Successful Life Mindset

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. The Harder I Work the Luckier I Get   Tracy’s ultimate purpose is to help influence people, make a positive impact on their lives.  When you find your ultimate purpose, that core value, get energized by it.  Don’t worry about the money aspect, start to work toward living that purpose, that passion, and more opportunities will present themselves to make money doing it. Cliff received a “care” package from Tracy’s company with Tracy’s three movies ("Find Me", "A Christmas Snow" and "The Lamp") and the two books he’s written ("Restored" and "Just Believe").  Tracy said it’s wonderful to have your passion reaffirmed via comments and emails about his work.  The feedback has been amazing. Live Your Life To Its Fullest Cliff has seen several movies lately.  Two that he enjoyed are “Super Eight”, which encompasses adventure, ensemble cast, semi-romance, and fish out of water characters and explores human emotions at loss.  It is a great movie.  Another is “We Bought a Zoo”, which also deals with loss.  It shows a family coming together after a tragedy and the fact that we can choose to pursue another path in life.  There is good adventure as well.  A line from the trailer is very true: “Twenty seconds of insane courage is all it takes to change your life.” Some people say, “I’ll never do that again!”  Life is to be lived; learn from your mistakes. Live a Fearless Life A passage from Tracy’s book “Restored” regarding fear says, “I hope that any fears in your past would not dictate your future—that your belief system would be written so that you live your dream free from worry or fear.  My desire is that you do not have a spirit of fear, but one of power, love and a sound mind.  Live a fearless life.” What Are You Going to Believe? People with inspired lives often have a “restart” in life.  They don’t give up when their plans don’t work out exactly as expected.  We can’t live in fear of failure.  We need to ask ourselves what is the worst that can happen and put it in perspective of the overall scheme of things.  Tracy saw the movie “The Help”.  It shows people willing to step out and see things differently.  Those people can change the world.  Fear and anxiety comes from our thoughts about the worst.  The brain is in control of our thoughts, so if we feed it positive thoughts and ideas you can conquer fear.  Truth is found in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  (NKJV), the lie is that you have no hope; that you have no way out.  The brain controls everything about your life – retrain it to think positively.  You’re already doing it – are you going to believe the best or the worst. Lots going on at TMP in 2012:  live events, new movie and more! Inspirational Quote of the Day “There are no secrets to success.  It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”  ~ Colin Powell Things to remember Fear is just a thought…..live a fearless life. Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen and how to survive that Think positive thoughts and retrain your brain Contact Cliff and Tracy Cliff can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/GSPN • 859-795-4067 Tracy can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/tracyjtrost • facebook.com/DirectorTracyJTrost Listen to the podcast live on Thursdays at 1pm CST at www.TheSuccessfulLifeMindset.com If you would rather read a summary of each podcast, you can do so on our site here: www.TrostMovingPictures.com/category/podcast/ Remember, live your life to its fullest potential! Special Offer: Get The Lamp Pack for only $20 that's more than 50% off the regular price! Just CLICK HERE!

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. What Is Your Passion Behind What You Do?   Tracy’s play in Branson, “A Christmas Snow – Live!” is doing very well.  He gets comments after each performance about how the message of forgiveness is changing people’s lives.  One example is after a meeting with tour groups coordinators, a bus driver spoke with him and told him that he and his wife have been estranged from their two sons for several years.  After seeing the play, he and his wife bought two copies of the DVD and two copies of the book and sent them, one to each son, with a letter asking for forgiveness.  It’s touching stories like this that make the hard work worth the effort.  If you follow your passion, your dream, you will find true happiness.  Cliff says he feels called to have a positive impact on people’s lives.  When you do what you’re doing for the money, burnout occurs, but when it’s because you’re driven to do what you do, it’s all good. What Will You Do With Your Time To Help Others Cliff had a client, living in Florida that was getting ready to retire.  He and his wife wanted advice as to how to start a podcast for locals when they moved to a rural area for retirement.  The man contacted Cliff again when he needed to refocus his podcasting.  He had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and had about six months to live.  He could have said poor me, but he chose to put the original podcast on hold and start up a new one, “God is Bigger than Cancer” to share his journey through whatever time he had remaining to encourage others.  The choice is to say poor me or what can I do to better the world with the time I have left. Do It Today Tracy and his wife often talked of selling everything, buying an RV and traveling, but the time never seemed right.  While Tracy was working on a project, a laser tech (in his 60s) was telling Tracy about his life of touring with rock bands all over the world, but suddenly the man became serious and said, “Do it now!”  He told Tracy he had wasted his dreams of marriage, family, that he had never taken time to do the things he really wanted to do.  He said he had cancer and would be dead in a year.  He told Tracy to do the things he really wanted to do now because you never know how much time you have.  Tracy told his wife about the conversation and they decided to take the trip they so often talked about doing someday.  They sold their home, a couple of cars, their cabin at the lake and set things up so Tracy could work remotely from an RV.  It took about nine months to set-up, but then they took a year and experienced their dream of traveling the country.  It is something they will never forget.  Because of that conversation with the tech, Tracy has sort of adopted the philosophy of do it now.  The play in Branson is an example of doing it now.  Tracy always wanted to do a stage play, so he decided to do it now. Cliff knows how fleeting life can be, in recent times he has lost several people, a friend to ALS, a young woman in her 30s to colon cancer and others.  We never know how long we have.  He is working with a Jake Colsen, who wrote a book titled, “So, you don’t want to go to church anymore.” Jake often says the phrase, “Wow, that couldn’t have been a lot worse.”  It’s so true. Get Perspective Tracy went on a mission trip to India in 1992.  One of the things they did was dig wells for fresh water.  Many wells that the people use for drinking, cooking and more are wells that have raw sewerage draining into them.  The people also lived in such poverty; their homes were shacks.  They had the opportunity to speak to the people about the one true living God.  When Tracy got home, he was asked what things he learned from his experience in India.  He said he was now convinced there is a God and he would never complain about his life again.  He became grateful for his life.

