Welcome to the Uphill Community Podcast.

Your source of inspiration to gain clarity, elevate your standards and embrace your call to and for more together, choose the uphill climb, pursuing the hard best over the easy good, and discovering the extraordinary life waiting to be lived in community.

So welcome to the show and some of you may be listening, going, wait a second.

That sounds like the same voice, but what is going on?

That's a different intro.

You're right.

That's a different podcast title.

And you're right again.

That's two correct answers.

If this were Jeopardy, you would be on your way to winning something, hopefully big.

So what's going on here?

Well, I told you guys in the last episode that I was working on some things and I've been working on some things for a while and I'm very excited about those things and what I have been doing.

So this podcast was formerly named Blank Pages Podcast.

So that was for my publishing company that is still there.

And that's where I'm putting my books.

And that's Blank Pages Media that produces everything but the Uphill community.

The reason I switched it is because that is where I'm doing everything.

I have been working on building that community for a while.

It's an easy way for me to take what I'm doing, which is all the blank page thinking and starting fresh with fresh ideas, new perspectives.

That's what I do in the community.

I help people redefine life, help them to change their life, help them to work on becoming more and doing more, having more and figuring out what their reasons for doing, being and having are for themselves.

And so anyways, yeah, so I was like, had a talk with my team and we had the conversations.

Like, you know, it'd be so much easier if we just switched everything, bam.

To just the Uphill Community Podcast.

It makes it easier for me to talk about stuff.

It makes it easier for me to point you in a direction for things.

I have free resources, all these things that I do and it just brings my life together in such a great way.

And then on the blank pages side of things where I that's how I got everything rolling, got the new podcast going, was so I could.

That's for my books and for that are coming out.

So I already put my children's book on there.

I'll have another children's book this year and hopefully my first nonfiction book that will be there.

I have two titles that I'm working with, not sure which one it's going to be.

And then also there's Some other authors that I'm talking with that would be putting their books on that platform as well.

So.

And to get in touch with me, it's the same place, just go to LinkedIn, it's Tim Pecoraro.

Go to Instagram, it's Tim Pecoraro.

That's T I M P E C O R T.

So the uphill community is the place where I literally help people gain clarity, raise their standards and embrace their call to and for more.

Where we do things that are the hard, best and not easy good.

That we realize that anything worth having is uphill.

And you cannot go uphill with downhill habits.

And so that literally is what we do.

So right now the community has launched and there are a wave of people in there right now and it' looking to get yourself involved in a group with people.

Now here's the cool thing, and this is one of the reasons I made the switch, because as today, literally I did what's called office hours with Tim and we talked about one of the challenges that we're working on.

And I just pop on for an hour and we, whoever's there, we talk through different things and we let the conversations evolve.

And then through that evolving of that conversation, we are landing on some really cool things.

And so one of the things that we talked about, because we're moving into developing inner circle and outer circle of relationships.

And so without going into too much of that.

So in doing that, people are realizing, wait a second, if I go to church, I have a community.

If I work out at a gym, I have a community.

If I play a sport, I have a community.

You have these communities and in those communities you have people that are closer, and then there are people that are a little further out, and then there are people that are way out there.

But you can build those types of very meaningful relationships in all those communities.

The uphill community is just another one where these folks are in all these different walks of life that come and what's cool is they're influencing each other.

You have business owners, you have people that are just in business.

You have people that work retail, you have people that want to start retail.

You have people that are starting their life over again.

You have people that have been in their life and are trying to figure out how not to lose the life so they don't have to start all over again.

There's so many different people, different ages.

It's so cool.

Okay, so that is why I'm doing the uphill community.

And so if you're interested, you don't have a community.

It's simple.

Go to the uphill.community and you can find out everything you need to know.

And it's not too late to jump in.

It's only the first of the year and you can jump in.

If you're listening to this some other time and it's late in the year, you can join in.

It doesn't matter January through December, you can always become a part of the community.

We're always welcoming new members.

Now, of course there's a way to get in.

There's some gatekeeping.

We want to make sure that we don't just say anyone who can run a credit card or charge.

No, that's not what, that's not what we're doing.

That's not how it works.

We want you to answer some questions.

We want to make sure that we can connect and we want to make sure that we have the right people in there and that people will follow guidelines and then really will come in to realize that they're there to add value into other people's lives.

They're there to help grow, to help other people grow as well as themselves and not pedal and push their stuff, right?

So because the rule is basically we know life is better in community and so we try to make room for people in that community so that we can commune and have that unity as well.

So under the new podcast title, the Uphill Podcast, Uphill Community Podcast Man, I have had this thing, so I'm working with this client and one of the things that we're doing is really getting people to understand in this big organization, they're really big.

And we're teaching servant leadership and we're getting into this and, and I, and I do need a sidebar on this.

There are a lot of people that are putting content out there.

They'll read a book and then they call themselves leaders.

And I'm just going to tell you, it's such a struggle.

Just like when you see all these people that are coaches and all these things, people read books, they go through a program, they do something and then they get out there.

And the thing is, here's the thing about leadership.

Who are you leading?

Who are you in charge of?

