July 19, 2025 • 28 mins
Welcome to another episode of the Inspirations for Your Life Podcast, where we explore the tools, truths, and transformations that can elevate your thinking and reshape your reality. I’m your host, John C. Morley — Serial Entrepreneur and Podcast Coach — and today’s episode is an invitation to slow down. Not because the world demands it, but because your soul deserves it. In a society that celebrates hustle, we’re going to celebrate something far more powerful: presence. Because when you learn how to be fully here — not just physically, but mentally and emotionally — you begin to see that the things which truly matter have been waiting patiently for your attention. So, let’s journey inward today, and uncover the transformative power of simply slowing down. 1️⃣ 📵 Busy isn’t better. Present is powerful.
We live in a culture that glorifies the grind — where being busy is mistaken for being important. But busyness often distracts us from what really matters. Presence isn’t passive; it’s a deliberate act of reclaiming your time, attention, and intention. When you slow down, you make space for meaning. You connect more deeply with yourself, your goals, and those around you. Presence brings purpose into focus — and that's powerful. 2️⃣ 🧠 Your mind races. Your soul whispers. Slow down to hear it.
Noise is everywhere — notifications, deadlines, distractions. Your mind might be racing a mile a minute, but your soul speaks in whispers. To truly listen, you must slow down. When we stop long enough to tune in, we hear intuition, inspiration, and inner truth. This is where real breakthroughs come from — not from more effort, but from deeper awareness. 3️⃣ 🕰️ Stillness isn't laziness — it's leadership in disguise.
True leaders understand the value of pause. Stillness allows reflection, creativity, and clarity. It’s in the quiet that we craft the best strategies, make wiser decisions, and embody calm confidence. Taking time to be still isn’t avoiding action — it’s refining the right action. It’s the art of leading with purpose instead of pressure. 4️⃣ 🌿 Silence is where clarity lives.
When was the last time you sat in complete silence — no distractions, no scrolling, no stress? Silence is where your scattered thoughts settle, and your true priorities rise. It’s in the quiet moments that clutter fades and clarity appears. Embracing silence as a daily ritual can be a game-changer for both your peace and productivity. 5️⃣ 💡 The moments that change you most… don’t shout. They sit quietly.
The biggest shifts in life often come in subtle, quiet ways. It’s the random walk, the deep breath, the silent reflection that plant seeds of transformation. We miss these moments when we’re rushing. When we slow down, we create space to notice the “whispers” of change — and they reshape us more than any dramatic event ever could. 6️⃣ ⚡ In a distracted world, focus is your superpower.
We are bombarded with information, but rarely with insight. Focus is a modern superpower. The ability to lock in, ignore the noise, and be fully present in the moment gives you an edge — in business, in relationships, in life. Presence makes you magnetic, intentional, and unforgettable. 7️⃣ 🙏 Presence is the gift people remember. Not perfection.
People won’t remember how perfect your to-do list was — but they will remember how you made them feel. Presence is the ultimate act of generosity. Whether you’re with family, clients, friends, or yourself, being truly there is more meaningful than saying all the right words or checking all the boxes. 8️⃣ 🌊 Don’t just do more. Be more.
Achievement without alignment leads to burnout. You weren’t meant to just do — you were meant to be. Be inspired. Be thoughtful. Be grounded. The magic isn’t in your motion; it’s in your meaning. Every time you pause with purpose, you grow. 9️⃣ 👀 What if what matters most is what you’ve been rushing past?
Sometimes we miss the biggest blessings
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
Hey guys, good evening.
It is John C Morleyhere, Serial Entrepreneur.
It's great to be with you here on
the show and well, July 19th, Saturday evening,
of course, Saturdays start a brand new Master
(00:38):
Topic.
I do want to let you know what
the Master Topic for the week is.
It also is the granular for the show.
The Power of Presence, How Slowing Down Awakens
What Matters, Series 4, Show 30.
And by the way, we're on episode number
one.
Hey fans, if you're here for the first
time, I want to extend a big warm
welcome to you.
If you're coming back, of course, a very
(00:58):
big welcome to you as well, because I
always appreciate people that are coming back.
If you've never heard of me before, well,
definitely check out BelieveMeAchieve.com for more of
my amazing, of course, inspiring creations.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have a bottle
of RO water here, which is really good.
Maybe you want to go get yourself some
water so you're not parched, maybe a piece
(01:19):
of fruit, maybe another snack, could be sweet
or tart, healthy or not, that's up to
you.
And hurry on back so we can kick
off this show.
All right, everyone.
Well, welcome to another episode of the ever
more popular Inspirations for Your Life, where I
explore the tools, the truths and transformations that
(01:40):
can elevate your thinking and reshape your reality.
Now, again, I am your host, podcast coach,
a serial entrepreneur, engineer, video producer, graduate student,
and a lot more.
And today's episode is an invitation to slow
down because you're moving too fast.
(02:01):
You got to make the morning last.
You remember that song, right?
Not because the world demands it, but because
your soul deserves it.
That's right.
Because your soul deserves it.
In a society that celebrates hustle, we're going
to celebrate something far more powerful.
(02:22):
What is it?
Presence.
Because when you learn how to be fully
here, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally,
you begin to see that the things which
truly matter have been waiting patiently for your
attention.
So without any further ado, let's journey inward
today and uncover the transformative power of simply
(02:44):
slowing down.
When you slow down, you can catch a
lot of great things you would oftentimes miss.
