The power of listening and awareness (S4) S41E5

Welcome back to another episode of “Inspirations for Your Life,” where we unlock the secrets of growth, leadership, and fulfillment! I’m your host, John C. Morley—serial entrepreneur, engineer, marketing specialist, video producer, podcast host and coach, and a passionate life-long learner. Through every venture and lesson, I’ve discovered that success isn’t about always speaking the loudest, but about deeply listening and being truly aware. Today, we’re diving into the transformative power of listening and awareness—the key skills that turn ordinary lives into extraordinary ones.

Tune in and connect: believemeachieve.com Instagram: JohnCMorleySerialEntrepreneur 🎧 Listen now: podcastscj.podbean.com #ElevateYourLife #PodcastWisdom #InspirationalStories #JohnCMorley #LeadershipSuccess

1️⃣ Listening builds real connections—awareness keeps them strong. True listening isn’t simply hearing what someone says; it’s actively engaging with their words, tone, and even their silences. When we listen deeply, the connections we form go beyond surface level—they are built on trust and empathy. Awareness then acts as the glue, ensuring those connections endure even as life ebbs and flows.

2️⃣ Most people hear. Few truly listen. We’re bombarded by noise every day, but few people take the time to listen with intent. Listening is about giving your attention—fully and without judgment. It’s in those moments that we begin to truly understand, and that understanding is what drives meaningful change in ourselves and our relationships.

3️⃣ Awareness is the secret advantage nobody teaches. Being aware isn’t just noticing what’s around you; it’s about seeing beyond the obvious and recognizing the patterns, emotions, and hidden opportunities that others overlook. This silent advantage allows you to navigate life’s challenges with greater confidence and wisdom.

4️⃣ Real growth starts with listening—then understanding. Every great transformation, whether personal or professional, begins by listening. It’s through listening that we gain insight, and through understanding that we can act decisively and compassionately.

5️⃣ Listen not just to words, but feelings behind them. Behind every word is an emotion—sometimes explicit, often hidden. Emotional listening means tuning in to those subtle cues and responding with empathy and care, fostering trust and sincerity in every exchange.

6️⃣ Awareness lets you spot opportunities others miss. Opportunities often knock quietly. Awareness means having your senses finely tuned to these moments, so you can seize chances for innovation and growth before they pass you by.

7️⃣ Good listeners make the best leaders. Effective leadership begins with active listening. Great leaders place others’ voices before their own, making their teams feel seen, heard, and valued. This, in turn, inspires loyalty and action.

8️⃣ When you listen deeply, doors open. Deep listening unlocks insights, reveals hidden talents, and opens paths to partnership and collaboration—doors that might otherwise stay closed.

9️⃣ Awareness turns small moments into big lessons. Sometimes, the most profound lessons come from fleeting experiences. Awareness magnifies these moments, distilling valuable wisdom from daily life.

🔟 Listening is silent wisdom in action. Wisdom doesn’t always require spoken words. Often, the wise person is the one quietly absorbing, thinking, and reflecting—ready to act when the time is right.

1️⃣1️⃣ Tune in fully—answers hide in details. Life’s solutions are often in the details, revealed only to those paying close attention. Focused listening ensures critical details don’t slip by unnoticed.

1️⃣2️⃣ Awareness is your emotional superpower. Emotional intelligence begins with awareness—of yourself, your feelings, and the world around you. This “superpower” gives you the edge in communication, relationships, and self-growth.

1️⃣3️⃣ Listening reveals what isn’t being said. Conversations are more than words. True listeners perceive subtext, reading between the lines to understand true meaning and unspoken worries.

1️⃣4️⃣ Stay present: awareness amplifies every experience. When you’re present, every moment becomes richer and more meaningful. Presence transforms routine experiences into powerful opportunities for connection and learning.

1️⃣5️⃣ Listen for intent, not just info. It’s not enough to know what’s being said—you must grasp why it’s being said. Understanding intent deepens your relationships and your strategic insight.

