Wake Up Hope Podcast

There was a discount movie theater in my town growing up that offered movies for $5. I went once with my older brother once to watch Starship Troopers. At the end my brother's friend Jason said, "I don't care about the money, I want those 2 hours of my life back!" It left an impression on me that our time is precious.

Have you ever felt like you wanted more and because of that couldn’t be happy with what you have? In today’s episode we talk about happiness and why it is okay to be happy where you’re at and with what you have even if you are striving for more. It is important to build our foundation so that we can handle when times get tough and so that we can appreciate the now instead of always looking ahead.

Fear can cause us to become paralyzed in situations that we would otherwise have all the strength needed to respond correctly. I have had some irrational fear in my life that has held me back from being the man whom I would like to be. When I step outside of myself and look at the situation it seems silly to let such a small thing hold me back yet for many years this has been a piece of my reality. However recently I have been able to utilize a couple tools in my morning that have been very powerful in enabling me to have a different response. Fear is not meant to be our master.

We had the full crew in studio for this week’s episode and we are all really excited about what we put together for you all. We love speaking to our audience about encouraging you to use your abilities and providing a framework to best make use of everything you’ve been given, in fact just last week (episode 019) Jan talked about using your skills to successfully make a difference in the world. This week we talk about how to actually look at your world and how to actually progress through making an action plan to make a difference.

We’re all born with a great power, a force if you will, within us. That power is in our abilities that make us unique from every other person on the planet. I think sometimes its easy to settle into a state of despair and when we’re in that state it’s easy to feel like our abilities can’t impact the world around us. What I wanted to talk about this week was to remind everybody that no matter what is going on in the world, and right now there is a lot going on that has a lot of gravity towards our present and future, that we can make a huge difference if we respect and use the abilities that we have been gifted with.

Global, national, regional and personal events in our lives conspire to erode our confidence and hope in the future. The headlines in our news feed and the conversations with our neighbors often leave us wondering if we are too far gone? Martin Luther King Jr. once said, " The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Those who shape history fight for hope! This week's episode is all about the battle for hope!

Have you ever settled into a spot and tried to passively defend your ground? I’m sure we all have, but I think what we really need to try to do is to attack life with an exuberant optimism. Life doesn’t reward sitting back – we need to be proactive and enthusiastically so.

Every day we have an opportunity to think a little bigger, to dream… to hope. It seems easy in concept to dream, but have you ever actually thought about how to take those dreams and find out if they are actually sustainable in real life? Maybe you struggle with dreaming at all. If this sounds at all like you, then you have absolutely come to the right place because today we talk about 7 steps to take your dreams and try to turn them into reality!

When we work with people inevitably we will encounter messy situations. Times when people have let us down, betrayed confidence, failed, etc... As a leader these can be some of the most challenging times. These situations and circumstances can side track us from our goals and vision and be very discouraging. However, they also present a unique opportunity to help others grow and grow ourselves if we can understand how to navigate them correctly.

Have you ever had a dream that just seemed too good to be true? An idea that if you could implement it, it might change your life and the life of others? Something that just seems so perfect that it just couldn’t be possible? At Wake Up Hope, we are hoping that you have had some of those dreams, but we want to tell you that anything and everything IS possible! In this week’s episode we talk about dreams, why they are important and why you need to keep looking at a life where dreams are possible and limitations do not exist.

Have you ever found yourself in a meeting wondering how your team wandered so off track and ended up in a negative place? One of our listeners (thanks Elizabeth!) found herself there and asked us two questions: 1. How do you stay positive when you are surrounded by negative co-workers? 2. How can you turn a conversation in a meeting with multiple colleagues that is filled with complaining into a positive problem solving conversation?

Sometimes it can just be so hard to stay positive given all the negativity that surrounds us. A lot of our listeners are either in positions of influence or striving to be, whether it be as parents, teachers, coaches or in business, and it’s important that we all stay positive and encouraged in whatever walk of life we are in. Woodly talks about our level of encouragement as being synonymous with our cell phone battery – it takes consistent recharging in order to remain effective. In this week’s episode we talk about a few ways to recharge your encouragement bank.

Lately Woodly and I have found ourselves in a bit of funk due to life circumstances. Sometimes the circumstances that create that funk can be amazing blessings (like a new addition to your family), sometimes they can be heartbreaking (i.e. a tremendous loss, either business or personal), and sometimes they can just be anxiety filled (starting a new job). No matter what, though, we have resources and techniques that can help us right the ship and set us forth for smoother sailing and break that funk.

It seems like going on vacation should be an easy call as if we should intuitively know that it is good to get away, yet I have found that often I wrestle with whether or not it's the right decision to go. As leaders and responsible people we can wonder if traveling is the right investment of our time?

Have you found yourself being too nice in life? Do you find yourself shying away from competition? Today Woodly and Jan talk about why you might want to consider stepping into the field of completion. In Today’s Episode… Sometimes we tend to think of competition in terms of sports or other athletic contests, but competition can be used in all facets of life, whether it be business, pleasure or other. It can be a wonderful tool if used correctly and today we talk about three major reasons why it’s ok to be competitive.

I hate complaining. It is the most unproductive use of time imaginable, but at times I find myself doing it. In this episode Jan and I talk about 5 Ways Complaining Will Cripple Every Area of Your Life. The truth is sometimes we have to agitate the problem in our life to help us realize our need for the solution. As we talk about the destructive power of complaining I believe the solution will become self-evident.

“We should never give up on, what matters most.” To do that we need to know how to access the courage to persevere? On this episode Woodly discusses 7 steps to a life of perseverance.

Courage is "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty." Do you have a difficult situation in your life? If your answer is yes, then this podcast episode is for you!

This is the 1st part of a 3 part series using the Impact Engine as a framework towards living courageously. On today’s episode you’ll hear us discuss developing a courageous mindset to help you think like a warrior.

What is the Impact Engine? The Impact Engine is a framework developed by Woodly Zacek that will take your current situation and goals and give you a systematic way to propel yourself forward by following the three gears that make up the engine.