Category Archives: success

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Breathe Like a Navy SEAL

Everyone knows breathing is vital to life, but few understand how they can control their breathing to live better and even gain a competitive edge.

Most of our breathing is done with little or no thought. We just do it. Unfortunately, most of us are doing it wrong. Improper or unintentional breathing can lead to fatigue, anxiety, and even poor health. Everyone needs to realize that breathing is a variable in our lives which we can manipulate. With understanding, practice and greater intention, we can actually use our breathing to benefit our lives.

As a speaker I have learned how to manipulate my voice for greater impact. I have had to learn a great deal about breathing to change my volume, inflection, intensity, tone and more. I’ve even had to learn how to control my breathing to reduce anxiety and stress. (Still working on both, but I am a work in progress.)  I know professional entertainers and athletes who also use breathing techniques in similar ways. Professionals face the same concerns and fears everyone has, they just find solutions to solve them. Believe me, breathing is something everyone needs to learn more about and control.

I wanted to learn more about breathing, so I did some research and found the best videos about breathing and ordered the best book I could find on the subject of breathing.

Navy Seal Commander, Mark Devine showed me the importance of breathing and how to get started, in his videos and posts. I recommend you watch this video and read this blog post about breathing. Both helped me immensely and put me on the journey to better breathing. Mark’s SEAL Fit videos and contributions are worth checking out. I follow them on Instagram as well. Great daily reminders. Breathing is important to everyone, especially Navy Seals who repeatedly put themselves in high-stress situations. They don’t just survive, they thrive. Do you think they could teach us something about breathing? Heck, yes! Want to be elite? Breathe elite. It is the starting point of everything.

We can modify our breathing by changing its intensity, duration, depth, and speed. With practice, we can even recall breathing formulas to assist us in certain situations to gain an edge.

Athletes and performers know the importance of breathing, and you should too. Take some time to first become aware of the importance of your breathing. Next, become more intentional with your breathing. Doing nothing else, and learning nothing else, but just taking some time to focus on breathing and breathing deeper from time to time and adjusting your speed and duration, will go a long way.

I recommend reading the short and insightful book, Breathe: The Simple Revolutionary 14 Day Program Improve Your Mental & Physical Healthby Belisa Vranich. This book was extremely helpful to me. Great exercises for real results. I know… I know… it sounds crazy placing such a priority on breathing, but you will be amazed at how your life improves.

I also recommend trying Box Breathing.

Here’s how to employ the Box Breathing technique: 

1) Breathe in through your nose slowly, counting to 3. (If possible, close your eyes.)

2) Hold that breath, counting to 3.

3) Exhale that same breath, counting to 3.

4) Repeat the above steps 3 times in a row.

You can graduate to a four second hold once you get some reps in. This is just one of many, many exercises.

Better breathing can lead to better: mental state, digestion, blood pressure, heart function, blood flow, and overall health. Good breathing can also reduce headaches, anxiety, and a host of other ailments.

Learn more about breathing. Practice breathing better.

Here’s one of Mark’s videos that I think will help you out:

Thank you Mark and all who serve in The United States Armed Forces and all who serve in our local emergency services.

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Looking for a dynamic speaker for your event? • Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. Want to learn more? Send me an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast The Wired Educator Podcast with over 115 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

  • Email me if you would like to join my exclusive launch team for my new book, Unthink Before Bed. Big news coming soon!
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FFP 017: An Extra Hour Every Day, How to Master Your Time

The Future Focused Podcast, Episode 17 is all about mastering time.

Have you ever wished you had an extra hour in your day to get a few more things accomplished, or maybe a an extra hour of rest?

Do you ever wish you had better control of your time?

Well, you can become a master of your day, week, month and year through the smallest of adjustments and becoming more intentional with the time you have.

In this episode of the Future Focused Podcast, I will walk you through a few steps to help you master the time you have, accomplish what you seek in life, and live a more dynamic life.

(Affiliate Link)

Mentioned in this podcast: 

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Looking for a dynamic speaker for your event? • Kelly Croy is an author, speaker and educator. Want to learn more? Send me an email. • Listen to Kelly’s other podcast The Wired Educator Podcast with over 115 episodes of interviews and professional development. • Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader for your personal library. • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

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FFP 016: The Importance of Minimizing

In this sixteenth episode of The Future Focused Podcast, I explain the importance of minimizing, and I get you started putting minimizing into action.

Not enough time in the day? Too many items on the to-do list? Not sure where to focus? Disorganized desk? Cluttered house?

It’s time to minimize!

Minimizing is a gift you give yourself and those you love. In this episode I will help you get started on getting rid of what is cluttering up your life and holding you back from greatness. Minimizing is a critical act that leaders need to take to gain clarity, get more accomplished,  and add value to their lives.

Thank you for subscribing to The Future Focused Podcast. I hope you will send me a message and let me know your thoughts on the podcast. I also hope you will share this podcast with your friends and family.

