SuccessQuest Podcast

Jacob and Kalob discuss how to become spiritually successful. Whether or not you consider yourself religious, spirituality is an important aspect of success. It includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, mainly involving a search for personal meaning and purpose in life. This is everyone’s quest for success or happiness. It's important to find time to pray, meditate, ponder, or have moments to yourself to contemplate your purpose and how you will fulfill it.

Questers

Definition:

(noun) someone making a search or inquiry

Synonyms:

searcher, seeker

Podcast Summit

• Website
• Facebook

Feedback for future events

We would like to receive feedback on what you’d like to see in a future SuccessQuest event. Please reach out to us via email or social media (links found below). 

Spiritual Success

• Spiritual success is for Everyone. U b Even if you don’t believe in God, there will be a lot you can benefit from in this podcast. 

Finding Your Why

• Why?
• Why become successful?
• Why Improve? 
• What is your purpose?

Exercise: Ask why 7 times.

(Example)

• Q: Why do you want to be successful
• A: So I can provide for my family
• Q: Why do you need to provide for your family?
• A: So they can have a better life than I did
• Q: why… 

Kalob’s Why

• I want to be in control of my destiny. 

Jacob’s Why

• I want to reach my full potential

Prayer, Meditation and Pondering

• Life is stressful. Prayer meditation and pondering give you an opportunity to escape from this stress. 
• When else do you do your best thinking? 
• Allows for outside the box thinking. 

Tips for Prayer, Meditation and Pondering

• Kalob: There isn’t a best way. 
• Kalob: Find a quiet place. Kneel down. Take time to think. 
• Jacob: Try to eliminate distractions.
• Jacob: Intentionally talk with God.
• Jacob: Take a piece of paper and write down thoughts and impressions. 

Benefits of Mindfulness

• Get better sleep
• Make progress toward weight loss
• Stress reduction
• Decrease loneliness
• Improve attention
• Reduce anxiety
• Increase brain gray matter

Jacob Links:

• Jacob’s Website
• Jacob’s LinkedIn
• Jacob's Twitter: @jacob_m_harmon

Kalob Links:

• Kalob’s LinkedIn

SuccessQuest Links:

• Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter: @MySuccessQuest
• Email: podcast@MySuccessQuest.com

Kalob: Hey there, and welcome back questers to the SQHQ with another episode of SuccessQuest. I'm Kalob Valle.

Jacob: And I'm Jacob Harmon. 

Kalob: And today we're going to continue our journey discussing the successes of life. This week's topic is spiritual. I am before we begin we had a lot of fun things happened this last week. We kind of decided a new name to just call all of you guys the the SQHQ family out there we decided to call you all questers because all of us are on that Quest and it was funny because I came up with it just randomly talking to my mom and my brother I was like they were talking to me about the podcast and the people listening and I was like, yeah, they're the questor. And my mom was like that's a great name for that. I was like, you know what that is a great name, you know, I don't I don't know what else I would call them. But you're all questers to me. Okay. Also, we Jacob and I recently attended a podcast Summit hearing Utah. It was actually called the Utah podcast Summit 2019, and we wanted to give a shout out to all those people who are in charge of it was fantastic. It was so much fun, Jacob. You want to just kind of talk a little bit about what you learn in? And your experience there? 

Jacob: Absolutely, it was an all-day event and we learned a lot they had different panels and different experts come in to talk about podcasting and. Our eyes were open. I mean we're just starting this thing. We don't really know what we're doing. But to listen to these experts in these people talk we came out with so much information and so much knowledge. So our goal is that this podcast is going to be improving. We really want it to get better each week and eventually be up there with the rest of those really pristine podcasts out. So we're going to be working on implementing these things but some of the things that really stood out to me is they had a panel on marketing and also another panel on monetization of podcasts and during the monetization panel. One of the people's talked about how important it was to get a little bit of income from a podcast and he said the reason it's important isn't necessarily the money. But it's so that you can keep doing it. He said eventually you're going to burn out eventually, even if it's just a hobby which is what it is for me and Kalob. We enjoy doing this eventually you're going to want to stop doing it unless you're getting something out of it. So I thought that was super insightful and Kalob and I are working on ways that we can we can Market monetize and grow our podcast, but honestly, it was just great to learn from from these experts in the. What about you Kalob?