Because there's a lot of people that can come and advise you and consult and give you some ride along viewpoints of leadership.

And then there are people who really do lead.

The way I look at it, it's like a major league picture.

A friend of mine told me this, like a major league baseball player.

Who goes to a high school baseball game and he's there to watch the young man pitch.

Now that major league player can come and he can look at that kid pitch and he can see things really, really good.

You know why?

Because he's a pro ball player.

He's got many more years and he plays the game at a different level.

You got a younger person who.

And it's okay.

They're learning, they're growing, because everybody's got to start somewhere.

And I get it.

But that kid is not going to turn to the major league baseball player and tell him, get lost.

You don't know what you're talking about.

He's not going to come in and then.

Or walk into a room full of other pitchers and begin to instruct them on everything that they need to do.

We're in a world like that.

We've got people that are in a minor league game or high school game or they're just getting started or they have some good ideas and they're trying to come in and throw major league stuff, but they're using major league language.

They have all that information, guys, that is crazy.

Just don't do it.

If that is, if you're truly not walking that walk, just stop presenting yourself as something that you are not.

Now, why am I saying that?

Because it's a distinguishing thing, right?

And so working with this company, I'm teaching servant leadership and I'm working on these people want promotions, they want to grow, they want to improve.

Everybody wants to do that.

Everybody wants to have some sort of way to say, this is who I am.

And it's all right to go through the process of becoming that.

But it's when you're showing up and you're presenting yourself as something that you're not, eventually you have to be careful because it's going to create a different type of distinguishing mark about you or trait.

If you're not careful or it's going to.

You're going to see that over time.

What's going to happen is people are going to realize that you're very good and you have the information.

But when I put you into the game to really like, for instance, leadership lead people, you're not going to be able to do it because a lot of people aren't leading.

They just.

If there aren't people coming along with you, you're just taking a walk.

As John Maxwell says, you're on a walk all by yourself.

And so what's happening, especially with the way social media is and everything, there are A lot of people.

You can get an audience and you can get a crowd anywhere.

You know, that's the thing.

I don't look to build an audience.

I'm not looking to build a crowd.

What I'm looking to do is invest in people.

And so I believe that if you have what you need, you put it out there into the world and you do that.

And, and, and, and that is where you've got to bet that's your foundation.

Grow from there, okay?

And do, don't move from there.

Grow from there.

Grow from that spot.

Let that be the genesis.

And stop trying to drop your message in the latest thing or the latest trend.

And, and then, and then remember, you can be attracted to something.

I know a lot of people that would be.

They're very attracted to bitcoin and crypto.

And they got into it and what they did was they tried to all of a sudden become this crypto expert, and then they lost all this stuff because instead of going through the process of learning, they presented themselves to be an expert and they weren't.

Okay?

And the other thing about that is don't call yourself an expert.

Let someone else say that about you before you start saying that about yourself.

So the reason I'm doing this, because in the community and with this client that I'm working with, what I found is I'm noticing, you know, people want to individuate, people want to self actualize.

People want to know that they're making a difference.

And I think that's so important.

And so I'm inspired by this story, and I'm just gonna give you a quick little overview of it while I talk about this title today of distinguishing yourself.

So, like, on my arm I have tattoos, and those are distinguishing marks or character characteristics or the traits or things about.

Is there anything distinguishing marks that he has on him?

He has tattoos, you know, how would I know who he is?

He has a beard and tattoos.

Like, people can describe you, okay, through these distinguishing things or features or character traits.

That's kind of what we do.

That's how we can point things out, right?

What makes this, this vehicle?

How can you distinguish this car from somewhere else?

How can you choose?

How do you know it's that one?

Well, how, how.

What's the distinction?

How can I say that this car and that car are distinctly different when I describe them?

Right?

A Tesla truck is distinctly different than a Ford Ram.

They look different.

And Elon Musk designed his truck to purposely be that way, okay?

Now some people say they're ugly.

I think they kind of look cool.

Other people say they're gorgeous.

I mean, I don't know.

Everyone's got a different view and they're attracted to it for whatever reason or unattracted whatever.

But those are some distinctions and those are some distinguishing traits about them.

Now the reason this is standing out is because what I'm finding in this whole thing where people want to individuate, self actualize and make a difference in their life, they're looking for people to recognize them or see them, and they want to know what sets them apart.

And so I'm just gonna use this.

And so if you're not a believer, it's fine.

This is just a book that I use.

But in the Bible, I love, in Daniel, chapter six.

And so there was this king.

His name was Darius.

And so what he did was he wanted to find three leaders, basically.

Okay, so those of you who are listening, and you're Bible people, I'm breaking this down in simple way just to communicate a point here.

So, so this guy was ruling throughout the kingdom, and he wanted three administrators over these areas in this kingdom.

And so one of these administrators he had was this guy named Daniel.

And Daniel, I think he's 80 years old at this time.

So they had these guys, they were called satraps.

They were made accountable.

They're like governors.

And they were made accountable.

The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer any loss.

So all these little leaders or rulers had to report to these three administrators.

And Daniel was one of them.

He was one of the three.

So here's what I want you to see in this verse.

This is what's so cool.

