June 21, 2024 • 17 mins
Imagine unlocking the most authentic and creative version of yourself. That's what I like to refer to as being "Real and Fulfilled." Doubting that it's possible? I promise, it is!
In this episode, you'll learn the simple "C.E.L.L" framework that you can use as a touchstone to focus on the power of ONE. It only takes one moment, one day, one decision to go from unsatisfied to #RealAndFulfilled <3
It's time to tap into that inner potential and embark on a journey towards a brighter future.
Connect by joining the Free Contagious Victories Community
(Spread a little inspiration in the group for a chance at a show shout out)
Visit my personal blog: ToriBlackmon.com
Follow My Personal instagram: @OnceUponA_Tori
Show instagram: @ContagiousVictories
Listen on: Apple Podcast, Spotify, or by going to ContagiousVictories.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Victoria B. Glass (00:00):
Welcome to the Contagious Victory's
podcast. Each week, we talkinspiration, explore
possibilities, and shareinsights from creative
perspectives. I'm Tori Blackmon,and I'm here to remind you that
your purpose in life is tocelebrate the victories because
victories are contagious.
(00:22):
Hi there, and welcome back toanother episode of the
Contagious Victories podcast.I'm Victoria B. Glass, your
host, and I'm so glad thatyou're listening today. If
you're here, it's most likelybecause you have a passion for
creativity, or you just need alittle pick me up to keep that
head of yours held high. Well,that's exactly what I plan to
(00:44):
give you today. Just a extralittle boost of motivation and
encouragement. Trust me.
I understand. Being a creativeis kinda hard. Some days you
have the confidence to take onthe world, and other days you're
like, how in the world did Ieven get to this point? So I
hope this episode will be ametaphorical hug for you on your
(01:06):
creative journey. Today, I'mgonna be talking about what
makes a life real and fulfilled.
Now you may have heard me usethe little tagline real and
fulfilled on the podcast before.In fact, it was something that I
came up with a few years ago asa way to unite the Contagious
Victory's community. I rememberwhen God put it on my heart to
(01:31):
get this community together, Iwas sitting at the kitchen table
at my dad's house and I wastrying to think of a little
hashtag to use as a tagline thatreally expressed what I felt
like this community wouldidentify with. And the reason I
chose real and fulfilled isbecause it kinda felt like like
(01:53):
the beginning and the end of thecreative journey. Like, it
starts with someone reallygetting real with themselves and
being authentic and having thatauthenticity be the guiding
compass, if you will, to afulfilling life or a satisfied
life.
And it wasn't until recentlythat I actually started to think
of a framework that I couldteach to listeners so that they
(02:17):
could have a real and fulfilledlife in their own way, and
today, I'm gonna be sharing withyou that framework. Now a little
backstory, a couple of weeksago, I was actually interviewed
for another podcast. My friend,John Mansfield, has a podcast
called Wisdom in the Tangents.You should go look it up. And he
(02:40):
interviewed me to talk aboutwhat makes a life real and
fulfilled.
So if you go listen to thatepisode, then you'll hear me
repeat a lot of these samepoints that I'm gonna be talking
about today about how tocheck-in with yourself and have
a real and fulfilled life. So Ihope that sounds interesting to
you. Before we get into that, Iwanna do a quick little
(03:03):
affirmation session. We used todo these all the time on
previous episodes of ContagiousVictories, but it's been a while
since we took a little breakfrom, you know, everyday life
and just grounded ourselves, gotour hearts right, and opened
ourselves up to just being inthe moment. So let's go ahead
and take a deep breath.
(03:25):
Let it out. We can do it onemore time. Just a deep breath. I
feel better already. I am goingto say a few affirmations and
(03:48):
leave some space for you torepeat them out loud or to
yourself, whatever you feelcomfortable with.
My goal is to align our spirit,our heart, our mind, and to be
quite frank, to settle my nervesbecause podcasting is a very
(04:10):
intimate experience, andsometimes our nerves get
unsettled. But we always havethe skills and the tools to
realign ourselves. Continue totake full, deep breaths. Love
(04:31):
and peace are what I know. Loveand peace are what I know.
