14 Positive Quotes To End This Week (Mindset Is Everything)

Hello Visionaries!

I love this message from the YouTuber Food For the Soul, about balancing purpose and obsession.

She says that people get really fixated on the latest and greatest health craze, miracle drug or juice.

And before you know it you’re falling apart – but not in body first.

In your mind.

Everything starts in your mind.

At the time of writing this, I’m recovering from being sick (twice) and also a bad foot injury.

And one thing that kept coming up in my recovery searches along with tea, rest, stretches, ice, and painkillers was one thing.

Positive mindset.

Making it a priority to focus on the good things.

And it was right on time because my mental fortitude has been tested the past few weeks as I heal.

No lie, it’s been rough.

But such is life. We all have our tests and there is no shame in being knocked down a few pegs from time to time.

A righteous man falls seven times but stands back up again. It’s all about tenacity and getting back up again.

So today’s letter is dedicated to encouragement and to building up the most important asset we have, the strongest muscle in our body.

Our brains and our mindset.

As always you can add our free 3 Pillars to Success tool to your kit which is designed to help you better understand and unlock the power of your mindset.

We hope you walk away refreshed and built up in your faith (in yourself, your journey, your business, whatever) after reading this.

On Personal Identity

Quote 1 – My dad, Mark (to his sons):

Repeat this often starting today. “I give myself permission to be fully me.”

Repeat until your soul believes it. This is critical because it has occurred to me that as the Chosen People of the Most High the Enemy works overtime to take that away from us. From our kinky hair – to our genius in all endeavors. It is war and the key to war is deception. 

We accept you for who you are. You win when you’re fully you.

The Bible says Yahusha (Jesus) came into a city where there was no faith.

So he could do NO mighty works.

We must have faith.

We must believe.

Further thoughts…

The Most High is a creator and he is our Heavenly Father. We have to act like it.

We will have down days. He even told us we’d have trouble in this world so no, life won’t always be awesome and everything won’t always go right.

Our enemies are both human and spiritual even.

But the Most High God – Yahuah – knew us before he created us in our mother’s womb.

Before he even put us in our father’s loins, for real.

He knew us.

He designed us to succeed and to be more than conquerors.

The Bible reminds us that in the early days of settling the Promised Land our ancestors walked into houses they didn’t even build – because the enemies who’d moved in had already built them.

But little did they know that the Chosen were coming home.

These accounts are meant to remind us of our testimony and who we serve.

We serve a Creator like no other, who’s never lost a battle, who’s never faced a setback, and who only knows how to win.

He loves us and will carry us through to success, no matter what it looks like.

The success can be:

• Academic
• Romantic
• Where you live
• Business
• Family
• Financial etc…

It doesn’t matter so long as we focus on our testimony and the accounts of those who came before.

Re-read Hebrews 11, what we like to call the Hall of Faith.

It reminds us that for Abraham and the ancestors, life was still lifing back then and they had to rely on their faith in who Yahuah the Creator said he was and how he’d brought them through so many times before.

Faith without works is dead – and faith is what we do.

We have to believe because faith is our culture.

On Travel

Quote 2 – Rukiya the Migrating Mom:

Use Google and Facebook in your research. Search “Black people in ___ country”. 

(Insert the country name you’re curious about to find the Black community there.)

Use the internet to research and find your community as you plan your move.

Finding your people is key.

Before the next gem quote…

A lot of people ask my family and others living abroad about finances and for expert advice on spending when moving to Africa.

That’s the context for the next quote, an exchange between the YouTuber known as Ashley In Afrika and a commenter.

Read on.

Quote 3 – Ashley In Afrika:

YouTube Comment:

I just wish that people who moved to Africa would tell us exactly how much it took to move there. And how much money that she [Ashley In Afrika] saved and how much money does it take to live on a monthly basis. Don’t just tell us that you had savings. Tell us how much. That would be a big help.

Ashley In Afrika:

You know why we don’t [tell you how much it took]? Because everyone’s number will be different. My financial habits, my lifestyle, and my needs are different from yours.

Ashley In Afrika then proceeds to offer help via her website.

And she’s right, everyone’s journey is different.

Some have medical needs.

Some have children.

Some are living abroad solo.

To live abroad – not vacation – one must take control of their lives and values and document every need they have in order to find what countries overlap to meet those needs.

From there you can launch out and the next best steps will more readily present themselves.

Trust me, it will make living abroad that much sweeter.

On Focus

Here’s my favorite lesson (Quote 4) from the book Indistractable by Nir Eyal.

The setup: in Greek mythology, a man named Tantalus angered the gods.