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Experiencing What We Focus On   Cliff gives each year a theme name and then focuses on that theme throughout the year.  In 2011 is has been The Year of Providence – God will Provide.  When you focus on something, you will find that it happens, so choose to focus on the positive and not the negative. Our work is usually about 80% things that don’t produce and 20% things that do.  We need to learn to work on those tasks with a positive influence on our business.    If you focus on the negative, that starts to become all you talk about and it overtakes your life and influences those around you.  Cliff had an opportunity to work with a famous person.  The more he investigated, the more it became clear that it might not be an opportunity he wanted to pursue.  He asked for advice from close associates and some wanted feedback on how things progressed.  After a particularly bad experience, Cliff was angry and that anger spilled over into an update for those associates.  Before sending the email, he realized it was pure gossip, true but negative, and decided not to send it.  He let it go and started focusing on the positive things in his life. The Thumb Effect Tracy was also dealing with some business issues.  He let the problem affect his attitude, which spilled over to the attitude of his employees.  He had to choose to be positive and look for solutions so that his company could remain a more positive operation.  Tracy had to apply his “Thumb Effect” to put things in the proper perspective.  If you close your left eye and put your thumb just in front of your right eye, all you can see is your thumb, but if you extend your arm out to where it should be, you can now see the whole world.  You see how small your thumb really is in the scheme of things. You have to get perspective. Cliff had a shift of focus that set him free.  Free from guilt, condemnation of others, caring what others thought of him, making others happy.  You can’t live your life to make others happy.  His wife had not reached that same level of freedom and she resented his new attitude of freedom.  He sensed he needed to back away from talking about this new feeling.  Because he was living with the new freedom, it was evident in his actions.  Once she saw how this allowed them to improve their relationship, she was on board. Relax, Be Content, Be Happy People don’t need to have a title.  They don’t need to be a leader.  We need to be content with being who we are.  We need to be happy with where we are in life’s journey today.  Christ’s public ministry didn’t begin until approximately thirty years into his life.  He was never in a hurry.  Cliff is learning to be content.  Tracy is learning to be happy in every circumstance.  We all need to get a proper perspective. A comment by Steven in the chat room: “We don’t look down on others, but we challenge those who complain about where they are.” Things to remember Focus on the positive and not the negative. Put things in the proper perspective. Learn to be happy in every circumstance. Contact Cliff and Tracy Cliff can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/GSPN • 859-795-4067 Tracy can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/tracyjtrost • facebook.com/DirectorTracyJTrost Listen to the podcast live on Thursdays at 1pm CST at www.TheSuccessfulLifeMindset.com If you would rather read a summary of each podcast, you can do so on our site here: www.TrostMovingPictures.com/category/podcast/ Remember, live your life to its fullest potential! Special Offer: Get The Lamp Pack for only $20 that's more than 50% off the regular price! Just CLICK HERE!

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Breaking Free From Your Comfort Zone   We all have comfort zones.  At one time or another, we all go back to our comfort zones even if we have moved past that in general.  Tracy told the story of a farmer that owned prize horses.  One day a fire broke out in the barn.  He rushed in and released all the horses from their stall to save them, but some of them were so traumatized by the fire that they ran back into the barn and lost their lives because the barn was their familiar place; their safe place.  People can be like the horses. Identifying and Leaving Your Comfort Zone Sometimes we stay in the comfort zone and never leave or we return to it because of our fear of the unknown.  When we feel we are under attack or under pressure in our lives, we head for the comfort zone.  As scary as leaving the zone can be, it is often accompanied by a rush of excitement at the same time.  When we step out, we realize how much we need God.  We find new comfort zones along the way, but we must keep moving forward if we expect to live our lives to their fullest.  Our job, even if we hate it, can be a comfort zone of security.  Relationships can also be a comfort zone.  We make up all types of excuses to stay where we are, but if we never find that passion; that thing that drives us and move toward that, we never be completely happy with our lives. Leaving Your Comfort Zone Requires Change Cliff was added as a member of a podcasting group.  He was asked to post his views of how to achieve success.  One member of the group was quite negative and posted his dislike of people, such as Cliff, that say things are possible when they aren’t.  Cliff decided, since the entire group was reading these things, he should explain what worked for him and why.  He shared his passion, the importance of thinking positively, dreaming big, finding your purpose and more.  About two weeks later the man with the negative attitude asked for advice for his business.  The first thing Cliff noticed was the name of the man’s podcast was as negative as his thought patterns.  Cliff suggested he change the name.  The man also said he didn’t want to have products or services and didn’t want to do any marketing.  The man just wanted to be on the mic and have fun. Our lives are a culmination of the choices we’ve made in life up to now.  If you want to be successful in business, you must choose to market yourself, even if you don’t have products and services.  You must bring value to your clients; value they are willing to pay for.  We are all self-employed; it is simply a matter of how many clients we have.  If you work for a company, you have one client.  If you are self-employed, you can have many clients. Believe It's Possible and Take Action Cliff’s journey to leave his comfort zone was started by the comments of others.  He vocalized his unhappiness at his current career and how he wanted to be a full-time podcaster.  A listener gave him ideas of how that could happen and he shared those ideas with his wife.  Multiple people gave him the same types of advice and made the suggestion he quit his job and go for the dream.  He shared these things with his wife too.  Eventually, she told him she agreed.  He should leave the comfort zone and go for it.  Once she believed it could happen, he decided to do it. If you set goals and fail to meet them, adjust the goals and move forward trying again.  Fail fast; fail often; keep trying! Tracy told the story of a man named Steve Prefontaine that couldn’t allow himself to be outrun by anyone.  His mind needed to win every race or he would be left with a negative image and might not be able to keep his winning mentality.  Steve once said, “Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it."  That’s just the kind of person he is.  Our battle is in our mind.  A comfort zone is a false protector of fear.

