Purpose Through Pain

Let’s admit it, big changes to your life like divorce, death, career change, end of a relationship, can cause a major disconnect in the goals you previously had. 

In this episode, Joseph shares that when he lost his wife and father within 22 days of each other, he didn’t have any goals in mind. All he wanted to do was stay in bed, but he realized he needed to start small, by just sitting up in bed. His big goal was just to get out of the house. 

If you don’t have your goals written down, your mind will continue to be distorted. This is why you need a plan before these things may happen! In this episode, he breaks down what you need to do to simplify goals.  

Key Takeaways:

The 6 steps you need to take to create clear goals 

How Joseph created goals after the loss of his father and wife

How Joseph grew his dog training business. 

Tweetable moments:

“You can’t achieve what you can’t see.”

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18

Connect with Joseph James:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meetjjames 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/252908273026721 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meetjosephjames/

Andrea Mason is a Personal Accountability Coach mentored by Les Brown, one of the world's most renowned motivational speakers. Andrea motivates people and encourages them to overcome their fears to help them create the best version of themselves with the power of forgiveness. She coined the phrase PLAY: Plan Life According To You.

Andrea studied psychology.  She was put up for adoption as a baby, and because of that she never knew her true identity. She spent years trying to figure out who she is and what her purpose was, all while holding resentment towards her past. 

She realized the power of forgiveness when she was diagnosed with a terminal autoimmune disease. She realized that she needed to forgive herself for a past she could not control. 

Her doctor told her that the only way she would be allowed out of the hospital was if she could walk by herself. So she did. Mind over mater cured her of her health issues, and she now has a clean bill of health. She decided she was not giving up and that she was going to beat this. She forgave herself and did not suppress her emotions, and just like that, her health improved. 

On this episode:

• How Andrea learned the power of forgiveness
• Andrea’s key mindset shifts that help her forgive
• How Andrea helps her clients forgive themselves with love and entirety

Tweetable moments:

• “If we don’t learn from our scars, we will be burned time and time again”
• “Someone’s opinion of you does not become your reality”
• “To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover the prisoner is you”
• “If I can speak something into existence for the good and it happen to me, then I can speak something bad into my life and it will happen to me.”
• “I choose to not blame myself anymore, and get on the road to healing with simply forgiving myself”
• “Words can be wisdom or weapons and through the toughest times miracles are made”

Connect with Andrea:

Andrea's Website: https://www.andreamasons.com/

Andrea's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/am.andreamasons/

Andrea's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrea.mason.7982/

Andrea's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/m/in/mrsandreamason

Andrea's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtMv0AJo8LlKLpEjF6RlexnB49t_Toil0

Her Mentor, Les Brown: https://lesbrown.com/

Connect with Joseph James:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/meetjoejames

Instagram: instagram.com/meetjosephjames

In this episode, Joseph speaks about a personal issue he is having at the moment. In a current relationship, he is learning that effective communication is key. He admits, he is no expert, but he is trying to learn. 

Joseph is a helper and is realizing that finding a solution to people's problems is not always what people want in conversation, sometimes people just need to let things off their chest. 

Tweetable Moment:

• “It’s not that the mistakes are worth it, but the journey is worth it.”

Connect with Joseph James:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/meetjoejames

Instagram: instagram.com/meetjosephjames

Making change is easy, but making lasting and impactful change is where many people get stuck. In this episode, I share six actionable steps that I use to make an everlasting change in my own life your life. Now it is your turn.

Key Takeaways:

• Real change happens slowly, don't be too hard on yourself. Start with reasonable steps.
• Don't seek out happiness and purpose from others.
• Dive deep into why you want to change and how you want to do it.
• Surround yourself with people who will speak the truth to you.

Tweetable Moments:

• I had to start seeing myself differently than what everyone else was saying about me.
• It's so easy to point fingers at people without ever looking within yourself.

Connect with Joseph James:

https://www.facebook.com/meetjjames (Facebook Page)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/252908273026721 (Facebook Group)

https://www.instagram.com/meetjosephjames/ (Instagram)

Christina Patterson Wood is a dance instructor and directs one of the studio outreach programs that work one on one with at-risk youth. She also does admin support for Lousiville, Kentucky ministry that helps incarcerated men transition out of prison and back into society. Christina has the heart to use the arts to help at-risk youth around the world. Christina is a long-time friend of mine whom I just reconnected with after she shared her story about sexual assault that happened in a past relationship. We talk about how she, and many women, suppress their sexual assault experiences for years until something happens that triggers the memories, and they are faced with confusion, denial, and ultimately the truth of what happened to them. 

Christina was in denial of the fact she was sexually assaulted by her ex-fiance 20 years ago. In her mind, sexual assault only happened by strangers in an aggressive way and not in relationships, not by someone you are in a relationship with. This misconception in her mind suppressed her mind kept her questioning what really happened. In the dance industry, there are many women coming out years later and joining the #MeToo movement by talking about their instructors who abused them as students, children, and young adults. 

Years later she was triggered. Seeing her well her husband treats her made her realize how badly she was treated in the past. She realized what happened to her years ago, and came out with her story publicly because she wants people to know that they deserve to be loved, not treated unwell.