Thanks!

Kelly

PS. Check out this book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Add this one to your library!

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Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.  •   www.kellycroy.com   •  info@kellycroy.com  •  1-800-831-4825

Kelly Croy is an inspirational speaker, author, and artist. Kelly’s program includes an amazing art performance brought to life with computer animation.

Please leave a review of his podcast here: Leave a Review for The Future Focused Podcast.

Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram

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Better is possible…

We can always improve ourselves.

This is a winning mindset.

It’s not perfection we seek, simply improvement.

As Winston Churchill wisely exalted, “Perfection is the enemy of progress.”

Indeed.

Seek the smallest of margins of improvement daily in order to make progress.

Flip the switch and become self-aware that within you, better is possible. Who knows about your spouse, your children, your coworkers, or your dog, but within you, yes… better is indeed possible.

Knowing that ‘better is possible’ should create a feeling of excitement, not guilt.

You are in the pilot’s seat, and… you got this.

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Please consider booking Kelly for your next event.  •   www.kellycroy.com   •  info@kellycroy.com  •  1-800-831-4825

Kelly Croy is an inspirational speaker, author, and artist. Kelly’s program includes an amazing art performance brought to life with computer animation.

Please leave a review of his podcast here: Leave a Review for The Future Focused Podcast.

Order Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader.  • Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.  •  Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram

 

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FFP 015: Why I Started an Investment Club and You Should Too


FFP 015: Why I Started an Investment Club and You Should Too

In this episode I share why I think starting an investment club with your friends might be one of the best decisions you will ever make, and it’s probably not for the reason you think. How it started is an amazing story. I share with you what you’ll need to do, and why it will make a difference. It is a great story.

This episode is jam-packed with great content to help you improve your life and get future focused.

Starting an investment club is fun and you will learn a lot. It is easy and worthwhile. My investment club was started back in 1999 and has provided me with tremendous benefits in my life.

I review my financial advice from previous episodes in a nice concise summary.

I also make a lot of recommendations for you to start applying to better utilize your money.

Recommendation for you and mentions from within the podcast:

Books You need to add to your library regarding finances and start reading:

Starting and Running a Profitable Investment Club: The Official Guide from the National Association of Investment Clubs 

You Need a Budget (YNAB) by Jesse Meecham.

The Dave Ramsey Podcast

The Suze Orman Podcast

The Smart Passive Income Podcast by Pat Flynn

Money, Master the Game by Anthony Robbins

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way you Make a Living, Do What you Want, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau

Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guillebeau

This is the notebook! Click here! I hope you order one right now and invest in yourself. I will be posting about great ways I use my journal to get things accomplished and level-up. You can share your ideas in the comments below.

Your Money, Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

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Please leave a review of this podcast here: Leave a Review for The Future Focused Podcast.

Share this podcast with your family and friends. Please email me your thoughts on this podcast; I’d love to hear from you.

Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader, that delves deeper into six core leadership elements.

Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.   •   Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.   •   Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram

Do you need a speaker for your event? Please consider the art and words of Kelly Croy. 

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FFP 014: Side Hustle or Budget?

In this episode of the Future Focused Podcast I answer a listener’s question, “Should I focus on a side hustle, or a budget?” and I elaborate on last episode’s “What Everybody Needs to Know About Money But is Afraid to Ask.”

I am recording a few episodes just on finances and our lives to help people get control of their lives. Being Future Focused includes your finances. There are many take-aways from this episode for everyone in life, regardless of where you are at financially. Most people don’t have an earning problem, they have a spending problem. For others, just a few extra dollars each month that could make a noticeable impact on those they love.  There are others who will listen this podcast and run with it so hard that they will take their life to an entirely different level.

I hope this episode empowers you and helps you improve your life and the lives of those you love. I wish this was taught in schools and I wish someone had taught it to me when I was younger. This information works!


Mentioned in this Podcast & Additional Resources: 

YNAB: You Need a Budget: a book/guide written by Jesse Meecham that I highly recommend. It’s a quick, but important read. The proven system for breaking the paycheck to paycheck cycle, getting out of debt, and living the life you want. Grab this book now.

The Side Hustle School: If you are thinking of starting a side-hustle, you have to check out the work, blog and podcast of Chris Guillebeau. He is brilliant. I would love to interview Chris for both my Future Focused Podcast and my Wired Educator Podcast.

Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn. Pat has taught me so much, and he is a must-listen for all my readers and listeners. Pat did an interview with me on my Wired Educator Podcast Episode 079. Listen to my interview with Pat, and more importantly, subscribe to Pat’s podcast. You will thank me.

Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days: This book is written by Chris Cuillebeau. It’s a winning system to making some extra money and so much more. Don’t just order it. Don’t just read it. Apply it. Grab your copy here.

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Kelly Croy is a speaker, author, and educator. Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader, that delves deeper into six core leadership elements. •  Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.   •   Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.   •   Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

Do you need a speaker for your event? Please consider the art and words of Kelly Croy. 

