What Happened to That Courageous Person You Once Were?

[00:00:01] Have you ever really watched a child introduce themselves? It's fascinating because children rarely begin with their limitations. They begin with possibilities. I want to be a firefighter. I want to own a business. I want to help people. I want to change the world. And they say it with such confidence and certainty and this belief that is undeniable.

[00:00:31] It's not because they've carefully analyzed every obstacle or calculated every risk. It's because somewhere deep inside them, they are still believing anything is possible.

[00:00:50] I think one of the saddest things about growing older, growing up, I don't want to say older, but just growing up, getting experience under your belt. It isn't the passing of time, although that's sad too.

[00:01:06] But the sad part is how many people slowly stop believing what they once believed about themselves. And it doesn't happen all at once. It's little by little. Life happens. Disappointment happens. Criticism happens.

[00:01:32] Remember, getting teased for the very first time if that ever happened. Or heartbreak happens. Failure happens. We call it lessons in our family. And responsibility happens. And somewhere along the way, with all those things coming at you, many people stop seeing themselves the way that they once did.

[00:01:57] Children, with children, they naturally think in possibilities. Adults often think in probabilities.

[00:02:10] And maybe part of the reason, part of the reason is that somewhere, somewhere along the way, many of us learned to judge ourselves. Years ago, years ago, I remember an acting coach stopping me in the middle of the scene.

[00:02:35] He looked at me. He looked at me. He said, stop judging yourself. And then he said something that I'll never forget. I'll never forget. Be the person you were before somebody told you that you were too much. That you were too loud, too foolish, too annoying, too different. Just be honest. And that hit.

[00:03:03] And we did a couple more times. He brought me back to an age. He brought me back to when I was five years old. Do you remember running around like an airplane? Zoom, right? Running around like a little airplane, not caring about what anybody thought.

[00:03:25] Being the queen of the world, not caring about what anybody thought. I didn't fully understand it then. I didn't fully understand it. I mean, I put myself in that place because that's what you have to do. You have to give the character honesty. It's not pretend. You bring what you've been through in your life and you do it honestly.

[00:03:52] And it's an uncomfortable thing. But I really, really understand it now because I think that's exactly what happens to so many people. It's not in just that situation where you have to tell the truth to the story. I think it happens to so many people. We stop being ourselves somewhere along the way.

[00:04:20] And we start managing perceptions. We start editing who we are. Little by little, we forget what freedom to be us,

[00:04:36] what you do to to do. Little by little, we forget our lives. We worry about what we are. Little by little, we forget the truth to the truth to the truth. And when we take another one, we often forget the truth to the truth. We'll be free to learn more about what we have.

[00:05:03] What's that truth to do? greatness. The person who once had courage. The person who once thought anything was possible. So settle in with me for a moment because I believe this conversation may help someone reconnect with something they didn't realize that they lost. Let's go friends.

[00:05:34] Uh, no. Oh, that's better. Right, babe? Yeah! Yeah.

[00:06:09] Facts about success, love, kids. And everything in between. Hello, my friends, and welcome back to Becoming Unshakeable, the Legacy Conversations bonus series, a special edition brought to you by the Entrepreneur Parents Podcast, a community of strong families building unshakable legacies. I'm your host, Ildiko Ferenczi. And today,

[00:06:34] I want to ask a question that's been sitting on my heart. What happened to that person? What happened to that person? Not the version of you everyone sees. Not the version carrying responsibilities. Not the version paying bills and managing schedules, solving problems, and trying

[00:06:58] to hold everything together. The version underneath all of that. The version that once believed God can do something extraordinary through your life. Because I truly believe many people are carrying a quiet grief grief they don't even fully recognize. The grief of becoming disconnected from themselves.

[00:07:26] The grief of losing confidence, abandoning dreams, God-given destinies. The grief of forgetting who they once believed they could become. And perhaps the most beautiful part of today's conversation is realizing that maybe the person isn't gone after all.

[00:07:53] Recently, after Daniel gave a speech, something really interesting happened. And it happens every time. Every time. And that's why he gets booked at these events, these entrepreneurial events. People kept coming up to us afterwards. They were smiling. Some of them were smiling.

[00:08:14] Some of them were emotional. It's never a fluke moment that we meet people that get teary-eyed and they cry because it triggered something in them in a good way. Or some people, they seem deep in thought. And what stuck with me was that they weren't really talking about the speech. And they were, but they

[00:08:44] weren't. Listen, just lean in for a minute. I have a point with this. They were talking about themselves. What happens when someone gives a great speech and they share their story? We find ourselves in that story. Right? Again and again, I heard variations of the same thing. He reminded me of who I used to be.

