In this motivational monologue, Travis Thomas reflects on what he describes as his best professional year to date, acknowledging the satisfaction of recent success while confronting the inherent uncertainty of freelance and entrepreneurial work. He observes that past years have been unpredictable and cautions against assuming each year will mirror the current one. To navigate this tension, Travis proposes a mindset shift: rather than trying to control or own the amount of money earned each year, view annual income as a gift from the universe and focus on how you show up in your work. He emphasizes using whatever resources are given purposefully—through generosity, purposeful spending, and alignment with personal values—rather than being driven by fear or entitlement. This perspective, he suggests, creates a greater sense of freedom and ease, trusting that needs will be met while still acting responsibly. The talk concludes by encouraging listeners to adopt this outlook as their "moment of yes" for the week.
Chapters
Good morning, everyone. Here's your Moment of Yes for Monday, July 28th. It is our last— for me, it's my last day in Northern Michigan before, you know, heading back to get some work in New Jersey and a super, super busy month that I'm grateful for. But just kind of mentally shifting from one thing to the next and enjoying, you know, a little one more day on the lake. which has been really great. Was just thinking the other day, not sure if this is even a concept that is helpful, or maybe it's duh, but I was just thinking about sort of the year that I'm having, just, you know, career-wise, professionally, it's been a good year. And it's been a good year, like, you know, like professionally, like my best year. right, that I'm having right now is a good year. And that feels really good. And, you know, you start to like, okay, like, oh, you know, like, oh, great, we can do this and we could do this, we can do this. And, you know, obviously saving money is not something we've had an opportunity to do a whole lot, period. And so like, you know, just trying to be responsible and And all that, all that to say. But I was just thinking, you know, and then my mind immediately goes to, but what about next year? You know, last year I thought it was gonna be a big year, and it almost— and then the end of the year was good. But then, and like, then this year I didn't know what it was going to be, and it'd be a big year. And like, but what about next year? Like, so I can't, I can't live this year as if that's going to be every year. And at the same time, I can't worry that You know, it's— I'm sure you all can relate to that mindset, especially in kind of a freelance entrepreneurial role. So much of it feels uncertain and constantly changing, right? So, but as I was just kind of reflecting the other day, I thought about it from the standpoint of like, what if like my job is to show up and do the best I can, right? With opportunities, with work ethic, with creating, right? And I don't really control what shows up. I just control how I show up. And it's— and then like when you make money, like, oh, I earned that, I earned that, I deserve that. I'm like, yeah, and like, how would I be different mentally if at the beginning of every year it's like, hey, you're just going to do what you would do regardless. This year the universe is giving you X amount of money. How are you going to use it? Next year, I have no idea what the universe is going to give me, but next year the universe says, For the year, I'm going to give you this amount of money. How are you going to use it? It's not mine. I didn't earn it. I don't deserve it. I'm doing what I'm doing, and sometimes it's big and sometimes it's small and sometimes it's in between. And then it's like, what are you going to do with it, right? Are you going to be generous with it? Are you going to, you know, you know, spend it and do some things? How are you going to use it? But it's not mine. And as I was thinking about that, because I just noticed myself a certain amount of stress sort of leaving me where I'm like, oh yeah, like the whole— the controlling and the owning and the planning with it. It's like, no, this is what you were given this year. The universe gave this to you. Did you do some things? Of course you did some things. But like, you know, like So much is outside of my control, good and bad. So if the universe is, you do what you do, Travis, we're going to give you something every year, how are you going to use it? I'm like, oh, okay, that's my job then. And, and, and so like, there's such a greater sense of freedom and ease when it's like— and it's not freedom just to be completely irresponsible, it's freedom to be like, all right, you know, I trust that all of our needs are going to be taken care of. But I'm not controlling that. So each year, whatever is given to me, we're going to try to use in a way that makes the most sense, not based on fear, but based on a sense of purpose and direction. And so I'm not sure if that shift is helpful to you, but it was to me. That's your moment of yes for today. Have an awesome week, everyone.