Number one is busy isn't better.
Present is powerful.
We live in a cultural world that glorifies
the grind where being busy is mistaken for
being important.
(03:05):
But busyness often distracts us from what really
matters.
Presence isn't passive.
It's a deliberate act of reclaiming your time,
attention, and intention.
When you slow down, you make space for
meaning.
You connect more deeply with yourself, your goals,
and those around you.
(03:26):
Presence brings purpose into focus, and that's powerful.
Number two, guys, your mind races.
Your soul whispers.
Slow down.
You want to hear it.
Noise is everywhere.
Notifications, deadlines, you know, from your iPhone.
Even when you have notifications from my fridge,
(03:48):
if you keep the fridge open for more
than I think it's 45 seconds, it starts
beeping at you, right?
Your mind might be racing a mile a
minute, but the good news is your soul
speaks in whispers.
Truly listen.
You must slow down.
When you stop long enough to tune in,
we hear intuition, inspiration, and inner truth.
This is where real breakthroughs come from.
(04:09):
Not from more effort, but from deeper awareness.
Number three, stillness isn't laziness.
It's leadership in disguise.
True leaders understand the value of pause, pausing.
Stillness allows reflection, creativity, and clarity.
(04:33):
It's in the quiet that we craft the
best strategies, make wiser decisions, and embody calm
confidence.
Taking time to be still isn't avoiding action.
It's refining the right action.
It's the art of leading with purpose instead
of, well, pressure.
Number four, silence is where clarity lives, and
(04:55):
before I get into this point, I want
to say thank you.
We've got some people that have reached out
to us that are actually from overseas.
I think we have some people in the
Philippines who are watching us, so I really
want to say thank you, and we're getting
people from all around the world that are
choosing to tune in to Inspirations for Your
Life, so I'm very, very grateful for that.
When was the last time you sat in
(05:15):
complete silence?
That's right, no distractions, no scrolling, no stress,
no clicking.
Silence is where your scattered thoughts just settle,
and your true priorities, well, they rise.
It's in the quiet moments that clutter fades
and clarity appears.
(05:36):
Embracing silence as a daily ritual can be
a game changer for both your peace and,
yes, your productivity.
The moments that change you most don't shout.
They sit quietly.
The biggest shifts in life often come in
subtle, quiet ways.
(05:57):
It's the random walk, the deep breath, the
silent reflection that plant seeds of transformation.
We miss these moments when we're rushing.
When we slow down, we create space to
notice the whispers of change, and they reshape
us more than, well, any dramatic event ever
(06:20):
could.
Number six, in a distracted world, focus is
your superpower, right?
That's an interesting thing, I think, about focus
and the fact that it is our superpower.
I mean, I think that's something that is,
well, that's kind of priceless if you ask
me, very, very priceless.
(06:42):
We're bombarded with information, but rarely with insight
and knowledge.
Focus is a modern superpower.
The ability to lock in, ignore the noise,
and be fully present in the moment gives
you an edge in business, in relationships, and
in life.
Presence makes you magnetic, intentional, and unforgettable.
(07:07):
Number seven, presence is the gift people remember,
not perfection.
People won't remember how perfect your to-do
list was, but they will remember how you
made them feel.
Presence is the ultimate act of generosity.
Whether you're with family, clients, friends, or yourself,
(07:28):
being truly there is more meaningful than saying
all the right words or checking all the
boxes.
Don't just do more, be more.
Achievement without alignment leads to burnout.
You weren't meant to just do, you were
meant to be.
Be inspired, be thoughtful, be grounded.
(07:49):
The magic isn't in your emotion, it's in
your meaning.
Every time you pause with purpose, you grow
a little bit.
Number nine, what if what matters most is
what you've been rushing past?
Sometimes we miss the biggest blessings because we're
(08:10):
speeding through life.
The people, the peace, the passions, they're often
in the spaces we overlook.
What if the key to fulfillment is already
around you, perhaps waiting for you to look
up and say, hey, I'm here, I'm noticing
you.
Number 10, slow is smooth, smooth is strong.
(08:32):
I think there was another one in the
army about slow is smooth.
Something about smooth is fast or something like
that.
There was a phrase from the army that
I heard about, and I think it's like
smooth is fast or something like that.
The phrase goes like this, just right from
the Navy SEALs.
(08:54):
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
It's a tribute to the Navy SEALs or
other military groups, emphasizing that deliberate and controlled
actions, even if initially slower, ultimately lead to
faster and more successful outcomes.
It highlights the idea that rushing leads to
mistakes and inefficiencies, while taking the time to
(09:16):
be precise and methodical allows for smoother execution
and faster completion in the long run.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
I think that's a very important thing.
When we can hear a phrase or we
can notice something and then we'd say, wait
a minute, this actually makes sense to me.
(09:40):
That's really cool when we can do that.
We're able to make an assimilation.
We're able to say, hey, wait a minute,
I've heard that before.
I know what that means.
See, that's really, really powerful.
I picked this topic, if you're wondering where
it came from.
This topic actually came being a Roman Catholic.
(10:01):
It came from the Bible passage readings that
are going to be tomorrow, July 20th.
So I think when we can understand the
(10:24):
power of presence and I could tell you
what presence is, but until you physically make
this decision in your life to decide to
act differently, it won't mean anything to you.
(10:46):
It really won't.
So here's the part of the show I
really like a lot.
I like the whole show, but I love
this part.
