A Journey 2 Greatness: An Organic Guide to Success: 90 Days to a Better You

By Joél L. Joseph MPA

This book is a process and a solution, which speaks to the needs of a community and a persons spiritual/mental, physical (health), and financial well-being. This book seeks to address the daunting task of creating a holistic guide to success that is free from all of the stipulations and unrealistic expectations of our society. Growth as a person or people should be organic and allowed to happen naturally. Natural growth is painful and difficult, and it is the most beautiful growth of all. This book seeks to create that growth in its reader.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524567453

Joél L. Joseph MPA

My biography within itself is a journey to greatness! This journey began in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July of 1981. From there, I traveled to Georgia in August of 1988, and I graduated in high school from Stone Mountain High School. I attended Valdosta State University where I received three degrees. My life then began to be filled by legacies and opportunities in the form of children, students, and mentees. And as my life continues, I am diligently traveling to the pages of history and impact as I teach, build business, and uplift my community.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Joél L. Joseph, MPA .

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016920298

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5245-6747-7

                Softcover        978-1-5245-6746-0

                eBook              978-1-5245-6745-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 12/12/2016

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Contents

Foreword

Before You Read

Life Paradigm 1 Health (Physical)

o   Days 1 – 30

Engage with the Book

Life Paradigm 2 Financial

o   Days 31-60

Engage with the Book

Life Paradigm 3 Spiritual (Mental)

o   Days 61-90

Engage with the Book

Closing/Explanation

Addendum and Notes (The Workout Plan)

Acknowledgements

Autobiography

Addendums and Notes

Foreword

This journey has been eye-opening, inspiring and very personal to me. I have grown as a man, as a father and as a leader. It is my sincere hope that as you read this book you travel with me and experience the growth and greatness that I have. The journey to greatness started as a challenge for me to become a better version of myself. It in no way, shape or form promotes a perfect life. The imperfection and beauty of growth is that it is sometimes unpredictable, immeasurable, and not easily observable. This book recognizes that and embraces an organic approach to success which adopts the philosophy of growth at life’s pace. This book also takes a holistic approach to success which involves health (physical), spiritual (mental), and financial prudence. At the end of the day, we need to look at each piece separately and together.

Another hope of mine is that as we improve ourselves we begin to look around us and notice that we must come together to improve our communities as well. The current state of the Black community (the one in which I belong to and am most concerned with) in America, as well as the Diaspora, is perilous. The community is in peril because as we have become great, we have turned our backs on the communities and processes that made us great. We must reach back into the ghettos and the toughest neighborhoods of our origination and transform it with love, commitment and care. It amazes me how we as a people have traveled so far individually, but haven’t come together as a whole community to address the injustices of mass incarceration, the unanswered murders of unarmed African-Americans, social and economic disparity and most of all self-hate and divisiveness. I believe that it starts with one and if that one can join with another and continue the process until we all can come together as a community, then we can overcome.

My dream is the same dream of my ancestors. I want to hand to my children a life of abundance, stability and continued growth. I want my kids to live in a world where they experience life without fear, regret or shame. I want my kids to inherit a life where they can be whatever their hearts desire. I want my kids to discover their own journey to greatness and pursue it unapologetically. Thank you again for sowing this seed into your community through your support making a better world for generations to come. Enjoy the book and have a phenomenal day friends!

• Joél L. Joseph, MPA

Before You Read

This book is designed to be used in several unique ways in which the Reader (Journeyer) can engage the book by using two (2) journals (1 for the Mental daily reflections; 1 for the Physical Workouts) or electronic versions of each. The journals don’t have to be super expensive but you do need to commit to journaling daily so that you can look back on your progress and make adjustments accordingly. This book can be used in concert with counseling, therapy, or professional mental health services as motivation to make serious changes in your life. This book can also be used as a textbook for Introduction to University Life Classes (i.e. University Basics 101). This is an organic text that can be applied to many areas of life covering 90 mini-lessons of life basics. If the Journeyer commits to taking the book seriously and the advice to heart, there is NO limit to what one can accomplish.

Please Take a Moment to Jot Down Several Goals (At Least 3) that You Would like to Achieve within the Next 3 months (90 days) Focusing on these goals and coming back to this page daily will help you visualize and achieve what you set out to do:

Goals for the next 90 Days

1. G1:_______________________________________

2. G2:_______________________________________

3. G3:_______________________________________

4. G4:_______________________________________

5. G5:_______________________________________

Take about 10 minutes and below list some things that you wish you could change about your life. Let’s GET SERIOUS and visualize the change that we want to make.

