Hello Friends! Today I talk about the times when inspiration doesn't strike and what to do to fill those gaps in content. Don't forget to check out the planner if you haven't already at www.youareyourfocus.com/planner and check out the site at www.youareyourfocus.com and comment, content, and rate this somewhere online! Thanks for listening, see you soon!

Get out of your own way!

Hey Friends, join my trip today as I talk about beginning a week and I go over my planner, found at youareyourfocus.com/planner , and give you tips on how to attack your week. Please share to those who could use it and don't forget to check out the youareyourfocus.com site for more tips. Can't wait to talk to guys again. Thanks again for listening! -Josh

Morning rambling notes to self

Hello and welcome back, I’m glad to see you. If you didn't catch the origin story I encourage you to go back and read/listen to that one. It tells of the reason why you’re reading this now. What I want from this is for it to be a chill relaxing environment and feel like I'm actually conversing with everyone. What I plan on doing now is to have a more free flow like this. I'm not a polished writer able to formulate thoughts and finish them. The hope would be over time as I go through this journey and in articles later, when I’m more comfortable and more flowing, that you can kind of say ‘hey you know what? I read you when you were like this and now you're like that, so awesome!’ I want to make sure that I actually have a journey to take you on.

Today's topic is about momentum and taking action. One of the hardest things to do is to take that first step. Whatever it is you're doing, if it’s dieting, then the first meal that you change up what you're ordering, or the first snack that you don't eat. Things like that. The first push-up that you do for exercising, or if it's for business, the first idea that you actually start to formulate and put on paper and take a step towards. If it's starting a podcast it's actually creating that first episode and then a bunch of baby steps. Figuring out the idea, actually recording it, finding out how you want to put it out there, and then actually publishing it. Then what I think is probably the hardest part is to do it again, and again, and again. Right now I'm on that second again. I'm taking the motivation and momentum that I have from doing something once and putting it out there to do it again. That's how habits form and that's how things get accomplished. Not in one big action filled day but by doing the little things. Time after time. Getting the consistency of that. I'm on Instagram if you don't know, and if you haven't followed yet www.instagram.com/youareyourfocus is where you can find me. Now let me go back to my early posts, one that is relevant and isn’tjust showing the logo. One of the first posts that actually got a good bit of traction was one with a deer. I write the the words and I try to find the picture that makes sense for it. I had an idea of what I wanted to say and then I searched through the royalty free image sites for the term quizzical. What came back was one with a deer giving one of those perplexing looks. With the deer I wrote ‘not every step forward requires you to know exactly what you're doing.’ Meaning that each step of the way doesn't require you to know exactly what it is to do. You know you need to get from A to B, but you don't need to know each intricate detail of the road, the pavement, the sidewalk, or whatever. You just have to take that step. Do I know the best way to make a podcast? No. But do I know how to get my voice recorded and published? Yes. Do I know it’s great habit forming to be consistent? Yes. Do I know what I'm actually going to say in my next sentence? No. But I'm going to say something. I’m going to have two articles out there now. Now I can say ‘hey I've been posting for 2 days now,’ and just those little things. I hope that can show you that if you wanted to start something then just do it. Just take that first little step. If you need to pay off your debts, or if you need to do anything of that sort, the first change you make is a step in the new direction. Making a bigger change. If you don't do that little change you are never going to be five, ten, or a hundred steps down the road closer to your goal. You'll still be back, not starting, in the same place you were. Even if it's small and even if it's baby steps you can at least look back and see the road that you have traveled down already, and understand that you aren’t back there and now you're this far forward. Let me be that example for you. I'm saying things like you know and so and punctuation could be better but anything that you would like to do doesn't just magically ha

FIRST, A BIG THANK YOU!

As an introduction of sorts and in celebration of the launch of my podcast I wanted to share how You Are Your Focus came to be. It also dovetails with the story of Josh, me.

A wedding is a glorious and beautiful occasion, especially your own. Going from taking on the world single handedly to gaining an ally and support system is game changing. My beautiful wife is my best friend and someone I want to be with all the time. Colors are brighter, smells are sweeter, and the days are full of life when we're together. Unfortunately weekdays come around and routine sets in. Wake up, get ready, kiss goodbye, go to work, work, come home, collapse, wake up, repeat, repeat, repeat, and repeat. The days start to run together. The weekends turn into work around the house. Days are wished away waiting for the next holiday and vacation. The nagging stressors of life take priority. A suffocating feeling of being stuck sucks the air out the muted tones colored days. Waiting for something magical to change everything. More years than I care to count later I became a father. Colors regained their vibrance and the sun shone brighter than ever. Breath came back, and was quickly whisked away. So fast this time that it feels like a shot to the gut. All of those priorities remained and the stakes just got higher. Now at the end of the day there's no time to collapse, there's a child dependant on me, there's household tasks to be done, and when someone can't sleep I have to be there. Days scream by at an alarming pace. All I want to do is spend time with those who mean the most to me. Those who, when I'm around them, lighten my step and brighten up my life. Yet each day I'm dragged from them to pursue the monetary means to provide for them. This takes a major toll on my mental headspace. It takes me from lightly bouncing on air to the slow, painful, and difficult feeling of trudging through quicksand.

After recently going through a particularly busy time at work while at the same time a roughly six plus week period of different illnesses cycling through the house. I had to take a long hard look at my situation and ask the simplest of questions. “Is there a better way?” I believe the answer is yes. Getting there would be hard work, but attainable. Others have walked my path before, when boiled down I’m not all that unique, and they have come out on the other side smiling. It was here that I started assessing my skills. What can I contribute to the world and what value I could bring to others. It was around that time that I began a 30 day challenge and that was the motivation needed to take action. The experience of completing this challenge has opened up an alternate viewpoint and it was here that things changed. End scene.

Lots of love, You Are Your Focus