[00:09:10] He reminded me of when I believed, listen, anything was possible. He reminded me of dreams I stopped pursuing. Like a wake-up call. He reminded me of a version of myself I haven't seen in years. It's fascinating because there's always two groups of people.

[00:09:38] They weren't saying that reminds me of me. They were saying, how is he so brave? How did he get up there? I could never do that. And that was the moment something clicked for me. It clicked for me the first time I heard this. And it just is an aha moment every time.

[00:10:01] The difference wasn't Daniel. The difference was what people believed about themselves. Something along the way, somewhere, something happened and many adults stopped seeing courage as something they possess. And they started seeing it. They started seeing courage as something

[00:10:28] other people have. And I just, I couldn't stop thinking about that because what they were experiencing wasn't, wasn't, wasn't admiration. It was recognition. For a moment, they saw something in him that reminded

[00:10:51] them of something in themselves. They saw themselves on that stage at five years old, four years old, whatever age he was, they saw themselves as that child. And perhaps that's one of the gifts God gives us

[00:11:11] through other people. Sometimes God uses the courage of another person to remind us of the courage we've forgotten in ourselves and the ones that didn't see it as recognition.

[00:11:35] They had a hunger where they wanted to make a change, that they wanted to be courageous. So that went two different ways. That's who I used to be and I want it back. That's wonderful. I want to be

[00:11:54] like that. And it's like they were making a commitment to themselves. Daniel has spoken on many stages stages. And I'll never forget this. Years ago, well, not that many years ago, but just days before one of his stages, there was going to be a great audience, thousands of people. And Daniel lost one of the most important

[00:12:24] people in his life. One of his best friends. They spoke together. They spoke for hours every day together. His grandmother. His grandmother passed suddenly. A person he was so excited to have watch him speak was gone. And he grieved deeply. I remember him crying from the gut with his sister.

[00:12:54] I remember him and destiny holding each other and just weeping. I remember him wishing that she could be there. I remember that was one of the things that I'm supposed to speak. I wanted her to be here. I wanted her to see it. And to be honest, we told him he didn't have to do the speech.

[00:13:18] Nobody would have blamed him. Many people encouraged him to take a pass and come back another time. And I'll never forget what he said. What if someone in the audience is hurting too? What if they're having a hard time like me? If I don't have the courage,

[00:13:42] maybe I can't help them. And I don't think that's what grandma wanted. I remember telling him, I remember telling him, grandma's watching you from heaven and God is with you. Because just minutes before he walked out on the stage, she started weeping again, wishing that she was there, that she

[00:14:08] was watching. I told, I assured him, I said, grandma's watching from heaven. If you feel called to do this, then do it. And he did. He did so beautifully. And what struck me the most wasn't, it wasn't the speech. It wasn't, I mean, it did, it did, but it was the first thing he asked afterward.

[00:14:37] He didn't ask, did I do a good job? How many people liked it? He asked, do you think I helped people? Do you think grandma loved it? And that's when I realized something courage, courage, it isn't,

[00:14:59] it isn't the absence of pain. Courage is choosing purpose while carrying pain. And perhaps that's why so many people were impacted. Not because they saw a fearless child, but the people that knew most people in the audience, they had no idea. But the few people that did know, they saw someone move

[00:15:27] forward while carrying something heavy. I'll never forget it. Never. So what happens? How does someone go from believing anything is possible to questioning everything? The answer isn't usually a big event,

[00:15:51] right? It's not usually one thing. It's not that one thing. It's usually thousands of small moments, a criticism that landed deeper than it should have, failure, a lesson that hurt more than expected,

[00:16:12] a dream that didn't unfold the way that we had hoped. Could be disappointment that made us feel more cautious, betrayal that made us feel less trusting, or it could have been a season where survival became the priority. And we know that feeling, right? As entrepreneur parents, as parents,

[00:16:42] and little by little, the boldness begins shrinking. Confidence begins shrinking, fading. That wonder that we had, it begins dimming. You know that little one, that wonder in everything, how the leaves are so beautiful, the trees are so beautiful, the sunsets are so beautiful,

[00:17:06] everything is so beautiful. Well, that wonder begins dimming. Until one day, we find ourselves living smaller than we were created to live. Remember, God didn't change his mind about us. Life got loud.

[00:17:31] Fear got persuasive. Doubt, doubt got comfortable. Fear got comfortable. Slowly, just slowly, we began believing limitations more than possibilities. The doubt set in. And now, listen, I'm not talking about becoming childish.