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Big Decisions to Drive Your Life – Part 2   Create the life of your dreams.  If it’s your idea, you are probably the person to make it happen or coordinate making it happen with the help of others.  However, don’t let other ideas distract you from achieving those things that will lead to living your dream.  We need to focus on our tasks and on the good, the positive. Tracy can become bored quickly with details; he is a big picture/visionary type person.  He needs help with the details, day-to-day things.  He has people that excel in that that he relies on as he moves from project to project.  Cliff has people he relies on too and recently, one person let him down.  It was someone he trusted and he was hurt and angry.  He started to write an email to just a couple of people that wanted to know how things went.  As he was pounding away with frustration on the keyboard composing the email, he realized his venting to others was actually just gossip.  He deleted the email and decided to get past it. It's the Journey Tracy said that sometimes you have to ask yourself, “Why does someone have to be punished?”  He has had a difficult time recently in a business deal and things he was struggling through it. Tracy had prayed for God’s guidance before entering into the deal and felt he was following God’s will for him.  He was talking with his brother-in-law about it and he told Tracy he was sorry to hear things were not going well.  Tracy had an epiphany about trials.  How can I be thankful for the good times if I don’t experience some bad times?  If everything I’m doing (following God’s will) got me here, then I am where I need to be; maybe to learn something for someone else’s sake; maybe to experience more of God’s grace; maybe to strengthen my faith; to grow.  Life is not all about the destination, it’s a about the journey as well.  Cliff said if he had known five years ago, where he would be today and how much success he was living, he would have tried to avoid the journey and just get to where he is.  It wouldn’t have worked and he wouldn’t have the foundation that he has in place today. Finishing the last four steps from, “The Traveler’s Gift: Seven Decisions for Personal Success” by Andy Andrews: #4 – I Have a Decided Heart – My Destiny is Assured. Have peace in your heart for true success.  You can be successful without loving what you do, but you can’t be truly happy and truly successful unless you find that thing that drives you; that thing you desire and become successful living that dream. #5 – Today I Will Choose to be Happy – I Will Process with a Grateful Heart. Happiness is a choice.  Decide not to let the attitude of others effect you.  If those around you are not happy, accept their attitude, but don’t join in. #6 – I Will Greet This Day with a Forgiving Spirit – I Forgive Others and I Forgive Myself Unforgiveness and bitterness can become a cancer in your life.  Forgive and cleanse yourself from it. Cliff used to feel if he failed, God was angry at him.  It was so liberating for him to realize the truth is God’s love is unconditional; it’s all about God’s gift of grace.  He is reading a book, “All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir” written by Brennan Manning and John Blase.  It tells the story of Brennan Manning and how he struggled with life, but was granted grace by God.  We are measured by our accomplishments by the world, but not by God. #7 – I Will Persist Without Exception – I Will Find a Way Where There is no Way. If you really want it; are passionate about it; you will find a way.  If you believe it’s not possible, it’s not!  We need to train our mind, transform it to think positive thoughts. Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good,

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Big Decisions to Drive Your Life – Part 1   This week and next week, we will be discussing the Andy Andrews book, “The Traveler’s Gift:  7 Decisions to Personal Success”.  Our lives are what we make of them.  Our life is a culmination of the decisions we’ve made.  We fall into the “victim mentality” and blame our circumstances for our lives, but when circumstances put us in a place that is difficult and unwanted, it is up to us to react or respond.  We get to choose how we respond to the adversity in our lives.  Sometimes it’s easy to allow fear of the unknown to put us back into the old mentality, but we need to take ownership of our choices. #1 – The Buck Stops Here – Adversity is the Preparation for Greatness. Don’t take adversity as a bad thing.  It can lead to greatness.  It depends on our response to each trial or adversity that comes into our lives.  Learn from it.  Grow. #2 -- I Will Seek Wisdom – I will Choose My Friends with Care. Look at five of your closest friends and decide if they are or are not where you want to be in five years.  If they are a negative influence in your life, change your friends.  Tracy’s definition of worry is believing the worst will happen, while his definition of faith is believing the best will happen.  Surround yourself with people that are like-minded and that share your goals and will be positive and a source of encouragement to you. Proverbs 15:22 “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” When our task list isn’t completed, it’s often because we fill our days with busy work.  We need to prioritize our tasks and focus on the most important tasks first.  You achieve in life only what you plan to do.  Cliff plans his dreams for today as well as his long-term dreams.  To work toward his daily dream, he evaluates the things on his task list, starts with the important and urgent, and works his way down to the not important and not urgent.  Organization is important. The old adage, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” is very true. #3 – I am a Person of Action – I Can Make a Decision and I Can make it now. It’s very important when we make a decision to stick to it until we learn if it was the right decision or not.  If it was not, then learn from it, make adjustments, and move forward.  When asked if he ever felt like a failure when attempting to create the first light bulb, Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”  Tracy and a friend would go bow hunting for deer each year, Tracy would bag a deer, and his friend wouldn’t.  Tracy noticed that his friend always waited for the perfect shot.  If he was ready to shoot and the deer moved, even a little, the man would stop and realign the shot or wait longer hoping the perfect shot would present itself.  Finally, Tracy told him to just let go of the arrow.  The shot would hit the deer, even if it wasn’t perfect, just let go.  Life is like that.  If you never let go, you’ll never achieve your goals. Things to remember Take responsibility for your life. We need to respond, not react. Prioritization and Organization are essential. Let Go of the Arrow. Contact Cliff and Tracy Cliff can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/GSPN • 859-795-4067 Tracy can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/tracyjtrost • facebook.com/DirectorTracyJTrost Listen to the podcast live on Thursdays at 1pm CST at www.TheSuccessfulLifeMindset.com If you would rather read a summary of each podcast, you can do so on our site here: www.TrostMovingPictures.com/category/podcast/ Remember, live your life to its fullest potential! Special Offer: Get The Lamp Pack for only $20 that's more than 50% off the regular price! Just CLICK HERE!