1️⃣6️⃣ Awareness is seeing the bigger picture, even in small talk. Small talk can feel trivial, but hidden within are insights about people, culture, and opportunities. Awareness lets you piece together the big picture from these small exchanges.

1️⃣7️⃣ Listening makes people feel valued—awareness takes it further. People want to be heard. By listening deeply and being aw

Episode Transcript

(00:23):
Well, hey guys, it is John Seymour, your
serial entrepreneur.
Great to be with you again on another
show of Inspirations for Your Life.
Today is Wednesday this evening, it's October 8th,
2025, and I want to take this opportunity
to welcome you, whether this is your first

(00:43):
time here or if you're coming back, I
want to say welcome back and thank you
either way.
If you're not familiar with the show, well,
we are on every single day, we have
a master topic for the entire week, and
that master topic for the entire week, I
think you're going to find pretty interesting.
Not just this week, but every single week.
And then the granular topics tie basically within

(01:07):
that.
So if you're wondering what today's master topic
is this evening, that is resilience, leadership, and
positive change.
And tonight's granular topic, in case you're wondering
what that is, another great topic, it's the
granular topic, and that is the power of

(01:32):
listening and awareness.
Series four, show 41, episode number five.
Hey guys, if you're thirsty, feel free to
go get yourself some fresh RO water, maybe
a snack, maybe a beverage, or some fruit,
or nuts, or what have you.
So I got my RO water right here.

(01:52):
Feel free to go get yours, and we
will get the show kicked off, all right
guys?
Don't forget to check out believemeachieved.com right
after the show, where you can get short
form content, long form content, articles, and so
much more.
All right guys, let's go ahead and let's
dig in.

(02:13):
So welcome back to another episode of the
ever popular Inspirations for Your Life podcast, where
I unlock the secrets of growth, leadership, and
true fulfillment.
I'm your host.
I'm John Seymour, serial entrepreneur, engineer, marketing specialist,

(02:33):
video producer, podcast host, and of course, a
passionate lifelong learner.
By the way, I'm also a graduate student.
And through every venture and lesson, I've discovered
that success isn't about always speaking the loudest,
but about deeply listening and being truly aware.

(02:57):
Tonight, I'm diving into the transformative power of
listening and awareness, the key skills that turn
ordinary lives well into extraordinary ones.
So sit back, relax, and soak up all
this great information, because I know that you

(03:17):
are going to definitely enjoy everything that I
have to say here tonight.
There is so much stuff that I think
you're going to find a lot of value
in.
So let's kick off with the first point,
okay?
Number one is listening builds real connections.
Awareness keeps them strong.

(03:39):
True listening isn't simply hearing what someone says.
It's actively engaging with their words, tone, and
even their silences.
When we listen deeply, the connections we form
go beyond surface level.

(04:00):
They're built on trust and, of course, empathy.
Awareness then acts as, well, the glue, ensuring
those connections endure even as life goes to
its ebbs and flows.
Number two, guys, most people hear.

(04:22):
Few listen.
We're bombarded by noise every single day, but
few people take the time to listen with
intent.
Listening is about giving your attention fully and

(04:44):
without judgment.
It's in these moments that we begin to
truly understand, and that understanding is what drives
meaningful change in our lives and, of course,
our many relationships.
Number three, guys, awareness is the secret advantage

(05:09):
nobody teaches.
Being aware isn't just noticing what's around you.
It's about seeing beyond the obvious and recognizing
the patterns, the emotions, and hidden opportunities that
others overlook.
This silent advantage allows you to navigate life's

(05:33):
challenges with greater confidence and, of course, wisdom.
Number four, guys, real growth starts with listening,
then understanding.

(05:58):
Every great transformation, whether personal or professional, begins
by listening.
It's through listening that we gain insight and
through understanding that we can act decisively and
compassionately.