So I'm going to give you basically a
personal story or lesson for each point I
covered tonight.
And it's my hope that by doing this,
it's going to stir up something inside you.
(11:07):
It's going to get you to say, hey,
you know what?
Wait a minute.
I get what John's trying to say.
I'm starting to get an aha moment and
you may not get this aha moment tonight.
You may not get it tomorrow.
You might not get it even this week
or maybe even this month or even this
year, but you will get the aha moment
(11:28):
when it's time.
And I think when we can have those
aha moments or those epiphanies is what a
lot of people will call them.
It makes us feel not only proud, but
even more deserving.
My first lesson is busy isn't better.
(11:48):
Present is powerful.
I remember a time when I was juggling
five major projects.
Yeah.
Back to back meetings and late nights filled
with to-do lists that never ended.
On paper, I look successful, constantly moving, constantly
producing.
But one evening, a close friend called and
asked, are you actually living or just existing
(12:08):
motion?
That hit me.
I realized I was physically there for people,
but mentally everywhere else.
That was the moment I committed to being
present.
I stopped multitasking during conversations.
I scheduled white space into my calendar, not
for doing, but for simply being.
(12:30):
Today I had to make a choice.
And because of that lesson I learned many
years ago, I said, you know what?
I'm busy, but you know what?
I'm going to go and do that hike
anyway today.
I'm going to take out those four hours
and do that hike.
Not the easiest thing.
The hikes I do are a little treacherous
because you have to go up some pretty
steep inclines.
(12:51):
And it's all about that because when I
came back, I had a shower, I had
dinner, and then I was able to get
to a lot of things that I was
worried about finishing, but I knocked them through.
And that's the point when we allow ourselves
to be.
We'll get better relationships.
We'll get a deeper focus.
(13:12):
We'll be far more meaningful in the outcomes
that we produce.
Busy, ladies and gentlemen, had become a badge
of honor for, I think, a lot of
people.
And the reason I say this is that
most people live life because they want badges.
Now, badges are nice, but badges are not
what life's about, guys.
(13:34):
It's not what life is about.
Busy had become my badge of honor, but
presence became my new source of power.
Yeah.
So your mind races every day.
Your soul whispers.
Let me say that again.
Your mind races.
Your soul whispers.
So slow down.
Hear it.
There was a point when my days were
(13:55):
so tightly packed that I'd lie awake at
night with my mind still spinning.
I tried productivity hacks for caffeine and time
blocking, but nothing touched the inner chaos.
Then one morning, I left my phone behind
and walked in silence at sunrise.
That walk changed everything.
Today, that walk was amazing.
(14:15):
It connected me back to nature, and it
allowed me to just be.
In the stillness of that day, and some
people have them in the nights, I heard
something deeper.
It wasn't a voice, but it was this
gut knowing feeling.
It wasn't loud, but it was clear.
(14:35):
It told me to shift direction in a
project I had been forcing for weeks.
Slowing down gave me access to intuition.
It had been drowned out by the noise.
Since then, I've learned the mind may shout,
but the soul is only going to whisper
brilliance.
(14:56):
If you're not quiet, you may just miss
it.
Stillness isn't laziness.
It's leadership in disguise.
Years ago during a team crisis, my instinct
was to jump in and fix everything immediately,
but a mentor advised me to take 30
minutes alone before responding.
At first, I thought it was crazy.
(15:16):
We need action, and we need it now.
Not silence, but I trusted the process.
I stepped away.
In that moment of stillness, I saw the
full picture.
I came back not reactive, but strategic.
That moment taught me that stillness isn't stepping
(15:37):
back.
It's stepping up with wisdom.
True leadership isn't about who acts first.
It's about who thinks best, and often that
clarity only comes when we pause.
Silence is where clarity lives.
During one of my busiest seasons, I challenged
(15:57):
myself to five minutes of silence every morning.
No phone, no notebook, just me.
The first few days were, well, frustrating.
My mind wandered.
I thought I'm wasting time, but by day
seven, something clicked.
In that silence, ideas surfaced effortlessly.
(16:18):
I saw how I was overcoming, overthinking, and
undervaluing my piece.
The fog lifted.
That clarity didn't come from another podcast meeting
or book it type.
It came from being quiet, long enough to
hear my wisdom rise.
(16:38):
The moments that change you most don't shout.
They sit quietly.
One of the most transformative moments in my
life wasn't during a keynote speech or major
milestone that I had.
It was in my car alone, parked under
a tree.
(16:58):
I had just finished a long client call
and felt a little depleted.
I turned the engine off, just closed my
eyes, and just sat for a few moments.
In that moment of quiet, I realized I
needed to let go of a project I
had clung to for far too long.
(17:19):
Not because it failed, but because it no
longer aligned with who I was becoming.
That decision shifted my entire business.
Change didn't come with fireworks.
It came in a whisper, and I almost
missed it.
In a distracted world, focus is your superpower.
I once led a workshop where phones were
(17:40):
allowed.
Big mistake.
The energy was fractured, instantly.
The engagement was so low, and even I
felt off.
The next time I asked everyone to put
their phones away and be fully present for
just one hour, the transformation was, well, dramatic
from night and day.
(18:00):
We connected deeper.
We laughed more.
And the breakthroughs were, well, undeniable.
That experience taught me that presence is, well,
magnetic.
In a world where everyone's distracted, the person
who can focus becomes unforgettable.
You don't need to do more to stand
out.
You just need to be there, to be
(18:21):
present.
