Choose Joy with Nancy Nance

The only obstacle in your way…

is you.

There was a moment in my life when breathing was not automatic.

It was a choice.

When Emily died…

my next breath became the only thing that mattered.

I remember the mantra that floated into my consciousness like a life raft:

The only obstacle in your way is you.

And I held onto it.

The way a drowning person holds onto air.

Because in trauma, panic comes fast.

It slips its icy fingers around your throat.

It tells you you cannot survive this.

But I knew something.

Conscious breath would save me.

I had to help Jarett.

I had to honor my daughter’s life.

I had to continue mine… even though part of me wanted to disappear.

Stress is an early, fear-fueled ego response.

It feels urgent.

It feels powerful.

But it is useless.

What saved me was body awareness.

The body is the instrument through which we experience life.

And in those seconds — I chose breath over panic.

Instead of staying on the dock beside my daughter’s body…

I went to my son.

I chose the living.

Later, the flood of grief came with a question:

Who am I living for now?

And instantly, images of my family filled my heart.

I could not allow despair to take me from them too.

Go to Jarett.

Care for the living.

Stress kills more people than we realize.

But unconscious fear is what suffocates us.

Looking back, I can see how life left me breadcrumbs.

Every hardship had trained me for that moment.

Here’s something I’ve learned:

We don’t suddenly become different people in trauma.

We bring our past with us.

Our patterns.

Our coping skills.

Our awareness.

My twin gifts were simple:

Knowing when to breathe.

And not panicking when something goes wrong.

Information quiets fear.

We are afraid of the unknown.

Ignorance is simply lack of data.

And when fear loses oxygen…

we live.

Eternal love cannot exist without suffering.

Death is visible.

Love is invisible.

But love is what lasts.

If you are in a season where nothing feels fast enough…

where grief feels suffocating…

Start here.

Find your next breath.

Just one.

Because sometimes that is all survival requires.

And if this message spoke to you…

this is what we do here.

On Recover Your Joy - Nancy Nance - Exponential Joy, we learn how to breathe through the impossible.

We learn how to transform pain into exponential growth.

We learn how to recover joy.

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And remember…

Joy is not gone.

It is waiting — on the other side of fear.

I’ll see you in the next video.

Inspiration.

I am so excited.

I am so blessed.

I walk in the footsteps of those before me —

and I am inspired.

And then…

I step beyond their footprints

and begin to make my own path.

I take one step in faith.

Maybe another.

Above me — blue sky.

Possibility.

Expansion.

Promise.

And then the shadows roll in like clouds.

Darkness moves across the light.

I grow timid.

Afraid.

The blue disappears.

Doubt fills the space where certainty once lived.

For a moment,

I feel lost.

Nowhere.

But somewhere deep inside,

I know the way out.

If I squint my eyes

and look into the faraway distance,

I can see it —

The silver lining.

A sparkle.

A soft pink shimmer on the clouds,

like cotton candy at a summer fair.

Hope does not disappear.

It waits.

I sit down on the path beside a tree.

I wrap myself in a blanket.

I remove the necklace from my neck

and begin to count my breaths.

Inhale.

Exhale.

The wind brushes past me.

The chill of fear tries to creep in.

A whisper rises —

soft, uncertain.

Old doubts stir.

Old fears try to wake.

But with each breath

comes something else.

A distant scent —

lilac trees from my childhood.

Comfort.

Joy.

Wildflowers of memory begin to bloom.

Hope fills my lungs.

Patience steadies my heartbeat.

Trust settles gently into my bones.

My chest rises.

My arms tingle.

With each breath

I am nourished by love.

Not borrowed love.

Not earned love.

Love that has always been there.

I feel strength returning —

not loud,

not forceful —

but steady.

Just for today,

I am ready to rise again.

In this moment,

I am strong.

And suddenly —

I feel childlike delight.

I lift my legs to skip.

My arms rise to spin.

The heaviness loosens.

I am ten years old again.

Curious.

Open.

Joyful.

My journey begins again.

Not from scratch —

but from wisdom.

I am filled with pure trust.

Pure joy.

In this moment

I can be anyone.

I can become everything.

With a fairy smile

and a contagious giggle,

I erupt in glittering laughter.

