This is the final video of this challenge, the 100th post; everyone unique and challenging. 

It has been quite an experience, and I'm a little sad to have concluded this project. It's been beneficial in increasing my public speaking skills, as well as my own personal development. 

Through this process, I've had to think through a lot more of what I was speaking about. I couldn't just dump what was in my head into words as it wouldn't make any sense to anyone reading or watching it. Comparing to my first video, there is quite a dramatic difference. My confidence speaking, my use of filler words and my wandering speech took away from what I wanted to get across. I am by no means perfect where I am now, but I've made significant strides in improving my verbal and mental thought processes.

I am certain that teaching others what I've learned will be part of my future, and building a database of where I am now will help me better understand someone else who is at my same level and what I am thinking about. I started this whole series out on the premise of following others because it was easier than re-inventing the wheel and leaving it, realizing that I was missing the forest for the trees. The purpose was to know what it was for, building my character, and, most of all, serving God. 

Throughout making these videos, I've had to move things around in my schedule and work through periods of lack of motivation. I've tried to say everything within a minute to develop my concise speaking skill. I've refined my process for coming up with ideas, tested dressing formally, speaking confidently, my pre-video preparation, and challenging myself on things I formerly took for granted. 

I may continue making more of these posts as it's a very convenient spot to park my ideas and passively grow my speaking skills. 

Challenge yourself for growth

As apart of my new Year evening time, I am reflecting on this past year and considering all the amazing things I've been blessed with and why it came about.

God blesses those who multiply the gifts he has given. In the parable of the talents, the master gives one talent to one servant, five to another, and ten to the last. He places them as stewards over his possessions. When the master returns from his trip, the first servant given the ten talents returns them with ten more, and the master says, 'well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.' So he comes to the second servant, which he gave five talents, and he returns it with another five, and the master says to the second that which he did to the first. Finally, he comes to the last servant with which he gave a single talent. Only to be returned the one talent and the servant saying 'I knew you were a hard master, reaping where you did not sow,' and the master grew angry and took that he had and gave it to the first servant. 

We are to grow what we've been given. There is risk in that, but it is our task. As challenging what we know and have, I see that pushing out of our comfort zone to multiply that we have been blessed with. 

I think that is a big reason I have been blessed so greatly, seeking out wisdom, seeking out to grow what I have been entrusted with already and told to multiply it. I have not been perfect in this by any means, but that is not something I can achieve, so I must start with where I am. 

Key takeaways:

1) Challenge yourself for growth

2) God blesses those who multiply that which he entrusted

3) We are stewards of what we own and are told to grow it. That involves taking risks and pushing past our comfort zones. 

This is it, the key to unlocking unlimited potential. 

In the past couple of months, I've been on a journey trying to find my purpose and get more clarity on what I am meant to do. 

A few days ago, I found the start of that purpose and put it into words for the first time. Since tomorrow is the first day of the new year, it's had me thinking about what I've learned so far and if I could put it into a few words, what would be the single thing that I've learned I need to focus on. 

That one single thing is character. 

I've learned that building a good character is the most important thing I can be doing to improving my own life and those around me. Though the word seems to be fairly simple in itself, I believe it holds a lot of the answers to building a long-lasting and sustaining life. My two favorite books I've read this month were 'Thou Shall Prosper' by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, and 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' and both of these boils down to building a good character. 

I was a little disappointed. I was hoping there was some secret that not everyone knew about that would unlock new worlds. However, after mulling this idea around more, it's really opened my eyes to many reasons people do what they do and that everyone is at different levels and ladders. There is no 'secret to life.' It's all out in the open, free to take, but it's the understanding of what is out there that makes the difference. 

I wanted to make that big difference, impacting many people, but I didn't realize to impact many people, I must impact those I can first. This is it, this, here and now, this moment, this is it. This what I am asked about; this is 'the big battle' I am judged for my current actions. I'm getting caught up in waiting for the big battle, getting prepared for life, when life is this, right here and now. 

Key takeaways:

1) The single biggest thing I've learned about life is developing my character.

2) There is no big secret to life, it's out in the open for all to see, but understanding it is what makes the difference

3) This is it, this moment, right here, right now, this is the big battle, it's what you're doing in this very moment that matters. 

The problem is always you.

One of the things I've found quite fascinating from stories I hear is how often we blame those around us for things that aren't going right.