(04:52):
I create peace and harmonywithin myself and my
environment. I can feel therichness of God's love, and it
(05:19):
is overwhelmingly satisfying. Myspirit is aligned. God, I love
(05:46):
you. God is my rock in whom Itake refuge.
(06:06):
I am open and receptive to good.Only love surrounds me. Okay,
(06:40):
creatives. I have just the thingto help you on the days that you
feel like you're not reachingyour full potential. Imagine
unlocking this power withinyourself to create a life filled
with fulfillment andauthenticity.
We all have to master the art ofmanaging ourselves and sometimes
that can be hard, especially ifyou're creative or if you work
(07:03):
from home. And one littletouchstone that I like to
remember is that it all startswith 1, and that one is a cell,
like a little point. So thinkabout the cells that are in
living things. Right? Like, itall starts with 1.
History has shown that no matterhow small an action is, one
small action can ripple outwardand create profound and lasting
(07:25):
impacts. So think about thatcell, and I have a little
acronym for the word cell.That's c e l l. The first c
stands for courageous. Staycourageously curious in any
situation.
When we're curious about stuffand we're not afraid, then we're
interested in it, and thatbrings a whole another energy to
(07:46):
the situation. Now I'm gonnatell you kinda, like, the
opposite of what it is, andhopefully, that'll help you
understand what it is. So thinkabout the newsroom. They use
curiosity all the time.Sometimes, they can use, like,
clickbaity articles to keep youinterested, but just stick with
me.
(08:06):
Now, I want you to flip this onits head and do this in your own
life in a courageous way bytaking a problem, and instead of
making it a point of drama, usethat as a tension point to stay
curious. And you can flip thescript and make it a good thing
instead of letting it lead to,like, drama. And instead of
(08:28):
being interested in it for,like, clickbaity reasons, stay
curious about it for the rightreasons and just take the step.
Don't you don't have to labelit. Just take a curious step in
love flipping the script andtaking tension points and making
that a point of change insteadof a bad point of fallout.
(08:49):
So the e in cell stands forenthusiasm. You wanna stay
enthusiastic about thingsbecause the things that you get
enthusiastic about will draw inyour people. Your people are
gonna be out there and sometimeswe might say the right things
and use the right words and, youknow, have the vocabulary that
fits the situation. Butsometimes we don't have the
enthusiasm behind it, and so itjust falls upon deaf ears. But
(09:12):
when we're excited and we'reenthusiastic about, you know,
changing the script and flippingthat tension point into
something good, then a lot oftimes it reads and our people
can find us.
And not only that, but itaffects our life for the better
because we feel like we're inthe right place. Words don't
always communicate, but ourenthusiasm and our energy that
(09:33):
we bring to the situation doescommunicate. So keep that in
mind when you are checking inwith yourself about living a
real and fulfilled life. Now thenext letter in our little
acronym for CELL is L. The firstl in the acronym is gonna stand
for learn.
Learn to act instead of react.Be willing to change and to grow
(09:57):
instead of resist and react. Allgood evolutions require change.
When we open ourselves up andlet ourselves learn from
situations because we're stayingcurious, staying enthusiastic,
and taking steps out of lovebecause we know that we're open
and we're able to soak up thewisdom that lies in every
(10:19):
situation and lesson that welearn along the way. So stay
open.
Let yourself learn from it. Soakup all the wisdom, and just know
that it takes energy and selfdiscipline to learn, but it's
totally worth it. So giveyourself that space, that time,
and allow that energy to changeyou and do that by staying
(10:41):
enthusiastic, stayingcourageously curious, and taking
the steps out of love. And thenlearning will be easy. It'll be
so easy that you won't evenrealize that you've learned
something until you're on theother side of it, and you're
gonna be like, wow.
Look. I have changed for thebetter. That's what it feels
like when we're fulfilled. Werealize that, you know, the
journey had to happen, but we'reat peace with that and it feels
(11:06):
fulfilling. Now, there's stillone more l, and I'm gonna tell
you what it is.