Kalob: It was so much fun. I totally agree. It was a fantastic opportunity to just kind of network and get to know a lot of the great podcasts that are here in Utah and everywhere and I just really inspired us. We really want to make this a positive and influential podcasts for every single one of you listening. I was excited because not only I mean we talked about the podcast a lot like this is this has been super fun. But we also are excited about the day when we can have events similar to the podcast Summit because that really is kind of our our biggest goal right now. We've been working on that for quite some time now, and it was just it was awesome to be able to see the things I liked and disliked about the podcast Summit just kind of. More about the event itself. Like for example, Jacob was talking about the panels. That was a great idea. I love panels and they had like three or four panels. I can't even remember. I think it was three panels where they had three or four guests up there and we just got to ask them questions. I thought that was so cool. They also had this really random room upstairs called the Hall of experts where they just brought in some experts not just in podcasting, but just kind of even just in business generally where you could go up and you. Ask them one on one advice. I thought that was genius. So the reason I bring this up to is because I would like to ask what it is. Exactly. You would like to see in a SuccessQuest event because they're going to be coming soon. We're going to be having events. Hopefully within the next three months on a month-by-month basis and we want to make them awesome. We want them to be so good. So. Give us some advice take the time on it to email us or to go find us on social media and tell us exactly what it is that you would like to see in an event / seminar.

Jacob: Yeah, thanks Kalob and we're super super excited about what's coming for SuccessQuest. This is just the start and we're really excited about where it's going. Alright well to dive into today's topic. We are going to be talking about spiritual success and we want to make it super clear right from the start that we're not trying to tell everyone out there that you need to be religious or go to a specific type of religion. Kalob and I we are religious but we think that spiritual success is for everyone whether or not you decide that being religious is is something you want to do in your life. We still think that you can. Benefit from a lot of the things we're going to be talking about in today's podcast and we will be discussing a little bit about our personal experiences with religion and with spirituality, but will also be bringing in a lot of research to talk about the importance of meditation and being in the moment and having a meaning and purpose in life. So we think that this podcast episode can be beneficial to everyone whether or not you decide that you want to be religious. 

Kalob: I love that. It's just like Jacob said this is not about religion per se even though on in my life. That's where my spirituality my sense of spirituality comes from but spirituality as a whole is so much deeper than just a specific religion spiritual success. Is more about understanding your personal purpose in life? Okay, it's understanding that every day. You go to work for reason, you know, you're you're providing for reason. Everyone is doing what they do on a daily basis for reason and some people actually don't understand what that reason is. Which is kind of mind-blowing. So I guess today we kind of want to talk about what it means to find your why why is it that we want to become successful? Why do we want to improve? What is our purpose and just to kind of give an example before we kind of talked into about meditation and prayer and and pondering I think finding your why is so essential Jacob and I are actually writing a book and we talk about this important. Question and I think that it really just does envelop everything that we do in life. And so there was I once went to a seminar last year in Arizona where they talked about this and they had a really cool exercise that I thought. It was very beneficial. They had a proctor or the guy who was talking actually was the Proctor and he invited a random guy to come up on the stage and. He told him he was going to help the guy find his why okay, and what he was going to do. He was going to ask him why over and over again seven times until he got to the root of what your why really was so it kind of goes like this K. He would ask. Why do you want to become successful? And the man responded well, I want to become successful for my family. Okay, boom. That was his first one and then the Proctor would then say okay. Why do you want to become successful for your family? Okay. So we're getting we're peeling away the layers here right kind of like an onion like the analogy from from Shrek right kind of like the onion peel away the layers. And then he said, okay. Well, I want to become successful for my family because I want my children to have a life. I didn't have and then Proctor would ask again. Why do you want a better life for your children? It's like well. And you know, I okay. I don't know exactly how he went from that point. But you see you get the picture, right? He did that seven times. Do you know how hard it is to get past the fourth time? It really is kind of difficult because then you start thinking I like I don't know exactly like or but but do I you know, and it just was a really cool exercise. I actually encourage everyone. To try and do this exercise and it's it might be a little bit more difficult to do on your own. You might have to find someone to Proctor For You Will Proctor for you. If you send us a message, I'll go ahead and Proctor this event for you. Okay, I'll make sure you make this a worthwhile experience, but at the very end and I did this to myself I figured out something I had never known about myself that my deepest why for everything my underlining wife or my life my purpose. Is cuz I and it's going to kind of sound selfish, but you'll kind of understand it too is that I want to be in control.  I want to be able to control my destiny. That is my why I wake up every morning because I desire to be in charge of my life to be able to be in charge of.  my financial stability. To be in charge of My Success to be able to give that all to my family I desire to control all those aspects and that kind of ended up being my underlining Y and it really opened my perspective. It really changed the way I looked at how I handle things. So if you don't know what your specific why is this is a great way to help you. Because there's no better feeling than waking up getting pulling the covers off you in the morning and it's so much easier to get through that day understanding why it is you're doing all of this. 