[00:17:58] The right scripture doesn't call us to be childish, childish. But it does repeatedly call us to remain. What does it call us to be? To remain like what? To remain childlike. There's a difference. I feel, I feel as parents, we, we fall into this. We get to

[00:18:28] relive that wonder with our children to see the things that they see and how they react and things that we took for granted. We get to experience that again. Listen, there is a difference between childish and childlike. So listen, childishness, right? Childishness refuses responsibility.

[00:18:58] Childlike faith embraces possibility. Childishness, it avoids growth. I know everything. I don't need that. I don't, I, right? You know those people. But childlike faith, it trusts God. It trusts God. I'm having such a

[00:19:22] hard time. But I know that if I trust in God's timing, I know God has a plan for me. Child, listen, listen, childishness, right? It demands certainty. Childlike faith is willing to take the next step. And I wonder how many people listening today don't, don't need more information.

[00:19:52] Maybe they don't need more information today. Maybe they need more faith. The kind of faith that remembers God is still God. The kind of faith that remembers your story isn't finished. It's still

[00:20:15] being written. If you woke up this morning, guess what? Your story's not over. The kind of faith that remembers, it remembers your limitations, that your limitations don't define his ability. Okay? We got to remember that. Especially, especially, especially when you get a bad diagnosis or

[00:20:46] the bills are just too much. The business isn't working. You have to remember that. Okay? I know so many of us are going through things right now. And those limitations, those will not, those don't define his ability. So keep believing. Keep that childish,

[00:21:09] childish, childlike wonder. Keep that childlike wonder. The belief. It's coming. It's coming. Before you reach for that coffee, consider this. What if the energy boost you're looking for isn't in your cup, but in your cells? I challenge you to swap your morning coffee

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[00:22:29] Don't you love what we read in 2 Timothy 1, verse 7? For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind. Let's notice what scripture doesn't say. It doesn't say fear won't visit, because it will. It'll knock on

[00:22:54] that door. And it doesn't say fear won't whisper, that fear won't show up. It says that fear wasn't given to us by God. Power was, love was, a sound mind was. Perhaps that's what's important for someone

[00:23:19] to hear today. Because sometimes we become so familiar with fear, we begin treating it like it's part of our identity. Yuck. Fear was never meant to define who you are. God defines who you are.

[00:23:40] And maybe the shift today, maybe that aha moment today is this. Maybe becoming unshakable isn't about becoming someone completely new. Maybe it's about remembering the courage, remembering the courage,

[00:24:04] remembering the faith, the wonder, the belief, the calling, the God-given destiny, that you have that calling, right? We all have it. Remember the child inside you. Remember,

[00:24:24] remember you believed more was possible than the fearful adult, than the fearful adult sometimes does. Not because the child knew more. Because the child hadn't forgotten. They hadn't yet forgotten.

[00:24:54] Hadn't yet collected decades of reasons why something might not work. Hadn't yet accumulated years of doubt or fear. They didn't allow fear to become familiar. Fear, what's that? What's that?

[00:25:23] So maybe today isn't about, it's not about becoming someone else. Maybe it's about returning, rewinding, rewinding, rewinding, rewinding it all, returning to the person God created you to be before fear convinced you otherwise.

[00:25:49] That's good. I love that. I love that. I love that because we can all do that. We could just sit in a moment of prayer, just sit quietly and just remember who we were. Our precious little self, the fearless self, the courageous self. Grab a journal, grab something to write with. Take a moment. Let's slow down and let's reflect. Let's reflect.

[00:26:19] Let's ask ourselves these questions. What dreams or callings have I stopped believing are possible? Be honest with yourself about this next one. Take the mask off. When was the last time I felt truly

[00:26:43] courageous? If it's been a while, lean into your child. What fears have become so familiar that I've mistaken them for part of my identity? Dang it. Dang it. Tough question.

[00:27:09] Don't judge it. Sometimes, sometimes these episodes have some hard questions, but you're going to learn a lot. You're going to learn a lot and then you can have a great conversation with your spouse and your family. What did I believe about myself as a child that I've forgotten as an adult? Many times our

[00:27:33] children remind us when we look at them. What would change if I trusted God more than my doubts? Powerful. That's a good one. What would change if I trusted God more than my doubts?

[00:27:57] Prayer partners, let's come together in prayer. Two or more. Two or more. That's our saying. Come on. Heavenly Father, thank you for creating each of us with purpose. Great purpose. Thank you for never

[00:28:15] forgetting who you designed us to be. Thank you for believing in us still. Help us recognize the places where fear has become louder than faith. Help us release the doubts that have kept us small. Let them go.

[00:28:42] Help us let them go. Help us release them. Help us remember the courage you placed inside us from the beginning. Give us the wisdom to grow, the humility to learn, and the faith to keep moving forward. Remind us that our story is not over. Remind us that you are still working.