Life Paradigm 1 Health (Physical)

o Days 1 – 30

Introduction/Explanation

The life paradigm shift for health/physical change is a movement of mind, perspective and vantage point. The physical aspect of a person addresses many psychological issued of the mind. How we view a person is naturally related to how they view themselves. Also if a person is taking care of themselves physical, then it is correct almost 7 times out of 10 that they are taking care of themselves mentally. This portion of the book addresses some changes in thinking that we have to commit to in order to create a better physical version of ourselves by changing our thinking about our health. In the addendum and notes section of this book is a regiment that if followed will produce AMAZING results.

Life Paradigm 1 Health (Physical)

o Days 1 – 30

• Introduction/Explanation

This section discusses the HEALTH/PHYSICAL aspect of organic growth. The topics in this section are designed, not in a sequential fashion for structure, but with ACTUAL situations that I encountered while Journeying 2 Greatness. Remember that ORGANIC growth is sporadic and follows nature.

DAY 1 OF 90: PLANNING

All Your Goals MUST be S.M.A.R.T.

1. Specific

2. Measurable

3. Achievable/Attainable

4. Realistic

5. Time Oriented

Questions to Have/Ask Yourself to Answer by Joél L. Joseph, MPA

1. Is my goal (s) personal to me?

a. If your goals are too general or not unique to you, then you become committed to achieving someone else’s goals; which is a waste of time, energy and effort!

2. Does my goal (s) have an end date?

a. Without an end date you goal just becomes a wish. Wishing without action is fruitless. Plan. Commit. Do!

3. Is my goal (s) achievable in the time frame?

a. If your goal (s) is too broad or unrealistic then you could wasting valuable resources (time, money, effort, etc.) pursuing it. Instead research and plan to get clear and concise goals that will maximize your effort and resources.

4. How can I tell whether my results are where I need them to be?

a. Your goals should be quantifiable, measureable and set with a benchmark in mind so that you can quickly adjust your effort if you get off track or something in life comes up unexpectedly (which does happen quite a lot).

Affirmation

I commit to my goals and improving my life, community and wealth. I WILL achieve what I set out to do NO MATTER the obstacles or setbacks! I AM GREAT BECAUSE I SAY SO!

• Signed: (Your Name) ______________________

DAY 2 OF 90: ASSESSMENT

7.28.16 MY REFLECTION

Writing down my goals really forced me to visualize what I wanted to do and I started planning, specifically: 1) What changes I wanted to make; 2) How to achieve those specific goals that I set out to complete; and 3) what work was necessary to get the desired results. – Joél L. Joseph, MPA

PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENTS

Assessments give you an inventory or indicator of what you have in comparison to where you want to go. This allows us to create a customize plan of where to go and how we need to get there. Being deliberate about results allows us to curve the appetite for foolishness.

Questions to Answer: Goal Date – October 24th 2016 (Assessment Questions by Joél L. Joseph, MPA)

1. What is my current height/weight? 5’11/195lbs.

2. What is my goal weight? 175lbs

3. What do Dr.’s say is the average weight for my height? 161-184lbs

4. How do my goals compare? I want to lose 20 lbs (195-175lbs =

20 lbs) in 3 Months (90 days) or about 7 lbs each month (2 lbs per week). The loss of this weight still has me within my goal range of healthy as prescribed by doctors.

5. Are they S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Oriented) goals? Yes the goals are smart because they fit the qualifications of being specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time oriented.

6. Do I have a way to track my progress? Yes, I have planned to track my progress using charts that are uniquely mine and that are specific to my goals. I will keep these results in two journals (1 for exercising (Labeled: Workout Journal) and 1 for my thoughts (Labeled: Journey 2 Greatness: My Journal)).

7. Am I journaling my thoughts and efforts? Yes. Journaling thoughts and efforts is a very effective method of reflection. Journals allow you to measure progress, as well as help motivate and encourage you when times get tough. Also, Journaling is great because as you progress you can see what adjustments need to made to your approach, in any. Finally, journaling is a reflective tool that can be used as an outlet when times get frustrating or seemingly overwhelming (Still not a replacement for seeking professional help if you experience serious depression or anger, but definitely helps and is recommended by many professionals). Not using a journal could cause you to lose focus, drive or track of goals. (TIP 1: PLEASE JOURNAL YOUR EFFORTS. Journals are inexpensive and super helpful!).

DAY 3 OF 90: MOVING FORWARD

7.29.16 MY REFLECTION

Yesterday was a very challenging, but gratifying day. I was faced with myself in the mirror. Some things I admired, other things I detested. Ultimately, I looked deep and decided to keep the things I liked and changed the things I didn’t. I also confronted some serious situations that required integrity and choosing to correct wrongs and conflicts that I created. I decided to go forward and not be trapped by fear or shame from past events. Yesterday I grew. – Joél L. Joseph, MPA

How to Conquer Fear and Shame

First, to conquer fear and shame we must understand that these are situations created by our own minds. In essence, fear is the belief that future situations or events may not come out favorably because of past events, thoughts or experiences. Shame is fear’s cousin. It comes from the consciousness or knowledge of a past wrong that may be