Seizing Rare Moments
S5:E147

Seizing Rare Moments

Story Hook:

Splendid. I finally got my ticket to the robot factory. I'm going to build myself one amazing robot.

Intro:

Welcome to Secrets For an Awesome Life, a podcast for tweens and teens. You ever notice someone living a pretty awesome life and wonder, man, do they know secrets that I don't?

Intro:

Yes. Yes, they do. This podcast is about those secrets. I'm your host, Joey Macchio, a former middle school teacher and certified life coach who helps teens build self confidence, manage unpleasant emotions, develop social skills, and achieve their goals, or what I call becoming the hero of their own story.

Announcement:

Are you a teen or do you know a teen who is well versed in negative self talk?

Announcement:

How about just pessimism in general? Well, during the month of March, the theme in Sidekick to Hero is positivity. I'm gonna be talking all month about how to create positivity, how to use positivity to change your results and build more positive outcomes in your own life, how to stop the negative self talk, all the things. It's gonna be really great for tweens and teens who are just really into a habit of talking negatively about themselves, about others and about the world around them. So now is the perfect time to start a 2 week free trial to Sidekick to Hero.

Announcement:

It's my gamified mindset training program just for teens. Go to sidekicktohero.com and start a 2 week free trial today. And now episode 147, Seizing rare moments.

Frank:

Hey, Leo. I wanted to see how your robot was coming.

Leo:

It's it's it's coming.

Frank:

Bro. It's like barely built. You you've been here at the robot factory for hours.

Leo:

I know. I know.

Frank:

Do you understand what to do? That conveyor belt there sends out parts. You grab them and then you use them to build your robot.

Leo:

Yes. I I understand that.

Frank:

How come you're not snagging any pieces that are coming by?

Leo:

Well, I'm waiting.

Frank:

Waiting for what?

Leo:

For just the right piece.

Frank:

Just the right piece? They're all pretty good. I mean, yeah, some are better than others maybe, but, my robot's done already. Yours just has 2 feet.

Leo:

I want just just the right one. Just the perfect one.

Frank:

What's this huge pile of pieces on the floor over here? Are these all the pieces you let go by?

Leo:

Well, yes. They just weren't, just not right.

Frank:

Dude, this one is a super rare hand. It would have fit your design perfectly.

Leo:

Oh, I I didn't I I wasn't it's okay. It's I'll just wait for another.

Frank:

Another? Leo, pieces like this don't show up every day, and you only get one shot to come here.

Frank:

But, look. Look. That one right there. That one on the belt right now. That's a pretty good pair of legs. You should grab those.

Leo:

Oh, alright. But but what if they don't fit just right?

Frank:

Then you can swap them out with a better one, but but you're gonna miss them, man. Take them.

Leo:

I...

Frank:

You don't know how to get them off the conveyor belt, do you?

Leo:

It's been so long that I kind of forgot.

Frank:

Alright. My robot and I are out of here. Have fun with your feet.

Leo:

Maybe I should get different feet.

Joey Mascio:

Happy Leap Day. This podcast published on leap day. You might be listening to this afterwards, but the principle is still the same.

Joey Mascio:

I figured leap day was the perfect time to talk about seizing rare moments. Leap day happens every 4 years. That's 1,460 days in between every leap day. That's a pretty rare moment. I mean, there are more rare moments than that, but that one is, as far as moments in the human experience goes, it's pretty rare, once every 4 years.

Joey Mascio:

Now at least we always know when it's coming. Right? It's on the calendar. Very consistent. Now I'm here to tell you that there will be moments in your life just as rare as leap day, if not more rare.

Joey Mascio:

And they're gonna be rare, but they'll be far more important than leap day. Leap day is rare, but not really an important day. Unless it's your birthday, then you're, like, 25% younger or or 75% younger than most everybody else because your birthday only happens once every 4 years. But there are rare moments in our life that come up that are very, very important that could really change the trajectory of our life for the short term or even for the long term. Moments like having an opportune opening to talk to your crush or to make a new friend or moments to prove yourself on the court or on the field, in the big game, or in class on the big test, moments to speak up or stand up or stand out in a way that could define you for years in a very good way.

Joey Mascio:

The biggest moment for most people is when they met their, future spouse and and took some initiative to ask them out. That that's very true for me. I was at a, a get together from, like, with my church people. We're all hanging out somebody's house, having a waffle fest, and we're hanging out. And, I saw my who I didn't know would be my future wife, her name's Angela.

Joey Mascio:

I saw Angela, and I'm like, oh, man. She's really pretty. I wanna talk to her. And there was a moment when she was kind of standing by herself or in between people. And I I just went up, and I was like, hey.

Joey Mascio:

How's it going? My name's Joey, and I started to talk with her. And that was a a rare moment that ended up really changing my life for forever and for the better, and it was great. Now here's the thing about these rare moments. They're not on the calendar like leap day is.

Joey Mascio:

Right? You'll never see them coming. I mean, heck, oftentimes, we won't even know it was a rare moment until after it's passed. Like with my wife, maybe if I saw that and said, no. I'm not gonna do it.

Joey Mascio:

It's it's not the right moment. It's not the right time. My hair is not done just the right way, which is funny because I'm bald. But, you know, I I'll I'll wait. And then maybe the next time I see her, she's dating somebody else because somebody else took, opportunity to talk to her.

Joey Mascio:

And then I didn't know how rare that moment was to talk to her while she was single. Because if you know my wife, which none of you guys do, but my wife was rarely single. She was always dating, guy after guy after guy. She's, like, nope. Not right.

Joey Mascio:

Nope. Not right. Nope. Not right. And there was no shortage of guys waiting to ask her out.

