Penny Casselman [00:00:08]:
Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life, and that life starts when you grab a red marker and claim what you truly desire. Regardless of where you came from, where you're at, or where you think you're edit. Life is what you make of it, and when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage, and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion. Welcome, my friend, to another episode.
Penny Casselman [00:00:50]:
If you're joining me from the US, we are teen days away from Christmas. Let me just take a moment and say, I know that commitments and errands and last minute things are all happening around you, so thank you for inviting me into your ears this week. This past Sunday, I was watching the end of the Browns game, Ant. Christmas came early because by some miracle, the Browns won. Whether you follow football or not, let me just explain that the Cleveland Browns, which is a pro football team, Have one of the most supportive but tortured fan base in the NFL. Because whether it is the team or the coach or a player or the circumstance, they always seem to tease us along that they're gonna win, and then come Q4, they lose. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised that we pulled out a win. Yay us.
Penny Casselman [00:02:00]:
If you had been sitting next to me, you would have heard my one job speech. And this is a speech I usually reserve for sports teams. So for me, that would be the Cleveland Browns, or if you're into basketball, the Cleveland Cavaliers. And this comes out quite frequently when I'm watching professional sports on the television. Let's just say the browns had a really crappy play, and the intended target for the football dropped it. And let's call him Jim. My speech would sound something like, Jim, you have got 1 job in this game, and that is to catch the football. That's it.
Penny Casselman [00:02:48]:
Catch the football. I'm sure a pro athlete Would say I'm oversimplifying things. But am I? Really? We can easily get distracted by so many things that we can lose focus. And I like to think my 1 job speech kinda gets everybody back on the same page because I'm sure they can hear me through the TV. Now there are numerous reasons why I pull out the one job speech. But mostly, It's because we tend to overcomplicate things, and I often find so do the sports teams. It's not about being fancy. It's about getting the job done.
Penny Casselman [00:03:34]:
Today, I'll share with you some of the top reasons that we tend to overcomplicate things in our lives and then share with you the wisdom I've found in simplification and embracing that one job attitude. I know that at the end of the year, we often take stock of where we've ended, which can compound any stress or overwhelm that the holidays pile on us. So as we get closer search to the end of the year and are looking at a new year ahead. I want to make sure you are inspired, Howard and excited for what the New Year brings. And that can't happen in a mode of overwhelm and complete stress when December 31st hits. Go grab your favorite beverage, get cozy, and let's dive in to the meat of this episode. It's time for a clarity cocktail. Life isn't what happens to you.
Penny Casselman [00:04:49]:
It's what you do with what you're given, Penny Casselman. Hey. Did I just quote myself? Yes. Yes. I did. But I love that phrasing. Life isn't what happens to you. It's what you do with what you're given, tying in with this one thing topic.
Penny Casselman [00:05:15]:
Because one thing really is held up by 3 pillars. 1, the only person you can control is you. That's it. Nobody else. Not even your kids, especially not your parents or your friends or your coworkers or the person holding up the line at the grocery with 1 cashier. The only person you can control as you. Second, you always have a choice. Always.
Penny Casselman [00:05:47]:
You may not like the choice. You may not want to consider other choices, but every time you are confronted with something in life, you always have a choice. And the 3rd pillar is life is what you make of it. As an example, if you believe that right now you have a phenomenal life, I guarantee that when you wake up and as you move through your day, you are constantly finding evidence of your phenomenal life. Conversely, if you feel that the world is out to get you, trust me that the minute you step out of bed, the universe is going to serve up exactly what you're looking for. So you have a choice. What are you going to do with what you're given? I remember my 1st job out of college. I was a meeting planner for a company.
Penny Casselman [00:06:48]:
It just so happened that we were having a huge event down in Florida, and the musical act that we secured for the event was Kenny Loggins. You know, now you gotta cut loose, foot loose. And for those of you that don't know that song, there was a movie called Footloose, and Kenny Loggins wrote the theme song. He put on an amazing performance. And because my department was in charge of this large event, there was an opportunity to meet with him after the show and get pictures. And I can tell you, I was always waiting for permission to do things. That came with years of school paradigm that you were never really in control. It was the teacher to tell you or the dorm guide to tell you if it was okay for you to do something.
Penny Casselman [00:07:47]:
So when Kenny Loggins came back and got ushered into a side room, all of us within the meeting planning department were in the hallway. And my colleagues who were all older than me simply walked into the room and the last person shut the door. Well, no one grabbed me to go with them. So I sat on a sofa in the hallway, and my immediate thought was, I should just go in the room. But then I sat there and thought, well, no one grabbed me to go in. Maybe it's only for senior staff. Maybe they're gonna call me later. But as time went on, I lost the nerve to get up and go into the room and convince myself that everyone in the room must have thought I left.