Presence is the gift, people remember, not the
perfection.
I never forget the time a friend lost
a loved one.
I didn't know the perfect words to say.
In fact, I was worried I'd say the
wrong thing.
But I showed up, I sat next to
him, I listened.
I simply was there for him.
(18:42):
Years later, he told me, what helped me
most was your presence.
Not advice, not solutions, just you being there
being you.
That moment reminded me that we often overvalue
polished words and undervalued real connections.
People crave authenticity more than eloquence.
(19:04):
The truth is the most lasting impression you
leave is not what you say.
It's how present you are when it matters.
So don't just do more.
Be more.
Very similar to what Gandhi said, right?
Be the change you want to become.
(19:26):
A few years ago, I found myself hitting
all my goals, revenues, targets, social growth, broadcast
numbers, but I felt flat.
I wasn't doing, but not being.
I realized I was checking boxes, not living
in alignment.
That led me to re-evaluate everything I
was saying yes to.
I started making time for conversations that lit
(19:47):
me up, creative work that inspired me, and
activities that nourished me instead of draining me.
And the crazy part, my success didn't slow
down.
It grew.
Because when you operate from authenticity, your output
naturally aligns with your essence.
But what matters most is what you've been
(20:08):
rushing past.
One afternoon, I was walking through my neighborhood
on a call.
When I passed by a garden I'd never
noticed, it was full of color, butterflies, and
a bench with a quote etched into the
wood.
I stopped, ended the call, and decided to
sit down.
(20:28):
That garden had always been there.
I had just been moving too fast to
notice its amazing beauty.
In that pause, I realized how often I
skimmed over life.
The friend who hinted they needed support.
The sunset I missed.
The story behind the smile of a stranger.
(20:51):
Presence invites you to notice what's always been
meaningful, but often overlooked.
Don't rush past the beauty in plain sight.
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
Or as the military says, slow is fast,
right?
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
(21:12):
It's also strong.
One of the best lessons I learned came
from a barista, of all people.
I was rushing through an airport and impatiently
ordered a decaf tea with some peppermint.
He calmly smiled and said, slow is smooth,
smooth is strong.
The military says smooth is fast.
(21:32):
At first I laughed, then it hit me.
He wasn't just talking about the coffee.
When we rush, we spill things, physically and
emotionally.
But when we move with intention, we build
with stability.
That phrase stuck with me, whether I'm hosting
a podcast, writing, or helping a client.
(21:52):
I remember slow isn't weak.
It's where strength, precision, and mastery live.
So if you can take time in your
life to, well, I'm going to tell you,
enjoy things.
And if you say, well, John, I don't
have time.
You don't realize how busy I am.
Let me give you this example again today.
(22:13):
So I love going on hikes.
I love doing exercises.
But sometimes we get so busy with our
work that there seems to be no time.
So this morning I was contemplating a lot
of things to do.
I said, you know what?
I need to go take this break.
I need to go be with nature.
(22:34):
And I did.
And I was with nature for like 11
o'clock to, well, almost four, four and
a half hours.
And it was just a moment of being
present, noticing the sound as my feet would
(22:56):
walk on the, let's say, field, or if
I was on a trail, I could hear
the crackling noise from my sneakers.
Being present of that and also being present
of the rock.
So what I noticed is that when you
hike, even if you've hiked for many years
like I have, if you take your eyes
(23:17):
off the rocks and you look up, which
a lot of people will do, because you
don't usually need to look when you're walking,
but when you're hiking, you need to be
present.
It can be rocks there.
Sometimes if you're not present, you'll almost trip.
And that happened today.
I was, and then I kind of like,
(23:38):
I missed a rock.
It was a light trip.
Like it didn't go anywhere, but I'm like,
okay, I need to be more present.
I need to be focused more on the
rocks.
First, my first instinct was like, gee, why
are these rocks all out of order?
Like, you know, why am I having such
this?
Why is it like, but I say, you
know what?
I need to be more connected.
I need to be taking my time.
(24:00):
So I decided a couple of times when
I needed to, I stopped for a few
moments.
Started trying to push through the trail and
finish it as quick as I normally would.
I said, I'm going to enjoy this trail.
I'm going to stop.
At one point today, I got so lost
in the presence that I found myself off
(24:22):
the trail.
And so, I walked for a little bit.
I wasn't getting back to the trail.
I said, let me pull up my phone
and look at the map, which tells you
exactly where you are.
So I got back on the trail and
(24:42):
continued on the trail pretty well.
Then there was another moment when I was
coming down the hill and I was about
to hit the reservoir.
And normally I'd be going around this rock
and walking over the rocks and then coming
down to the, like the waterfall area and
basically right by the reservoir there.
(25:04):
But something happened.
I got distracted and I took a slightly
different pivot.
I think it was the sign I noticed
that said so many miles to this.
And I never noticed that sign before, but
that sign just said, we'll take this way
because I always went the other way.
(25:25):
But then I realized later that why I
didn't get where I normally wanted to be
is because that sign kind of distracted me.
And so my point was that even though
I got lost a little bit and then
I got back on the trail, it all
worked out.
And the feeling today was amazing because when
(25:48):
I've hiked before, I always would say good
morning, good afternoon, and nobody would say anything.
Today, I think I said good morning to
at least 20 people and maybe good afternoon
to maybe at least another 20 people.
And you know, out of 40 people that
I said those words to, I think there
were only one or two people that didn't
(26:11):
respond.