Not because life is perfect.

But because I am present.

I AM NOW HERE.

And here…

is enough.

If you have been walking under heavy clouds…

If doubt has replaced your blue sky…

Pause.

Breathe.

Return to now.

You do not have to solve your whole life today.

You only have to come back to this moment.

Presence is power.

Breath is medicine.

Joy is available.

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Share it with someone who needs a reminder

that hope is still shimmering behind the clouds.

And today —

choose to be here.

Fully.

Because here

is where your joy begins again.

The power of infinite love…

and gratitude.

There are three lessons

on the journey

to owning

MY power.

Not borrowed power.

Not inherited power.

Not permission-based power.

Mine.

And maybe… yours too.

First —

Living life powerfully

takes the courage

of a lion.

Not the absence of fear.

Not the absence of doubt.

But the willingness

to rise anyway.

To stand anyway.

To move anyway.

Courage is not always loud.

Sometimes it is a whisper that says,

“Try again tomorrow.”

Sometimes it is the quiet decision

to begin —

before you feel ready.

To take the step

while your knees are still shaking.

That is power.

[Lesson Two – Choice]

Second —

Power

is a choice.

It is not something granted.

It is not something waited for.

It is not something someone hands you.

It is chosen.

Every morning.

With every sunrise.

To embrace the day fully.

Not halfway.

Not cautiously.

Not shrinking.

Fully.

You decide this day matters.

You decide your presence matters.

You decide you matter.

And when you decide —

your energy shifts.

Your posture shifts.

Your voice shifts.

Your life shifts.

Because chosen power

is embodied power.

And third —

We need each other.

We were never designed

to do this alone.

We are a lion pack.

We are a wolf pack.

We are a flock of geese —

Rotating leadership.

Lifting when one grows tired.

Flying farther

together

than we ever could alone.

Together we survive.

Together we heal.

Together we thrive.

You can heal the deepest wounds.

You can climb the highest mountains.

You can swim the deepest oceans.

But love multiplies in community.

Strength expands in connection.

Gratitude anchors us in truth.

Each sunrise

is proof.

Proof that darkness does not win.

Proof that light returns.

Proof of your unlimited potential.

Infinite love is not weakness.

It is alignment.

Gratitude is not passive.

It is power anchored in appreciation

instead of fear.

When you live from love —

you expand.

When you live from gratitude —

you stabilize.

And expansion plus stability

creates exponential joy.

So today —

Take back your power.

Not with force.

But with awareness.

Not with control over others.

But with mastery over yourself.

Your destiny

is not ahead of you.

It is here.

Now.

Waiting for your yes.

And you are ready.

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Share this episode with someone who needs to remember their strength.

And today —

choose courage.

Choose connection.

Choose gratitude.

Because infinite love

multiplies when you live it.

And your power

was never missing.

It was waiting

for you to claim it.

Today I want to invite you to see something differently.

What if an attitude adjustment

is actually an altitude adjustment?

When a plane wants to rise,

it doesn’t fight gravity.

It adjusts its angle.

And when you want to rise in your life,

you don’t have to fight everything around you.

You adjust your thinking.

You release old, outgrown beliefs.

You let go of thoughts that once protected you

but now limit you.

Every limiting belief is baggage.

Every resentment is extra weight.

Every doubt you rehearse

is another rock in your suitcase.

Have you been feeling heavy?

Burdened?

Exhausted from carrying your own thoughts?

Are you dragging around stones of comparison?

Bricks of guilt?

Rocks of “not enough”?

How long have you been hauling those?

And here’s a better question —

What would happen

if you put them down?

When you lighten your mental and emotional load,

you gain altitude.

And altitude changes perspective.

From higher ground, problems shrink.

From higher ground, possibilities expand.

Do you ever wish you could take a vacation from your life?

Just escape it for a while?

Now imagine this —

What if you created a life

you didn’t need a vacation from?

What if instead of escaping,

you adjusted?

Do you surround yourself with people whose company you enjoy?

Do you enjoy your own company?

Because attitudes are contagious.

Is yours worth catching?

If someone spent a week around you,

would they rise —

or feel heavier?

Self-understanding is the key to self-success.