He was damned to Hades, forced to reach for a beautiful fruit tree just out of his grasp for all eternity:

The curse is not that Tantalus spends all eternity reaching for things just out of reach, but rather his obliviousness to the greater folly of his actions.

Tantalus’s curse was his blindness to the fact he didn’t need those things (fruit or any food for that matter) in the first place. That’s the real moral of the story. 

Tantalus was focused on (tantalized you could say) things he no longer needed but was convinced were still important.

Don’t be like Tantalus – pay attention.

Next up…

Quote 5 from Sam Altman:

Focus is a force multiplier on work.

Almost everyone I’ve ever met would be well-served by spending more time thinking about what to focus on. It is much more important to work on the right thing than it is to work for many hours. Most people waste most of their time on stuff that doesn’t matter.

Once you have figured out what to do, become unstoppable about getting your small handful of priorities accomplished quickly. I have yet to meet a slow-moving person who is very successful.

Next up, a tweet (Quote 6) about balancing focus and entrepreneurship.

Enough said.

On Creativity

Quote 7 – From the Bible in Luke 16:8.

For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

You must act in your generation, in your season.

What worked for your parents or for their parents may not work for you.

How to get a job 50 years ago may not apply to the present day.

What works in the United States may not work in a different country. That could mean academics, rights, relationships, food, etc.

You must walk in the wisdom of your specific situation since all skills are not always transferable.

My dad likes to say (Quote 8), It’s not always enough to do your best. Sometimes you must do what is required.

Next up, Quote 9 from Alex Sooting-Kim Pang:

The clever man may work smarter, not harder, they say, but the creative man doesn’t work at all.

Basically, do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.

Cliche, but it’s true and I’ve seen it. Even working toward it now.

But how many of us love what we do?

And how much of what we do is innately creative?

How much of what we do is robotic and assigned to us by a boss or supervisor we don’t like in an industry we hate?

How much of what we do and we are was decided for us by the country and politics we were born into?

How many of you want more?

How many of you are true visionaries with the innate self-sustaining creativity to solve your own problems and chart your own destiny?

I know we can get there together.

Don’t sleep on your imagination.

Don’t discredit your creative abilities to:

• Write
• Paint
• Analyze data
• Make videos
• Learn languages
• Teach
• Heal
• Calculate etc…

If any of these things give you life and ever made your life easier, then you owe it to yourself to cultivate these gifts – regardless of whether you ever move abroad or not.

Your future generations (blood-related or chosen family) will thank you for it, and you make the world a much better place.

On Wellbeing

Quote 10 – My mom:

Don’t let your lips and your life preach two different messages. Do things to please The Most High, not others. Sometimes no matter what you do people are never satisfied.

Quote 11 – (Me) Josiah (Bradley Son #1):

Anything can be meditative. I’m learning to prioritize rest. Active rest. Cooking can be restful and meditative, and so can writing, watching stand-up comedy, listening to (R&B) music, hiking, reading, crafting, and so much more. It’s up to me to be intentional with my rest no matter the American hustle culture I come from or the laborious trauma from my ancestors still residing in my DNA. Even taking 5 minutes to be thankful for a list of things can bring rest and rejuvenation to my body and soul. Anything can bring rest and be meditative.

Quote 12 – Ethan (Bradley Son #2):

One thing I was told that has opened more doors is asking for what I need. I started with raises at work and have done my best to apply it in daily life as well and it has given me success.

Quote 13 – Matthew (Bradley Son #3):

The best advice I’ve received in recent years, that brought me success, was learning to say no more.  Saying no to more things helped create a healthy work schedule in conjunction with my personal life schedule. Having clear boundaries for both, made for a better balance.

Quote 14 – Daniel (Bradley Son #4):

Something I’ve learned is just because you can doesn’t always mean that you should, it’s helped me be more at peace and made me feel more responsible in a way.

And there you have it, 14 quotes for the end of this week.

I encourage you to save this somewhere, print it out even re-write the quotes in your journal if that helps.

Our hope is that the ideas shared in this letter inspire you as much as they inspired us, and become the fuel to carry you to the next level to realize your ideal vision for your life.

Also – our family is featured in The New York Times!

It’s been really exciting for us to be featured along with other Black travelers sharing our stories of life abroad throughout Africa so give it a read and steal our secrets!

Now that you’re even more curious about life abroad you can determine if you’re ready to move – download our free Epic Africa Move Starter Guide.

After that, you’ll be ready to take the next steps toward your move using the Epic Africa Move Workbook.

These tools are evergreen and work for any move in the world!

That’s all for this letter.

Have a great weekend!

– Josiah & the Bradley Family.