VICTORY FOCUSED

Brett’s episode is all about becoming victory-focused by training yourself to notice everything that’s going right instead of letting one or two problems dominate your perspective. He explains that gratitude doesn’t mean ignoring difficulties, but recognizing that a bad moment doesn’t have to become a bad day, and he challenges listeners to deliberately look for the good and celebrate small victories.  He also shares two uplifting stories, including a daughter who helped save her dad’s struggling shoe store through TikTok and a 14-year-old who used his rodeo skills to rescue a drowning man.  He closes with lessons from Terri Savelle, David Goggins, and Victoria Osteen about consistency, pushing beyond your comfort zone, and recognizing how ordinary daily actions can prepare you for extraordinary things.  His challenge for the week is simple: whenever you catch yourself focusing on the negative, immediately refocus on three things that are going well in your life. 

Terri Savelle | The Real Reason You're Not Consistent (And How to Fix It Starting Today)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/terri-savelle-foy-podcast/id274538089?i=1000775655442

David Goggins | I WASN'T BORN TO BE AVERAGE

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/motivational-speech/id1642546815?i=1000774424653

Victoria Osteen | Finding The Extraordinary In The Routine

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joel-osteen-podcast/id137254859?i=1000773285239

Simple Daily Routine:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1njZbEbTg-NKLto1OptvAkglc6mxdXKo7/view?usp=drive_link

