Grow to AMaasing

Being faithful. Being filled with faith and being sustained by it and THROUGH it. There's a lot to faithfulness, whether it be to your spouse, your family, your beliefs, to God, and so much more.

In this episode of Word of the Week I take a little dive down what that means for Jill and I right now. We're in a time of transition, working to build some new businesses we've felt called to start, and that process is at times difficult and painful. It's also very fulfilling at the same time.

Living the life you've been called to do can be scary, it can be painful, it can take you in directions you never thought you'd go. That's where we are now, and we're working hard with God's blessings to get there. 

I hope you like this episode! Subscribe and share, and thank you for listening!

Priorities. In life, in work, in family, we can't escape having them. We all have to make the right choices on what to do when, and why.

I've been struggling with them over the last month, and I go into brutally honest details about that in this episode. But I'm back in the saddle, although Grow to AMaasing is going to be scaled down for just a bit while I adjust to my new priorities in life.

We're not going away, we're not dying, and we'll be back as large as ever! Thank you for listening even through my absence! 

In this episode I talk about our family's priorities, how we set them, and why they're changing, and why Grow to AMaasing needs to take a bit of a back seat, at least for a while, so I can deal with some higher priorities.

Please visit my family's lifestyle channel on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/amaasing_life/ - @amaasing_life. And on TikTok if you're more for that platform. You'll see more from us there every day!

And if you like what you hear, please share, subscribe, and review!

Thank you again for listening!

Hope. Desmond Tutu said it well when he said, "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness."

I'm in the middle of that at the moment... so this podcast is raw and real. This is one of those times when you have to fall back on faith, hope, and love, and know that the future is not set, that with God's help we can make the future so much more than it appears to be right now.

One of my biggest weaknesses is how I fight the darkness - I tend to withdraw and isolate, rather than reaching out and engaging and working through it, or at least not shutting others out. Hope is weak for me at times like that, and times like I'm in right now.

How do I work through it? With faith, prayer, and rebuilding my hope one nugget at a time. By truly leaning on God as He works, and by believing in Him and His message with all my heart.

I hope this episode is one that speaks to you. Please share and let me know!

Since it's Thanksgiving week, I thought it'd be a good idea to talk about what I'm thankful for. And what even the word THANKFUL means to me in the first place. Is it ego-driven, or humble and truly thankful with open, heartfelt gratefulness?

I have much in my life to be thankful, and I try to call out the major parts of that, and dive into it a little bit - my faith, my wife, my family (my boys and extended family both!), and so much more.

I don't know that we take enough time in today's society to be truly thankful for everything we've all been blessed with, both good and bad. Even negative events can be turned around and made into a force for goodness - maybe losing that job opens up the door to a better opportunity, maybe being sick forces one to focus more on their health and family when recovered. And so on, with so many more examples it's hard to imagine.

So, this Thanksgiving and every day thereafter, be truly THANKFUL for every part of your life!

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There's a lot of negative press around these days for the typical family unit and in particular, what it means to be a strong and healthy man within a family, being a good husband and dad.

I'm not going to comment on all the negativity, I'm focusing on what I can do as a man, a husband, and a dad to positively influence my world. That's what this podcast is about.

What's the difference between a father and a dad? As the saying goes, any idiot can become a father, but it takes a man to become a dad. But what are the characteristics that define a dad?

I've learned a few of them, so while I may not be a perfect example of a dad, I'm doing my best to get better at those characteristics every day.

Things like:

Having your crap together as a man, and being a child of God.

Loving their mother FIRST (although AFTER loving God and taking care of yourself).

Being there, and being present, in all phases of life.

Being kind, strong, and loving.

And much, much more. I'm sure I could come up with 50 more principles with just a little thought, but these and seven more were the ones that jumped out at me.

I hope you enjoy this episode, I'd love to hear some feedback on it on my Instagram page, @tonymaas1.

"Proactive" is defined as "creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened".

