This week on the Focus On The Good podcast I discuss how you can achieve any goal and overcome anything by focusing on the good. I also discuss my recent trip to Disney World and what I learned from Ben Franklin. 
Thanks for listening!

Jake Ballentine

http://www.focusonthegood.com

This week’s guest on the Focus On The Good podcast is Josh Drean. Josh is the creator of “You Got Served” a prank based video series that focuses on “random acts of kindness.” Josh is nationally recognized youth motivational speaker, former mascot at BYU and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Harvard University.  
 
Josh travels internationally speaking to hundreds of schools and thousands of students each year to help them handle life’s challenges in a positive way. He has made appearances on NBC, FOX News, and ESPN.
 
In this episode we discuss:

• The power of empathy
• The “You Got Served” video series
• How to find what you are good at
• What you can do to make a difference in the world
• The real reason behind bullying
• How to “REPresent”
• How to defeat bullying in a positive way
• Building resiliency
• The “whole school” model
• How to deal with haters
• The two things that everyone needs
• How to join the “You Got Served” movement
• How to serve those around you

 
Connect with Josh:
 
http://www.joshdrean.com
You Got Served: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrGlceKJCco2dc8_EUMzow
 
 
Thanks for listening
 
Jake Ballentine

This week’s guest on the Focus On The Good podcast is Jim “The Rookie Morris!” The Cinderella story of Jim Morris serves as testimony to the power of dreams and their ability to inspire and transform human life. Jim Morris’s meteoric rise from 35 year-old high school teacher to flame-throwing major league pitcher in 3 months, made cinematic history with the release of The Rookie starring Dennis Quaid.

This heartwarming and unforgettable Disney blockbuster about chasing your dreams and keeping your promises, was nominated for a Critics Choice Award, won an ESPY for “Sports Film of the Year.” and Sports Illustrated magazine voted The Rookie one of the “five greatest baseball films ever made.”

Originally drafted in the 1st round in 1984, Jim Morris’s dream was to become a major league baseball player, but his career was derailed by a series of debilitating arm injuries before he got out of the minors in 1988. Instead, Jim got married, raised a family and got his college degree before becoming a high school science teacher and baseball coach in West Texas.
Eleven years after retiring from minor league baseball, Jim Morris was giving a speech to his high school team about the importance of dreams and hard work when his high school players challenged him to pursue his own dream of pitching in the major leagues. Jim Morris made the bet with his high school team: if they won the District Championship, he would tryout for the majors.

Jim Morris’s team fulfilled their end of the bargain, which committed him to a big league tryout. Inspired by his family and students, Jim immediately signed a professional baseball contract. His rise from obscurity became the feel-good story of 1999. After pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2000, Jim Morris signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and retired from baseball in 2001.

In this episode we discuss:

• That anything is possible
• Dreams can come true
• How to connect with “lost cause” kids
• That you can be nice and successful
• The importance of surrounding yourself with the right people
• What it was like to reach a dream that he thought was impossible

Connect with Jim:
http://jimtherookiemorris.com/
http://jimtherookiemorrisfoundation.org/

Thanks for listening!

​Jake Ballentine
http://www.jakeballentine.com

This week’s guest on the Focus on The Good Podcast is the one and only Jeff Yalden! Jeff is an absolute legend in the youth motivational speaker world. Over the last 23 years Jeff has been one of the biggest youth speakers in the world! Jeff has spoken in all 50 states, 48 countries and has spoken to millions of teenagers around the world. Jeff is a multi time author, MTV “Made” coach and suicide prevention specialist. Jeff recently retired from full time speaking and in this interview we talk about what he learned over the last 23 years. Jeff is an open book and in our conversation he is very open and honest about what he has learned over the last 23 years as a speaker. In this interview we discuss:

The importance of giving forgiveness
That not everyone is going to like you
The importance of being authentic
Why you should stop caring about yourself and start serving others
The importance of taking time to think
Why it is important to have work / life balance!
The importance of putting your family before your career
How to learn from the past

Connect with Jeff:
http://www.jeffyalden.com
Facebook
Twitter

Thanks for listening! 


​Jake Ballentine

Our guest today has one of the craziest journeys and mix of talents you will ever find.  In the eight years after college, Joe Fingerhut lived, worked, and traveled in 30 countries on 6 continents.  He got married in Japan, and returned home to St. Louis, Missouri, and began, from scratch, a career in entertainment and speaking.  Joe became a wedding DJ for the largest DJ company in North America, and was named National DJ of the Year in 2011.  He also began teaching and performing magic and juggling, which expanded to skills such as stilt-walking, stilt-JUMPING, unicycling, and hypnosis.  Wanting to have an impact instead of just entertaining, Joe began speaking to students on setting goals and following their dreams.  Today, Joe is a sought after speaker at schools and conferences across the country and around the world.  Besides audiences as big as 3,000 people in America, Joe has spoken in Malaysia and Japan (in Japanese!).  His first book was just released, called "Permission to Play," and now, besides being an entertainer, speaker, traveller, and DAD, he can now add 'author' to the list.  Get ready to discover a world of opportunity with our guest, Joe Fingerhut!

​In this episode we discuss:

• The process behind writing a book
• The importance of coaching
• The importance of enjoying your life
• Why you should give yourself “Permission to Play”
• "When you can make no distinction between work and play you have achieved true mastery in life!”
• How to work towards your greater purpose
• How to break through your common excuses
• You should replace "I can't" with "how can I?"
• Why you need to take care of yourself first before you can help others

Connect with Joe athttp://www.joefingerhut.com

Thanks,
Jake Ballentine
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