One lady, because she was too preoccupied on
her phone talking to somebody.
So she wouldn't dare want to say good
morning back because then the person on the
phone said, who are you saying good morning
to?
Oh, I'm hiking.
She didn't want to tell somebody maybe that
she was hiking.
So I think we have to give ourselves
some slack and we have to realize that
(26:34):
we deserve to be present just like everyone
else in the world, we have a right
to so many things, including being present with
ourselves and being present with the world.
So you have to be your own best
friend first before you can be anybody's friend.
You have to love yourself first before you
can love anybody else.
That's something else too.
(26:57):
But when I thought about presence today, I
thought about the sensation of the sun, how
I felt it.
I noticed the, let's say the bugs that
were kind of around my ears and my
head a little bit in some parts of
the trail.
And then I noticed as I was getting
closer right here, the, you know, the brook
(27:17):
and the water going back to the reservoir,
I heard the streams, but just being very
present about the rocks and also about the
people.
So I'm always nice to people, but today,
because I felt very present, I felt like
everybody was saying hello to me or connecting
(27:39):
with me, except for those one or two
people.
I didn't let it bother me.
I just pretty much moved on.
I hope ladies and gentlemen, that you appreciate
presence as much as I do.
But today I learned that being present lets
us connect.
(28:00):
And I got so much more energy.
And when I got back home, I was
worried about getting everything done.
And guess what?
I got everything done.
Tomorrow I have to get up early because
I have somewhere to be and I have
to leave early to beat the traffic.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm John C.
Morley, serial entrepreneur.
Do check out BelieveMeAchieved.com for more of
my amazing, inspiring creations.
And remember, be present.
(28:20):
Your life will be so much more magical
and fulfilling.
Take care, everyone.
Hey guys, good evening.
It is John C Morleyhere, Serial Entrepreneur.
It's great to be with you here on
the show and well, July 19th, Saturday evening,
of course, Saturdays start a brand new Master
(00:38):
Topic.
I do want to let you know what
the Master Topic for the week is.
It also is the granular for the show.
The Power of Presence, How Slowing Down Awakens
What Matters, Series 4, Show 30.
And by the way, we're on episode number
one.
Hey fans, if you're here for the first
time, I want to extend a big warm
welcome to you.
If you're coming back, of course, a very
(00:58):
big welcome to you as well, because I
always appreciate people that are coming back.
If you've never heard of me before, well,
definitely check out BelieveMeAchieve.com for more of
my amazing, of course, inspiring creations.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have a bottle
of RO water here, which is really good.
Maybe you want to go get yourself some
water so you're not parched, maybe a piece
(01:19):
of fruit, maybe another snack, could be sweet
or tart, healthy or not, that's up to
you.
And hurry on back so we can kick
off this show.
All right, everyone.
Well, welcome to another episode of the ever
more popular Inspirations for Your Life, where I
explore the tools, the truths and transformations that
(01:40):
can elevate your thinking and reshape your reality.
Now, again, I am your host, podcast coach,
a serial entrepreneur, engineer, video producer, graduate student,
and a lot more.
And today's episode is an invitation to slow
down because you're moving too fast.
(02:01):
You got to make the morning last.
You remember that song, right?
Not because the world demands it, but because
your soul deserves it.
That's right.
Because your soul deserves it.
In a society that celebrates hustle, we're going
to celebrate something far more powerful.
(02:22):
What is it?
Presence.
Because when you learn how to be fully
here, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally,
you begin to see that the things which
truly matter have been waiting patiently for your
attention.
So without any further ado, let's journey inward
today and uncover the transformative power of simply
(02:44):
slowing down.
When you slow down, you can catch a
lot of great things you would oftentimes miss.
Number one is busy isn't better.
Present is powerful.
We live in a cultural world that glorifies
the grind where being busy is mistaken for
being important.
(03:05):
But busyness often distracts us from what really
matters.
Presence isn't passive.
It's a deliberate act of reclaiming your time,
attention, and intention.
When you slow down, you make space for
meaning.
You connect more deeply with yourself, your goals,
and those around you.
(03:26):
Presence brings purpose into focus, and that's powerful.
Number two, guys, your mind races.
Your soul whispers.
Slow down.
You want to hear it.
Noise is everywhere.
Notifications, deadlines, you know, from your iPhone.
Even when you have notifications from my fridge,
(03:48):
if you keep the fridge open for more
than I think it's 45 seconds, it starts
beeping at you, right?
Your mind might be racing a mile a
minute, but the good news is your soul
speaks in whispers.
Truly listen.
You must slow down.
When you stop long enough to tune in,
we hear intuition, inspiration, and inner truth.
This is where real breakthroughs come from.
(04:09):
Not from more effort, but from deeper awareness.
Number three, stillness isn't laziness.
It's leadership in disguise.
True leaders understand the value of pause, pausing.
Stillness allows reflection, creativity, and clarity.
(04:33):
It's in the quiet that we craft the
best strategies, make wiser decisions, and embody calm
confidence.
Taking time to be still isn't avoiding action.
It's refining the right action.
It's the art of leading with purpose instead
of, well, pressure.
Number four, silence is where clarity lives, and
(04:55):
before I get into this point, I want
to say thank you.
We've got some people that have reached out
to us that are actually from overseas.
I think we have some people in the
Philippines who are watching us, so I really
want to say thank you, and we're getting
people from all around the world that are
choosing to tune in to Inspirations for Your
Life, so I'm very, very grateful for that.
