For more on this story and to see pictures from this podcast, check out the article titles Overcoming October Blues on Small Scale Life!

For show notes, pictures and more information, head on over to the article titled Minnesota Traditions - Labor Day 2018 on Small Scale Life!

Special Note:
I have to apologize to all the listeners out there: I did not intend to publish this podcast and post without any content! Yikes! As an aside, it is interesting that some folks shared this without any content….hmmm….Anyway, thank you for your patience!

My questions to you are:

• Do you have some friends that have your back?
• Have you spent some time building community around you?

Unfortunately in modern Western Civilization, the answer is probably no.  I have to admit: I need to work on this as well.  We are going to make some changes to Small Scale Life to help you build community around you, where ever you are. 

For more on that, please head over to Small Scale Life to read the post that has more thoughts, information and links.

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!

I am doing this episode by request from Daniel from Ohio.  He is a Marine with time in Afghanistan under his belt. Thank you for your service, Daniel.  He asked me to read this story for Midweek Motivation, and after reading the article, I wanted to move forward with it.  In this day and age, we see a lot of people who are elevated to “hero status” for strange reasons and to fulfill agendas and narratives.  What does real sacrifice look like?  Two Marines who gave all in defense of their Band of Brothers in Iraq in 2008 show us what real sacrifice is, even in this modern era.  While you might not make the ultimate sacrifice for others, what can you do to help your family, neighbors and community around you?

Story Time

Daniel sent me a link to a story written by Geoffrey Ingersoll from the Business Insider in 2013.  The title for this piece is “Everybody should read General John Kelly’s Speech about Two Marines in the Path of a Truck Bomb.”

As a dad to a combat veteran, this story hits home.  My son could have been one of these young men when he was deployed to Afghanistan.  I am going to read selected portions of this story for you, and I will provide a link to the original story in the show notes.  The link to the original story is here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kellys-speech-about-marines-in-ramadi-2013-6

Midweek Motivation Lesson: Sacrifice for Others

Many of us will never find ourselves in a similar situation as Corporal Jonathon Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter.  These men gave the ultimate sacrifice for men they knew, and some they did not know.

How can you apply this story to your own life?

We live in a fast-paced and isolated world.  We are connected by apps and screens, but we really don’t know each other.

It is time to stop connecting on screens and start connecting in real life.  Reach out, meet face-to-face and develop those relationships.  Help your friends and neighbors with a project, or invite them over to your house for dinner.  Lend them some support and give them encouragement.  Sometimes some folks just need a smile and some time to talk.

While you might not make the ultimate sacrifice to stop a truck bomb for your family, neighbors and friends, you might be able to help them when times are tough, or even when they aren’t (to quote Jack Spirko).

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!

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 – The Greatest Showman

In case you haven’t noticed, Midweek Motivation is a little different than your typical Small Scale Life post.  We get into some social and cultural commentary while I try to motivate you with some of that knowledge.

In this show, we are going to focus on a movie that everyone is talking about.  The movie is good entertainment with some life lessons buried inside it.

As you know, movies have depicted some interesting and uplifting characters that have done some truly remarkable things beyond wearing fancy clothes and impressive hats!

Story Time

The hero of this story started from humble beginnings as the son of a son of innkeeper, tailor and store-keeper.  Our hero was excellent at math but didn’t like physical work!

From his first job as a shopkeeper, he moved up and eventually purchased a museum.  He added new attractions and transformed it to include:

• A lighthouse lamp that shown light down Broadway
• A strolling garden on the roof with a view of the city
• Giant animal paintings from the windows and
• Hot-air balloon rides that launched from the showplace daily.

Over time and by adding exotic acts to his show, our hero met with the Queen of England, Czar of Russia and royalty across Europe. In just a few years, he owned several museums and had a draw of 400,000 people a year!

Our hero lost his wealth in some bad business and real estate deals, and he spent four long years in litigation and public humiliation. His friends stood by his side and supported him, and eventually he gained momentum and created the US’ first aquarium and met with the President of the United States.

Even after his museums burned down, our hero once again connected with friends and started a circus in Delevan, Wisconsin.  He had the first circus to move from town to town and across the country by train (and the first circus to own a train).  It was billed as the Greatest Show on Earth!

After leaving the circus, our hero wrote books and became a politician, serving as a State Representative for four terms and later served the mayor of his town.

Midweek Motivation Lesson: Friends, Creativity and Drive

So what is the point of all this?