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Update on Tracy and Cliff   Podcast updates - Tracy is joining in from Branson where his stage play, “A Christmas Snow – Live!” has enjoyed eight performances out of seventy-six scheduled shows.  It will be at the Starlite Theater through the end of the year.  Cliff is just back from L.A. where he fulfilled a personal dream of meeting with Leo LA Porte, the man that Cliff admired for years with his knowledge of the world of tech and was actually the first person Cliff ever heard mention this thing called podcasting.  While on his trip to CA, Cliff rearranged his schedule to visit Leo’s show.  Given the opportunity to meet his inspiration, he also got a chance to interview Leo for his own podcast, another dream of Cliff’s.  Cliff wanted the chance to share his own story with Leo and tell him how he had affected Cliff’s life.  He was delighted to learn that Leo knew whom he was and was impressed with Cliff’s success.  Cliff followed the steps that lead to success.  He found someone doing what he wanted to do and learned from him.  He didn’t wait for something to happen; he seized an opportunity to fulfill a dream. Question From a Listener A listener wrote in via email saying he enjoyed podcast eight very much.  He would like recommendations for books to read to gain more wisdom. Tracy’s recommendations are “As A Man Thinketh” by James Allen.  A basic breakdown of your thought process. “The Ultimate Gift” by Jim Stovall.  The story shows what is really important in life. “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews.  The seven principles of life. “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.  The ten principles that led to success. “Psycho Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz.  Breaks down the mind and how it works – feeding your subconscious. Cliff’s recommendations are “48-Days to the Work You Love” by Dan Miller & Dave Ramsey.  Helps you move forward in your career with confidence. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.  Guide you to successful interpersonal relationships and learning to deal with people successfully. “Rework” by Jason Fried.  A new way to look at making your business a success by working smarter. They both recommend the Bible.  Many of the other books they had recommended are based in part on Scripture. If you apply the principles, you read in these books, it will change your life. Things to remember Don’t wait for opportunities, make them happen. Seek wisdom. Feed your subconscious positive thoughts. Believe you can, write it down, talk about it! Contact Cliff and Tracy Cliff can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/GSPN • 859-795-4067 Tracy can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/tracyjtrost • facebook.com/DirectorTracyJTrost Listen to the podcast live on Thursdays at 1pm CST at www.TheSuccessfulLifeMindset.com If you would rather read a summary of each podcast, you can do so on our site here: www.TrostMovingPictures.com/category/podcast/ Remember, live your life to its fullest potential! Special Offer: Get The Lamp Pack for only $20 that's more than 50% off the regular price! Just CLICK HERE!

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. The Way Cliff is slowly turning into the “movie man” on the podcast.  He recently saw “The Way”, starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez.  It is the story of a man, an eye doctor, and his son who is studying to become an eye doctor.  Suddenly, the son drops out of school, seemingly drops out of life to see the world.  The message is that life is meant to be lived.  If you pick that one thing that makes you happy and pursue it, it will eventually be something you can make money from so you can live that dream.  Follow the passion and money will come.  You can be a success by making money at a job you hate, but you are a true success when you are doing that one thing that you love and you make money at it. Listener Question Cliff read an email from a listener asking, “What if you follow your passion and the money does not follow?” Refine Your Process First, refine his process:  Find a solution for those he hopes to serve while fulfilling his passion.  Cliff knows of a man that wanted to surf…just surf.  He was good at social media type things, but surfing every day is what makes him happy.  He was visiting an island on vacation and surfing.  He saw a surf shop on the beach.  Great location; terrible website.  The surfer went to the owner and told him he had so much going for him, if he would improve his website and self-promote on social media sites his business could be great.  The owner liked the ideas and hired him to manage his website and do his social media work.  Now the surfer does surfing related work and surfs every day.  He created an opportunity by providing a solution to the shop and they were happy to pay for it.  Now he lives his dream. Cliff sees many people in online marketing that are creative types, but mimic someone who is successful instead of using their creativity and developing something unique to help them standout in their field.  What can you offer that others don’t?  Refine your process and your way of thinking about your services. Examine Your Motivation Second, examine your motivation:  Ask yourself why you do what you do to make money following your passion.  Is it for self-satisfaction or something that will also satisfy your customers need for a solution?  Why isn’t what you do attracting them? Pay The Price Third, ask yourself if you are willing to pay the price in time and your own money to make your dream a success.  DON’T GIVE UP! Surround Yourself With Others Who Have Succeeded Fourth, surround yourself with people who followed their dream and the money did follow:  Learn from those people and adapt your process to be more in line with theirs.  Establish a mastermind relationship (based on the principles of Napoleon Hill) by finding two or more people that have like purposes to yours, their strengths cover your weaknesses and vice-versa, they can open doors of opportunity you could not open on your own.  Enter into this relationship to serve them, help them do it for what you can give, not what you can get.  It’s more than just getting advice; it’s meeting together for positive discussions.  Cliff’s mastermind group uses some excellent techniques at their meetings, such as, win of the week -- sharing and gleaning from each other a win situation they encountered during the week.  They also use part of the session for a 40-minute hot seat – one person per meeting spends 40 minutes discussing their business and any questions or issues they might have and the group offers possibilities for solutions.  Another part of the meeting has people tell about a resource of the week – a tool, book, or something else that has helped them during the week.  Accountability is a big factor in Cliff’s group.  They each set a goal for the week and then say whether they accomplished the goal they set last week and what their new goal is for the next week.

