Small Scale Life Podcast

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This week however, I will be completing the Midweek Motivation due to the seriousness of the topic and story. In case you are new to Small Scale Life, I am your normal host of the Small Scale Life Podcast: Tom Domres.

I am doing this episode by request from Daniel from Ohio. He is a Marine with time in Afghanistan under his belt. Thank you for your service, Daniel. He asked me to read this story for Midweek Motivation, and after reading the article, I wanted to move forward with it. In this day and age, we see a lot of people who are elevated to “hero status” for strange reasons and to fulfill agendas and narratives. What does real sacrifice look like? Two Marines who gave all in defense of their Band of Brothers in Iraq in 2008 show us what real sacrifice is, even in this modern era. While you might not make the ultimate sacrifice for others, what can you do to help your family, neighbors and community around you?

Story Time

Daniel sent me a link to a story written by Geoffrey Ingersoll from the Business Insider in 2013. The title for this piece is “Everybody should read General John Kelly’s Speech about Two Marines in the Path of a Truck Bomb.”

As a dad to a combat veteran, this story hits home. My son could have been one of these young men when he was deployed to Afghanistan. I am going to read selected portions of this story for you, and I will provide a link to the original story in the show notes. The link to the original story is here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kellys-speech-about-marines-in-ramadi-2013-6

Midweek Motivation Lesson: Sacrifice for Others

Many of us will never find ourselves in a similar situation as Corporal Jonathon Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter. These men gave the ultimate sacrifice for men they knew, and some they did not know.

How can you apply this story to your own life?

We live in a fast-paced and isolated world. We are connected by apps and screens, but we really don’t know each other.

It is time to stop connecting on screens and start connecting in real life. Reach out, meet face-to-face and develop those relationships. Help your friends and neighbors with a project, or invite them over to your house for dinner. Lend them some support and give them encouragement. Sometimes some folks just need a smile and some time to talk.

While you might not make the ultimate sacrifice to stop a truck bomb for your family, neighbors and friends, you might be able to help them when times are tough, or even when they aren’t (to quote Jack Spirko).

Special Thanks from Tommy Cakes

I would like to thank Greg Burns from Natures Image Farm and Doneil Freeman from Freeman Family Farms for the INSPIRATION to do this Midweek Motivation Podcast. You two ARE the wind beneath my wings!

Also I would like to thank Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) for the "Kool Kats" theme music. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Badda boom, badda bing! Dat's how we do it!

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This episode is all about adding fun to get stuff done (fun to done). Many of us set goals and resolutions, only to fall apart or abandon them on Day 2. Why is that? Maybe the problem is that you relate your goals to dreadful toil and bloodletting instead of enjoying the process and having some fun! In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes.

Who is Tommy Cakes?

Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes.

Hey, how are you? I am Tommy Cakes. Who am I? I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things. Don't worry about it!

What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business.

• I import knowledge
• I export that information at premium prices!

I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life

Introduction – Fun to Done

This is a Late Week Motivation this week. What can I say? Business has been good and keeping Tommy Cakes on the run. This is a good thing: it means more stuff is happening and Tommy is getting paid! Fortunately, I have some time to relax before I go to the lounge, so I am going to get this done for you!

Many of us set lofty goals and resolutions with the best intentions. We dream big and then make grand announcements to all of our family and friends. We say things like, “This time is different; I am ready. This is my chance to change! My goal is X!”

We see this all the time at the start of a new year. As we talked about in Episode 13, we concoct all kinds of goals and resolutions, and by the end of January, 64% of us have stopped trying. By March 1st, 80% of us have dropped off. Haven’t you noticed it at the gym, pool or in the sauna recently? There are a lot less waiting for a machine, a lane or bench space for the gun show to begin.

Why is that?

Goals and Resolutions Don’t Work

We have the best intentions when we start with our big goal and resolutions. We don’t intend to fail. We want change, but then something happens.

Psychologically, we associate goals and resolutions with pain, misery and drudgery. Who wants to be miserable eating kale when you can have some fantastic lasagna, red wine and cannoli?

We see this with people trying to lose weight. They set a goal, and then they think the quickest way to get to done is to start running, yet they can hardly walk around the block. After two days of jogging, they are so sore they can’t even move! This destroys motivation, and then the poor person gives up. Kevin Geary talked about this in an interview here on Small Scale Life. Michael Bell also talked about this during his discussion about fitness and weight lifting in Season 2, Episode 25.

Midweek Motivation: Fun to Done

Instead of pushing a massive bolder up a steep hill, we all need to rethink our goals and resolutions and inject the fun to done mentality into our everyday lives. Why not? The project or work needs to get done somehow!