Penny Casselman [00:08:34]:
Long story short, I was 20 feet away from Kenny Loggins, and I never got to meet him or get a picture. And that was completely on me. Life isn't what happens to me. It's what I do with what I'm given. I did not pick up a red marker that day and seize the moment to go meet a rock star. I don't know what would have happened if I had stood up, walked over to the door, and just walked in. The next day, I found out, of course, I was invited. Why didn't I just come in? Well, that opportunity was lost.
Penny Casselman [00:09:15]:
Side note, Kenny Loggins. If you are listening to this podcast, first, high five your cool dude. And second, I would love to get a picture with you and reminisce about that amazing event that we put on. I digress. So given life isn't what happens to you. It's what you do with what you're given. Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and chose to make life phenomenal. Even if you don't feel it in the exact moment, simply take 100% responsibility for where you are in your life.
Penny Casselman [00:09:58]:
Because then you would realize you have been holding a red marker your entire life. And maybe like me, reflecting back on the Kenny Loggins incident, maybe you would come to the realization that I did that you didn't pull the cap off when a moment of opportunity presented itself, but that can all change starting tomorrow. Because if you choose phenomenal and recognize you're already holding a red marker, you can make everything that you can imagine come to life because you, my friend, deserve everything. Even if you're not there yet, even if you cannot see it for yourself, I'm holding that vision for you, and I've got an armful of red markers to help you out. And now back to the episode. Cheers. Circling back to the idea of one thing. If I simplify that, It really comes down to where is your focus, the one thing.
Penny Casselman [00:11:11]:
Because one of the mistakes that I encounter, and I've seen this in my personal and professional life is that we overcomplicate things. So why do we do that to ourselves? I came up with 4 of the top reasons. The first one is we overcomplicate things so that we can procrastinate. If you think about something that you have to do and instead of 1 step, It turns into 10 or 12 or 20. You're much less likely to step up and dive in because there's so many steps you might think to yourself, I don't have the time. Not only that, but by not jumping within to these things. When you procrastinate, you actually are, quote, saving energy. Right? You're not moving forward with something.
Penny Casselman [00:12:06]:
The second one is we overcomplicate things because we tell ourselves we don't have what I need. Instead of looking at what you have and how you might move forward, you tell yourself I need x, y z. This widget, that widget, this knowledge, this money, this time, and we will overcomplicate connectivity to keep us safe and conserve energy. If we tell ourselves we don't have what we need, of course, we are not gonna start. So the 3rd way we can overcomplicate things is we second guess every single choice, Which is akin to procrastination because just as you think you've made a step forward, you push the pause button and maybe take 2 steps back. Again, we're keeping you safe, and we're conserving energy. And the 4th thing, and this one really hits home for me, but why do we overcomplicate things is because we don't really want to do it. And I have mentioned this in a previous episode where I was pursuing a life coaching business.
Penny Casselman [00:13:20]:
And although I did have some clients, I found every reason that I needed to divert my focus. I needed business cards. I needed a better website. I needed a better this, more of that. But when it really came down to it and I got super honest with myself, the reason I let my one thing, my one focus to fall away was because I didn't really want to do that. So, of course, I would overcomplicate what I was trying to accomplish to the point where It was a self fulfilling prophecy that it was never going to happen because deep down, I really didn't want to do it. So I mentioned all of these 4 things, procrastination, don't have what you need, second guess every step, or you don't really want to do it. All 4 of those overcomplications keep you safe because you're not trying anything new.
Penny Casselman [00:14:25]:
You're not moving forward and growing, and it's conserving energy. Because overcomplicate anything, and you'll just let it fall to the wayside. Well, in essence, when we overcomplicate, we are adding steps that aren't critical to our one thing. Here is my challenge. I want you to declare your one thing, your focus for tomorrow. Start small. Because where we sit today, December 13th, We are staring at the end of 2023, and it is coming fast. And if you're not where you thought you would be or where you wanted to be.
Penny Casselman [00:15:14]:
Use this next week and map out your focus. You've probably heard of people picking a word of the year. And I love that because it's one thing that can be your guiding light as we kick off 2024 and move through the year with that intention. But that one word, one thing for the year is the umbrella. What you can then do is pick a word for each month that supports your word of the year. And then if you really wanted a gold star on your report card, you'll then pick a word for the week. And like I just challenged you to do, pick 1 thing each morning when you wake up and let that be a guidepost for you throughout the day. Because, my friend, I want you to feel empowered to choose 1 thing a day, one thing a week that will help move you forward into the new year filled with excitement for your future.
Penny Casselman [00:16:26]:
I want you to pick up your red marker and carve out the time needed to make that one thing happen because you deserve a phenomenal life, and that life starts today. Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of Pivot with Passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts because my goal is put a red marker in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode. Go grab a red marker. Get excited for your future and make your 1st move to pivot with passion.