Jacob: Wow. Thank you Kalob. I'm I'm sitting here watching you explain your why and I can just feel the passion. I can I can literally just feel it rushing through your body and. It gets me excited and motivated because I can see it in your eyes that you truly believe everything. You were just saying that it matters to you. You want to be in control of your life and that that's awesome man. I just got excited listening to that and I guess I'll explain a little bit of what my Y is and this is something that's continuously evolving for me the more I learn the more this changes. But the my Big Y in my life is that I want to reach my potential.  I don't want to get to the end of my life and look back and say shoot I could have done more I could have been a better dad. I could have been more successful. I could have made more money I could have. I had more friends. I don't want to get to the end of my life and be saying those could haves. I want to reach my full potential. And for those of you that that are Christian there's a story in the Bible where it's actually a story that that Jesus Christ told where he's giving a parable where he gives his servants different. Quantities of money he gives one servant five talents another servant to talents and another servant one then he goes away on a trip and he comes back and he asks them to bring back the money and give an accounting of what they did with it the first servant they got five brings back ten and he says you're an amazing serving good job way to go the second servant brings back for. Pieces of money for talents where he had to and guess what that second serving gets the exact same reward as the first that's always been interesting to me. He only had four. I mean, she'll he had less than the first one did at the start the first one had five but they got the same reward. Why because he reached his potential. Because he did what he could with what he had the third servant. Unfortunately buries the piece of money doesn't do anything with it and in the end he's punished by his master, but I mean the moral of the story in my mind is that we all have different potentials. We all have a different capacity to do good and we all have different. Circumstances in life. Some of us are born into circumstances where we can do more. Some of us are born into a situation where it's harder to it's harder to achieve as much but it doesn't matter what we achieve what matters. Is that we do what we can with what we have and we reach our personal potential. So anyways, that's my why I feel like I'm renting right now, but for me, I want to reach the end of my life and know that I did everything I could with what I had.  