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to A Conversation of Hope with Brett. This podcast is all about you. The mission to remind you that you are a masterpiece. To inspire you to dream again. To equip you with simple, actionable strategies for success. Strategies you can start using today to begin your journey towards the incredible life you deserve. He wants to remind you of the champions you were going to be. No matter your past or current struggle, it firmly believes that you've done it and still have it. He's grateful you're here and promises to give us all each week to help you create the life you were meant to live. So buckle up. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Welcome, welcome, welcome to a conversation of hope. I am so glad that you tuned in today. I think you're really going to enjoy this episode. Um we're talking about being victory focused. All right, right from the jump though, I want to remind you as I do every week, you, yes, you are more than enough. You have what it takes. And you are a champion whose absolute best days are straight ahead. Wanted to share a quick story about what life is truly about. It's pretty darn cool. This week I had my daughter call me to see how my day was going. She said, Oh wait, hold on though. Athena, who's my beautiful granddaughter, had been waiting all morning to ask me a very special question. I said, Okay, put her on. I can't wait to talk to her. She got on and said, Papa, Papa, can you please take me to the park? Imagine a tiny three-year-old's beautiful voice asking such a sweet request. I'll tell you what, y'all, my whole day was complete after that. And yes, I did absolutely take her to the park. It was heavenly. What a blessing. Alright, let's get refocused back on topic. So the other day, I was having a pretty challenging day. A few things in the biz were not where they needed to be, and I started to get pretty worked up over it. Then I refocused and I thought about all the things, the ton of things that were going great. I thought, why am I only focused on the one or two things that are not very good right now? I had to instantly refocus on all the victories going well and going good around me. Today I wanted to talk about having the right perspective on all the victories around you. Because trust me, it's it's very easy and very simple to lose perspective, and anyone can do it at any given time. So this is great information for all of us, and I know I'm going to get a ton out of it. Let's get into it. This is going to be great. All right. The power of a positive perspective and a grateful heart. Let me start with a simple question. When you look at your life, what are you looking at? Are you looking at everything that's going right? Or are you spending most of your time thinking about the one or two things that aren't? It's easy to do, everybody. Because here's something I've learned. What you focus on gets bigger. That's so powerful. If you constantly focus on what's going wrong, what's missing, what's frustrating, and what didn't go the way you wanted it, those things can begin to dominate your entire perspective. But when you intentionally focus on what's good, what's working, what's possible, and what you're grateful for, something changes. Your circumstances may not immediately change, but the way you experience your circumstances change right away. And that can change everything. All right, think about this. You could have a day where 95 things are going right and five things aren't. You have people who love you, you have opportunities, you have a roof over your head, you have food to eat, you have people you can call, you have experiences you've enjoyed, you have dreams you're pursuing, you have another day of life, you have things that are working, but then something goes wrong. Maybe somebody says something you don't like. Maybe traffic is terrible. Maybe you have a problem at work. Maybe something didn't go according to plan. Maybe somebody disappoints you. And suddenly that one thing becomes the thing that you think about all day long. Isn't it amazing how easily we can allow one negative experience to overshadow dozens of positive ones? We can have a wonderful day and let one bad conversation ruin it. We can receive ten compliments and remember the one criticism. We can have a hundred things going right and obsess over the two things going wrong. But what if we change the way we look at it? Ooh, powerful. What if instead of asking what's wrong, we start asking what's right? What's going well? What's good in my life? What do I have to be thankful for? Who is in my corner? What opportunities are in front of me? What can I learn from this? What can I appreciate today? That's the power of perspective. Your perspective determines your experience. Two people can experience the exact same circumstances and have completely different experiences. One person sees a problem, the other one sees an opportunity. One sees an ending, another one sees a new beginning. One sees they don't have what they don't have, another one sees everything that they do have. One says, Why is this happening to me? Another one says, What can I learn from this? The circumstance may be identical. The perspective is totally different. And perspective is powerful because you don't always get to choose what happens to you, but you have tremendous influence over how you respond to what happens. You may not control the weather or the traffic or what somebody says. You may not control someone else's attitude. You may not control every circumstance in your life, but you can control where we put our attention. And that is incredibly powerful. Don't let the one thing steal the 99. Imagine someone gives you a beautiful white shirt. You love it. You wear it all day long. Then you get one tiny spot on the sleeve. What do you notice? The entire shirt or the spot? Most of us immediately focus on the spot. That's what we do with life sometimes. We have a beautiful life, but we focus on the stain. We have wonderful relationships, but we focus on the one difficult relationship. We have incredible opportunities, but we focus on the one closed door. We may have many blessings, but we focus on what we're missing. We have a great day, but one negative moment takes over our thoughts. Don't let the one thing that's wrong convince you that everything is wrong. That's the trap. You can acknowledge the problem without allowing the problem to become your perspective. You can say, Yes, this isn't going the way that I want, and then say, but well, look at everything that is going right. That's gratitude. Gratitude sees what you