In this episode, I want to talk to you about something significant that parlays. This is one of those pivotal moments in my childhood that I may have shared before on this show, but I want to share it today for a reason. And I think about this so...
See show notes at: https://www.thinkunbrokenpodcast.com/e180-dont-quit-youre-3-feet-from-gold-cptsd-and-trauma-healing-coach/#show-notes
In this episode, I want to talk to you about something significant that parlays. This is one of those pivotal moments in my childhood that I may have shared before on this show, but I want to share it today for a reason.
And I think about this so frequently because the truth is right now, even if your life is not where you want it to be, you have to take a sense of responsibility for that. And if you've ever read the book, I actually recommend that you all go read this book right now. It's called Three Feet From Gold; I think it's one of the most important books just about life, it is a business book, but it's really a life book. And the crux of the whole narrative of this book is that human beings people in general, we quit when we're like right here, where inch away, we are three feet from our dream, from what we want, and when I read this, I started to sit in this idea, about the reality about how true that really felt to me? I started thinking about this. What if I just never quit? What if I just took it out of my vocabulary?
So, take a moment to listen and write down all the lessons you’ve learned today!
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Hey! What's up, Unbroken Nation! Hope that you're doing well, wherever you are in the world today. Very excited to be back with you with another episode. I am back in Denver today, after a quick pop over trip to L.A to record on the Mental Illness Happy Hour. I talked about that on a road a couple of days ago.
And today I want to talk to you about something really important that actually parlays what that conversation, but more so I think with life in general, of course, before we do that, I'm going to read a review
from – lyk!
Best podcast on the air.
I will say thank you and I will leave it at that.
--
“Michael Anthony is amazing and has overcome trauma that would break most people. He helps people to move through trauma and I've shared this with many of my family and friends living Unbroken is absolutely amazing.”
Thank you, Lyk yes, it is absolutely amazing.
Look, I'm going to tell you this, I wrote down something in my journal today as a reflection of couple days ago, I drove to the airport and got in the airplane and they took me to L.A. but as I was driving, there was a moment where this beautiful song that I love came on and the sun was coming up and I just felt love, power, grace, and a hope and all the things that I believe come along with this journey, when you start to step into the other side of healing and when you start to step into taking care of yourself, and when you start to step into doing the things that, you know you need to do because, you know you need to do them. And as I'm driving this happen, a few times in my life, but this was the most recent I'm driving and I'm looking in the sun's hitting me like, holy shit, I'm really in a movie right now, I'm creating my own movie as I go, I'm building this story as I go in the story arc and the characters and everything in it and it all starts with me.
And I think about this so frequently, because the truth is right now, even if your life is not where you want it to be, there is a sense of responsibility that you have to take for that; that's not culpability.
Again, I talked about all time the bad shit that happens, you not your fault but right now today you have to recognize, you are going to have to make a decision about your future. And you're going to have to put yourself in a position to be successful but what happens so frequently as we quit. We stopped.
And if you've ever read the book, I actually recommend that you all go read this book right now. It's called Three Feet From Gold, I think it's one of the most important books just about life. I mean, it is kind of a business book, but it's really a life book. And the crux of the whole narrative of this book is that human beings people in general, we quit when we're like right here, where inch away, we are three feet from our dream, from what we want.
And when I read this, and I heard this and I started to sit in this idea, about the reality about how true that really felt to me? I started thinking about this. What if I just never quit? What if I just took it out of my vocabulary?
When I was a little kid I was on a bowling league and actually, I might post a photo about tonight because it's an important photo to me and my uncle was there. So we go on Saturdays to place called Raceway lanes, and Speedway, Indiana, my grandma would sit in the back of the bowling alley, and drink fucking Miller Lite, or whatever, and chain, smoke cigarettes, and me, and my little brothers and my cousins, we would all be on this bowling league. I mean, how fucking Indiana was this, you know what I'm saying?
And I hated it, I hated it because I wasn't good at it, but I wasn't good at it because I wasn't focused and I wasn't paying attention and yes, I was seven or eight or nine years old and that window when we were doing it.
And one day, I remember throwing what I'm going to call a tantrum because that's what it was and I was just so upset, I was so mad because I could not get that fucking ball to go down the lane and hit the pins. It kept going in the gutter; kept going in the gutter and because I was on this league, like you weren't allowed to use the bumpers. So actually, I have been a little older so when I say I was about 9 or 10 years old because when I was like seven or eight, I definitely remember the bumpers.
So thing is a little bit older and so I'd roll the ball it, go down and go in the fucking gutter and it would just the infuriation of that moment would just build up and build up and build up and build up. And then by halfway through the game, I was looking up my skirt, it was like four and I was pissed like I was so upset, I was in this place where I was ready to like explode. And I take my ball and I put it back on the rack and the game is not over and I go to the back and I sit down and I'm like, I quit I'm done, I don't want to fucking do this anymore, I'm probably actually said that knowing how I was as a child. And my uncle comes up to me and he's like, what is going on? What's wrong with you? And I look at him, I go, I'm done, I don't want to do this anymore, it's stupid, he goes, what's stupid about it? I think I can't get the ball down the lane and it keeps falling into the gutter and he gets to this is like really special.