It's for lead. You might bethinking that this l should have
came first because, you know,when you think about a line
leader, usually that's the firstone. But, no, I put this l
second on purpose. I actuallyheard this from a author, John
(11:28):
Maxwell, that leaders lead fromthe back. When you lead from
behind, then you're puttingothers first.
This one took a little bit oftime for me to learn because
I'll be honest, I was a theaterkid. I was on the news and I
just really liked putting myselfat the center of things. I don't
know why. But when you takeyourself out of it and you're
(11:49):
not the main focus, then you canactually help others and serve
with a servant heart, and thatfeels really, really good when
you're on the other side of thatto be able to help other people
by putting them first. Ego wouldlike to convince you that you're
the only one going through whatyou're going through, but you're
not.
You're not alone. None of us arealone in these wild moments of
(12:11):
life. And the beauty of this isthat it's not about ego. And a
lot of us do want to lead othersand we want to build these
And that's an old saying. Ididn't come up with that, but it
hit me recently that you have toshow people that you care and
(12:34):
genuinely care for them to careabout what you care about. So if
you're trying to get back intoalignment and, you know, go down
this checklist of, am I living areal and fulfilled life? Then
the last L is the most importantone in my opinion, and it's
purposefully put last. You haveto give before you can receive.
And putting others first is oneof the hardest lessons, at least
(12:55):
it was for me, but it was themost rewarding when you learn
it. And I'm still checking inwith myself, like, all the time,
reminding myself of this becauseit's not just something you
learn once and you're good forthe rest of your life. Like, you
have to constantly put othersfirst and check-in to see if
what you're doing is gonnabenefit the whole community,
(13:15):
whether that's your church, yourfamily, your relationships,
friendships, whatever it is, youhave to just take yourself out
of it and not be self centered.Leaders often lead from behind.
(13:38):
I hope that last l reallysolidifies what this whole cell
thing is about.
And like I mentioned, the pointand how it takes 1 cell to
divide into 2. And the point ofthe whole thing is that it's
never just 1. Like, it's alwaysgot within it the power to be 2,
3, more, whatever. And,ultimately, when a cell splits,
(14:00):
you know, cell division, itcreates something bigger than
itself. And so it never wasreally alone, and at the same
time, all it takes is one onething to make a difference.
So use that little touchstone,that little acronym or analogy
or whatever to ground yourselfwhen you may have gotten off
track in your life. And maybeyou're having a bad day and your
(14:20):
life's, you know, bumming youout a little bit, which it can.
It doesn't have to stay likethat forever. But some days, it
just you're like, how did I getto where I am? Well, you're not
where you are for no reason.
Like, God put you where you areright now so that you can learn
these lessons, and all it takesis just one day to make a
difference, one point. Andremember, C.E.L.L. c e l l. Be
(14:43):
courageous and curious. Stayenthusiastic. Be willing to
learn, and always lead frombehind. Cell yourself.
(15:06):
Thank you so much for letting mecatch up with you today and for
listening to this episode of theContagious Victories podcast.
Remember, you can connect withall of the other listeners
online and find more inspirationand good news in the Contagious
Victories community on Facebook.That's a free group that you can
join and connect with me andother listeners. You'll also be
(15:30):
able to find us on Instagram atcontagious victories and follow
my own personal Instagram atonce upon a_ If you need the
show notes, you can always go tocontagiousvictories.com, and
there you'll find all of theblog post that contains previous
episodes with guests, all of theshow notes for today's episodes,
(15:53):
and more links and fun thatyou're free to explore online.
So I hope that you check thatout. And if you are interested
in being a guest on theContagious Victory Show, then
you can email me. My emailaddress is
tori@toriblackman.com. That'sblackm0n for anyone who's
(16:15):
interested in being a guest.Just shoot me an email and, let
me know what you're interestedin talking about.