see. Gratitude doesn't mean pretending everything is perfect. Life isn't perfect, people aren't, circumstances, you'll have difficult days, you'll have setbacks. Being grateful doesn't mean ignoring those things. It means refusing to allow those things to blind you to everything else that is good. Gratitude says this may be perfect, this may not be perfect, but there is still something to appreciate. Maybe you're going through a difficult season right now, but you're not alone. Maybe you have a problem, but you also have the ability to work towards a solution. Maybe one door is closed, but another door may be opening soon. Maybe today isn't the day that you hope for, but you still have another day. Maybe you don't have everything you want, but you can appreciate everything that you do have. And here's one of the most powerful habits you can develop. Train yourself to look for the good. Look for it. Search for it, talk about it, celebrate it, thank people for it, acknowledge it. Because what you repeatedly look for, you become better at seeing. Your mind needs a new default. Think about what happens when you wake up in the morning. What is your first thought? Ugh, I gotta go to work. I didn't sleep enough. I have so much to do. This is gonna be a long day. Or could you start with thank you for another day? Thank you that I'm here. Thank you for another opportunity. Thank you for the people in my life. Thank you for another chance to make a difference. Today is gonna be a good day. That doesn't mean every moment will be easy. It means you're choosing your starting perspective. That is powerful, y'all. And that matters. You don't have to wait until something wonderful happens to be grateful. You can choose gratitude before the circumstances change. Practice the five good things challenge. Here's a simple challenge I want you to try. And me, trust me, I'll try it. Let's go. Every morning, identify five things that are going right in your life. They don't have to be huge. Maybe it's your family. Maybe it's your health. Maybe it's your home, your job, a friend, your faith, your coffee, or beautiful weather. Maybe it's the fact that you have another opportunity to get better. Then throughout the day, catch yourself when you start focusing on something negative. Ask yourself, am I focusing on the one thing that's wrong? Or am I seeing the whole picture? Because sometimes we don't need a different life. We need a different lens through which we see the life that we already have. That's so powerful. And that's so cool because we control that. I'll say that one more time. Sometimes we don't need a different life. We need a different lens through which to see the life that we already have. Be careful about what you talk about. There's another powerful part of the perspective. Your words reinforce your focus. If you constantly talk about what's wrong, eventually your mind becomes an expert at finding what's wrong. But if you start talking about what's good, you train your mind to recognize what's good. Instead of nothing ever works out for me, try. Some things aren't working out right now, but there are still many good things happening. Instead of my whole day is ruined, try, that wasn't a good moment, but it doesn't have to ruin my entire day. Instead of I don't have enough, try, I'm going to appreciate what I have while I work towards what I want. Your words don't magically eliminate problems, but they can change the mental environment in which you deal with those problems. Don't miss your life looking for a better one. This may be one of the biggest messages of all. Don't become so focused on what you want next that you fail to appreciate what you have now. So powerful. That one spoke to me. That's a big one right there. Don't become so focused on what you want next that you fail to appreciate what you have now. We spend so much time thinking, when I make more money, or when I get that house or the promotion, or I reach that goal, when things finally settle down, then I'll be happy. But what if happiness isn't something you have to postpone? What if you can pursue bigger dreams while still appreciating today's blessings? Ooh, that sounds like an ultimate plan right there. You can want more and still be grateful. You can have goals and still enjoy the journey. You can want to improve your life without believing your current life isn't valuable. Ambition and gratitude can live together. Dream big, work hard, keep improving, but don't forget to stop occasionally and say, wow, look at how far I've come. Look at the people around you. Look at the opportunities you've been given. Look at the lessons you've learned. Look at the moments you've survived. Look at the memories that you've created. Look at the people you've helped out. Look at all the blessings you have sometimes taken for granted. Your assignment today, here's our challenge. For the next seven days, don't allow the one or two things that aren't going right to dominate your attention. Every day deliberately look for the good. Find something to appreciate. Thank someone, encourage someone, celebrate a small victory. Write down three things you're grateful for. And when something goes wrong, don't immediately say this is a terrible day. Say this is a difficult moment, but it is only one moment. Then look around, find the good, because chances are, even in the middle of a difficult day, there are still blessings surrounding you. There are still people who care. There are still opportunities, lessons, possibilities, and reasons to smile. Alright, y'all, at the end of the day, life isn't about everything going perfectly. It's about learning to recognize the good even when everything isn't perfect. You can choose to stare at the two things that aren't working, or you can look at the 98 things that are. You can focus on what you lost or appreciate what remains. You can focus on the closed door or look for an open one. You can complain about what you don't have or be grateful for what you do. The choice is ours, everyone. I know what we're gonna do. In this community, we're gonna focus on the positive. So tomorrow morning, before you start thinking about everything you need to fix, take a moment to recognize everything that you already have. Take a breath, look around, and say, I have a lot to be grateful for. Because you probably do. And when you train your mind to see the good, your heart begins to feel good. When your heart becomes grateful, your attitude changes. And when your attitude changes, your actions change. And when your actions change, your life will change. So don't let one or two things going wrong steal your joy