(06:18):
Number five, guys, listen not just to the
words being said but the feelings and emotions
that are behind them.
Behind every word is an emotion, sometimes explicit,
oftentimes hidden.
Emotional listening means tuning into those subtle cues

(06:43):
and responding with empathy and care, okay?
Fostering trust and sincerity in every exchange is
the key to success in life.
Number six, guys, awareness lets you spot opportunities
others miss.

(07:04):
Opportunities often not quietly.
Awareness means having your senses finally tuned to
these moments so you can see chances for
innovation and growth before they pass you by.
I think that's an important thing.
Most people don't realize that just taking the

(07:27):
time to be conscious and aware gives you
a huge, huge edge in life.
I mean, a real, really huge edge.
So I think that's an important thing to
understand is that it is huge.
I mean, really, really huge.

(07:48):
Number seven, guys, good listeners make the best
leaders.
Effective leadership begins with active listening.
Great leaders place others' voices before their own,
making their teams feel seen, heard, and, of
course, valued.

(08:09):
This, in turn, inspires loyalty and action.
Number eight, guys, when you listen deeply, doors
magically open.
Deep listening unlocks insights, reveals hidden talents, and
opens paths to partnership and collaboration, doors that

(08:34):
might have otherwise stayed closed.
Number nine, guys, awareness.
Awareness turns small moments

(08:56):
into big lessons and opportunities.
Sometimes the most profound lessons come from fleeting
experiences.
Awareness magnifies these moments, distilling valuable wisdom from
daily life.

(09:16):
Number 10, guys, listening is silent wisdom.
Wisdom doesn't always require spoken words.
Often, the wise person is the one quietly
absorbing, thinking, and reflecting.

(09:41):
Ready to act when the time is just
right.
I think that's hard for a lot of
people to understand because they don't understand how
listening may put the other person first, but
actually it puts you first because you're showing

(10:02):
the other person that you truly care.
Number 11, guys, tune in.
Listening fully answers the hidden details in life.
Life solutions are often in the details.
Many people miss the details.

(10:23):
You can have passion and you can have
details, but if you're missing passion and you
have the details, you won't get the details
done.
If you're passionate, you don't know what the
details are, you're also not going to get
them done.
And so it's revealed only to those paying
strict and close attention.

(10:45):
Focus listening ensures critical details don't slip by
the wayside unnoticed.
Number 12, guys, awareness is your emotional superpower.
Good way to think of it.
Emotional intelligence begins with awareness of yourself, your

(11:10):
feelings, and of course, the world around you.
This superpower gives you the edge in communication,
relationships, and self-growth and worth.
Number 13, guys, listening reveals what isn't being

(11:33):
said.
Conversations are more than words.
True listeners perceive subtext, reading between the lines
to understand the true meaning and unspoken worries

(11:54):
that might be.
Number 14, guys, stay present in your life.
Awareness amplifies every experience.
When you're present, every moment becomes richer and

(12:18):
more meaningful.
I know in doing hypnosis for many, many
years, one of the ways I get people
to trance is to have them notice things
about their body, their breathing, how they feel
against the chair or the bed or whatever
they're doing or laying down.

(12:38):
And I get them aware of these things.
They're there.
But now that I have them put their
attention on it, it's like becomes very strong.
And so, presence transforms routine experiences into powerful
opportunities for connection and learning.

(12:59):
Number 15, listen for intent, not just info.
It's not enough to know what's being said.
You must grasp why it's being said.
Understanding intent deepens your relationships and, of course,

(13:25):
your strategic insights.
Number 16, guys, awareness is seeing the bigger
picture.
Even in small talk, you know, we talk
about the forest and then we talk about
the trees.
If you only see the trees and not

(13:45):
the whole forest, you miss things.
If you see the whole forest and you
don't see the trees, you miss things as
well.
So these subtle things that are in our
life that maybe we're not totally tuned into
are a good thing for us to pay
attention to because when we do this, we're

(14:06):
able to concentrate and we're able to sense
what is going on, but now we're paying
a lot of attention.
I've ever asked you to maybe sit on
the chair, not while you're driving, obviously, and
just pretend when you're sitting on that chair
that you're as courageous and roaring as a

(14:28):
lion, but quiet.
Sitting on the edge of that chair, being
able to hear anything, including something softer than
a pin drop, just making yourself very aware
and sensitive to the environment.