I sometimes struggle with that, although it may or may not be strictly proactivity I'm talking about. I struggle with getting up off the couch and making things happen. With starting the work to get the outcome I'm shooting for. With taking the bull by the horns.

So while the word "proactive" is the word of the week, there's lots more I can fit under that umbrella.

In this episode I dive into my proactive mindset (and lack thereof sometimes) and go over the steps I'm going to be taking to improve my level of proactivity in life. Do you want a specific outcome? Do you want a direction in your life? The only way it's going to happen is by proactively getting out there and DOING IT.

Hope you enjoy! Please subscribe, share, and review!

It's time for more clarity on where Grow to AMaasing (rhymes with amazing) is going. We're 38 episodes in on the podcast, things are picking up steam, and to keep the momentum going I want to open up about some of our upcoming plans for Grow to AMaasing.

First, I walk through the targeted Functional Areas of Grow to AMaasing. How can we get better every day, in every part of our life? How does Extreme Ownership plan a part in all of them? What are the functional areas of Grow to AMaasing that we'll be targeting over the upcoming weeks and years?

What else comes after that? It's one thing to talk about growth, but how do we achieve it? I dive into that on this episode also and give a little preview of my - and my wife's - commitment to Grow to AMaasing.

I hope you stick around for the ride. We're not done yet, far from it! We're just getting started!

Ah, consistency. The 'uniform application of something'... whatever that something might be. Effort. Love. Praise. Supporting my wife. Creating this podcast. Working out. Building my faith life. Building my business.

I struggle with you, consistency.... I struggle. And I'm struggling now. I've gotten out of my routine through no one's fault but mine, and I'm fighting to get back into it.

In this episode I get open about my struggles, and talk about my plan to get back on track. Starting now. Who's with me? Anyone else out there struggling, or am I the only one?

I'll keep you updated on the results of this. Consistency of effort in all phases of life is one of the most important keys to success.

Thank you for supporting the podcast!

What do you get when you survive childhood trauma, fight through personal health and mental wellness challenges, and come out the other end a stronger person in spite of it all?

You get someone like Cheryl Killilea, my guest on the podcast this week. Cheryl and I go way back, but her story is so, so much more than that!

Cheryl's personal journey to health and wellness started over 20 years ago when she discovered that exercise, healthy nutrition and self care were the missing links in helping her lose fat, gain strength, increase self confidence, and deal with stress as a single mom.

Cheryl's defining moment came when she was laid off from her corporate sales position and decided to change careers at the age of 40.  She initially worked as a Personal Trainer at the La Crosse, Wisconsin area YMCA for 5 years and still currently teaches cycling classes.

She knew she wanted to offer more than just physical training and took a leap of faith on November 2017 and opened up a private fitness and wellness studio with an amazing view of Lake Onalaska. 

Her goal with clients is to create a private a safe space for them to reconnect with their body physically and mentally, examining all areas of wellness to create a customized plan to meet client needs though all seasons of life. 

​Her faith and spiritual journey is a strong part of the story as well, and I was happy to dive deep into that part of her life.

Please check Cheryl out at www.changinglanesfitness.com, or on Instagram at @fitgrl4ever, or on Facebook!

Just a reminder that suicide is a permanent solution to any problem you're having. If you need help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255

I hope you enjoy this episode!

How do you handle it when things go unexpectedly wrong? Do you always, always buckle down and make do with what you've got? Do you handle it well? Are you mentally flexible enough to handle change? Can you divorce your emotions from your actions, and let those emotions lie fallow, while you take action and deal with the situation?

I sometimes struggle with that, and I go into a recent example of that in this podcast. It seems like a little thing, being flexible... but it can trip you up when you least expect it. Like it did for me last Sunday.

I highly recommend studying the philosophical school of thought called Stoicism to understand how to handle adversity and unexpected occurrences, and how to have a flexible, agile mind. Ryan Holliday has a series of books on it, and you can read translations of many of the original thinkers on Stoicism, including Marcus Aurelius.

I hope you enjoy this episode and get something valuable from it - as always, please review the podcast and share it with your friends!