Kalob: That's awesome. I get chills listening to these types of stories because like when you finally grasp it when you finally understand it. It changes everything it changes everything and this is very spiritual by Nature right just understanding your why? Okay, because they're there is something bigger than you are right now that you're supposed to accomplish in life. Okay, and I like Jacob saying that he wants to accomplish his full potential. I heard once that this man he said all I want to be is like an orange full of juice full of potential and by the time I finish this life, I want to be squeezed dry that there's not a single drop of potential that I didn't get to utilize and I thought that was really cool. I reminded me a lot of what Jacob was saying. What is the importance of praying or meditating or. What kind of an influence can these types of activities provide you, you know, we live stressful lives like life is just stressful and gentlemen, we have to worry about rent. We have to worry about paying bills. Okay, we have to worry about school. We have to worry about work. We have to worry about co-workers. We have to worry about family sometimes I mean life just can be super hectic all the time and for me. Meditating or praying or pondering are those moments when you step out of that for a little bit, you know, you give yourself you time not to do anything specific not for you to go old now. I have time to do this activity or to clean my room or to do this. No. No, I mean an activity where you literally just breathe you sit down somewhere and you think you think to yourself you. On what it is that you could be doing better what it is that you're doing. Well, I think these activities are fantastic and totally necessary, and I just wanted to list some of the other things. I think that these things are good for when you meditate and when you when you're pondering when else are you doing your best thinking you will do your best thinking when you're just alone by yourself and your bed and you have nothing else to do when you can finally be stress free. Meditating and pondering is just implementing that at your leisure instead of waiting to go to bed to have that moment. You can have that moment at any time of the day. Let's say you're at work and you have something really stressful you have to accomplish and you know, you're on a Time strains and everything's really stressful. I promise if you take two minutes out of that stressful moment to just stop everything you're doing put everything down. And breathe big breaths for Just 2 minutes and just kind of slow your mind down a little bit. You will do your best thinking ever and that that moment will change the outcome of everything you were doing in the first place. I guarantee it. I guarantee it.  

Jacob: Absolutely. Thank you Kalob, and I guess I have a question for you. And I'll answer this question too, but we both are Spirit spiritual and we're very religious both Kalob and I what tips do you have for everyone about meditating or pondering or or prayer? What have you found that helpful in your life? 

Kalob: Oh, I didn't know he was gonna ask me that question. All right when I think of prayer meditation pondering I. Instantly try to think. Okay. Is there one best way to do all those things?  And I just wanted to say to you right now. There isn't a best way to do any of these things for me personally. It's when I get on my knees in a quiet place and I like to pray right because I believe. In a got a higher being who has given me a lot more purpose and I like to pray to my God and I like to tell him about my day. I like to sit there and just listen to the quietness that helps me. That's my form of meditation. I also like to just Ponder like this is actually one of my pastimes. It's really funny because. My wife and I talked about this and she's like, it's weird how guys can just sit down and just do nothing. I'm like, well, I'm not just doing nothing. Okay, I'm most of the time I'm pondering like I'm asking random questions. I'm thinking outside the box and I like those moments. I love those moments when I'm just I catch myself sitting on my couch. TV's not turned on. I'm not doing anything and I just can think I love those.

Jacob: Yeah, I honestly this is something that I struggle with a little bit. I'll be I'll tell you I'm not the best meditator or Ponder or even I'm not that great at saying my prayers every day. I have this problem where I get so busy and I get so. I get focused on other things because I get so distracted. I'm constantly listening to something or podcaster I come home and maybe my wife and I are watching something on TV. I am constantly filling my mind with things and so this is something that I'm trying to get better at. I'm trying to get better at being able to just sit down.  And think or not just saying my prayers but really intentionally talking. With My Father in heaven, right? So it's hard. It's something that I'm not great at but I'm working on it and one of the things that I have found that is helped me is when I do pray.  I'll actually bring a piece of paper so that I can write down things that it come to my mind that way I'm not just rushing through. My prayers but I'm actually trying to get insights from it. I'm trying to learn from it and trying to to feel inspired and know what it is that I'm supposed to do and I found that that helps I'm still not perfect still working on it. But when I do that it definitely definitely helps but I mean, that's the whole point right? We're trying to get better each day. We keep saying that and all of our podcasts, but honestly if you guys if this is if this seems a little. Small for you to think about sitting down for five minutes and taking deep breaths and thinking try it for one minute. Right? Try it for 30 seconds. I mean just do do what you can and then work from there.

Kalob: Part of pondering. Also. It's pretty much just self-reflecting and you can do that while venting to. My wife and I do this all the time and I find that it's helpful as well that when we sit down on the couch and we just vent helps us to breathe. It's really weird. But like my wife will come home from work and she's just like I like this thing was so hard and this was like this and I can't believe that happened and after she's done venting and she can get it out of her system. She feels a lot better and I'm like man that really works. Doesn't it? 