 

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Where? One of Life’s Most Important Questions.

We do not have control of when we live, but we do have much control over where we live?

”Where?” may be one of the most important questions you will answer in your life.

Real Estate agents’ mantra has always been, “Location. Location. Location.”

This past week alone, I watched a nation, perhaps a globe, celebrate and agonize where an NBA sensation chose to spend the next chapter of his life. I learned of several friends and colleagues choosing new career paths in new locations. I traveled for hours and vacationed with my family in a location much warmer and exotic than where we choose to live and work.

Where really does matter!

Would Steve Jobs have had the same innovative influence if had lived in Kentucky?
Would Thomas Jefferson have written with such passion in Europe?
Would Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have spoken with such eloquence and marched in the streets of Toronto?
Perhaps, but “where” was a muse and influence for so many who have made lasting contributions, accomplishments and impact.
Do you have a location that moves you to act? Create? Do?

Options are wealth!

The Wright Brothers built their plane in Ohio, but they took it to North Carolina for the wind.
The Beatles took their music to America to become Rock & Roll legends.
Having the ability to travel, visit or relocate is in itself a form of wealth, a form of education, and a form of inspiration. New locations can spur creative ideas, aid wisdom, and lessen woes.

The internet helps.

One could argure that ‘where’ matters less due to the internet, and there is a lot of truth to that. The internet equals the playing field for many entrepreneurs and creatives. Many actors and comedians today are being found on YouTube, who years earlier would have needed to make a pilgrimage to Hollywood or New York City. But… the internet is still a location. It is in fact a “where.” You need be there to be discovered.

For centuries America has been been known to the world as “The Land of Opportunity.” It is certainly one of the most important “wheres” in modern history. Will that ideal and trend continue? What is it about America that has made it such an incredible land of opportunity?

Are you ‘where’ you need to be?
Are you intentional about ‘where’ you are?
What makes a place a special place for creatives, learners, and doers?

Some doers of deeds simply made their “where.” They created their special place from an extra room. A spare bedroom becomes a studio or office. Their ‘where’ was a gallon of paint and a desk.

Location does not do it alone, though. How many others lived in those same areas, at the same time, and did little or nothing at all?

You not only control where you live, you also control what you do. You need both.

Perhaps the only move you need to make, is inside you.
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Kelly Croy is a speaker, author, and educator. Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader, that delves deeper into six core leadership elements. •  Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.   •   Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.   •   Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram 

Do you need a speaker for your event? Please consider the art and words of Kelly Croy. 

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The ‘Tom-Hanks-Trick’ to Productivity, and a Challenge for Us All.

I once read that the actor Tom Hanks likes to hold himself accountable for his writing by making an “X” on an old-school calendar each day that he writes. He likes to make as long a chain of connecting “Xs” as possible. Obviously the longest chain produces the most writing, but more importantly, the longest chain also reinforces the positive habit he wants, writing.

I believe the same idea of positive reinforcement can hold true for challenges. I have always enjoyed a good challenge that leads to productivity or self improvement. I guess I am a bit competitive.

This month I have a challenge for myself and a challenge for you.

My challenge: I really want to strengthen my habit of blogging more regularly, so I am going to blog on one of my two sites (kellycroy.com and wirededucator.com) every day this month. I am hoping that at the end of the month I develop a habit of blogging more frequently and forcing myself to schedule the time to write, and get over the small obstacle in my brain that keeps telling me I need everythig to be “just so” in order to write. I want my writing to be a part of my life, and a part of my day. That’s my challenge; I will post a blog every day for the entire month.

Your challenge: I’d like you to read my post every day and leave some feedback if you can. I think that would be incredibly helpful to me, and I hope the posts I write are incredibly helpful to you. You can also challenge yourself to writing every day in your journal (start one) as it has served me incredibly well as a tool for increased productivity and creativity. Or… perhaps there is something else that you’ve been wanting to start doing that you just haven’t gotten around to yet, well… I challenge you! Begin. Let me be push you needed.

I think challenges of doing things are much more powerful than challenges to deny yourself something, like dieting. I hope you will use this challenge to start something.

Worse case scenario for both of us: we don’t make the full thirty days, but we started. We tried. We did something. I know this, every transformation, novel, movie, project, art or idea that saw it’s way to fulfillment began with a very first action. I’m sure many were ugly, small, and shaky.

I have no idea if Tom Hanks really puts an “X” on a wall calendar every day that he writes, but sometimes the story is more powerful than the truth, and in this case the story motivated me, and perhaps I have now motivated you.

Kelly’s book, Along Came a Leader, that delves deeper into six core leadership elements.

Follow Kelly Croy on Facebook.   •   Follow Kelly Croy on Twitter.   •   Follow Kelly Croy on Instagram

Do you need a speaker for your event? Please consider the art and words of Kelly Croy.