[00:29:10] You are still writing the beautiful pages that you're still working. And remind us that who we are in you is greater than any fear we carry. In Jesus' name, amen. If something stirred inside you during this conversation, pay attention to it. If someone's

[00:29:34] courage reminded you of your own, pay attention to it. If you found, perhaps you found yourself thinking about old dreams, something came up, maybe it's old convictions, old callings, pay attention to it.

[00:29:56] And maybe the courage, maybe the courage you've been admiring in someone else is actually God reminding you of something he already placed in you. Maybe, maybe what moved you wasn't their bravery.

[00:30:17] Maybe it was realizing a part of yourself that you've forgotten, but a part of yourself that God never forgot. Because not every reminder, I don't think every reminder is random. It's not going to be this random thing.

[00:30:42] Sometimes God gently awakens things that we've allowed to fall asleep. Look at it that way. Sometimes he uses another person's courage to remind us of our own. And sometimes what feels like

[00:31:08] nostalgia is actually an invitation, an invitation to stop living beneath what he, what he, what he, placed inside you. Take it as an invitation to believe again, an invitation to trust again,

[00:31:30] to move forward. Take it as an invitation to move forward again. Maybe God isn't showing you who you used to be in the time of courage and wonder and all the beauty. Maybe he's reminding you who you still

[00:31:52] are. Think about it, friends. If this episode encouraged you today, share it with someone who may need this reminder. And if these conversations have been helping you grow, heal, strengthen your family, build your marriage, build an unshakable legacy, please leave a kind review and five stars.

[00:32:18] It really helps. It helps this conversation get to more families. And it's, uh, it's just, this is how we grow together. This is how we heal together. And friends don't forget to listen together as a family to the entrepreneur kids legacy show with Daniel and destiny. They are working so

[00:32:43] hard to create this community with the next generation of strong faith-filled leaders. And it's all happening through conversations about courage, leadership, character, family, business, legacy. Did I say legacy yet? I'm just, it's just so amazing to, to see the emails come in, thanking them. They read them all. We were, I read all of mine. We read them together

[00:33:11] and just thanking them for putting this, this content out there. There is a real problem out there with the materials that are out there on YouTube and every other platform that, uh, it's just the guardrails aren't there. They're not really planting seeds, right? It's wild, wildness, teaching

[00:33:34] wildness. And, uh, this, this material's very well thought out, tactically created, and it, it just plants beautiful seeds. And the beautiful thing is it's, there's no screens. It just plays in the background. And there's, there's so many nuggets that I learned from it too. It's just, it's beautiful.

[00:33:56] It's a beautiful reminder of what we can do, who we are created to be beautiful lessons. It also covers our entrepreneurs of today that our parents and their mission with their family. And listen, friends, if you want to help sponsor the show and help keep these episodes going, you can do that at buymeacoffee.com backslash entrepreneur kids, nothing to do with coffee.

[00:34:27] They don't drink coffee. I promise you. It's just, it's just a way to be a part of the mission. And we're grateful for you guys in advance. They always are so excited and so grateful. And don't forget to leave your Instagram handle or where they could find you so they could give you a big, big, big thank you. Sometimes you guys forget and, and, uh, and they really want to say thank you.

[00:34:54] They want to lean into that. Thank you because without you guys, you know, it just, they're so grateful that people believe in them. Thank you. May you have the courage to believe again,

[00:35:19] God placed inside your heart. May you stop measuring your future by your fears. Let it go. Kiss it. Goodbye. You don't need it anymore. Please see yourself. May you see yourself through God's eyes rather than through the lens of past disappointments. God bless you. Glory to God. Always. We love you.

[00:35:48] And we're so proud of you for showing up, for healing, for growing, for believing again, and for continuing to build an unshakable legacy. This is becoming unshakable by the entrepreneur parents podcast. God bless you. Thank you, beautiful friends for listening to this message from mama.

[00:36:13] Share with someone you love and care about. Oh, and we'd love to personally invite you to listen to our podcast. It's for young future leaders ready to change the world and be a light in the dark. Listen together as a family. It's called the Entrepreneur Kids Legacy Show.

[00:36:37] We know you'll love it. Be kind. Build an unforgettable family legacy. God bless you. And parents, if no one told you yet, let us be the first. You're doing a remarkable job. And remember, you are the hero of your story. Because every legacy begins with a hero. And that hero is you.

[00:37:07] This podcast is for inspirational and educational purposes only. And it is not intended to replace professional advice, legal advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are based on personal experience and faith-based insight and are meant to encourage reflection and growth. Always seek the guidance of qualified professionals regarding any questions or concerns you may have

[00:37:37] about your health, relationships, or business.