: That path can be filled with all kinds of crevices, all kinds of peaks and valleys, all kinds of obstacles in which we're trying to overcome, but regardless of what those things are, [00:05:00] are we able to grow and get to the other side in a more thoughtful, contemplative manner, than we originally would have in the first place? In other words, are we able to see growth from where we were in the very beginning of that path, all the way to the very end of that path, and that is sometimes the biggest reflection point that even for my clients, I try to take on that journey to let them see that sometimes that hard work, that inability for them to sometimes see what they're seeing in the mirror come alive.

[00:06:54] Joshua: I know that there's a lot more to it, and I'm making it really simplistic, especially in a world that [00:07:00] has many different scenarios. That's why I've always said there isn't "one size fit "all coaches out there, and you have to do your research as it relates to even working with people that will help you become who you need to be. Whether you're trying to write a book or even work on yourself, there are plenty of empowerment coaches and authors that are coaches as well that will help you with each of those different types of perspectives. There are even therapist coaches. There are people that are willing to work with you if you're AirBnB, which we recently had Julie Thomas on the show talking about her experiences with her husband starting that AirBnB business, but it's not easy. What it means for many people is that you have to overcome some of the stereotypes, some of the stigmas that are laying you down on the path, and not allowing you to get back up, because that is what is letting you be defined. You're not letting anybody else [00:08:00] tell you what you should be listening to, and maybe, just maybe, you're not letting yourself accept what they have to say amongst other things for that matter, and boy, oh boy, did I ever feel like I never been accepting of what other people had to say for such a long time.

[00:09:50] Joshua: Now, I'm sure you're saying it right now. "Josh. You are absolutely off your rocker. Do you really think that finances are really made up? I have [00:10:00] to pay in United States dollars! I have Ruples and Canadian money for that matter. Do I just disregard all those systems and I just live a free will life bartering my way through the rest of everything that I'm doing? Should I be going back and churning butter? Should I go and try to make clothes out of wool and cotton that I picked from the field?" Absolutely not, in any of those circumstances, because we have come so far as society. Many of those individual aspects have already been resolved, and in some of my earlier podcast episodes, we've talked about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. If we're able to even satisfy those basic demands, we're able to then work on the self actualization, the very top of that pyramid. Regardless of what we have going on in our lives, so many of these things that we're talking about have already been resolved. They've already been worked through for that matter. We're now on the other side of this. We're able to create [00:11:00] opportunities that we never thought we could ever create because we keep on advancing society, but as a result of the advancing society, we also are restricted by some of the things that we must abide to: the legal compliance, the currency system that we live by. These, among all kinds of other things, help to dictate what our business is all about, and even with all the things that we do personally, professionally, it guides us in being able to do things that we oftentimes take for granted in today's society. If you never really thought about it, think of it this way. Because of all the things that have happened in the past with other individuals, we're able to do what we're able to do today, so I challenge you. Don't slip back into those olden times. We've been able to work through so many of those things and we should capitalize on it. We've even had episodes where we've talked about utilizing AI, Artificial Intelligence, to its very best, [00:12:00] because we now have those kinds of tools available to us. We're almost close to a quarter part of this century into it, and we've learned so much about all kinds of different advances, not only in technology, but even in our own society for that matter. What we had valued back then is not the same values that we have today, but that happened because change had to occur, but also people were challenged to be able to create a new version of themselves. The consequences of our choices, whether it's through action or inaction are totally up to us to decide.

[00:14:02] Joshua: Once you let it have you, write down all the things that you could ever think of with that energy that you now have to keep on pushing that needle forward. Your needle is an important contribution to the overall needles in which move society forward. Find something that will challenge you. Don't stay stagnant. That isn't allowing you to be able to make choices that will help you. Instead, it's making you sway back and forth with nervousness, maybe even hurting you in the long run. Time is such a precious commodity, as we even have talked about recently, but if you're able to feel like you're challenged in a positive way, and you're able to use that positivity to spread greatness and joy, especially in the things that you have gifts with, that might be the best way in which you can start making progress right [00:15:00] now, but even if you feel uncertain, and you're not sure of how those opportunities challenge your position, and how they help you, seek out help. Don't sit in it with just thinking that all those things that you have just felt have to go to the wayside, because you have other things that you have to accomplish. Reach out to somebody, even if it's a friend or family member or even your significant other. Talk to them about it. Get earnest feedback, but more importantly, set the expectation of what you want to receive back.

[00:17:16] Joshua: Thanks for listening to episode number 151 of Speaking From the Heart, and I look forward to hearing from your heart very soon.

[00:17:35] Outro: Visit us at www. yourspeakingvoice. biz for more information about potential services that can help you create the best version of yourself. See you next time.