Your conscious and subconscious thoughts

are steering your dream ship every single day.

So pause and ask yourself honestly —

Am I captaining The Love Boat…

or replaying The Titanic?

Both ships move.

But only one is aligned with joy.

When you shift your attitude,

you shift your altitude.

When you shift your altitude,

you change your destination.

You were not designed to crawl through life

under the weight of old thinking.

You were designed to rise.

Lighten the load.

Release the rocks.

Adjust the angle.

And fly in the direction of your dreams

with greater ease.

The sky has always been available to you.

You just needed to adjust.

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Share this episode with someone who’s been carrying too much.

And today, choose one belief to release.

One resentment to forgive.

One thought to reframe.

Because the moment you adjust your attitude —

you begin to rise.

And Exponential Joy

was always waiting at a higher altitude.

Are you like me?

A people pleaser?

Have you given your power away?

Do you want it back?

Do you want to be authentic?

Did you buy into someone else’s idea of who you are?

Are you ready to face your fears… your shadows… the parts of yourself you’ve avoided?

Good.

Let’s do this.

How?

By being authentic.

By owning our power.

This is Beautiful Beast Mode.

Where your softness and your strength

become one integrated force.

Not beauty or beast.

But both.

Balanced.

Whole.

Power begins with honesty.

What do you value about yourself?

Not what others praise.

Not what gets applause.

Not what makes you acceptable.

What do you value?

What gifts do you carry?

What wisdom have you earned?

What strength did you build quietly while surviving hard seasons?

What commodity lives inside you?

And do you have the courage to bring it into the world?

That long-term love connection you are seeking…

It starts with you.

Supporting yourself.

Emotionally.

Financially.

Spiritually.

Validating yourself.

It is time to end the repetition pattern

of not owning your power.

Suppressing who you are

no longer serves you.

The relationships that ended —

the ones that didn’t support your growth —

they gave you clarity.

They showed you what you do not want.

That is wisdom.

Now remove the mask.

The mask that smiles to keep the peace.

The mask that shrinks to make others comfortable.

The mask that hides your brilliance.

Radical transformation becomes available

when you stop performing

and start embodying.

Stand in your power.

You’ve been shaken.

Good.

Now you know what doesn’t serve you.

Now you know what does.

Be independent of other people’s validation.

Support yourself.

No more victim mentality.

Step into victor mentality.

Not ego.

Not arrogance.

Soul-centered power.

Not self-centered.

Use your power correctly.

No manipulation.

No expectation.

No resentment.

Self-love opens worthiness.

Not everyone will love you.

Not everyone will understand you.

That is not your responsibility.

Integrity and authenticity

are your true sunlight.

Continue your self-care.

Do not burn out trying to prove yourself.

Empty your plate of what no longer aligns.

Create space for your dream.

Your work matters.

Your legacy matters.

Yes — there is darkness.

There are tests.

Your shadow will bring them forward.

Resistance and denial will pull you backward.

But awareness moves you forward.

Face your greatest fears.

What is the best that could happen

if you stopped running?

What kingdom could open

if you walked through the cavern instead of around it?

Fear is often just

False Evidence Appearing Real.

The door of the prison is open.

The chains are unlocked.

You are not a victim.

Be who you are —

from the inside out.

Wish others well.

Operate from pure intent.

You cannot work against others

and expect to rise yourself.

What lives inside you

reflects outside you.

To overcome duality,

you must accept both shadow and light.

And choose the light.

You are not searching for it.

You are it.

Stand up.

Birth the ideas that sing in your soul.

Those sparks of creativity?

They are not random.

They are invitations.

You are enough.

Strong enough.

Capable enough.

Worthy enough.

Affirm it:

I am enough.

Be fearless.

What do you truly have to lose?

Self-awareness is your work now.

And power is not domination.

Power is alignment.

Power is integrity.

Power is authenticity lived out loud.

Stand in it.

And watch your life respond.

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Subscribe.

Share this episode with someone who needs to remember who they are.

And today — choose one place in your life

where you will stop shrinking

and start standing.

This is Exponential Joy.

There was a time I was reckless and destructive.

And I thought it was strength.

But it wasn’t strength.

It was trauma.