Life is hard, and it knocks you down.  Things happen that don’t seem fair, and the odds can be stacked against you. We can learn from Phineas Taylor Barnum, the hero of our story and a distant relative of Julie Taylor Domres.

When times were tough, PT Barnum's friends supported and helped him.  Even when the chips were down, PT Barnum used his creativity and relentless drive to push himself to new limits and new successes.

What’s holding you back? 

Get started making good friends and using your creativity and drive today.  We are waiting to help you, friend.  Reach out and take my hand.

That’s all I got this week.  This is Tommy Cakes, and I’ll see you next week!  Bada boom, bada bing!

"The Greatest Showman"

Recently Hollywood released a movie about PT Barnum called “The Greatest Showman.”  While there are a lot of things that are Hollywood fiction and narratives, it is an uplifting movie.  Tommy Cakes gives it two thumbs up, so go see it. After all, it takes an Upcoming Showman to know the Greatest Showman!

For a taste of the energy of this movie, watch this pre-production video from "The Greatest Showman."  Throughout the movie and this clip, I kept waiting for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine moment, but we got something completely different and inspiring!

I have to give my wife Julie credit, it was a good movie and had great energy (even though it did not match historical accounts).  By the way, my wife Julie IS a distant relative of PT Barnum (that is true), so you can see why she puts up with an amateur showman like yours truly.

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!

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 – Super Bowl Spectacular

This is a little different Midweek Motivation. In the past three episodes (which have done really well, so that tells me you like this stuff), we have talked about:

• Keeping Our Eyes on the Target
• Preparedness and
• Overcoming Dread

This show, however, is a little different. We are going to talk about something else, ripped right from the headlines, if you will.

In case you somehow missed it, the big game, the big dance, the Super Bowl was last weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is only the second time Minnesota hosted the Big Game: the first time was in the Metrodome and now it was in that fancy billion dollar stadium. People in Minnesota are just not used to having big games like this in their town.

This game featured the New England Patriots against the Philadelphia Eagles. As you probably know, the Patriots have been in and won the Super Bowl a bunch of times, and the Eagles have been in the Big Game, but they have never won the actual Super Bowl. Obviously I am giving some credit to the early Eagles teams that won championships in the 1960’s before the merger.

Story Time

Let’s talk about what happened BEFORE the Super Bowl here in the Twin Cities. It really is a tale of two cities, and the contrast is interesting to discuss. Let me paint two pictures for you.

St. Paul

There is a lot happening in Minnesota even without the Big Game. This time of year, St. Paul hosts The Winter Carnival, which is a festival that includes all kinds of activities to celebrate winter. The Winter Carnival started in 1886, and this year it goes from January 25th to February 10th. There is a whole mythology and pageantry surrounding the rise of King Boreas, Queen Aurora their court and Klondike Kate. At the same time, there is a story about the rise and shenanigans of King Boreas’ arch nemesis Vulcanus Rex and his Vulcan Crew.

There is a hunt for the medallion (sponsored by the St. Paul Pioneer Press), ice sculpture competition, snow slides, parades, concerts with local talent and sometimes a massive ice castle. It is quite a celebration of winter and distinctly Minnesotan! For more on that, go to this link: https://www.wintercarnival.com/

Minneapolis

While the Winter Carnival is a St. Paul event, the Super Bowl is a Minneapolis show. The stadium is in Minneapolis, and a lot of the activities were focused around the US Bank Stadium and around Minneapolis. On this note, the NFL and their corporate sponsors rolled into town and set up shop. This included a whole “Minnesota Experience presented by Verizon” in downtown Minneapolis, where Nicollet Avenue (which is a transit-only roadway), that included booths for sponsors and a patch of snow for doing “winter stuff.” There were corporate events, zip line, and concerts. Oh yeah, they finally held a game and dropped some paper all over the field when it was done and over.

Did I mention the celebrities that we here for the Super Bowl? Oh yes, they were all over Minneapolis in the fresh snow and cold! There was Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Pink, JLo, Bradley Cooper, Joe Biden, Stephan Curry, Alex Rodriquez, Donnie Wahlberg, Gary Vaynerchuk, JJ Watt, Floyd Mayweather in his coat, and Diddy in his bigger fur coat with his entourage. That is quite a cast of characters zipping around the Twin Cities showing up here and there, doing their celebrity things!

Midweek Motivation Lesson

So what is the point of all this? I know what some of you are thinking. This is sportsball and celebrity stuff, and I know a lot of you don’t really care. That’s where you are absolutely wrong, my friends.