• Instead of hating to eating kale or broccoli, why not add a little butter to it?
• Instead of running or jogging, why not go for a hike in a beautiful place or walk with your spouse or the dog? Notice I did not equate the two!
• Instead of swimming laps in a pool, why not swim with your kids or in a lake?
• Instead of working out in a stale, sweaty gym, why not work in the garden or yard?

Inject the fun to done mentality into your goals and resolutions. Make it an adventure or a journey. Stop making it a miserable marathon of sweat, blood and tears. Identify something you like to do and incorporate your goals into that activity. You might find that you get things done AND have some fun while doing it. After all, how do you think Tommy Cakes got on the air in the first place?

That’s all I got this week. Add some fun into your lives! This is Tommy Cakes, and I’ll see you next week! Bada boom, bada bing!

“Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done”

This episode was inspired by author Jon Acuff in his book “Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done.” As a person who has “squirrel syndrome,” which is a trait of ENFP personality types, I have found that adding some fun into my work and my goals has helped me accomplish so many more things. Why? Because those fun things are so much more enjoyable to do and complete!

Not everything is going to be fun. Taxes are boring, painting a room is tedious and filing reports is downright dull. However, you can overcome that and get things done.

In the book (particularly Chapter 4), Jon Acuff has some great techniques for getting projects done and goals achieved. I recommend you listen or read his book ...

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. How many of you set your New Year’s Resolutions and gave it up already? You need to keep going. Results are not guaranteed, but you will be better off in the long run for trying. In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes.

Who is Tommy Cakes?

Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes.

Hey, how are you? I am Tommy Cakes. Who am I? I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things. Don't worry about it!

What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business.

• I import knowledge
• I export that information at premium prices!

I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life

Introduction

A lot of us get to the end of the year and we are excited to get a new slate and a new chance to do things different. Many of us want to change something in our lives:

• Lose weight
• Get healthy
• Stop drinking
• Stop smoking
• Travel more
• Get ride of clutter
• Get organized
• Start a new business
• Others - yada yada yada

How many of us set goals and resolutions for the New Year? How many of us have already dropped by the wayside and punted on those goals?

Statistically speaking, research has shown that 31 days after the first of the year, 64 percent of you have dropped your New Years Resolutions. By March 1st, more than 80 percent of you have dropped those New Year’s Resolutions and goals. You can see this at the gyms: the crowds that created standing room only and long wait times for equipment has eased up or evaporated completely.

How many of you are like that? Does one of these questions describe your state of mind:

• Do you get frustrated with your progress and results?
• Did you fall back into your same old patterns?
• Do you lack the time to put into this resolution?
• Do you lack a game plan for success?
• Did you forget the reason why you started?

There are ways to break the chains of failure and defeat. You can accomplish your goal successfully!

4 Tips to Keep Going

It is tough to keep going, especially when times are tough. Here are some ideas on how to keep motivated and making progress:

Get a coach or accountability partner – Working with someone can help push and motivate you when you lose motivation. A good coach or accountability partner has your back and will keep you on task, even when times are hard. After all, you don’t want to let that coach or accountability partner down!
Start small; go low and slow – Too many of us go all out after we haven’t been doing something for a long time. Then we get really, really frustrated when change doesn’t happen or when you are sore. Go low and slow, but do it consistently. It will help with your recovery and motivation.
Make it part of your daily routine – Block off some time every day to devote to your goal. Focus on that doing activities that get you closer to that goal during that time. Do not get distracted by people or screens!
Track your progress – Take notes and document your progress. It might not seem like you are moving a mountain initially, but when you look back after a month or a year, you will see how far you have come!

Midweek Motivation Lesson: Keep Going

Change is hard. We are impatient creatures, and when results aren’t immediately seen, we throw up our hands and stop doing what we are doing.

Keep going. Keep pushing yourself. You might be on the verge of a breakthrough, but you will never know if you give up. Do the following things to keep going:

• Get a coach or accountability partner
• Start small; go low and slow
• Make it part of your daily routine
• Track your progress

That’s all I got this week. This is Tommy Cakes, and I’ll see you next week! Bada boom, bada bing!

Sources

Sources for today’s Midweek Motivation include:

New Study Reveals How Long New Year’s Resolutions Usually Last
80% of New Year's resolutions fail by February — here's how to keep yours
How long do people keep their New Year resolutions?

Special Thanks from Tommy Cakes

I would like to thank Greg Burns from Natures Image Farm and Doneil Freeman from Freeman Family Farms for the INSPIRATION to do this Midweek Motivation Podcast. You two ARE the wind beneath my wings!

Also I would like to thank Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) for the "Kool Kats" theme music. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License