On this episode:

• Christina shares her experience of realizing she was sexually assaulted
• How she told her husband, and he showered her in love, care, and support
• Why do many women keep quiet about their sexual assault
• Why many women question if what happened was sexual assault 
• The Me Too Movement and how prominent it is in the dance community
• Why Christina stayed quiet for so long, and her fear that if she told her story people would minimize it. 
• Her work in the at-risk youth community
• How she helps her ministry support men transition out of prison and back into the community

Key Takeaways:

• You deserve to be loved, not treated unwell
• How telling your story can help others tell theirs
• Finding a purpose in your pain to help others 
• Why we say getting into a new relationship can help you heal from a past relationship

Quotable Moments:

• “The painful things we experience have a purpose, so changing the question of what was the purpose of that happening to me, to how do I find purpose through it changes the perspective a lot.” 
• “You deserved to be loved, you deserve to be loved well, and in the way that God loves you”
• “He was my fiance, he said he loved me, this is not the context of how sexual assault happens”

Connect with Joseph James:

Facebook Page

Facebook Group

Instagram

It doesn’t take much to recognize when we’re in a storm. In this episode, I shared some actionable steps that one can take when experiencing a difficult situation or facing life's trials and tribulations.

Key Takeaways:

• Always do your best to weather the storm.
• Don’t stop in the midst of your storm.
• You’re going to have bad days but never let your day dictate your life.
• Do not change direction in the midst of your storm.
• Know and recognize that you’re in a storm, and it’s completely okay. 
• Feed your mind with things that will help you get better.

Tweetable Quotes:

• To change your mind, you have to feed your mind.
• Change your mindset. Change your world.
• You can not climb a smooth mountain. 

Connect with Joseph James:

Facebook Page

Facebook Group

Instagram

Heather Knight is currently serving as the founder and chair of Surviving to Thriving, an Atlanta-based non-profit that provides a long-term sustainability program for victims of domestic violence. The passion for domestic violence awareness and prevention started from her personal situation in her teen years and then grew into a career in law enforcement. Heather recently left the police department after founding Surviving to Thriving in order to dedicate more time to her podcast (also Surviving to Thriving) and to teach the headlining program of R.A.D. Women’s Self-Defense.

On this episode:

• Heather shares her own experiences in her teenage years and the reason why she founded Surviving to Thriving.
• Heather shares how her husband, Zack, was fueled by his biological father to be a police officer. 
• Learn why people in an abusive relationship are afraid that they won’t thrive outside the relationship. 
• Heather shares how she coped after being in a manipulative relationship.
• Joseph shares why therapy shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing. 
• Learn the difference between being victimized and having the victim mentality. 
• Understand what fear of the unknown means and what visualization can look like. 
• Heather shares her own challenges when helping other people.
• Learn how you can start seeking help. 

Key Takeaways:

• You need to have a purpose behind your business or a reason why you’re doing what you’re doing.
• We need to teach teenagers how to be in a healthy relationship.
• You need to deal with your own trauma or you’re not going to help people in a way that you want to help them. 
• We have different ways of coping and we just need to find those coping mechanisms that work for us.
• To get from a place of surviving to a place of thriving, you need to have the tools you need to cope.

Tweetable Quotes:

• Things happen in life, mistakes are made but it makes you who you are at the end of the day. 
• You don’t have to live your whole life being a victim of your circumstances.
• Just because you’re a woman does not mean you can’t protect yourself. You can be the person that saves your life.
• You don’t know if you don’t like the unknown.
• Faith is the hope of seeing things we can’t see. 
• We “fake it so we can make it,” but the “fake it” is something we never really dealt with. 
• Wounds covered up don’t heal the right way. 

Connect with Heather Knight:

Instagram

Surviving to Thriving Podcast

Surviving to Thriving Website

Connect with Joseph James:

Facebook Page

Facebook Group

Instagram

On this episode:

• What vulnerability truly means and my own experience of being vulnerable. 
• How I have been practicing learning from what I have been teaching since I was a kid.
• What revelation looks like and how it helps me preach to myself. 
• Why we shouldn’t just practice what we’re learning but instead, live what we’re learning.

Key Takeaways:

• True vulnerability is when you’re not comfortable talking about something to someone.
• Learning how to live what you learn means you’re going to mess up.
• We teach what we need to learn.
• Preach to yourself.
• Learn how to live what you learn instead of just practicing it. 

Connect with Joseph James:

Facebook Page

Facebook Group

Instagram

Host of The Mastermind Effect Podcast, Brandon Straza believes that the right mastermind can be the ultimate secret weapon when it comes to personal development which is why he created The Success Finder App that focuses on helping cut through the noise, invest in oneself, and move past our natural limits. Learn more about working through our limiting beliefs, defining success, and more! 

On this episode:

• Brandon shares the “No’s” in his life which are the reasons why he does what he does today
• Learn about the Champion’s mindset
• Learn ways on how to navigate the feeling of self-doubt 
• How we can define success 
• Learn why ourself is the greatest investment 

Key Takeaways:

• The byproduct of solving a problem is money
• Choose to be helpful over being right
• You can take charge of your own success
• Self-doubt will always creep in and we just have to recognize it every time 
• Everything in life is sales
• Learn from your past so you can have the opportunity to not make the same mistake

Connect with Brandon Straza:

Instagram

The Mastermind Effect Podcast

The Success Finder Website

Connect with Joseph James:

Facebook Page

Facebook Group

Instagram