I didn’t know how to heal… so I chose anger.

Anger felt powerful.

Vengeance felt purposeful.

Wrath gave me a mission.

I seethed.

I justified.

I harmed others.

I harmed myself.

I invested years building my version of justice — the kind I believed was deserved.

I wore armor and called it empowerment.

I called destruction “boundaries.”

I called bitterness “clarity.”

But no one told her she needed to heal.

The broken woman underneath the armor.

So I rebuilt.

Not from rage —

From responsibility.

I stopped asking, “Who hurt me?”

And started asking, “Who am I becoming?”

And that changed everything.

I created a woman whose values are peace, balance, and inner freedom.

A woman who chooses healing over reaction.

A woman who understands that true power is self-mastery.

And when I healed, something unexpected happened…

The ripple began.

Hundreds of people chose joy.

Thousands of hearts were touched by the book.

Momentum became movement.

A decision became a way of being.

Because healing is contagious.

When one person chooses peace, it permits another.

When one woman lays down her armor, others find the courage to do the same.

I stopped identifying as wounded.

I started identifying as a champion.

I became the sparkle I wanted to see in the world.

And that is how an empire of joy is built.

Not through perfection.

Through transformation.

Not through revenge.

Through responsibility.

Not through force.

Through freedom.

I am truly blessed.

If you are still living in anger…

If you are still building your life from unhealed wounds…

This is your invitation.

Choose one area of your life where you are reacting instead of healing.

Commit to peace over vengeance.

Commit to growth over grievance.

Commit to responsibility over rage.

Because the moment you heal —

the ripple begins.

And ripples become movements.

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Share this episode.

Tag someone who needs to hear it.

Let’s turn pain into power.

Let’s turn healing into movement.

Let’s build your Exponential Joy.

Choose Joy Podcast

Season 1

Episode 7

You Are Not Broken

I hate suffering.

Not because it makes us weak —

but because I know it isn’t who we truly are.

I am unbelievably driven to help people awaken.

To remember who they are beneath the fear, the conditioning, the old stories.

There is nothing more powerful than watching someone’s eyes shift —

the moment they realize they are not broken…

they are becoming.

Everyone gets called on the journey.

Some hear it as a whisper.

Some feel it as a disruption.

Some experience it as a complete unraveling.

Most people resist it.

We cling to what’s familiar, even when it hurts.

We defend the very story that keeps us small.

But the journey isn’t here to punish you.

It’s a call to grow.

It’s the invitation to shed identities that no longer fit.

To move from victim to creator.

From survival to purpose.

From suffering to meaning.

Change your story. Change your life.

When you understand where you are in the story of your life —

whether you’re in the breakdown, the rebuilding, or the breakthrough —

everything shifts.

Context replaces chaos.

Meaning replaces confusion.

Direction replaces despair.

You are not lost.

You are in a chapter.

And every chapter is shaping who you are becoming.

There are two kinds of motivation.

Push motivation

Willpower.

Force.

Grinding it out.

White-knuckling your way forward.

It works… until it doesn’t.

Willpower is limited.

Self-focus has limits.

When everything revolves around “my comfort, my feelings, my needs,” resilience shrinks.

The self-care conversation had value — healing matters.

But when self-care becomes self-absorption, we get stuck.

We rehearse our wounds.

We strengthen “poor me” instead of “powerful me.”

Push energy burns out.

Pull motivation is different.

It’s being pulled forward by something bigger than you.

A cause.

A calling.

A person you refuse to let down.

A vision that won’t let you sleep.

Pull doesn’t require constant willpower.

It generates energy.

It’s what’s in your heart and soul that wakes you up and says, Go.

Without the pain, would you have found the passion?

Often the wound becomes the doorway.

Suffering sharpens purpose.

Breakdown becomes fuel.

The secret to life is not comfort.

It’s not endless self-soothing.

It’s finding something you care about more than yourself.

When you live for meaning, you stop counting effort.

When you serve something greater, discipline becomes devotion.

When your life is about contribution, suffering transforms into strength.

Meaning makes you strong.

Purpose makes you unstoppable.

Find what pulls you —

and let it carry you forward.

This moment in history is not just disruption.