Jacob: And Kalob mentioned before meditation and breathing in breathing out and there's actually a big Trend right now in the entire world towards mindfulness and meditation and it's kind of taken off in the last few years. I've started to notice a lot more people were talking about it a lot. It's something that is becoming mainstream and there's a lot of benefits. I mean, there's a lot of scientific research into the benefits of mindfulness meditation, so it's pretty cool. 

Kalob: I found this really cool blog. So this comes from Psychcentral.com actually titled 10 surprising health benefits of mindfulness meditation. I thought it was extremely informative. I wanted to share some of those things. You guys can go check out the blog we're going to put that link in the description of the podcast. So you guys can all look at that later. But the first thing it says is you'll get better sleep. I thought that was really nice. It's true to when you can wind down. From the stresses of the day your body is probably just more apt to have better sleep. So yeah, I mean it can it's going to help you improve your sleep. It's going to help lower your stress level. Um actually says that you let you make progress toward weight loss goals, that's kind of interesting but I believe it because a lot of people who take up yoga. That's a lot of type of meditation. Right and those people are usually pretty fit. But anyways, I just think that there are so many benefits to meditation and being mindful. I'll go ahead and pass the ball to Jacob. I'll let him talk a little bit about those benefits as well. 

Jacob: Yeah, so some of the ones that really resonated with me from this psych Central article and this article also is it's funded and research every single area. They have links where you can see scientific research, but stress reduction who doesn't want that, right? We live in a stressful world. We there's a lot of things. There are competing for our attention. We all need that decreased loneliness. It's kind of interesting because you're going somewhere where you're alone to think and into to be mindful but it actually has the effect of decreasing loneliness improved attention. This is something that I definitely need I get distracted way too easily reduced anxiety. And increasing gray matter so it actually helps your brain so that you can learn more become smarter and your brain becomes more more active because of mindfulness. So there are so many benefits to being mindful to being present in the moment and. Kalob and I aren't experts on that and we were currently in the process of finding guests to come onto our show and we've already got a few lined up. We're just working on scheduling so we will find an expert who knows a lot more about this than we do who can come on and really talk about the importance of meditation and mindfulness and how it can help you become more successful. And I guess the last thing that I wanted to share with you all is if you do believe in God.  then. Please please please make sure that you are praying because honestly that is probably one of the best things that has helped me in my life. I can tell you guys that it has helped me in so many ways it's helped me understand better my purpose it times where I'm struggling or I'm having a bad day or a hard time. If I can really sit there and kind of like Kalob said before venting is good. Sometimes I vent to God and and. Honestly, I feel so much better afterwards. I feel like he's there for me and he's ready to help me no matter what's happening in my life. So anyways, I just wanted to tell you do it it is so worth it and the benefits are incredible.

Kalob: That's awesome. We love this podcast because it's so much fun being able to share with you guys. The things that we're learning the things that we've been able to find all these benefits of all these different types of successes. It is truly been such an awesome journey and you guys are fantastic. So we love you guys the questers remember that that's who you are. You're quester. You're on a quest to success. Everyone is you're trying to find happiness in your own way as you see fit and. Want to be that resource for you to help you stay motivated and inspired so you can continue to accomplish your goals and your dreams. Thank you for listening today. So this episode of spiritual success and we hope you guys can Implement some of the things and don't forget to reach out to us. If you guys have anything you want to add if you have something you want to share do not hesitate to reach out to us. We're super friendly guys like. We are not gonna judge you on any of your opinions. We just want to find what it is that makes successful people and I think everybody has a little part to share in that experience. 

Jacob: And you guys can contact us by reaching out on our social media channels. We are on Twitter. We're on Facebook or on Instagram and Linkedin so you can find us there just search for SuccessQuest and you can also reach us by e-mail or email is podcast@MySuccessQuest.com. You can also find links to all of this in the show notes and also on our website, which is MySuccessQuest.com. 

Kalob: Thank you guys so much for listening and we hope you guys have a successful day.