from the many things that are going right. Focus on the good, choose gratitude, protect your perspective. And remember, your life doesn't have to be perfect for you to be grateful. There is good happening right now. Look for it, appreciate it, celebrate it, and enjoy the incredible gift of today. Wow. I enjoyed that as much as you all did. I needed to hear it. Probably as much or more than all of all of us did, but really, really, really enjoyed it. Good stuff. If we all apply it, I think we will definitely have a better life. And that's the mission. Want you to have everything out of life. You deserve it. Alright, y'all. Buckle up as we head right into the laugh zone. It's happening. Here we go. Get ready. If you're on that treadmill, maybe step off to the side for a sec. Or if you're cruising down the road, focus on the road. Hands on ten and two. All right. What do you call a cow during an earthquake? A milkshake. I think you're really, really going to enjoy. The first one, daughter saves dad's struggling shoe shop with TikTok appeal. And a customer's line out the door. A daughter helped save her daughter's vintage Italian shoe shop by posting about a pair of Y2K kitten heels on TikTok. For over 30 years, Richard Lazar has owned Rich Collection Italiana, but the emergence of online shopping practices and an aging clientele left the store in East London struggling. Then his 25-year-old daughter noticed that a French influencer had posted about her dad's shop as a hidden gym, and it gave her an idea to do the same. She posted about the Y2K sandals in her first video on July 7th, which got 300,000 views overnight. Wow. And within days, there were two hour long lines outside the door. That is so awesome. My dad has been running the shop since before I was born. So we were all sad to see it suffering, she said. He usually had older regular clientels, but they had been petering out over the years. Now he has a whole new set of clientele with streams of young people coming to the shop every day. She remembers her dad sending a message to the family group chat saying some young French girls had come into the shop, which was very unusual. That's when we realized a French influencer had posted a video showcasing the Y2K kitten heels, which I didn't even know about. It was amazing to see. By highlighting the shoes that would appeal to people my age, we had lines out the shop in no time. The climax of the shop turnaround was when Mr. Lazar ripping down his closing sale sign while surrounded by applauding customers. It's so small inside we have to limit the amount of customers in the shop at any given time, but that doesn't seem to deter people. Being close to retirement age, Rach is keen to go out with a bang at some point and move back to his hometown. In the meantime, the shop at 7 Hackney Road in Shortage may start moving into online sales to take advantage of future sales from the new younger customer base. Wow, people helping people. What a gift that daughter really helped out her dad big time. That is so awesome, everybody. All right, next one up. Montana teen uses rodeo lasso to rescue drowning men at the Yellowstone River. A 14-year-old obsessed with roping cattle, rescued a man who had fallen into a river, Indiana Jones style, catching him around the neck and arm with a lasso. Tory Thomas was spending fourth of July weekend at his grandparents' house along the Yellowstone River near Greycliff in Sweet Grass County when he heard someone screaming for help. Four people, then a raft and a palace board, had struck a bridge pier and fallen in. Three managed to get to shore, but a fourth one clung helplessly to a cooler, silently and swiftly moving down the river. Thomas didn't think twice, he later admitted. He emptied his pocket, took out his rope, and when he planned it was straight out of a western movie. That year the ranch kid Thomas had become fixated with roping or catching cow calves with a lasso. I actually started really getting into roping this year, he said. I went to Brandings and started roping cattle then, and I started getting better and better. Every afternoon when it cools off, I go out and rope the roping dummy, said Thomas. Convincing the man to let go of the cooler, Thomas got him around the arm of the neck on his first try, while the bystander on scene rushed to help the young man reel him in. Thomas' father, a veteran volunteer firefighter, Said that he had called nine one one as soon as he had heard the screaming, and the police records show that from the time of the call it took just three minutes for a sheriff's deputy to arrive. By then there was hardly anything to see. My opinion, Jory saved the individual's lives a hundred percent, said the county sheriff. Had Thomas not acted, I believe the chances of this individual not making it to shore were very slim. That's because, as Thomas's father put it, the swift current on the section of the Yellowstone quickly leads to rapids, log jams, and other obstacles that can easily claim the life of anyone floating through it. I felt pretty good afterwards that I knew he was okay and he was out of the water, said Thomas. His grandmother, Sandy Thomas, was there as well. He comes up and he said, I think I just saved a life, said Sandy. And we all said, Yeah, you did. Wow. That was awesome, everybody. Good stuff. As always, um, we are going to head straight ahead to my recaps of the week. I like you love to listen to podcasts, and I always like to take the top three podcast episodes that I listen to and recap them for you. Because I figure, hey, if they were good for me and I got something out of them, I think they might be really good for you. So I want to share them with the community. Number one straight up, Terry Sabel. The real reason you're not consistent and how to fix it. All right. We start with excitement. We set the goal, we make the commitment, maybe we wake up early, start exercising, eat better, read every day, work harder, pray more, and finally pursue the dreams that we've been putting off. And for a while, we're on fire. Then something happens. Life gets busy, motivation disappears, we miss a day, then another day, and before long we're saying, I need to start over. The real problem isn't always discipline. One of the biggest takeaways is that inconsistency often goes deeper than simply being lazy or lacking self-control. Sometimes the problem is that we haven't connected our daily actions to something that is meaningful enough to us. When your goal is connected to a powerful vision, a purpose, or something you deeply care about, it becomes much easier to keep going when the excitement