When was the last time you sat in
(05:15):
complete silence?
That's right, no distractions, no scrolling, no stress,
no clicking.
Silence is where your scattered thoughts just settle,
and your true priorities, well, they rise.
It's in the quiet moments that clutter fades
and clarity appears.
(05:36):
Embracing silence as a daily ritual can be
a game changer for both your peace and,
yes, your productivity.
The moments that change you most don't shout.
They sit quietly.
The biggest shifts in life often come in
subtle, quiet ways.
(05:57):
It's the random walk, the deep breath, the
silent reflection that plant seeds of transformation.
We miss these moments when we're rushing.
When we slow down, we create space to
notice the whispers of change, and they reshape
us more than, well, any dramatic event ever
(06:20):
could.
Number six, in a distracted world, focus is
your superpower, right?
That's an interesting thing, I think, about focus
and the fact that it is our superpower.
I mean, I think that's something that is,
well, that's kind of priceless if you ask
me, very, very priceless.
(06:42):
We're bombarded with information, but rarely with insight
and knowledge.
Focus is a modern superpower.
The ability to lock in, ignore the noise,
and be fully present in the moment gives
you an edge in business, in relationships, and
in life.
Presence makes you magnetic, intentional, and unforgettable.
(07:07):
Number seven, presence is the gift people remember,
not perfection.
People won't remember how perfect your to-do
list was, but they will remember how you
made them feel.
Presence is the ultimate act of generosity.
Whether you're with family, clients, friends, or yourself,
(07:28):
being truly there is more meaningful than saying
all the right words or checking all the
boxes.
Don't just do more, be more.
Achievement without alignment leads to burnout.
You weren't meant to just do, you were
meant to be.
Be inspired, be thoughtful, be grounded.
(07:49):
The magic isn't in your emotion, it's in
your meaning.
Every time you pause with purpose, you grow
a little bit.
Number nine, what if what matters most is
what you've been rushing past?
Sometimes we miss the biggest blessings because we're
(08:10):
speeding through life.
The people, the peace, the passions, they're often
in the spaces we overlook.
What if the key to fulfillment is already
around you, perhaps waiting for you to look
up and say, hey, I'm here, I'm noticing
you.
Number 10, slow is smooth, smooth is strong.
(08:32):
I think there was another one in the
army about slow is smooth.
Something about smooth is fast or something like
that.
There was a phrase from the army that
I heard about, and I think it's like
smooth is fast or something like that.
The phrase goes like this, just right from
the Navy SEALs.
(08:54):
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
It's a tribute to the Navy SEALs or
other military groups, emphasizing that deliberate and controlled
actions, even if initially slower, ultimately lead to
faster and more successful outcomes.
It highlights the idea that rushing leads to
mistakes and inefficiencies, while taking the time to
(09:16):
be precise and methodical allows for smoother execution
and faster completion in the long run.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
I think that's a very important thing.
When we can hear a phrase or we
can notice something and then we'd say, wait
a minute, this actually makes sense to me.
(09:40):
That's really cool when we can do that.
We're able to make an assimilation.
We're able to say, hey, wait a minute,
I've heard that before.
I know what that means.
See, that's really, really powerful.
I picked this topic, if you're wondering where
it came from.
This topic actually came being a Roman Catholic.
(10:01):
It came from the Bible passage readings that
are going to be tomorrow, July 20th.
So I think when we can understand the
(10:24):
power of presence and I could tell you
what presence is, but until you physically make
this decision in your life to decide to
act differently, it won't mean anything to you.
(10:46):
It really won't.
So here's the part of the show I
really like a lot.
I like the whole show, but I love
this part.
So I'm going to give you basically a
personal story or lesson for each point I
covered tonight.
And it's my hope that by doing this,
it's going to stir up something inside you.
(11:07):
It's going to get you to say, hey,
you know what?
Wait a minute.
I get what John's trying to say.
I'm starting to get an aha moment and
you may not get this aha moment tonight.
You may not get it tomorrow.
You might not get it even this week
or maybe even this month or even this
year, but you will get the aha moment
(11:28):
when it's time.
And I think when we can have those
aha moments or those epiphanies is what a
lot of people will call them.
It makes us feel not only proud, but
even more deserving.
My first lesson is busy isn't better.
(11:48):
Present is powerful.
I remember a time when I was juggling
five major projects.
Yeah.
Back to back meetings and late nights filled
with to-do lists that never ended.
On paper, I look successful, constantly moving, constantly
producing.
But one evening, a close friend called and
asked, are you actually living or just existing
(12:08):
motion?
That hit me.
I realized I was physically there for people,
but mentally everywhere else.
That was the moment I committed to being
present.
I stopped multitasking during conversations.
I scheduled white space into my calendar, not
for doing, but for simply being.
(12:30):
Today I had to make a choice.
And because of that lesson I learned many
years ago, I said, you know what?
I'm busy, but you know what?
I'm going to go and do that hike
anyway today.
I'm going to take out those four hours
and do that hike.
Not the easiest thing.
The hikes I do are a little treacherous
because you have to go up some pretty
steep inclines.
(12:51):
And it's all about that because when I
came back, I had a shower, I had
dinner, and then I was able to get
to a lot of things that I was
worried about finishing, but I knocked them through.
And that's the point when we allow ourselves
to be.
We'll get better relationships.
We'll get a deeper focus.
