December 4th: Spotlight on @Chris Wendt for today! His community focuses on helping others build financial freedom: Dollar Discipline University If this is something of interest to you, go check it out! :) It's been nice getting to know him and he has genuine care for helping others! This is a recent post he made within this group: whats-one-habit-you-wish-you-built-earlier-in-life

The best thing I’ve ever done is gotten married and had 2 beautiful children. The next best thing I’ve ever done is realize there was more to this world than being strapped to a desk for 40+ hours a week working for someone else. I was 33 when I discovered this path. At first I started this journey because I wanted to provide even more for my family and have more time freedom, aka make more money to do what I want, when I wanted. But it’s more about that now. Entrepreneurship is the greatest vessel towards personal growth IMO. It’s really a testament to how much you want the thing. The sacrifices you are willing to trade. When I first started this journey I remember telling my wife ‘I’m willing to sacrifice Tuesday nights, Thursday nights and some weekend time to make this work’ LOL 😂 I was so naive The habit I wish I knew sooner was value creation for others. So I am spending all my time now trying to better understand that, and deliver it more frequently. What’s the one habit you wish you built sooner?

"“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation" Henry David Thoreau "Alas for those that never sing, But die with all their music in them!" Oliver Wendell Holmes I think about the Thoreau quote often and wonder the sparks that people keep hidden inside of them...One of the blessings and more rewarding parts of my job is that sometimes I get to help people explore this--to help bring out the spark that makes them feel alive. Seeing someone's eyes light up is such a privilege and brings so much joy. It can be easy to drift through life without much intention, agency, or self reflection. It's easy to keep ourselves trapped in a cage of our own making. But....we CAN create a life that doesn't turn into desperation or having us go to the grave with the song still in our hearts.. Here are some things to consider: 1. Name Your Values And Revisit Them Often -when people feel they are “quietly desperate,” it is usually because their lives drift far away from what they actually care about. How to do it: a. Write down the top five things you want your life to stand for b.Ask yourself weekly: “Did I live 1% percent closer to these?” c. Let your values make small decisions easier, so you avoid emotional autopilot Psychology tie in: Values based behavior reduces avoidance and increases a sense of agency :) 2. Practice Micro Courage Quiet desperation often grows from years of small silences--of not speaking up, not trying to step outside of the comfort zone, not risking and not starting. Micro courage: tiny brave acts a. Sending the email/text b. trying the class c. sking the question d.making the change while it is still small Psychology tie in: Every micro act of courage builds your psychological flexibility and shrinks your fear barrier. 3. Get Out Of “All Or Nothing” Thinking A reason people end up feeling stuck is because they think change must be massive or immediate.When the mind goes all or nothing, it has a much harder time acting in some instances. Some people can operate on the 'go big or go home' mentality, but likely they've had a lot of practice in saying yes to smaller steps along the way to where it can be easier to embark on the bigness.

As the "busy" holiday season approaches, I'm hearing a lot of people talk about the stress that they feel in their lives, so I figured I'd write a little bit about stress. Most of us grew up thinking stress is the enemy, something to try to get rid of and vanquish. The thing ruining our cortisol levels and creating toxins in the cells and killing them. While it's true that chronic stress can absolutely wear you down, the fuller story can be more empowering. Stress is NOT always harmful. In many cases, stress is a built in biological performance booster which can be a cool force to our advantage. The problem is not stress itself but how we interpret it and how long it stays turned on. Here are some different ways to think about stress: 💪Stress is Not the Enemy Stress is a natural activation signal from your nervous system. It increases alertness, sharpens attention, and helps you rise to a challenge. This sounds like a good thing, right? Short term stress can -increase focus -boost motivation -improve memory -sharpen problem solving -strengthen resilience -create meaning, because we only stress about what matters When we interpret stress as a resource/partner rather than a threat, your body responds differently. The narratives that we create matter. Our cardiovascular system functions better and our nervous system shifts into a more adaptive mode. A lot of research backs up the idea that our mindset really does matter significantly. Your mindset acts as a lens through which you see the world. It impacts what you notice and how you interpret different situations. This takes place through the confirmation bias so it's imperative to look at what we believe about ourselves and the world because we have the endency to look for information that matches our beliefs. 💥 When Stress Becomes Harmful Stress becomes destructive when -it lasts too long -you feel trapped -you feel unsupported -you have no sense of control/level of autonomy -your body never gets a recovery window

A little personal background (not necessary to read to get the content below): Back in 2017 I had decided that 2018 was going to be a "Year of Yes" (title inspired by Shonda Rhymes--creator of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal). Out of necessity rather than desire, I've had to make some bold and uncomfortable moves in 2017 and I told myself that 2018 had to be different.. It HAD to for my own sanity..I didn't want to be a spectator in my own life and wanted to be an active agent... So...that year consisted of saying yes to all sorts of things--yes to doing deep work (thank you Bible/God, thank you Brene Brown, thank you other books and friends), yes to things that scared me (e.g. speaking at a seminar, doing a radio show, running a self esteem workshop, doing activities solo, saying 'no' to things that didn't fit what I actually needed), saying yes to different connections ( @LaTanya Carter -I appreciate you more than you'll ever know!!!) . I stumbled A LOT and fell often, but I also became more confident, more independent, more conscientious of boundaries, more of myself. As a result of 2018, 2019 became my 'resurrection' year or my 'phoenix' year. Rising from the ashes. (Funny that it coincided with my 33rd year in life-maybe that's why I called it the resurrection year). So....as I'm reflecting on this past year and coming up into the next, I figured it's time...It's time for another "Year of Yes". I think it's been brewing. ______________BEGIN THE REAL POST________________________________ *Please watch the video if you have th time. :) :) People hear the phrase a "Year of Yes" and automatically think that it means impulsive decisions, saying yes to a bunch of new activities, being busy with all sorts of things, "bucket list"...But the reality is that it's more like..exposure therapy for the soul. It's breaking up with things that hold you back from living an aligned life. It's saying no to things like unhelpful fear, perfectionism, people pleasing, overthinking, self-doubt and the "maybe later" type language.