Joey Mascio:

And so that was a rare moment, but I didn't know that it really was until afterwards. And these moments can change our lives forever if we take action. The question is, are you ready to seize those rare moments? And if you don't feel ready, then I wanna tell you how to get ready in today's episode. This is today's secret for an awesome life.

Joey Mascio:

Today's secret secret for an awesome life is to be ready for rare moments, you should practice living a life of seizing the moment. That should be the life that you live, the lifestyle that you practice because you never know when any given moment is gonna be one of those rare ones that's gonna change your life for good. So practice becoming someone who's always saying yes to those moments. And you're gonna say yes to a lot of moments that maybe weren't so rare or aren't so consequential, and that's okay. But maybe you turn into someone who's always talking to people, always taking openings in conversations or quiet moments or people who are by themselves.

Joey Mascio:

You're always seizing those moments. Alright? Maybe you're someone who's always, like, you know what? Yeah. I wanna try out for that thing.

Joey Mascio:

I'm gonna apply for that thing. You know, I don't know if it's gonna be good or not. I have some interest in doing it, and make sure you actually want to do the thing. I'm not saying do absolutely everything that comes your way. What I'm saying is you're like, oh, you know what?

Joey Mascio:

That would be fun to try out for that play. I don't know, though. I mean, it might might not be the right time for me. You know, but be someone who's always trying out for things, always up for that. Be someone who always runs when you are given the ball.

Joey Mascio:

Right? I know in sports, I don't sports very much. You guys know that. But in sports, when you have the ball, it's important to take definitive action and go and run and not to hesitate and go, wait. Should I go this way or that way?

Joey Mascio:

Because hesitation on the field or on the court could cost you the game. Always be someone who's ready to step onto the stage. Right? You're always ready to go. You know what?

Joey Mascio:

Yes. This is my opening. This is my time to shine, my time to sing, my time to play the instrument. Whatever it is, I'm gonna take that moment, and I'm gonna be ready. Because the people who are ready to do that, they will be the ones who will then seize the rare moments when they come up because they're in a habit of seizing all moments as best as that they can.

Joey Mascio:

So when the rare ones come up, they'll be the ones who seize them, while other people, they won't, and they'll become the people who stand on the sidelines and wish that they were the other half. Right? Those other people who seized the rare moments. And I I almost know this for a fact that there were at least 2 other dudes who were kinda bummed when Angela started dating me. And they were waiting.

Joey Mascio:

They were taking their time. In fact, a third one was my roommate, and I said, I'm gonna ask her out. And and he was like, oh, well, I've been wanting to ask her out. I'm like, well, you better do it then before I do. And so he did.

Joey Mascio:

They went on a date, nothing serious or whatnot. And then I asked her out, I think, like, the next day. And then we went out, and we became an item. And so he at least he took his shot. And then I came in and took my shot, and she just chose me, which was great for me.

Joey Mascio:

Right? But at least he did it. And you know what? He took the next shot. My roommate, Tex, took the next shot.

Joey Mascio:

And, eventually, one of those shots that he took, he ended up marrying that girl. And all 4 of us are great friends to this day. So become someone who seizes the rare moments, who lives a lifestyle of seizing rare moments. How do you do that? How do how do you get up off the sidelines and become an achiever rather than a watcher?

Joey Mascio:

The trick is to make yourself resistant to fear. Not that you don't feel fear. I'm saying you feel fear, you let it happen, but you become resistant, meaning you don't let the fear stop you from taking the action. Because fear is what stops us from seizing rare moments. We're afraid of what we might look like if we try to to seize the rare moment and then we fail.

Joey Mascio:

So to counter that, decide what it's going to look like for you if you fail now. Right now, while you're listening, just just decide this. If I fail, I'm gonna tell myself this. Of course, I tried and failed. I'm someone who sees his rare moments.

Joey Mascio:

That's what happens to people like us. We fail more than others, and we achieve more than others. That's what happens when you're not in the habit of letting moments pass. You will fail more and achieve more. Both of those statistics will go up, which is great.

Joey Mascio:

Now I'm not saying you gotta get neurotic about it and fret about missing every single opportunity or not doing everything every time. You don't need to be excessive to see improvement in this area. But start creating a habit where you seize all moments, where you're not afraid of them. Because then you'll become a woman or a man of action and you'll be more successful in relationships, in money, in school, and other areas than everyone else and they'll wonder why. They'll wonder why are you so much better or more skilled than everyone else in these areas?

Joey Mascio:

But you and I will know the secret. It won't be that you're more skilled in conversations or sports or academics. Your success will come from being more skilled at seizing opportunities, all of them, which means that you're really good at seizing rare moments. I wasn't necessarily somebody who was better at talking to people than any other guy who was trying to date my wife. I was just someone who had a lifestyle of seizing opportunities.

Joey Mascio:

Because people who are practiced at seizing all moments will seize the rare moments and become those rare people who live the life they want.

Outro:

I'm looking for teens who are different from everyone else. Ones who want to separate themselves from the crowd of teens currently numbing their brains with YouTube and their hearts with negativity about the world they live in.

Outro:

I'm looking for teens who want to be the leaders of the new wave of youth who are striving to be positive thinkers, go getters, powerful examples, and emotionally strong. If that's what you want, then I want you in Sidekick to Hero.

Outro:

It's my gamified mindset training program where I teach teens how to think, feel, and act differently than the rest of the world is thinking, feeling and acting. So, you can stop getting the subpar results that the rest of the world is getting. It's time for teams to transform themselves into the everyday heroes our world so desperately needs. Start a 2 week free trial today at sidekicktohero.com.