(13:12):
We'll be far more meaningful in the outcomes
that we produce.
Busy, ladies and gentlemen, had become a badge
of honor for, I think, a lot of
people.
And the reason I say this is that
most people live life because they want badges.
Now, badges are nice, but badges are not
what life's about, guys.
(13:34):
It's not what life is about.
Busy had become my badge of honor, but
presence became my new source of power.
Yeah.
So your mind races every day.
Your soul whispers.
Let me say that again.
Your mind races.
Your soul whispers.
So slow down.
Hear it.
There was a point when my days were
(13:55):
so tightly packed that I'd lie awake at
night with my mind still spinning.
I tried productivity hacks for caffeine and time
blocking, but nothing touched the inner chaos.
Then one morning, I left my phone behind
and walked in silence at sunrise.
That walk changed everything.
Today, that walk was amazing.
(14:15):
It connected me back to nature, and it
allowed me to just be.
In the stillness of that day, and some
people have them in the nights, I heard
something deeper.
It wasn't a voice, but it was this
gut knowing feeling.
It wasn't loud, but it was clear.
(14:35):
It told me to shift direction in a
project I had been forcing for weeks.
Slowing down gave me access to intuition.
It had been drowned out by the noise.
Since then, I've learned the mind may shout,
but the soul is only going to whisper
brilliance.
(14:56):
If you're not quiet, you may just miss
it.
Stillness isn't laziness.
It's leadership in disguise.
Years ago during a team crisis, my instinct
was to jump in and fix everything immediately,
but a mentor advised me to take 30
minutes alone before responding.
At first, I thought it was crazy.
(15:16):
We need action, and we need it now.
Not silence, but I trusted the process.
I stepped away.
In that moment of stillness, I saw the
full picture.
I came back not reactive, but strategic.
That moment taught me that stillness isn't stepping
(15:37):
back.
It's stepping up with wisdom.
True leadership isn't about who acts first.
It's about who thinks best, and often that
clarity only comes when we pause.
Silence is where clarity lives.
During one of my busiest seasons, I challenged
(15:57):
myself to five minutes of silence every morning.
No phone, no notebook, just me.
The first few days were, well, frustrating.
My mind wandered.
I thought I'm wasting time, but by day
seven, something clicked.
In that silence, ideas surfaced effortlessly.
(16:18):
I saw how I was overcoming, overthinking, and
undervaluing my piece.
The fog lifted.
That clarity didn't come from another podcast meeting
or book it type.
It came from being quiet, long enough to
hear my wisdom rise.
(16:38):
The moments that change you most don't shout.
They sit quietly.
One of the most transformative moments in my
life wasn't during a keynote speech or major
milestone that I had.
It was in my car alone, parked under
a tree.
(16:58):
I had just finished a long client call
and felt a little depleted.
I turned the engine off, just closed my
eyes, and just sat for a few moments.
In that moment of quiet, I realized I
needed to let go of a project I
had clung to for far too long.
(17:19):
Not because it failed, but because it no
longer aligned with who I was becoming.
That decision shifted my entire business.
Change didn't come with fireworks.
It came in a whisper, and I almost
missed it.
In a distracted world, focus is your superpower.
I once led a workshop where phones were
(17:40):
allowed.
Big mistake.
The energy was fractured, instantly.
The engagement was so low, and even I
felt off.
The next time I asked everyone to put
their phones away and be fully present for
just one hour, the transformation was, well, dramatic
from night and day.
(18:00):
We connected deeper.
We laughed more.
And the breakthroughs were, well, undeniable.
That experience taught me that presence is, well,
magnetic.
In a world where everyone's distracted, the person
who can focus becomes unforgettable.
You don't need to do more to stand
out.
You just need to be there, to be
(18:21):
present.
Presence is the gift, people remember, not the
perfection.
I never forget the time a friend lost
a loved one.
I didn't know the perfect words to say.
In fact, I was worried I'd say the
wrong thing.
But I showed up, I sat next to
him, I listened.
I simply was there for him.
(18:42):
Years later, he told me, what helped me
most was your presence.
Not advice, not solutions, just you being there
being you.
That moment reminded me that we often overvalue
polished words and undervalued real connections.
People crave authenticity more than eloquence.
(19:04):
The truth is the most lasting impression you
leave is not what you say.
It's how present you are when it matters.
So don't just do more.
Be more.
Very similar to what Gandhi said, right?
Be the change you want to become.
(19:26):
A few years ago, I found myself hitting
all my goals, revenues, targets, social growth, broadcast
numbers, but I felt flat.
I wasn't doing, but not being.
I realized I was checking boxes, not living
in alignment.
That led me to re-evaluate everything I
was saying yes to.
I started making time for conversations that lit
(19:47):
me up, creative work that inspired me, and
activities that nourished me instead of draining me.
And the crazy part, my success didn't slow
down.
It grew.
Because when you operate from authenticity, your output
naturally aligns with your essence.
But what matters most is what you've been
(20:08):
rushing past.
One afternoon, I was walking through my neighborhood
on a call.
When I passed by a garden I'd never
noticed, it was full of color, butterflies, and
a bench with a quote etched into the
wood.
I stopped, ended the call, and decided to
sit down.
(20:28):
That garden had always been there.
I had just been moving too fast to
notice its amazing beauty.
In that pause, I realized how often I
skimmed over life.
The friend who hinted they needed support.
The sunset I missed.
The story behind the smile of a stranger.