If if you have a victory storyyou wanna share or some insight
that our creative audience wouldbenefit from, come and share it
on the show. Again, I appreciateyou listening, and I'll catch
you next week. Thanks forjoining us for this week's
(16:35):
episode of the contagiousvictories podcast. If the show
inspired you to hear your ownvictory story, I'm here to tell
you the world deserves to hearit. Submit it to me online at
toriblackmon.com.
Review and subscribe if thatfeels right. Telling your
friends about the show helpsContavia's victories to grow.
Plus, we all appreciate a littlesunshine. I'm Tori b. Thanks for
(16:58):
listening.
Welcome to the Contagious Victory's
podcast. Each week, we talkinspiration, explore
possibilities, and shareinsights from creative
perspectives. I'm Tori Blackmon,and I'm here to remind you that
your purpose in life is tocelebrate the victories because
victories are contagious.
(00:22):
Hi there, and welcome back toanother episode of the
Contagious Victories podcast.I'm Victoria B. Glass, your
host, and I'm so glad thatyou're listening today. If
you're here, it's most likelybecause you have a passion for
creativity, or you just need alittle pick me up to keep that
head of yours held high. Well,that's exactly what I plan to
(00:44):
give you today. Just a extralittle boost of motivation and
encouragement. Trust me.
I understand. Being a creativeis kinda hard. Some days you
have the confidence to take onthe world, and other days you're
like, how in the world did Ieven get to this point? So I
hope this episode will be ametaphorical hug for you on your
(01:06):
creative journey. Today, I'mgonna be talking about what
makes a life real and fulfilled.
Now you may have heard me usethe little tagline real and
fulfilled on the podcast before.In fact, it was something that I
came up with a few years ago asa way to unite the Contagious
Victory's community. I rememberwhen God put it on my heart to
(01:31):
get this community together, Iwas sitting at the kitchen table
at my dad's house and I wastrying to think of a little
hashtag to use as a tagline thatreally expressed what I felt
like this community wouldidentify with. And the reason I
chose real and fulfilled isbecause it kinda felt like like
(01:53):
the beginning and the end of thecreative journey. Like, it
starts with someone reallygetting real with themselves and
being authentic and having thatauthenticity be the guiding
compass, if you will, to afulfilling life or a satisfied
life.
And it wasn't until recentlythat I actually started to think
of a framework that I couldteach to listeners so that they
(02:17):
could have a real and fulfilledlife in their own way, and
today, I'm gonna be sharing withyou that framework. Now a little
backstory, a couple of weeksago, I was actually interviewed
for another podcast. My friend,John Mansfield, has a podcast
called Wisdom in the Tangents.You should go look it up. And he
(02:40):
interviewed me to talk aboutwhat makes a life real and
fulfilled.
So if you go listen to thatepisode, then you'll hear me
repeat a lot of these samepoints that I'm gonna be talking
about today about how tocheck-in with yourself and have
a real and fulfilled life. So Ihope that sounds interesting to
you. Before we get into that, Iwanna do a quick little
(03:03):
affirmation session. We used todo these all the time on
previous episodes of ContagiousVictories, but it's been a while
since we took a little breakfrom, you know, everyday life
and just grounded ourselves, gotour hearts right, and opened
ourselves up to just being inthe moment. So let's go ahead
and take a deep breath.
(03:25):
Let it out. We can do it onemore time. Just a deep breath. I
feel better already. I am goingto say a few affirmations and
(03:48):
leave some space for you torepeat them out loud or to
yourself, whatever you feelcomfortable with.
My goal is to align our spirit,our heart, our mind, and to be
quite frank, to settle my nervesbecause podcasting is a very
(04:10):
intimate experience, andsometimes our nerves get
unsettled. But we always havethe skills and the tools to
realign ourselves. Continue totake full, deep breaths. Love
(04:31):
and peace are what I know. Loveand peace are what I know.
(04:52):
I create peace and harmonywithin myself and my
environment. I can feel therichness of God's love, and it
(05:19):
is overwhelmingly satisfying. Myspirit is aligned. God, I love
(05:46):
you. God is my rock in whom Itake refuge.