The point of this story and your Midweek Motivation is the following:
In today’s crazy world, we are all looking for something in our lives that are real, have meaning and are pure. Stop looking for that in mass media, sports and Hollywood. It isn’t there. Look for that kind of authenticity and reality in local events, festivals and gatherings in your community, with your neighbors, friends and family. Events and gatherings like the Winter Carnival in St. Paul that are built on community traditions, mythology and storytelling are where authentic and real memories should be created.

Don’t waste your time with the NFL, Super Bowl, Hollywood, celebrities and their shenanigans. None of it is real. All of there world is hype and a sales pitch for a corporate, plastic world. After all, once the game was over, the private and corporate jets line up and flew off, and all that was left was their trash.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Now, I have to get back in the lounge to spend my winnings from the Super Bowl. I won big, so it’s time for my drink, some capicola, veal parmesan and canollis! I might even buy everyone a round! This is Tommy Cakes, and I’ll see you next week! Bada boom, bada bing!

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!

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 – Overcoming Dread
At one time or another, everybody has that nasty feeling in the pit of your stomach. Maybe that feeling comes from one of these examples:

• Going into work at a job you don’t like,
• Talking to an authority figure after making a mistake,
• Meeting new people,
• Taking care of tasks
• Delivering a project or service to a client or
• Speaking in front of the public (like on a podcast…doh)!

Over time, that nasty feeling in your stomach grows, and you feel exhausted or have little motivation to complete tasks and take care of business.  You procrastinate and, in some cases, that small task mushrooms into a massive problem that takes a lot of time and energy to resolve.  Have you experienced that?

Story Time

Let’s tell a little story outlining this.  Our hero hurried and scrambled last summer as he packed up all his belongings and prepared to move from his house.  His lovely wife made arrangements with a local storage facility.  Our hero, his boys and a few friends loaded the belongings into the storage locker.

After a couple trips with a big truck, pickup truck, SUV and other vehicles, the house was empty and the storage locker was loaded.  Other belongings and furniture were taken to the new house, and our hero settled into his new place.

This winter, the time came when our hero had to clear out the storage locker. Our hero started to be concerned.  Who was going to help empty the storage locker and load the truck?  Where was all of this stuff going to go?  Could our hero even move that much material?

As the date came closer, our hero’s thought about it more and more.  Slowly bur surely, his concern turned into dread.  It seemed that this was too big a task to handle and too much material to move to a small house and small garage.

The day came, and our hero and his lovely wife picked up the moving truck and drove it to the locker.  They opened the locker, and after taking a deep breath, they began to load the truck.  They loaded quickly, and as they worked, the hero’s feeling of dread began to diminish.  Dread slowly turned to confidence, and confidence slowly turned to euphoria.

As they closed the door of the truck, the hero said triumphantly, “I have been dreading this day, and that wasn’t as bad as I thought.  Let’s try to get it all loaded tonight…..!”  The hero’s lovely wife reminded him that night was coming, and that the dynamic duo had extra help the next day.

Midweek Motivation Lesson

So what is the point of this story?  The point of this story and your Midweek Motivation is the following:

[tweetthis]Overcome dread by focusing your mind and completing one task at a time. Start easy tasks to get momentum! #mindset #overcomingdread[/tweetthis]

[tweetthis]Stop letting your fear and imagination rule your life. #overcomingdread[/tweetthis]

You don’t have a lot of time on this earth.  Use your time wisely. Worrying and dreading about something is wasting your time and energy.  Whatever that source of dread is, it is going to be over after you engage and finish the task, and chances are, you’ll feel a lot better once it is done.  Take a deep breath, close your eyes and pull the trigger.   BOOM!

This is Tommy Cakes, and I’ll see you next week!

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!

One cool thing that happened during this interview was that Scott announced starting a weekly Vlog on his YouTube Channel. 

Scott Hebert and I discussed the following topics in this interview:

• Who is Scott Hebert?
• - Flavourful Farms and Farming
• - Starting the Farm
• - Mindset
• - Cost of Entry for Farming
• - Case for Being Debt Free
• - Pricing and Customers
• - Plan for 2018
• - Physical Requirements for Farming
• - Bees and Chickens
• - What would Scott do differently?
• Stoic Mettle, Stoicism and Tribalism
• - Why stoicism?  How does this relate to farming?
• - Starting and revising the Stoic Mettle Podcast
• - Stoicism, Tribe, and Friend Gap
• - Future of Stoic Mettle
• Growing and Maintaining a Beard
• Key Take-Aways from the Interview