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Movie Pick and Movie Flop Cliff shared a movie pick and movie flop today.  He does NOT recommend the movie “Machine Gun Preacher” for several reasons.  The movie does have some valuable points; it helps you understand what’s going on in other parts of the world.  In some cases, such as the people in this movie, there is great oppression.  If nobody helps, those people are left with little help and total oppression; however, overall what is the role; what part can we play in their relief?  The movie is based on a true story of one man that believes he is called by God to take matters into his own hands and defend the people’s cause.  The issue Cliff has is that he not only defends, but also goes on the offensive and becomes more or less a mercenary in the name of God.  The movie, in Cliff’s opinion, does the Christian image more harm than good.  The man also abandons his family to fight this cause.  Tracy’s thought is that if you are following a calling from God that requires you to abandon family, it may actually be that you are feeling so strongly about an issue that you feel called, when reality is simply your heart wants to become involved to find the solution. Cliff DOES recommend the movie “Real Steele” about boxing robots.  He took his children and both they and he enjoyed it very much.  There is a young boy in the movie that uses light cursing, but still Cliff recommends the movie for its entertainment value and its message.  The story is a man that has a hard time keeping his business profitable.  He risks a lot and loses a lot, he risks again and loses everything again, but he never gives up.  Finally, he learns from his mistakes and stops making every decision based on the question of how money will be generated, the profit comes.  His heart change saved his dream. Risk vs Reward Tracy said our rewards are only as great as our risks.  He told the story of the Spanish conqueror, Hernando Cortez, who when faced with a battle with the Aztecs in Mexico, burned his boats, effectively stopping any thoughts of escape to safety for his men.  They fought valiantly, even though outnumbered 300 to 1 because there was no means of retreat. Cliff experienced this same experience in his own career.  When he left the insurance business he kept his licenses and bond current for a year, but when it came time to renew, he “burn his boat” and let them lapse.  His business profits rose dramatically. Tracy told a story about him and his young daughter, about three at the time, walking along the shore.  She would pick up stones as they walked along.  After a while she had a lot of pebbles and was carrying them in the hem of her top.  When they came to a big beautiful blue rock, she wanted the rock.  Her top was full and each time she bend over to pick up the rock a few stones would fall and she would put the rock down and pick the stones back up.  She looked at him as to say help me, but he told she would have to let go of the stones if she wanted the rock.  Finally, she put down her stones, things she thought she wanted, for the big blue rock.  She continued walking along, happy with her rock.  When he thought about it, he realized she had taught him a valuable life lesson.  We need to let go of the little things to achieve what we really want.  Sometimes its relationships, but often it’s our beliefs we need to let go of to move forward toward our dream. Let Go of the Little Pebbles Cliff has a podcast where he discussed his business life with listeners.  One day he was talking about how busy he was with his equipment sales part of the business.  He spent hours and hours procuring the orders, processing the orders, fulfilling the orders, and on and on.  He got feedback from one listener saying his advice was to stop selling equipment.  Cliff was shocked because that was about 50% of his monthly profit.

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. The Thumb Effect Last week was a tough week for Tracy while he and the cast finished rehearsals for the stage play “A Christmas Snow Live!” in Branson.  This week Tracy has things back into the proper perspective.  He have something he calls the “Thumb effect”.  If you close your left eye and put your thumb just in front of your right eye, all you can see is your thumb, but if you extend your arm out to where it should be, you can now see the whole world.  You see how small your thumb really is in the scheme of things.  Last week, his work seemed hard and never ending, but when he thought about it he was looking at it with the thumb effect.  Life is full of seasons; some long, some short, just make adjustments and things will come back into alignment.  His wife says, “Have an attitude of gratitude” and “Too blessed to be stressed”.  He said he’ll have to remember that. The Wisdom and Legacy of Steve Jobs Tracy met his wife in 1988.  Her brother had a little Mac.  He started playing around with the graphics and eventually designed things for church, that led to people approaching him to do graphic work for them and he was able to build a successful business based on what started with that little Mac. The rest of our podcast today is dedicated to the visionary Steve Jobs.  His visions ultimately allowed Tracy to live his dream.  His idea that every person should be able to express themselves through video and other tools, help everyone become a filmmaker.  Even children can shoot film and using Mac products can produce videos to be shared. Cliff played two clips today.  The first was Steve Jobs doing a commercial voiceover that encapsulates everything this podcast attempts to convey.  The second was a commencement speech given after his first bout with cancer.  It gave him a unique perspective on life and how to live it to its fullest potential. Inspirational Quotes from Steve Job's speech: Don’t lose faith. Find what you love; love what you do. Keep looking; don’t settle. Live each day as if it’s your last.  Someday you’ll be right. Don’t let the noise of others opinions drown out your inner voice. Don’t live someone else’s dream. Stay hungry.  Stay Foolish With much appreciation for all Steve Jobs accomplished, Tracy says our lives should be about “Loving God, loving People, and making a difference.” Contact Cliff and Tracy Cliff can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/GSPN • 859-795-4067 Tracy can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/tracyjtrost • facebook.com/DirectorTracyJTrost Listen to the podcast live on Thursdays at 1pm CST at www.TheSuccessfulLifeMindset.com If you would rather read a summary of each podcast, you can do so on our site here: www.TrostMovingPictures.com/category/podcast/ Remember, live your life to its fullest potential! Special Offer: Get The Lamp Pack for only $20 that's more than 50% off the regular price! Just CLICK HERE!