(06:06):
I am open and receptive to good.Only love surrounds me. Okay,
(06:40):
creatives. I have just the thingto help you on the days that you
feel like you're not reachingyour full potential. Imagine
unlocking this power withinyourself to create a life filled
with fulfillment andauthenticity.
We all have to master the art ofmanaging ourselves and sometimes
that can be hard, especially ifyou're creative or if you work
(07:03):
from home. And one littletouchstone that I like to
remember is that it all startswith 1, and that one is a cell,
like a little point. So thinkabout the cells that are in
living things. Right? Like, itall starts with 1.
History has shown that no matterhow small an action is, one
small action can ripple outwardand create profound and lasting
(07:25):
impacts. So think about thatcell, and I have a little
acronym for the word cell.That's c e l l. The first c
stands for courageous. Staycourageously curious in any
situation.
When we're curious about stuffand we're not afraid, then we're
interested in it, and thatbrings a whole another energy to
(07:46):
the situation. Now I'm gonnatell you kinda, like, the
opposite of what it is, andhopefully, that'll help you
understand what it is. So thinkabout the newsroom. They use
curiosity all the time.Sometimes, they can use, like,
clickbaity articles to keep youinterested, but just stick with
me.
(08:06):
Now, I want you to flip this onits head and do this in your own
life in a courageous way bytaking a problem, and instead of
making it a point of drama, usethat as a tension point to stay
curious. And you can flip thescript and make it a good thing
instead of letting it lead to,like, drama. And instead of
(08:28):
being interested in it for,like, clickbaity reasons, stay
curious about it for the rightreasons and just take the step.
Don't you don't have to labelit. Just take a curious step in
love flipping the script andtaking tension points and making
that a point of change insteadof a bad point of fallout.
(08:49):
So the e in cell stands forenthusiasm. You wanna stay
enthusiastic about thingsbecause the things that you get
enthusiastic about will draw inyour people. Your people are
gonna be out there and sometimeswe might say the right things
and use the right words and, youknow, have the vocabulary that
fits the situation. Butsometimes we don't have the
enthusiasm behind it, and so itjust falls upon deaf ears. But
(09:12):
when we're excited and we'reenthusiastic about, you know,
changing the script and flippingthat tension point into
something good, then a lot oftimes it reads and our people
can find us.
And not only that, but itaffects our life for the better
because we feel like we're inthe right place. Words don't
always communicate, but ourenthusiasm and our energy that
(09:33):
we bring to the situation doescommunicate. So keep that in
mind when you are checking inwith yourself about living a
real and fulfilled life. Now thenext letter in our little
acronym for CELL is L. The firstl in the acronym is gonna stand
for learn.
Learn to act instead of react.Be willing to change and to grow
(09:57):
instead of resist and react. Allgood evolutions require change.
When we open ourselves up andlet ourselves learn from
situations because we're stayingcurious, staying enthusiastic,
and taking steps out of lovebecause we know that we're open
and we're able to soak up thewisdom that lies in every
(10:19):
situation and lesson that welearn along the way. So stay
open.
Let yourself learn from it. Soakup all the wisdom, and just know
that it takes energy and selfdiscipline to learn, but it's
totally worth it. So giveyourself that space, that time,
and allow that energy to changeyou and do that by staying
(10:41):
enthusiastic, stayingcourageously curious, and taking
the steps out of love. And thenlearning will be easy. It'll be
so easy that you won't evenrealize that you've learned
something until you're on theother side of it, and you're
gonna be like, wow.
Look. I have changed for thebetter. That's what it feels
like when we're fulfilled. Werealize that, you know, the
journey had to happen, but we'reat peace with that and it feels
(11:06):
fulfilling. Now, there's stillone more l, and I'm gonna tell
you what it is.
It's for lead. You might bethinking that this l should have
came first because, you know,when you think about a line
leader, usually that's the firstone. But, no, I put this l
second on purpose. I actuallyheard this from a author, John
(11:28):
Maxwell, that leaders lead fromthe back. When you lead from
behind, then you're puttingothers first.