This is one of those pivotal moments in my childhood that I may have shared this before on this show, but I want to share it today for a reason. He gets down on a knee next to me, normally at moments like this with my stepfather and my mom and my grandma, I would be paired to get my ass kicked, that's where my brain immediately, when I was like, oh no, he's going to hit me, he's going to yell at me, something like I was tear; like I could feel the heartbeat because, you know, that's just how it was and he gets down on his knee and puts his hand on my shoulder and he looks at me and goes, you are not allowed to use that word and I was like, what word?
Because you are not allowed to say, I quit, I got goosebumps right now because you're not allowed to say I quit ever, ever in your fucking life, you know, it's a fucking, I'm going to use that, he goes, never allowed to quit in your life, this is not how you can do things. You're not allowed to quit. Take that word out of your vocabulary and I remember so vividly going back to the rack, picking up the ball, walking to the lane and then throwing a strike and hitting all the pins and knocking them all down, we're four minutes before I was done, I quit, I was over it because I was frustrated. And that moment when he came up to me that solidified, this really interesting belief in myself.
Now, it wasn't a belief in the right things at that time, but it did plan to see that today, 20-something years later has carried a tremendous amount of weight in my life and I still to this day have so much love for my uncle for that moment. That's really the only moment I remember ever connecting with him, I mean we were around and stuff but I don't remember a moment other than that of really feeling like seen and that was really important. And so what does that have to do with getting on a plane to go to L.A. to record a podcast? Everything.
Here's the reality about life.
We often quit right before it's time to have success.
We often quit, we often say, I can't right before everything becomes different.
You see the concept behind Three Feet From Gold…
Is that you have to continue to go forward towards your dreams and towards the life that you want to have all the time, every single day. It's like one more action, one more moment, one more dream, you just keep going forward because that moment that you quit, that moment you say, I can't the moment, you don't do it anymore, could be the very action that you needed to take that makes everything different in your life. One more rep, right? One more attempt at this, one more day.
Jocko Willink said something really fascinating and might have been one of his books or podcast, I don't remember and what he said, was he always asked himself if he needs a day off and he gets really really in his own face about it. He goes tomorrow, I'll take a day off if I need a day off and then tomorrow comes and then he asks himself the same question and he goes if I really need a day off, I'll take the day off.
And I think people do that too often, they go, I'm just going to take the day off today. Do you really need it? I'm gonna stop today. Do you really need to stop? I'm going to quit today. Do you really need to quit? Because the truth is a lot of time we're just taking it easy on our self and that's not to say you should not do yourself care and take care of yourself. You guys know how I stand on that but the truth is like when you are in this position in life, right now in real time, you see all the world telling you to take it easier but what they're not talking about is the fact that they are giving up on their dreams, that they are quitting, that they are not putting in the effort and energy, that they're not showing up on the days, not necessarily even that they don't want to because like let's keep it real most days we would rather not do what we have to do. Like that's a truth that I would rather be stoned eating gummy bears, playing video games right now, then doing this, but I made a commitment to myself.
I said every single day this year, we are releasing a fucking podcast.
Hell or high water, if I got a record it with my cellphone.
If I got to get a cassette player, I don't give a fuck, we are recording this.
Like that is a commitment and that's the truth.
And the reason why is not only so I can create massive value for The Unbroken Nation and for you guys but more importantly so that I can show people like the truth about life. You commit, you show up, you keep going eventually that thing that you're moving towards will come to reality.
I've seen it play out again and again and again in my life, that was L.A. a couple days ago that was seven years in the making, that was getting an investment from Grant Cardone last year that took forever for it to happen, that was getting coaching from some of the greatest coaches probably on planet Earth right now, right? World Changers that all comes from this place of I'm not going to quit on myself, I'm not going to give up on myself because you're always three feet from gold.
You're always right there, you're digging in the mines.
You're shoveling.
You're tired.
You're exhausted.
You got to keep going.
Now, look, again the conversation, you've got to figure this out for yourself and I know how to contact people go, this guy's talking about working yourself to death. No, I'm not. I'm talking about not stopping just because you want to stop because I promise you, if I'm tired, if I am sick, if I'm exhausted, like I was in December where I took a whole month off, I'm doing that, why? Because I have to, because I'm always going to take care of myself but when you're so close, when you're right here and you can taste it, you can feel it, you can see it and you're like, I'm getting there whether that's the next therapy session room, next coaching session or the next book or the next trip to the gym or the next salad, right? Whatever that thing is, I don't know, it's going to be different for everyone.
Maybe it's the next parenting class, right?
Maybe it's the next anger management course.
Maybe it's literally, maybe it's going to get your driving license, it doesn't matter what it is.
When you get crystal clear about your goal and what you want, your mission will not stop until you achieve it. Do not quit on yourself! Take the word can't out of your fucking vocabulary. Stop letting yourself off the hook for your dreams. If you're sick, be sick. Take care of yourself. Do the shit you need to do to operate functionally in the world, but do not stop. Do not quit and do not say I can't because the truth is, you might be one action away from everything being different.
All right, my friends Unbroken Nation, thank you so much for listening.
Thank you so much like, it really means the world to me these reviews, especially you guys are crushing it right now sending these beautiful reviews for the show on iTunes and I appreciate that.
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And until next time.
My friends, Be Unbroken.
-I'll see you.
Coach
Michael is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker, coach, and advocate for adult survivors of childhood trauma.
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