(14:49):
Small talk, guys, can feel trivial, but hidden
within it are insights about people, culture, and
opportunities.
Awareness lets you piece together the big picture
from these small exchanges, just like I talked

(15:12):
about the forest, right?
If you don't know the trees in the
forest, you miss something.
If you only see trees and not the
rest of the conglomeration that makes up the
forest, you also miss something.
You miss the whole ecosystem.
Number 17, guys, listening makes people feel valued.

(15:37):
Awareness takes it further.
If you listen to somebody, you're not only
hearing what they're saying, but you're processing the
meaning, the emotional connection.
People want to be heard.
By listening deeply and being aware of their

(16:02):
feelings and needs, you show genuine respect and
care, fostering lasting loyalty, lasting loyalty.
Number 18, guys, notice the energy, not just
the words.

(16:23):
This gets into what I talked about maybe
a year ago about communication, right?
The power of the words, the way they're
being said is very, very important.
Communication is as much about energy as it

(16:43):
is about language.
Becoming attuned to the mood and energy in
a room allows you to influence and uplift
those around you.
And you might say, John, I don't know
how to do that.
Just you choosing to be aware of something

(17:05):
or someone or a certain situation gets rapport
and respect to be built almost immediately.
Many people don't do that.
You know why?
Because they're too into themselves.
They're too into their own ego.
It's true.
Real true.

(17:26):
Number 19, guys, awareness guides you through confusion
with clarity.
When chaos arrives and rains, awareness serves as
your compass pointing you toward clarity and composed
action.
Number 20, guys, listen first, react second.

(17:48):
Reactivity can be the enemy of growth.
By listening first and reflecting before reacting, you
make wiser decisions grounded in understanding.
Number 21, awareness shows you paths others ignore.

(18:13):
Opportunities often sit on the edges of awareness.
By staying open and alert, you notice solutions
and situations in your path.
Invisible to the distracted crowd.
Number 22, great advice comes from great listening.

(18:37):
Wise counsel isn't just spoken, it's inspired by
deep, attentive listening.
Number 23, listening and awareness unlock hidden truths.
Beneath every conversation are layers waiting to be
discovered.
Listening and awareness unveil these truths.

(19:01):
Empowering smarter action.
Number 24, guys, true awareness is mindful attention,
not background noise.
So if you put on the radio, for
example, and you're listening to something, you're listening
to it as background noise, as ambiance music.

(19:22):
You're not really paying attention to it, okay?
You're not paying attention to it.
And I think that's a very big thing
to understand.
Very important.
Awareness means being fully present, not just passively

(19:48):
talking and taking information in like we do
when we listen to music to relax.
Mindful attention turns every interaction into an opportunity
for true connection.
Number 25, guys, listen for needs, not just

(20:09):
wants.
That's key.
Go beyond the surface.
Listen for what people really need, not just
what they say they want.
That's where you deliver the most value, guys.
And I think when we can understand that
we're listening and the person that we're listening

(20:32):
to hasn't said directly what they need, but
we pick it up between the lines.
We catch things.
And when we catch these things, you know
what happens?
We develop this very keen intuition.

(20:54):
And other people around are like, how did
you do that?
Like, how did you understand that?
Nine out of 10 times you're in a
conversation, I bet you probably do not listen.
Not because you don't want to, but maybe
you're distracted.
Is it your iPhone, your smart device, your
laptop?
Is it somebody else talking to you?