This one took a little bit oftime for me to learn because
I'll be honest, I was a theaterkid. I was on the news and I
just really liked putting myselfat the center of things. I don't
know why. But when you takeyourself out of it and you're
(11:49):
not the main focus, then you canactually help others and serve
with a servant heart, and thatfeels really, really good when
you're on the other side of thatto be able to help other people
by putting them first. Ego wouldlike to convince you that you're
the only one going through whatyou're going through, but you're
not.
You're not alone. None of us arealone in these wild moments of
(12:11):
life. And the beauty of this isthat it's not about ego. And a
lot of us do want to lead othersand we want to build these
And that's an old saying. Ididn't come up with that, but it
hit me recently that you have toshow people that you care and
(12:34):
genuinely care for them to careabout what you care about. So if
you're trying to get back intoalignment and, you know, go down
this checklist of, am I living areal and fulfilled life? Then
the last L is the most importantone in my opinion, and it's
purposefully put last. You haveto give before you can receive.
And putting others first is oneof the hardest lessons, at least
(12:55):
it was for me, but it was themost rewarding when you learn
it. And I'm still checking inwith myself, like, all the time,
reminding myself of this becauseit's not just something you
learn once and you're good forthe rest of your life. Like, you
have to constantly put othersfirst and check-in to see if
what you're doing is gonnabenefit the whole community,
(13:15):
whether that's your church, yourfamily, your relationships,
friendships, whatever it is, youhave to just take yourself out
of it and not be self centered.Leaders often lead from behind.
(13:38):
I hope that last l reallysolidifies what this whole cell
thing is about.
And like I mentioned, the pointand how it takes 1 cell to
divide into 2. And the point ofthe whole thing is that it's
never just 1. Like, it's alwaysgot within it the power to be 2,
3, more, whatever. And,ultimately, when a cell splits,
(14:00):
you know, cell division, itcreates something bigger than
itself. And so it never wasreally alone, and at the same
time, all it takes is one onething to make a difference.
So use that little touchstone,that little acronym or analogy
or whatever to ground yourselfwhen you may have gotten off
track in your life. And maybeyou're having a bad day and your
(14:20):
life's, you know, bumming youout a little bit, which it can.
It doesn't have to stay likethat forever. But some days, it
just you're like, how did I getto where I am? Well, you're not
where you are for no reason.
Like, God put you where you areright now so that you can learn
these lessons, and all it takesis just one day to make a
difference, one point. Andremember, C.E.L.L. c e l l. Be
(14:43):
courageous and curious. Stayenthusiastic. Be willing to
learn, and always lead frombehind. Cell yourself.
(15:06):
Thank you so much for letting mecatch up with you today and for
listening to this episode of theContagious Victories podcast.
Remember, you can connect withall of the other listeners
online and find more inspirationand good news in the Contagious
Victories community on Facebook.That's a free group that you can
join and connect with me andother listeners. You'll also be
(15:30):
able to find us on Instagram atcontagious victories and follow
my own personal Instagram atonce upon a_ If you need the
show notes, you can always go tocontagiousvictories.com, and
there you'll find all of theblog post that contains previous
episodes with guests, all of theshow notes for today's episodes,
(15:53):
and more links and fun thatyou're free to explore online.
So I hope that you check thatout. And if you are interested
in being a guest on theContagious Victory Show, then
you can email me. My emailaddress is
tori@toriblackman.com. That'sblackm0n for anyone who's
(16:15):
interested in being a guest.Just shoot me an email and, let
me know what you're interestedin talking about.
If if you have a victory storyyou wanna share or some insight
that our creative audience wouldbenefit from, come and share it
on the show. Again, I appreciateyou listening, and I'll catch
you next week. Thanks forjoining us for this week's
(16:35):
episode of the contagiousvictories podcast. If the show
inspired you to hear your ownvictory story, I'm here to tell
you the world deserves to hearit. Submit it to me online at
toriblackmon.com.
Review and subscribe if thatfeels right. Telling your
friends about the show helpsContavia's victories to grow.
Plus, we all appreciate a littlesunshine. I'm Tori b. Thanks for
(16:58):
listening.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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