(20:51):
Presence invites you to notice what's always been
meaningful, but often overlooked.
Don't rush past the beauty in plain sight.
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
Or as the military says, slow is fast,
right?
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
(21:12):
It's also strong.
One of the best lessons I learned came
from a barista, of all people.
I was rushing through an airport and impatiently
ordered a decaf tea with some peppermint.
He calmly smiled and said, slow is smooth,
smooth is strong.
The military says smooth is fast.
(21:32):
At first I laughed, then it hit me.
He wasn't just talking about the coffee.
When we rush, we spill things, physically and
emotionally.
But when we move with intention, we build
with stability.
That phrase stuck with me, whether I'm hosting
a podcast, writing, or helping a client.
(21:52):
I remember slow isn't weak.
It's where strength, precision, and mastery live.
So if you can take time in your
life to, well, I'm going to tell you,
enjoy things.
And if you say, well, John, I don't
have time.
You don't realize how busy I am.
Let me give you this example again today.
(22:13):
So I love going on hikes.
I love doing exercises.
But sometimes we get so busy with our
work that there seems to be no time.
So this morning I was contemplating a lot
of things to do.
I said, you know what?
I need to go take this break.
I need to go be with nature.
(22:34):
And I did.
And I was with nature for like 11
o'clock to, well, almost four, four and
a half hours.
And it was just a moment of being
present, noticing the sound as my feet would
(22:56):
walk on the, let's say, field, or if
I was on a trail, I could hear
the crackling noise from my sneakers.
Being present of that and also being present
of the rock.
So what I noticed is that when you
hike, even if you've hiked for many years
like I have, if you take your eyes
(23:17):
off the rocks and you look up, which
a lot of people will do, because you
don't usually need to look when you're walking,
but when you're hiking, you need to be
present.
It can be rocks there.
Sometimes if you're not present, you'll almost trip.
And that happened today.
I was, and then I kind of like,
(23:38):
I missed a rock.
It was a light trip.
Like it didn't go anywhere, but I'm like,
okay, I need to be more present.
I need to be focused more on the
rocks.
First, my first instinct was like, gee, why
are these rocks all out of order?
Like, you know, why am I having such
this?
Why is it like, but I say, you
know what?
I need to be more connected.
I need to be taking my time.
(24:00):
So I decided a couple of times when
I needed to, I stopped for a few
moments.
Started trying to push through the trail and
finish it as quick as I normally would.
I said, I'm going to enjoy this trail.
I'm going to stop.
At one point today, I got so lost
in the presence that I found myself off
(24:22):
the trail.
And so, I walked for a little bit.
I wasn't getting back to the trail.
I said, let me pull up my phone
and look at the map, which tells you
exactly where you are.
So I got back on the trail and
(24:42):
continued on the trail pretty well.
Then there was another moment when I was
coming down the hill and I was about
to hit the reservoir.
And normally I'd be going around this rock
and walking over the rocks and then coming
down to the, like the waterfall area and
basically right by the reservoir there.
(25:04):
But something happened.
I got distracted and I took a slightly
different pivot.
I think it was the sign I noticed
that said so many miles to this.
And I never noticed that sign before, but
that sign just said, we'll take this way
because I always went the other way.
(25:25):
But then I realized later that why I
didn't get where I normally wanted to be
is because that sign kind of distracted me.
And so my point was that even though
I got lost a little bit and then
I got back on the trail, it all
worked out.
And the feeling today was amazing because when
(25:48):
I've hiked before, I always would say good
morning, good afternoon, and nobody would say anything.
Today, I think I said good morning to
at least 20 people and maybe good afternoon
to maybe at least another 20 people.
And you know, out of 40 people that
I said those words to, I think there
were only one or two people that didn't
(26:11):
respond.
One lady, because she was too preoccupied on
her phone talking to somebody.
So she wouldn't dare want to say good
morning back because then the person on the
phone said, who are you saying good morning
to?
Oh, I'm hiking.
She didn't want to tell somebody maybe that
she was hiking.
So I think we have to give ourselves
some slack and we have to realize that
(26:34):
we deserve to be present just like everyone
else in the world, we have a right
to so many things, including being present with
ourselves and being present with the world.
So you have to be your own best
friend first before you can be anybody's friend.
You have to love yourself first before you
can love anybody else.
That's something else too.
(26:57):
But when I thought about presence today, I
thought about the sensation of the sun, how
I felt it.
I noticed the, let's say the bugs that
were kind of around my ears and my
head a little bit in some parts of
the trail.
And then I noticed as I was getting
closer right here, the, you know, the brook
(27:17):
and the water going back to the reservoir,
I heard the streams, but just being very
present about the rocks and also about the
people.
So I'm always nice to people, but today,
because I felt very present, I felt like
everybody was saying hello to me or connecting
(27:39):
with me, except for those one or two
people.
I didn't let it bother me.
I just pretty much moved on.
I hope ladies and gentlemen, that you appreciate
presence as much as I do.
But today I learned that being present lets
us connect.
(28:00):
And I got so much more energy.
And when I got back home, I was
worried about getting everything done.
And guess what?
I got everything done.
Tomorrow I have to get up early because
I have somewhere to be and I have
to leave early to beat the traffic.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm John C.
Morley, serial entrepreneur.
Do check out BelieveMeAchieved.com for more of
my amazing, inspiring creations.
And remember, be present.
(28:20):
Your life will be so much more magical
and fulfilling.
Take care, everyone.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
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.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.