wears off. Consistency means learning to say, I may not feel like doing it, but I'm going to do it anyway, because this matters to me. Your vision has to be bigger than your excuses. Consistency turns small actions into extraordinary results. Don't start over, just start again. Missing one day doesn't mean you have failed. Develop the mindset. I missed yesterday. Today I'm back. No guilt, no shame, no dramatic restart. Just get back in the game. If you want to become more consistent, don't make everything harder. Pick one area of your life where you want to become more consistent. Not ten, just one. Write down why it matters, and then now focus on how far you have to go. Focus on what you need to do today. You don't need a new life. You just need a new daily actions. And when you stumble, don't quit. Get back up. Get back into it. Get back in the game. Keep moving forward. We got this, y'all. This is gonna be good. Everyone can do it. The real, once again, being consistent is the key. Just being consistent. No shame, no guilt. We all start something, we try hard, and then all of a sudden something might throw us off for a while. That's okay. Like she says, just start again. Alright, number two. I was not born, you were not born to be average, says David Goggins, the Navy SEAL. What if you stop asking? How do I make life easier? And start asking, how much more am I capable of? You're capable of far more than you think you are. Stop settling for average. Average is comfortable. Average says, I'm doing enough. Average says that's just the way I am. Average says I'll start tomorrow. The goal is not to prove you're better than everyone else. The goal is to become better than the person that you were yesterday. Build a better version of you. Embrace the hard things. Growth lives on the other side of discomfort. Wow, that's powerful. Growth lives on the other side of discomfort. Do something every day that makes you stronger. Every time you do something difficult that you could have avoided, you strengthen your ability to do difficult things tomorrow. Your mind is your real battlefield. A lot of times your biggest limitations are often mental. The important thing isn't necessarily eliminating the voice. It's learning that you don't have to obey it. Your feelings can tell you something, but they don't have to determine your actions. Turn your past into fuel. You can't change what happened yesterday, but you can decide what you're going to do today. Your struggles can become excuses or they can become fuel. Your weaknesses can become something you hide or something you deliberately attack. Your history is part of your story. It doesn't have to be the conclusion. Real confidence isn't created by simply telling yourself you're great. Confidence comes from keeping promises to yourself. David Goggin's message isn't really about running harder, lifting heavier, or suffering more. It's about discovering what you're capable of. It's about refusing to live your entire life inside the boundaries of your current comfort zone. You weren't put on the earth to simply be comfortable. You were born to win. You weren't born to be average. Your best version is waiting to be built. Ooh, I love it. So good. Alright, link to full episode is in the show notes as always. Number three, finding the extraordinary and the routine. Victoria Osteen. What if the ordinary parts of your life aren't actually ordinary at all? What if the things you do every day, the job you go to, the responsibilities you carry, the people you serve, the commitments you keep, and even the challenges you face are actually preparing you for something extraordinary. Don't underestimate the power of being faithful in everyday things. Most of life is routine. Preparation plus opportunity creates something powerful. So don't despise today because it doesn't look spectacular. Be faithful in the small. Never assume something is insignificant because it looks small. The way you handle the small things is often preparing you for the big things. Don't let other people's opinions define your assignment. Your assignment doesn't have to make sense to everybody else. Stop comparing your life to others. This is especially important today because social media constantly gives you somebody else's highlight reel. Your challenges are developing you. Victoria reminds us again, don't run from the routine. Make your routine count. Give your best to the ordinary things. Show up with excellence. Be dependable. Keep your commitments. Serve people. Take care of what you've been entrusted with. Keep developing yourself. Keep your attitude positive. And most importantly, remain faithful even when no one seems to notice. Because you never know what today's faithfulness is producing for tomorrow. The job you think is ordinary may be developing skills you will need later. The relationship you're investing in may become one of the greatest blessings of your life. The small responsibility you're carrying now may be preparing you for much bigger opportunities. The difficult season you're walking through may be developing character you'll need for the next level. Make today extraordinary by giving your best. Serve someone, keep your words, choose gratitude, stay positive, and be faithful. Trust what you are doing today is preparing you for a better tomorrow. So good, Victoria. That is awesome. Remember, link to the full podcast episode is in the show notes for your convenience. All right, now for our challenge of the week. My challenge for you and I this week is if we feel ourselves starting to focus on the negatives, we will instantly refocus on three things that are going good in our lives. Let's keep training our brains to look for the good. As always, I want to remind you, yes, you, yes, you, you, you, you, you are more than enough. You have what it takes. You're a champion whose absolute 100% best days are straight ahead. As my dad would always say, you are loved and appreciated. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever stop dreaming and believing big for you and your family. Always better, never backwards. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a part of our great community as we roll to one million. I so appreciate you. Have an epic day and a magnificent week. God bless.

SPEAKER_00 32:04

Thank you once again for listening to a conversation of hope with Brent. Brent wants to remind you that you are loved and appreciated. If you find value in this episode and know someone who could use the little hope and encouragement, please like comment and comment. Please don't check out the comments. Until next time. And ultimately, yeah.