In this episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, I am discussing the new weekly post in the Small Scale Life Facebook Group called my "weekend three things."  I also include a summary of the Zac Brown Band Concert in Minneapolis,  Julie's first triathlon and much, much more! 

For more information, pictures and the awesome show notes, head over to Small Scale Life for more on this podcast!

For more information about this episode, please read more on [Small Scale Life](www.smallscalelife.com).

In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes.

Who is Tommy Cakes?

Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes.

Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it!

What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business.

• I import knowledge
• I export that information at premium prices!

I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life.

Introduction – Feeling Overwhelmed

As many of you know, I have been on the road a lot recently.  When you are gone from your home and family, things start to pile up.  Sure, you might be meeting excellent people and doing great things on the road, but life feels out of control.  Things break, the lawn grows, and business needs attention.

These things start to weigh on your mind and bog you down.  Returning home, you suddenly have a lot to do before you reload and head out again.  As that to do list grows and the tasks get more complex, so does that feeling of panic and dread.

You can easily feel overwhelmed by the demands of family, work and life.  That feeling can wash over you, and if you are not careful, you will get nothing done because you feel paralyzed by the amount of work on your plate.

That is how I am feeling as we roll into this weekend.  How are you doing?

To read more about how to Remedy Feeling Overwhelmed, head on over to read the rest of the story on Small Scale Life!

In case you are having trouble understanding the audio file, the following is a translation of the audio file from host Tommy Cakes.

Who is Tommy Cakes?

Live on the Small Scale Life Podcast, it is Midweek Motivation featuring Tommy Cakes.

Hey, how are you?  I am Tommy Cakes.  Who am I?  I'm a guy from someplace, friends with some people and doing some things.  Don't worry about it!

What I can tell you is that I am in the import and export business.

• I import knowledge
• I export that information at premium prices!

I will give you a little coastal cosmopolitan insight and motivation weekly on Small Scale Life.

Story Time

If you look at modern Western Civilization today, and we have never been more distracted in our lives.

Don’t believe me?

Look around you: there are people who are tuning out of reality around them and completely tuning into the computer in their hands.

A great example of our distracted lives plays out every day on our nation’s roadways.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,450 people died in 2016 due to distracted driving.  391,000 were injured in motor vehicles crashes involving distracted drivers in 2015.

Many of those injuries and deaths are from talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, or fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system. On a given day during daylight hours, the NHTSA states that more than 481,000 people are using their cell phones while driving.

You have seen these people, haven’t you?  They weave and bob in their lanes, correcting radically when they realize they are drifting into other lanes. The sad reality is: at 55 mph, texting on your cell phone for 5 seconds is like driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed.  That is alarming!

Midweek Motivation Lesson - Stop Distractions: Focus!

Compared to our parents and grandparents, we live our lives at an incredibly hectic pace.  We are constantly on the go between work, school, activities, and kids’ activities (especially 24/7/365 sports).  Western Civilization has embraced and promoted multitasking and “on-the-go” hectic lifestyles in this modern age.  We push the limits to find one extra minute to send a text or make a phone call.

How often are you eating a meal in the car “on-the-go” to another event or obligation? What are we really accomplishing and are we really happy with this lifestyle?

There is no reason we need to live like this.  We can take some time, feel the sunshine, walk in the hills and mountains and breathe some fresh air.  Stop distractions by slowing down and focusing on the people and things in your surroundings.

Make the time by taking the time. You cannot change Western Civilization, but you can change how you act and behave in it!

Source

Sources for today’s Midweek Motivation include:

Statistics and cover photo courtesy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Special Thanks from Tommy Cakes

I would like to thank Greg Burns from Natures Image Farm and Doneil Freeman from Freeman Family Farms for the INSPIRATION to do this Midweek Motivation Podcast.  You two ARE the wind beneath my wings!

Also I would like to thank Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) for the "Kool Kats" theme music. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

Badda boom, badda bing!  Dat's how we do it!