(21:16):
These are important things.
Very, very important things.
If we don't understand them, then that's a
very, very big, big, seriously big problem.
A problem that I think most people will
probably overlook because they don't understand why they

(21:42):
need to pay attention.
Let's try this little experiment here.
So whether you're on the road or you're
home, if I asked you what color car
you drive, there are colors, then I asked
you, I bet there's an awful lot of
that color car on the road.
You're like, oh, of course, that's all I
see is that color.

(22:03):
But then if you ask me or somebody
else that has a different color car, I
bet you think there's a lot more of
this than the other car.
Absolutely.
Is one person wrong?
No, it's our speculation because we're putting our
attention on the color car we have.

(22:26):
So we're looking for other cars like that.
It doesn't have to just be cars.
It could be anything.
It could be seeing things positively or seeing
things negatively.
What we focus on is what causes more
of it to show up in our lives.

(22:47):
That's so powerful, guys.
I mean, really, really powerful.
If you could think about this, either tonight
or tomorrow, how do you listen to something?
I used the example before that you can
pretend that you're sitting on the edge of
a chair like a lion.

(23:10):
So quiet, ready to react, but able to
detect things much quieter than the drop of
a pin.
And if you're wondering for a second, and
this is probably making some of you curious,
we measure sound in decibels.
So what is the decibel of a pin

(23:34):
drop?
Does anybody know?
So the decibel level of a pin drop
is so low usually in the range of
10 to 15 decibels.
Zero decibels is a threshold of hearing barely
audible to humans.

(23:55):
10 decibels is just above silence.
Soft sounds like a pin drop or gentle
rustling of leaves.
When somebody whispers to you, they're actually at
20 decibels.
So for us to say a pin drop

(24:17):
is 10 to 15 decibels, almost below the
level of human hearing, should get you into
a mind frame of how you need to
be aware of things around you.
Now, if you're having trouble with that, I'd
ask you to be aware of yourself, be
aware of your heartbeat, be aware of the

(24:38):
sounds you hear, be aware of the colors
around you, be aware of the texture and
how the seat or the chair feels against
your backside.
Be aware of these things.
And as you become aware of them and
you focus your attention on them, you're going

(24:59):
to get different insights.
That just blows my mind.
Number 26, awareness levels up your emotional intelligence,
it really does.
The more attentive and attuned you are, the
higher your emotional intelligence and the stronger your
relationships, leadership, and influence will be.

(25:27):
When you think about that, when I said
10 to 15 decibels, we've all probably heard
the sound of a pin drop, right?
Has that little light clank sounds very, very
quiet.
I remember being in grammar school, going to
a Catholic grammar school and having one of

(25:50):
the sisters there, she wanted the class to
be quiet.
All of a sudden, she took out her
little pin box.
She explained that when she held this pin
up a few seconds, when she dropped that
pin, everybody saw that pin, the body pin

(26:14):
or whatever kind of pin it was, a
paper with a pin or a safety pin.
When that pin was held in the air,
she took it out of her little sewing
kit.
She hold the air and she made sure
everybody saw the pin.
In a few seconds, maybe more.
And she said that when that pin drops

(26:36):
and hits the floor, I better hear because
if I don't hear it, that means this
class is not quiet.
And if this class is not quiet, then
this class will be coming in for 10

(26:59):
a.m. detention next step.
It's amazing how attentive everybody became.
She took out that thing.
Oh, she's just taking out her pin, better
be quiet.
She's held up there.
He didn't know if she was going to
drop it right away or it's going to
be at 30 seconds or 60 seconds.
But you were just like hoping everybody be

(27:20):
quiet.
Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet.
She's going to drop the pin.
And that was pretty remarkable.
You can use something like that to gain

(27:43):
people's attention.
I know the Boy Scouts, we also say,
you know, it signs up, right?
A little bit different.
I hope you appreciate what awareness is and
how it can change your life.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Be sure to check out BelieveMeAchieve.com for
more of my amazing, inspiring creations, ladies and
gentlemen.
And guess what?
I will see you on a show real
soon.
I don't catch you at BelieveMeAchieve.com next.

(28:03):
Be well, everyone.
Have a good one.