There is a very distinct phrasing when I hear of a story of two people in an argument. It typically goes something like, "If you stopped nagging me to take out the trash, I would do it on my own" we're blaming another individual for the problems that occur in our life. However, something we forget is that the problem is always us. 

We have complete control of one thing in our life, and no one can force us to comply with them. And that is our attitude, how we choose to react to things that are upon us. Problems are with you, how you view them. If you play the victim, you are giving up your attitude to the problem. Allowing it to control you. A problem isn't a problem if you see it as an opportunity—an opportunity for growth. You always learn something, even if it's the reaffirmation of something you already knew to be true. 

I've thought quite a bit about this and discovered that you need to disconnect yourself from the mistakes you make. You need to be responsible for them, but you need to release it from your pride. You fell learning roller skating, and someone laughed at you. You are now at a crossroads; laugh along with them at your mistake, or get angry and hold fast to your pride. When you hold on to your mistake, you are arrogant, saying that you are perfect and life just happened to you, and you cannot do anything about it. Or embrace the fall, realize that you are not perfect, and take it as apart of your learning experience. 

Key takeaways:

1) If the problem is an issue, it's an issue because of you

2) Only you control your attitude and perception

3) Look at problems as opportunities for growth

4) Disconnect yourself from your mistake

5) Holding fast to your mistake is holding fast to your pride. You are saying you are perfect

You don't need a new big toy to get started.

One of the biggest things I've realized is that you can do almost anything cheap and you don't have to compromise on quality!

Unfortunately, I hear many people say they don't get started in something because they aren't properly equipped with the right tools to start a new project, learn, and set in place good habits. The thing is, you aren't good enough to make any of the good quality stuff you want worth the cost. If you want to get good at public speaking, you don't need to hire a coach out of the gate. You don't need a professional voice recording setup to start a podcast.

I've found that you can do almost anything that would normally cost a lot of money where you go straight toward the big tool. For example, I spent today building a new shelving system for my parent's business. If I were to buy heavy-duty shelving, the cost would have been upwards of $600. I didn't have to compromise with cheap plastic or no shelving; there is always a third option. Building this myself would save a ton on not only money but space too. I had the ability to plan out the space to fit the products it would hold rather than hope everything fit with standard shelving. 

Previous experience and tooling aside, the principle stands. I've found that I can do almost anything without investing a huge amount of my time or money. Through making these videos, I have increased my public speaking skills by a shocking rate, and it cost me exactly $0 to do.

Key takeaways:

1) You don't need to invest in the biggest and the best

2) Getting started, your skills aren't worthy of a professional setup

3) Everything can be done on the cheap; you have to find out how to do it

Don't plan everything out.

I just finished a massive day of work building a new shelving system for my parent's business that utilizes a lot of the wasted space before. 

I haven't been super proficient in planning margin into my life, and I've had areas where I drastically underestimate the time or effort it takes to do certain projects. In my personal projects, it doesn't matter as much, but in the cases where it directly affects another person, planning margin into your task will give you wiggle room for life to happen. 

For this shelving project, I decided to take that to heart and found my expected budget and added about 25% margin and materials to my total cost. This would account for things like unexpected prices, taxes, or additional supplies. I thought it was a bit difficult, not saying it could only be done at that higher cost; I was setting my expectations so that I would either come out as the expected cost or below. 

In phycology, there is something called loss aversion where we do our utmost to avoid losing something. So if I were to promise a bit and fall short of the promise, I am taking away from the expected product. Whereas if I promise below my expected outcome, then I give something that wasn't expected. 

In this project, I actually came under my expected budget by finding cheaper building materials that were more than sufficient for my need.

Key takeaways:

1) Don't plan out your every minute

2) Build in a 20% margin to your expected outcome

3) Falling short of a high promise is physiologically taking something away

3) With margin, you exceed or come in at your promise

Judge a book by it's cover

Earlier in the year, I had a conversation with my sister where I was excitedly discussing a new insight and victory I won in my head. She responded with something that really opened my eyes to a new concept I hadn't really thought about. She basically said that 'you may have won the battle in your head, but no one sees that.'

After mulling around with the idea, I came to realize for the first time that my self-inward battles didn't matter. It's what I did with them that made the difference. No one sees the inward fights; they only see what I produce on the outside. My actions were what mattered to those around me, not my intentions. If I failed regularly, and my intentions were good, that means squat to the person I failed. 