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Pushing Through This week Tracy is in overload mode.  He and the cast of “A Christmas Snow – Live!” continue their work on rehearsals for the stage play that opens at the Starlite Theater in Branson for the months of November and December.  It means long days, one after another and a lot of hard work.  The result will be worth the effort, but pushing through when the dream is in the "work" and not "play" phase is difficult.  Getting through it takes faith and perseverance if you’re going to live the dream.  Cliff states a new podcast often falters or ends by the seventh episode because you’ve exhausted the initial things you wanted to get across to your listeners.  Tracy, comparing achieving your dream to going through the alphabet, says many people want to go from “A” to “Z” to get what they want.  They don’t have the patience or passion to continue to work at the dream after the “Honeymoon” phase that ends with “E” or “F”, they find hard work, but if it is truly their passion, their desire, they will inch their way past the “T”, then the “U” and finally reach their goal. Balancing Your Life An obstacle to accomplishing your goal is “entrepreneurial guilt”, which is when you need to work hard, but still try to be the best spouse and parent.  Sometimes the balance in your personal life suffers.  When Tracy starts a project, he first enlists the support from his family so he can push through that project.  The goal remains a balanced life.  If you’re not willing to commit, but want the results, it won’t work. Cliff asked for a brief “day in the life of” beginning rehearsals for Tracy’s play.  Tracy said he does what works for him.  Others may do the same thing differently.  The main thing is if you start something you haven’t done before, don’t let fear of the unknown stop you, go with it and learn.  For him, he and the main cast start from act one, scene one, and read the lines and make suggestions about what they feel may work.  Suggestions like pick up a cup of coffee or cross to the chair.  For the production staff, it’s a different set of tasks like where scenery and/or props need to be and when they need to be there.  Tracy says its pretending to make the story look like real-life and rehearsals are playing like you’re pretending – how many people do that in their lives.  They pretend to be something they’re not because that’s what they think other people think they should be. Don't Give Up Things will be tough in life, especially when you’re fulfilling your dreams.  Others may discourage you, saying it’s impossible, or you’re not qualified, or other negative opinions.  Don’t lose heart; don’t lose your vision.  The hard work is setting the footings into place, getting the foundation set, but it will become easier. Cliff’s idea for a great movie would be to adapt a book by Francine Rivers titled “Redeeming Love”.  The story is a retelling of the Biblical book “Hosea”.  In the Bible, God directs Hosea to marry a prostitute name Gomer.  In “Redeeming Love”, the story is a western, circa 1850s, and it helps us understand God’s love for us. Things to remember Pushing through takes faith and perseverance. If you’re not willing to commit, but want the results, it won’t work. Don’t lose heart; don’t lose your vision. Contact Cliff and Tracy Cliff can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/GSPN • 859-795-4067 Tracy can be reached at – Send Email • twitter.com/tracyjtrost • facebook.com/DirectorTracyJTrost Listen to the podcast live on Thursdays at 1pm CST at www.TheSuccessfulLifeMindset.com If you would rather read a summary of each podcast, you can do so on our site here: www.TrostMovingPictures.com/category/podcast/ Remember, live your life to its fullest potential! Special Offer: Get The Lamp Pack for only $20 that's more than 50% off the regular price! Just CLICK HERE!

