Joshua Gold Coaching

Mantras are awesome. They are motivating and repeated consistently can significantly affect your attitude, behavior, and perspective on life. I can go on but that is not the point of the game. You can have a mantra for every part of your life. My Morning Mantra is all-encompassing. It pretty much covers every part of who I am and how I want to approach each and every day.

Mantras are unique to each and every one of us. Though for some reason people get stuck when it comes to writing one. I thought starting a My Morning Mantra game would alleviate any pressure about it being perfect and just let it be fun to write.

So here are the rules. Of course, you can make your own rules up since after all it is YOUR Morning Mantra.

1. Pick three words, any three, and write a mantra using them. That’s it. Pretty simple!

For example, I picked harmonious, align, and determined. What came from that was…

“ I have harmonious relationships that align with my core values and I am determined to live ...

“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think” Marcus Aurelius.

On Accountability

To whom? To yourself? To your loved ones? To people who are in your field, your coach or mentor? Maybe to people, you don't even know? Does it work?

Does being accountable work? The answer that most coaches and people, in general, would say is an astounding, overwhelming, unanimous, and overpowering YES.

I am here to challenge that YES. That confident YES! I have questioned that YES time and time again. Now I am not saying that it doesn't work for most people. Damn, the immediate results that people get once they hire a coach are not only incredible and measurable; I would venture to bet that the number one reason for those successes is that they are accountable to someone other than themselves.

Though what if they don't care? What if they don't have skin in the game? What if they are complacent? What then? What do they do? What is the challenge for them? What makes them so different from all the others? Is something wrong with their wiring? Or have they just not ...

“ If I need things to be a certain way, I’m held hostage by them” Jonny Wilkenson

I had to laugh when I first read this quote because I am a person who really likes routines. I like things to be a certain way. It allows me to be productive and structured. Otherwise, I can be all over the place. Never thinking that there is a flip side to every coin. This saying is the flip side that I have a blind spot too. Do you have a blind spot when it comes to routines and what we might be missing out on? Once I stopped to think about how my routines might be holding me hostage and preventing me from doing other things I had to really think about it. I think that some of the routines I have are great and allow me to be hyper-productive and then there are some that get in my way of allowing alternative options into my life. I struggle with that a little bit. More so on the personal level. Allowing people to interrupt the routines that I enjoy and that is part of who I am. I think another way...

Courage

"The 1st step of being courageous is being willing to look foolish" James Clear.

Courage and fear go hand in hand. I don't think you can have one without the other. 

What are we afraid of? James Clear, in his quote above, is the fear of looking foolish. That is our Ego talking. We know that doesn't end well. Then there is the fear of physical harm. That is always a possibility depending on the situation that you are faced with. Though on an everyday basis, we are more likely to be batting our Egos. There is a saying that the expectation of fear is worse than the actual act. Our imaginations make it so much worse than it really is. 

So what separates those people with courage and those without. More importantly, how can one without courage obtain it? What actions need to be performed so that a once fearful person is now courageous. 

Confidence is one thing that courageous people have. So how do I build confidence? One way is by taking small actions and being successful. ...

“An adult is what people see on the outside, not who the person is on the inside” Joshua G Gold

Here are a few definitions of the word adult
noun
1.a person who is fully grown or developed.

verb
INFORMAL

1. behave in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially by accomplishing mundane but necessary tasks.

Then I noticed there are three stages of adulthood as follows:

(they added a 4th stage a few minutes ago:) )

The four stages of adulthood examined here include:

• Early adulthood (ages 22–34).
• Early Middle Age (ages 35–44).
• Late Middle Age (ages 45–64).
• Late adulthood (ages 65 and older).

What struck me as surprising with the 3 or 4 stages is that Early adulthood beings at 22 years old. So we are sending children who are not fully developed to fight our wars. To make decisions about someone else’s and their own lives. Doesn’t that strike you as reckless, if nothing else? We are allowing children to carry guns and drive a 2000 lb. killing machines so that the eco...

“ The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” Hans Hoffman painter. 

I love this quote as well as Hans Hoffman’s work. As a young artist, I was privileged to see his work often. My father was the accountant for the gallery in NY that represented his estate. I was calmed by the simplicity of his work and the colors that he used. However, this has nothing to do with what the quote speaks to:). So let’s get back to that. :)

You could also look at this as an Essentialist would, as the ability to simplify means to eliminate the Nonessential so the Essential may appear. 

I have been thinking about what is essential in our lives, how we establish them in all areas, including our business, jobs, relationships, and so on. To keep things as simple as possible I have broken it down to 3 Essentials. Functions, Goals, and Priorities. 

How we get to those Essentials is the question that we need to answer every day. This is not something that we as...

Upon reflection of a conversation I had with a friend the other day, I started thinking about his story.  We all have our stories.  What brought us here to this particular place.  We're all here for a reason.

Somehow, strangely connected.  Finding value in that reason is the magic.

The lessons that can be learned from each interaction with another human being.  To capture those moments, you need to be present and slow things down.   If you move through life too quickly, you risk missing them.

Each and every one of those moments is a precious and unique opportunity.

What are you searching for in those moments? It's better to have absolutely no expectations and just accept them for what they are. 

Moments, interactions with another human being.

Every interaction with another person doesn't have to be anything but a conversation.  It's incredible what you can learn about others from just listening.

Stoicism talks about not having to have an opinion about everything. This allo...