I've found that you have to make the change outwardly for your battle to mean something to others. To make a bigger difference, I had to show who I had become because of it. I loved how Rabbi Daniel Lapin put it in his book 'Thou Shall Prosper' when speaking on this matter. He says that someone with ill intent to you accidentally aids you, you are in debt to them for the service. It doesn't matter that they intended to harm you. 

A few months back, I was really wrestling with the problem of whether or not to volunteer at a Christian ministry, and my biggest question I was struggling with was my intention. Would it be good to serve others if I am doing it for myself? Who was I doing it for? Does it matter if I was going there for my own gain? And I've really come to realize that the intention is only between yourself and God; serving to grow myself may open me to serving for the sole purpose of serving God. We change, and our intentions don't matter as much as what we actually do.

1) Judge people on what they produce, not their intention

2) Intentions don't matter as much as what you actually do

3) Someone with ill intent toward you that does you a good deed by mistake, you are in their debt. 

You can't find your meaning and stability in something that changes.

Through reading the book, 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' Stephen Covey talks about where you find your meaning and what you set your self worth in.

He wrote that you could not put your self worth in things that change. If you were to find your self worth in your relationship with your parents or even spouse, then your worth and performance would depend on how they viewed you and felt in the moment. You make decisions on where you find your meaning or focused attention, what you value. If it's in a changing entity, you are living your life off of chance. 

Finding your value in an unchanging being, you are stabilizing your life and your ideals. Your decisions are based on strong and security, something that doesn't get affected by the moment. 

Key takeaways:

1) You find meaning and purpose in what you value most

2) If you find value in things that change, so also do you

3) Build stability by placing your value in things that never change

While reading 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,' I made an enormous breakthrough in my purpose statement!

The past few weeks, I've been absolutely wracked with trying to find my purpose. Purpose, in this case, is what I was set to do on this earth specifically. 

I was reading through a portion of the book talking about service and being a gofer (someone who goes for something) and very effective people's attitude. He gave an excellent example of a business situation where multiple people under a boss would constantly speak behind his back without trying to find solutions. One man saw the flaws in his boss that the others were talking about, but instead of engaging in the conversation, he decided to be pro-active and serve his boss's needs with an additional report and his thoughts on solutions. He got the same treatment at first and didn't get any appreciation or recognition for what he did. However, after he did this consistently, his boss started to look forward to the additional work and started asking his thoughts on what should be done. He filled a spot for his boss and focused more on his efforts in other areas. This man eventually got more responsibility and was put in charge of many of his previous peers. 

I got an absolute thrill from this story, and it almost brought a tear to my eye. That was precisely what I think my purpose is. Serving, but not just serving, serving effectively. After thinking about it for several hours, I realized that I want to become a Joseph, not a Pharoah. Whether in the house of Potiphar, in jail, or as Pharoah's right-hand man, I am created to be an effective servant, and it is my duty to serve to the best of my ability. 

I do not doubt that my purpose statement will change and morph as time goes on, but I know it is the start of the right track. 

Key Takeaways:

1) Through reading a story, I found my purpose statement

2) I am created to be not just a servant, but an effective servant

3) I discovered I don't want to become Pharoah; I am more than happy becoming a Joseph 

Will power use a usable entity and cannot be lived on alone.

At the beginning of this year, I weighed nearly 300lbs and tried many different diets to get into shape. Many of the plans I tried worked for a short period of time, but eventually, I gave into my desires and gained back my weight plus a few pounds for my effort. 

I eventually found a plan that worked and got me to lose 100lbs over 8 months, and the thing that made the difference between this one vs. the other's was how they talked about willpower and how it works. I would try to stick to the plan only through willpower alone, deciding at the moment to eat my food or not. What made this diet different was explaining how willpower really worked and planning so that it doesn't affect you.

Our will power is renewable; we get a fresh tank every day. When we deplete our will power, it's harder to say no to our desire for instant gratification. You want to take the decision making out of the equation; you want to make it easier to do the right thing than that which you happen to feel like. 

In the plan, I used it to write down and plan your food a day in advance. Every night I would prep my meal for the following day and only eat it and nothing else. This made it easy to eat right, as I didn't have to decide at the moment when I was hungry. I already knew what I was going to eat, and it was ready for me.  

Key takeaways:

1) Will power is renewable and gets used from focus

2) will power into account when planning something hard

3) Set yourself up so that you don't have to decide at the moment