Would you ever publically share your biggest goals? Does the thought of public humiliation for dreaming too big or failure terrify you?  Both are very difficult for me.  This is why I had to interview my youngest guest ever J.P. Pressley. I was researching insights pertaining to my business goals when I stumbled on his website where he neatly laid out his 2020 goals.  This bold act of courage was refreshing.  I actually need help in this area and so I felt encouraged to interview J.P. to help us all feel so secure in our ambitions. Come along for the episode if you need to remember your younger self. That person who was unafraid of having wild dreams. The “you” who wanted to do big things. It’s time to wake up that person again in you whether you are in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or beyond.

J.P. can teach us about holding ourselves publically accountable in 2021, how to pick our goals, and whether we need to adjust or press on when facing life’s hurdles. J.P. is striving to do one thing: live up to his fullest potential on Earth. Due to and even in spite of his vast array of life experiences, the pursuit of this goal has resulted in a number of blessed opportunities. For example, a love of entrepreneurship and disdain for being laid off at the age of six (yes, six) led to his starting an ice cream cart business at the age of eight. Years later, his obsession with basketball and his willingness to do whatever it took to prove wrong the doctors who told him he shouldn’t play led to his being a two-sport college athlete.

Now, J.P.’s focus has once again shifted as he pursues his solitary albeit macro goal. At present, he’s seeking to make a positive impact within the entertainment and business industries through, among other things, creative storytelling and entrepreneurship. Primarily with the written word and filmmaking.

When he dies, J.P. wants to die empty—with no gas left in the tank. This is why he’s worked on his creative writing literally every day since February 1, 2018, why he’s founded The Young & Rising—a platform featuring advice and guidance for young professionals, by young professionals—and why he recently completed his MFA in Writing. J.P. wants to unleash all of his potential upon this world, leaving the grave high and dry. And he’s doing and will continue to do everything he can to make this desire a reality. Also, in this episode, I encourage you to take on an exercise that I implemented on my quest to pre-plan my ideal day so have a pen and paper handy for this one! Please share this episode with your three closest friends for whom you’d like to encourage this year as they pursue their 2021 goals. Let’s all be cheerleaders together!

Highlights: 

• Youth What can we learn from a 21-year old who is brave enough to share his goals online?
• Transparent Goals Fear of public vs. private failure?
• Obstacles Learning from podcasts and doing what friends won’t do
• Habits Giving ourselves a Plan B and fear of embarrassment as habits?
• Shame Our goals are nothing to be ashamed of
• Social Media Putting your goal progress online for accountability (and other side benefits)
• Writing Goals On starting 1K daily writing goals since Feb 2018 to bust excuses
• Peers Is there such a thing as good peer pressure?
• Team Give people a chance to spur you on
• Most Challenging Goal  Playing on a basketball team despite health challenges
• How To Pick Goals Looking up vs. looking down
• Subjective Goals Ex. how can you measure a spiritual goal?
• Pandemic Goals What did J.P. pull off? Founding The Young And Rising platform for young voices
• Drive Where did J.P.’s drive come from? Health challenges vs. Family inspiration?
• Nighttime Routine Visualizing your dreams and my personal twist on visualizing (or my take on self-inflicted double dares)!
• Big 2021 Goal JP is currently seeking a literary agent who wants to represent science-fiction up and coming young Black authors with followers! Reach out to J.P. if you’d like to be his agent.
• Family Differences between sharing goals with family members vs. strangers.

Links to quench your curiosity:

• Check J.P. out on Facebook
• Follow J.P. on Twitter
• Watch J.P.s Writing Goals on Instagram

Did you enjoy the conversation? 

Ever wish you could be a fly on the wall? Now you can by following me on Instagram! There I jump on an IGTV Live every Wednesday! You’ll catch me reporting LIVE on-location (so far in a gas station on a highway, a modern art museum, and my local fruit smoothie shop) always depending on my guest’s career thrills! During those LIVES, I share behind-the-scenes podcast stories, offer you a glimpse into my guest’s expertise, and always release more specifics around HOW you too can pursue your own billion-dollar career! Who knows where my next episode will take me? Come along! I want YOU to join me on my next adventure.

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