Synergistic Saturdays-#434 March The Strong Within Daily Affirmation Podcast

I Am Committed To Creating Excellence

I wanted to do something a little different today. I was thinking about what were the things I learned from doing this podcast, so I created a list of ten things that happened by me taking a leap of faith in this endeavor. It was the act of jumping knowing that I was going to fail in many areas, but I was willing to learn from those failures and be excited instead of afraid of looking foolish. I've learned a lot from this journey, and I hope to continue to keep learning.

So let me share the Top 10 things I learned by doing this podcast:

1. Sometimes all you need to do is pull the trigger. The exhilaration of reaching people trumps the fear of not doing it right. Making mistakes made me better, and being willing to make mistakes made me see that my fears were more imaginary than real.
2. It made me realize that I had more stories and ideas than I thought. We all think that we are boring and that nothing cool happens in our lives. I think that all the time, but by doing this podcast it made me look back at my life, to be aware of the great things are happening every day. It's opened my eyes to appreciate things more. It's helped me see that the smallest seemingly insignificant things in my life are really powerful and beautiful reminders about how amazing life really is. By challenging myself to do this podcast it has made me have to be more creative. It has made me have to be more awake in my life.
3. I have to be all in to see the results I want. It's easy to put your foot in the door halfway hoping it works out. But I've forgotten that making a difference is not just trying something, but committing to something. There's more to this podcast than just a rant or small snippets of info. I created a short podcast so people could start their day off on the right foot in a digestible way to help them change for the better. I decided to do this podcast to put value in the world, and if I'm half-assing it…I'm doing a disservice to myself and others. By doing this podcast I've learned how to commit to a higher belief and more worthwhile outcome.
4. I'm reminded constantly that sadness and pain aren't bad; in fact it helped me to transform. I went through a rough time in my life before the creation of this, but I set my mind to a goal of what I wanted which was to finally stop stalling and create a podcast. My movement took my mind off the pain and helped me transform that suffering into growth and joy by creating something beautiful. The podcast helped me to connect deeper with myself and with others in a way I never thought possible.
5. What we put out into the world is not about perfection; it's about learning. I get stressed trying to make every podcast perfect, which is great that I want it to be the best, but I get so stressed focusing on perfection that it adds pressure and stifles my future creativity. By focusing on perfection, I try to force instead of allowing great things to happen. All I need to do is sit down and put in the time to allow great ideas to come to me.
6. I was reminded about collaboration not isolation. By putting my mistakes out there, people collaborated with me to help make it something better than I could've on my own. The mistakes connected me, instead of isolating me. It brought people closer to me as they wanted to help me make something better. They gave me suggestions which I was grateful for, and so it no longer was just mine…but it became ours.
7. It reminded me about the value I am to the world. We live in a world where we can feel invisible, we can feel forgotten, and we can feel insignificant. And by doing this podcast, people have emailed me and let me know how it's helped them in ways I never imagined. I thought people would listen to it by themselves, but I've had husbands and wives listening to it on their morning routine of getting ready for the day. I've had families contact me and let me know their whole family listens to it together. And that still totally baffles me. It's quite a humbling experience thinking that not only one person is getting something from my podcast, but many people in the same household are. It makes me think of that saying—being humble isn't thinking less of yourself, it's thinking less about yourself. And by doing this podcast it reminded me that I have a great purpose and message to share with the world, just like you do. And doing this every day has reminded me about the things I'd forgotten. It has reminded me I am enough, and I have something left to share with people…as you do to.
8. It's made me have to be more deliberate with my schedule and time. This takes a lot of my time out of my day to do this. It can be stressful, but it's made me commit to finishing something. And there have been nights where I was up till 2 am so I could get it out on time. It's made me be committed to what I said I was going to do, and it's made me committed to serving you in the best way that I can. So, yes it's teaching me about commitments, and it's making me realize how much more efficient I need to be with my time management.
9. It's made me more consistent with living my word. It's easy to tell people what they need to do, but by doing this podcast it's reminded me not just to be a talking head. It's reminded me to live what I speak. Sure I fail at times, and I'll fail many more times. But by doing this podcast, it's continually reminding me to ask more of myself. I sometimes find myself asking this…"Chris you asked your listeners to do this…are you willing to do it too, or are you faking things?" So all of you are my accountability partners whether you know it or not, so thank you.
10. It makes me re-believe in myself every day. I know this may sound silly to some as I've done over 400 consecutive daily podcasts so far, but every day I still question whether can I write another word, or whether I can find another story to tell, or whether I can create something good again. And somehow, something good always happens if I just sit down and write. If I commit to the act of being patient in being consistent with sitting down and being willing to find something to talk about no matter what. I am always surprised after I finish creating a podcast, and it feels like it wasn't even me anymore, as I connected to something deeper than just myself.

So there you have it. 10 lessons from stepping out of my fear and committing to doing this podcast. Before the creation of the podcast I spent so much time trying to make things perfect, trying not to do podcasting wrong, being in fear of looking foolish, along with a whole lot of other fears. And sot I wasted two years of my life being afraid instead of just jumping in. They say everything that we want is just right out of our comfort zone. So, what if you were to step out of your comfort zone a little more each day and do the things that scare you? How different would your life be?

I know this podcast has done great things for my life, and I know I'll continue to see more great things by staying consistent with it. I had to jump, I had to pull the trigger, I had to do it afraid…and I was rewarded for being willing to fail. So I am reminding all of us, because I need to hear this all the time too:

When you jump in, willing to fail, you will be rewarded with things you could've never imagined. By giving up trying to be perfect, you will be giving up the fear of looking foolish. Because we all look foolish when we first start something, but with practice and effort to become better we become something we never even dreamed of…just because we decided to ask a little more from ourselves.

Today's Personal Commitment:

What's something you have been procrastinating on? And what if you were to start? Maybe you might have your 10 best things happen to you because you stopped waiting and took action.

And while you think or look at what new endeavor you want to start that you've procrastinated on, look at something you committed to and write your own top 10 list of things you've learned. You might just be reminded about the awesome things that have happened by you taking a leap of faith on yourself.

I Am Committed To Creating Excellence

Thanks for listening. I'm sending great energy your way as we become Strong Within together, Personal Development Life Coach- Chris O'Hearn

Contact info- email: [email protected] phone:865-219-3247

Music by: - Zest by basematic (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. - I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Location: Knoxville, Tennessee USA but available worldwide