It is a massive creative opportunity.

We are creators meant to create.

Tools are meant to create.

And when the tools change — we must re-tool.

AI is not just changing tasks.

It is shaking identity.

For generations, we answered the question “Who are you?” with “What do you do?”

I am a truck driver.

I am a coder.

I am an accountant.

I am a roofer.

But what happens when the job changes… or disappears?

Financial suffering is real.

The anxiety of not being able to provide is real.

Shock. Fear. Overwhelm.

But beneath the financial disruption is something deeper:

Identity suffering.

If I am not my job…

Who am I?

If I am not producing the way I used to…

Do I still matter?

AI affects blue collar and white collar.

It’s not one tribe. It’s everyone.

This isn’t about class. It’s about consciousness.

We built identities around productivity and income.

Around titles and tribes.

“I am Canadian.”

“I work in tech.”

“I’m blue collar.”

“I’m corporate.”

But identity built on role is fragile.

When the role shifts, the self shakes.

This is the invitation.

To move from financial identity to creative identity.

From “What do you do?” to “What are you here to create?”

From survival to meaning.

When the external structures shift, the deeper question emerges:

Who are you without the title?

What do you care about more than yourself?

What problem breaks your heart enough to act?

AI is forcing humanity to confront meaning.

It’s uncomfortable.

It’s destabilizing.

But it’s also evolutionary.

We are not meant to be defined by tools.

We are meant to use tools.

This is not the end of work.

It is the end of unconscious identity.

And for those willing to answer the deeper call —

this is the greatest creative opportunity of our lifetime.

We are not meant to manage stress, circumstances. We were meant to create them.

Are you caught up in making a living or designing a life.

3 most important skills

1 pattern recognition- when you can recognize patterns you eliminate fear. Fear comes from uncertainty this has never happened before. I don’t know what this is - chaos. We’ve never been in this place politically! We’re gonna have a civil war!

This is a pattern. This is a cycle.

Hunters and gathers to where we are now. The seasons. We recognized the pattern. We recognized the cycle.

Plant the garden

Take care of the garden in the summer

Harvest in the autumn

Live off the resources in the winter

0-21 years is spring time

22-42 years is summer time - testing, work your tail off period of your life. I’ve heard it all before now I want to test it for its validity. This is the most difficult time in people’s lives

I love you. Keep growing m. You’ve got this.

43-63 that’s the fall. If you planted in the spring, worked your tail off in the summer, now you can do more with your pinky. You have created relationships. You recognize the pattern. You know what’s going on. Nothing is a surprise or shock to you. You’re more strategic. You’re more elegant. You have more choices. You’ve learned a lot of lessons. Power period.

64-84, 104, 124 winter. Transition to becoming a leader. You are no longer trying to prove yourself to anyone else. You know who the fuck you are. You want people to like who you are and if they don’t well it’s okay because you know who you are. You don’t give a shit. You have 30 year, 40 year relationships that sustain you. Friends that adore you. It’s unbendable, unshakable. You have an intimate relationship with a partner that is beyond anything you have ever dreamed of. You wake up every day and k ow that life is a gift and you want to give back even more. You wake up everyday and know it is a gift and you’re more driven than you were in the summer.

Season of history is how you shape your life. Patterns.

If you want to navigate your life, you need pattern recognition.

Respond vs react

Every season bas predictable challenges and opportunities.

Where are you in your seasons?

Remember the 3 skills that we need

Pattern recognition

Pattern utilization

Pattern creator

Ultimately you want to be a pattern creator.

1. Patterns on a piano
2. You learn someone else’s patterns, practice and produce some music
3. Create your own music

The GOATS- greatest of all time

Learn the patterns

Practice the patterns

Create their own patterns - bring something to the table that has never been there before, then your value goes through the roof

Kick ass until they succeed

Are you still applying the principles in your life from the Greatest of all Teachers? Louise Hay, Robin Sharma, Tony Robins

Some people have to survive. Some people have to succeed. Decide which one you are.

We’re all equal as souls but we’re not all equal in the marketplace.

You have to become more valuable.

How can I add more value to the world?

Life is calling you. What are you going to give? What do people need?

A life that has more meaning that goes beyond one’s self.