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Passion and Long Term Goals Our podcast is all about encouraging people to obtain their goals and dreams. Cliff conducts podcast training classes (Podcasting A to Z) that train people to go from nothing to successfully creating their own podcast.  One of the most asked questions he gets from students is how do I choose what I’m going to use as the subject of my podcast.  As an example, Cliff shared an email from a man that was trying to decide between Small Business Fundamentals and Personal Finances.  He supplied a lengthy list of reasons he could do either.  Cliff responded that he saw many good reasons, but the word passion was not on the reasons list.  The man wrote back and said if he chose his passion; it would be wooden boats or bicycling.  He decided, going on pure passion for the subject, wooden boats.  He shared his mission statement, podcast content list and a 5-year plan for success!  Amazing that once his passion entered into his decision, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.  Cliff has been reading the book “Tribes” by Seth Godin.  He feels in a few years, the student will connect with a niche group of wooden boat enthusiasts that are followers in search of a leader. What Would You Do For Free? Tracy agreed saying the man had something he wanted to communicate, to share with an audience and that his passion will help him through the hard times while getting his podcast going.  Passion is the thing that will get you through.  If it’s only a job, when things are tough you often leave it.  Jim Stovall’s quote shared in the last podcast “Tough times never last.  Tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller, is very true.  A quote from Oprah Winfrey that Tracy likes is “Passion is energy.  Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”  Take the one thing you would do for free, build a business from it if you’re passionate enough and believe you can.  Like the student, you must first believe you can, write it down, and then talk about it with others.  No matter how remote the thing you’re passionate about is, take it and make it an experience for others.  People pay for being given an experience, whether that is experiencing a movie, or Disneyland or something else.  We all want to experience things in our lives.  Like the movie “Field of Dreams”, “If you build it, they will come.”  He used the Slinky as an example of something weird that was someone’s idea, something they were passionate enough about to take to the next level and the next and eventually get it manufactured and marketed.  Create it and the market will develop for it.  You don’t have to be the only one, simply the best, or you can be unique like the Slinky.  Cliff said the man that wrote the first “Chicken Soup for the Soul” had his manuscript turned down by many, many publishers, but he was passionate enough about the message he wanted to share with others that he decided to become self-published.  Since then the book series has become one of the best sellers.  Another favorite of Tracy’s quotes is by Tony Robbins, “Passion is the Genesis of genius.”  Passion is the thing you will apply yourself to and bring success. Cliff told about David H. Lawrence, a man with a highly successful nighttime talk-radio show about electronics.  It had a large following, but one day the passion was gone.  He left that talk show and became an actor, working actor, even in a field where thousands try, but aren’t passionate enough to make it work.  He now acts and does podcasts. Think About Tomorrow Tracy introduced the need for everyone to understand the difference between short and long-term thinking.  Many people have what he calls the “microwave mentality”.  They focus on now convinced they don’t have the patience or time to wait for something to happen.  About three to five years ago, he developed a real hunger for wisdom.

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Interview with Jim Stovall The guest for today’s podcast is Jim Stovall, author of A Christmas Snow (the novel), and The Lamp, originally written as a play about 15 years ago.  When his novel, “The Ultimate Gift” was made into a movie, his publisher suggested he rewrite “The Lamp” into a book, which he did about six or seven years ago.  Jim gave the book to Tracy to read.  Tracy read it, understood the message and collaborated with Jim to turn the book into a movie. The Message of The Lamp Paraphrasing Jim’s words, the message of the The Lamp is the story of a couple (representative of every man, every woman) that go through life’s struggles, financial issues, relationship issues, and with careers they are not totally happy in, but when real tragedy – the loss of their only child – occurs, everything falls apart.  They are comforted by a lamp and messenger that come into their lives.  The messenger grants them three wishes, as long as each is something they can’t achieve on their own.  Their first thought is money, lots of money; next is a true sense of family, repairing their relationship, and finally success in their careers.  While they work on the list of wishes, they come to understand life is a gift and the real magic is already in us.  They find when the messenger returns in 30 days to grant the wishes, they already have the things they wanted. The Magic Formula Some people look for a magic formula to take them where they want to be, but if they first believe, then put plans into place to make it happen or at least work toward their goal, they will, with God’s help achieve those goals.  Cliff quoted Paul R Kovatch, “The difference between a dream and a goal is a plan”. Jim had planned to become a pro football player, but when he was in his teens, he was told he would eventually lose his sight.  His goal of becoming a football player was not be to reached, but he refocused his athletic abilities and turned to wrestling.  He was able to earn a gold medal in wrestling before losing his sight.  One day he was listening to a movie he had seen several times before losing his sight and had the idea that if you added an additional track on the film itself, a narrative track, blind people could “watch” movies.  That led to 100 hours of narrative being sent to the networks, and from that, a very successful career has emerged.  Jim believes that our biggest dreams are alive and well inside us.  God wouldn’t have given us those dreams unless they were achievable with His help – the gifts and talents He gives us.  God rarely changes plans, but He changes people and people change plans.  Belief in our dreams is what turns us to action.  Belief is down in our core.  Our circumstances can change and we don’t always have a choice in what happens, but we do have a choice in what we do about it.  Dreams change – we can only see to the next horizon, as life goes on our view changes and our dreams change. A New Dream Jim told Tracy he is very satisfied with his life today.  He changed his dream to write.  He has been successful with that; however, his new dream was to write movies where he had complete control over the message.  He and Tracy met three times within a week – at an airport, in Dallas, and again in a restaurant.  They believe it was God’s intervention, His way of presenting an opportunity for them to talk.  Together they have fulfilled Jim’s new dream of controlling the movie’s message. The Mastermind Tracy talked about the “mastermind relationship”, based on a Napoleon Hill belief, that you should align yourself with positive, like-minded people that share your beliefs, have their strengths where you have your weaknesses and that can open doors you couldn’t on your own.  You help them and they help you achieve each other’s goals.  God places people in our lives for a reason.

