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Hello , Everyone, welcome to the first episode of Nighttime Nostalgia. I've been thinking a lot about my journey to this point, and the reality is I've been blessed with a lot of helping hands through my ups and downs. So I feel compelled to pay it forward. So here it is. I've designed this podcast to help myself, and others find solutions to the issues that we face in life through reflection. The more that we grow and the closer that we get to our full potential, the better we become at resolving our issues, quite frankly, the answers to everything is available to us, we just need to know where to look. So at this very moment, how close would you say that you are to realizing your full potential? If asked you right now, to rate your success as a percentage, What number would you give yourself and why? I asked myself this question a few years ago and I gave myself in 85%.... I was way off, but at the time I was a few years into my marriage, my wife and I had recently had our first daughter and we both held secure jobs. Back then, I thought that achieving those milestones completed me. So the influences that surrounded me suggested that success meant having some form of education, getting a job, to support yourself and then finding a wife to start a family with. You don't realize it at the time., but close to seven billion of us are competing to fit into a narrow set of expectations, defined by people we don't even know, only to fall short more often than we'd like. So it took me a while to see it, but there's no one size fits all definition of success. You know, we hit our targets and wonder why we feel empty from time to time, why we still have to search for direction in the midst of it all. How many times have you read stories or known people who seem to have all of the things that society places emphasis on, but they're still unhappy, still unfulfilled. It's because we follow the path that was laid out instead of charting our own course. So as men and people in general, your first order of business should always be to have an intimate conversation with yourself about who you are, and why you are. As Thomas Edison once said, the secret of success is focus of purpose. So many of us exist in jobs that give us prestige but lack the challenge or satisfaction for us to be creative. We marry people to please friends and family, and we buy things that give us status but we rarely use. This mind set is a recipe to leave this world with regret. So what do we do? How do we fill the void that sometimes we aren't even aware exists? The first thing would be to look within and get a true understanding of what you're made of. You need to literally speak with your spouse or fine time during a lunch break to sit down and ask yourself tough questions and, more importantly, be honest with the answers. What are some of the things that make me smile and brings me joy? Why can't I control my emotions like I want to, do I really enjoy rap or am I more of a country fan, You know the important stuff. Trust me when I say you will question every step and second guess every decision but you'll never regret exploring that option, Whether you follow through with it or not. Your search is gonna be similar to purchasing or inspecting a home. One of the areas that you pay most attention to is the foundation. Look for cracks, find imperfections and make sure that you repair everything. Never ever gloss over problems. Be sure that you address each issue no matter how small, because the last thing that you want is for it to present itself as a major problem when you least expect it. So whether we realize it or not, there's a voice or engine that drives each and every one of us every day. We're faced with the option to listen and follow or allow the noise in the background to guide us. You know, mine personally is God, but I still struggle daily to listen. Even though this voice helps us to find and surround ourselves with people that build us up, that challenge us and help us to develop a vision for ourselves and our loved ones. The noise diminishes us. It stifles our individuality, clouds perspective and keeps us pacified instead of performing to our full potential. So who is your master? Which do you follow and What do you expect to gain from following? You already know the answer to this question, but the master is the one that you're gonna be responding to the most. Keep in mind that you can lead by example and teach someone who's watching how to be professional, how to express love. Or you can fit in with the crowd and experience happiness based on the amount of likes that you receive. Now, I'm not knocking either, as long as you're satisfied with how it makes you feel. So there's an expiration tag attached to each and everyone of us that we'll never, ever see. So I want to make sure that I continue to alter my mindset and be impactful instead of always being the one that needs to be impacted. Use the remainder of your week to do something that you're absolutely terrified of doing, and you have the most to lose. Ask that girl that you stare at out on the date, speak with your boss about productivity and request a raise, dance, no matter how you look or sing to a crowd of strangers Whatever it is, make sure that you step outside of your comfort zone. Show that you're capable of evolving with your spouse and grow beyond your expectation and understanding of love, be deliberate, discussing needs with them, and then be the example that you need to be to your kids. Help to motivate them to surpass you in every way. Show them how to succeed and how to rebound from failure. Open your mind, change the way that you think and have the conviction to take control of your life. If you're working, and you can look left and right and not find someone to learn from work look for a new career. Whether that means adding to your education or changing your location. If you're with someone and you realize that you've fallen for the hair that will gray, the shape that will fade, and the money that won't last, find the courage to leave and connect with a person that was meant for you. Don't be afraid to lose anything that's not worth keeping! Furthermore, don't limit yourself to timeframes and unattainable goals because chances are the things that you're looking for in a mate doesn't matter as much as you think . There's no time like the present to redefine your version of success. So take your chances, disregard your fears and be a better person tomorrow than you are today. So that was the first in a three part series on unlocking our potential. We'll end the month with our pearls for girls segment, So fathers with kids, especially daughters, Make sure that you listen. I'd also like to hear from you guys. Tell me about some of the issues and challenges that you face and we'll work to incorporate them in a show.
