Midweek Motivation - Stop Distractions: Focus!

Midweek Motivation is a weekly episode featuring the wisdom and stories of host Tommy Cakes. This week, Tommy is on the road and is broadcasting from somewhere near the Front Range in Colorado.  In this episode, Tommy is going to discuss how you should always stop distractions and focus on the people and places around you. Consider this a little public service/community service on Tommy Cakes' part, if you know what I mean! 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 (http://smallscalelife.com), 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 (http://smallscalelife.com). 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!