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Make the Most of Every Moment in Life How we feel effects our performance, even when living our desires.  Cliff was feeling overwhelmed today and said his first two podcasts of the day reflected that feeling.  He barely made it through the first one and the second he will title “Bad Episode”.  Tracy agreed to carry the load today on this podcast. Tracy travels a lot and today he is broadcasting from Indianapolis where he is attending an electronics trade show.  Not film related, but a display of new home/business electronics – home security products, home networking, etc. Those listening may note Tracy is a bit congested after demonstrating his water skiing skills at a family outing in Wisconsin, where he managed to fall face first into the water. Podcasting Course For Free Cliff talked about his podcasting training courses (Podcasting A to Z) for those that want to learn how to podcast.  The class is free.  He has learned that if he gives the training for free, people learn how knowledgeable he is and feel confident in purchasing his products and services.  It is a win/win situation.  Tracy mentioned the book “Free: How Today's Smartest Businesses Profit by Giving Something for Nothing” by Chris Anderson that talks about that exact concept.  When quality products and services are given away free, people get hooked and will purchase according to their needs later.  Cliff noted that Mr. Anderson even gave his book away free.  Tracy’s company, Trost Moving Pictures, has a similar opportunity for his products.  He has a program titled TMP Ambassadors that allows people to sign up for viewing/reading his products free with the stipulation that they give an honest review of the product when they are seen/read.  To learn more, visit the Trost Moving Pictures website. To date, Tracy has released three films (Find Me, A Christmas Snow and The Lamp).  His fourth will be a Romantic Comedy, adapted from a Jim Stovall novel, “Then and Now”.  Filming is scheduled for 2012 or 2013.  In romantic comedies, there is nearly always a happy ending.  Two of Cliff’s favorites are: “The Wedding Planner” and “You’ve Got Mail”.  Tracy said a movie he didn’t like was “Hannah”.  The first three-quarters of the movie was great, but in the end the good guy dies and even though the bad guy eventually dies too, the upbeat ending was not there.  You should leave with a happy feeling when you leave a romantic comedy. The Opportunity To Become Something Tracy likes the message presented in the movie “Evan Almighty”.  The lesson is a woman is married to a man that tears the family apart by his seemingly crazy actions.  She is in a restaurant when a waiter, “Al Mighty” (Morgan Freeman portraying God) speaks to her when she didn’t know what to do.  He tells her that God does not give things, but only the opportunity by which to obtain things, citing togetherness of families as one of these things.  She goes back home and she and her husband finish his project together.  Given the message of the movie, when we pray for courage or bravery, we may not get courage or become brave, but we are given opportunities to be courageous or brave.  Sometimes prayer is answered by the opportunity to learn how to deal with our situation.  Cliff joked that that’s why he and his wife stopped praying for patience because they were presented with lots of opportunities to learn patience.  At times we feel we are the only ones going through something, but actually one of the biggest lies is that you are the only one going through this issue. Respond or React Tracy had a friend that desired to be a basketball coach, but she didn’t want to leave the security of the job she had for a job for which she had no training or experience.  God’s providence occurred and she was laid off from that secure job.  Tracy suggested she go volunteer to help with the team,

Podcast Note: Podcast name has changed to The Successful Life Mindset. Help Others First Our podcast is to talk about life’s principles, our loves and passions, and movies.  We’re not trying to be movie critics.  Every movie has a message.  What we do is talk about the message, theme, and/or lesson of certain movies we’ve watched and apply them to our lives. Cliff has become more in tune to looking for the message and what principles he can pull out of the movies he watches.  The subconscious is now looking for these messages for lessons that can help present new opportunities when applied to his life. Inspirational Quote of The Day 1 - Want vs Desire First quote for today is from Tracy Trost:  “The difference between want and desire is want gets you a job, desire prefers the dream.” Desire is that thing that makes you think, “If I could only do this one thing”.  Your desires define you.  For Tracy, becoming a movie director was his desire and for Cliff it was becoming a full-time podcaster.  They now both live their dream.  Desire takes you through the hard times while want may get you the paycheck, when you hit hard times you aren’t happy. Cliff has an acquaintance that had a desire, a passion, to make a living surfing.  He was excellent, got sponsors, and entered contests.  He is now living on an island.  The owner of a surf shop needed help with media marketing strategy.  The man was willing to help him and now makes a living by podcasting, blogging, and doing media marketing strategy work, about surfing – living his dream. Inspirational Quote of The Day 2 - Help Others! Today’s second quote is, “The best way to fulfill your dreams and desires is to help others fulfill theirs.” We need to help someone else that is living our dream or a part of our dream and volunteer.  Others will see your passion and eventually opportunities will present themselves.  You can’t sit back and wait for something to happen. Cliff gave another example of helping others.  He received an email from a man, Daryl Tatt, from the United Kingdom, with a lot of positive remarks about the Podcast Answer Man.  Daryl is encouraged by what he hears.  Another man emailed Cliff with a list of suggestions for improving Cliff’s website.  Cliff had no time to complete the list and would have to hire some of the items out.  He mentioned the things on the list to Daryl, who happened to have done that type of work before moving on to an accounting position.  Daryl offered to do the work Cliff needed free of charge, but Cliff was hesitant.  He said Daryl might be upset if Cliff didn’t feel the graphics work wasn’t what he was looking for.  Daryl said that was okay.  They Skyped for a couple of 90-minute meetings.  Cliff was so impressed by Daryl’s work; he told Daryl he would be sending him one to ten clients a month.  That is exactly how the formula works – help others first. Cliff talked about a client with a company website that needed changes.  Cliff worked with the client’s team about 20 minutes.  They knew exactly what to do, but vacation time arrived before the changes were implemented.  When they got back, they couldn’t remember everything, so there was another 20-minute meeting.  The changes went live, but things didn’t work.  They called Cliff and he worked on the problem immediately.  It turned out the people that attended the meetings didn’t give him some information that made a difference and he failed to ask if there were files or applications that would cause conflict.  It took about 90 minutes and the site was working properly.  He told the client he would only charge for the meetings, not the fix because he should have asked more questions.  Tracy agreed, people must do what they say and take responsibility to fix it if it needs it.  We live by God’s rules and God’s word says we reap what we sow. Question From A Listener Cliff played an audio podcast question from Fred in Long Island,