It said, now, Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities.

Listen to this.

By his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

So because this guy was so set apart, so distinguished, because the title of today's podcast is Distinguish Yourself, he was so distinguished that the king planned to set him over all the kingdom.

Now check this out though.

And this always happens.

Whenever you are rising to the top, whenever you are improving, there's always these guys at this.

The administrators and the satraps, right?

These administrators and satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so.

They could find no corruption in him because you know why?

He was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.

So I'm not going to go any Further.

But these guys basically went and they went and told they were trying to find something.

So they got together, said, we got to find something to make this guy mess up, we got to find something wrong with him.

And I'll talk about that at the very end of this.

But what I want you to see is these distinguished.

It said that this guy, verse three.

Now, Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps, so around everyone around him, this guy distinguished himself.

And so what I want to do is I want to take 10.

This is 10.

These are 10 distinguishing marks, traits, characteristics that I just want to share with you who are listening as a conversational piece for you to hear and receive, hopefully, but for you to sit down and it's just going to be a 1 through 10.

I'm going to tell you what it is and I'm going to give you a little piece to it and then that's it.

And then we're gonna go.

And this is just episode, you know, whatever.

This is 50 something.

But this is the first of the Uphill community podcast and I'm literally talking with the folks in the community about things like this.

And I'm working with a client about this.

But I thought, you know what, this is why I wanna do it this way.

Because it lets me keep the flow in all these things.

I just wanna keep that flow because I believe that I'm running into things.

And as a people person, I look at what the world is needing, I look at what people are looking for.

I don't chase.

I can't stand trend chasing.

Here's a new term and a new word.

Everybody grabs it.

There's a new thing, everybody does it.

Like, think about it.

When do you hear hustle anymore?

Gone.

When do you hear hack?

It's very rarely used.

It used to be done all the time.

I mean, this is what you find.

It's trendy language I'm still into.

I'm the guy that says corn is corn.

You plant it, you get it?

That's me.

Call it corn.

Let's get down to this.

Don't try to impress people with a new way of saying something or a new term.

Give people useful information that can help them change their life.

Now, of course you can come up with new ways to say it, but don't try to impress.

That's not the goal.

The goal is give them real meaningful stuff.

That's what I'm trying to do.

So here we go.

Here are 10 distinguishing marks, traits or characteristics for you to consider if you're going to distinguish yourself.

If you want to be a person of distinction, okay?

Remember, you can be distinguished as if you're a person that's always complaining, that's a distinguishing quality or trait.

Always complaining.

If you're a person that's always celebrating, that's a distinguishing quality or trait, okay?

So just remember that.

So here we go.

Number one, distinguishing marks are intentional.

This is something that you need to know.

Distinguishing marks are intentional.

They don't happen by accident.

Exceptional people will make deliberate choices to develop their unique traits and skills.

So these are some thoughts that I put down around this.

When you think of a distinguishing mark, okay?

Or distinguishing marks are intentional things that people are going to say they want to have a mark.

I want to have this distinguishing mark or trait about myself.

It's intentional.

They don't happen by accident, okay?

Because if you're going to be an exceptional person, you make deliberate choices to develop your unique traits and talents and skills.

Number two, distinguishing traits are visible in action and not in words.

Again, back to people that I see that they're really good, eloquent with what they say.

They're online, they're on camera, they're doing everything, and they're just talking.

And the thing is, show me the action of the thing that you're talking about.

That'd be like me sitting here and quoting science.

But then you say, let me see something you've done scientifically, and I can't.

So I'm just really good.

I'm great at reading a teleprompter or screen.

Like, I'm great at regurgitating information.

I'm fascinated with it.

Maybe you learn from it.

That's great.

But when it comes down to really seeing something, show me the science project, right?

Show me the action.

So distinguishing traits are visible in action.

So, like, leadership.

For me, I can point to what I do.

I can point to people.

I can show you the people I develop.

I can show you the people I work with, right?

It's not just what I say.

Distinguishing traits are visible in action, not words.

So what sets you apart isn't what you say, but it's what you consistently do, especially when no one's even watching.

No one sees it.

There's no crowd, there's no audience.

It's still what you do.

And I can tell you this.

People development is what I do all the time.

That's all I do, is I read, I think, I talk to people.

I'm curious.

I ask questions.

I meet with people.

I meet with people.

So different than Me, I meet with people that have more than me, less than me, somewhere in the middle.

I look at all of it because to me, the number one resource in the world that I believe that God has given to us, it's people.

It's his people.

It was worth dying for in his mind and in his heart, and therefore he did it.

And so for me as a believer, if that's the most important thing to him, then it needs to be that important to me.

So that's what I do every day.

It's all I live for.

Number three, distinguishing characteristics require effort.

So if you're going to really have some distinguishing marks, traits, characteristics, it's going to require effort, comfort.

Listen to this.

You staying the same doesn't work because comfort never produces distinction.

It's the extra mile, it's the late night effort, it's the unseen preparation that will define you.

Number four, distinguishing marks reflect excellence.

Okay, that's a big one to me.

I have this thing where I always say excellence honors God and inspires people.

So distinguishing marks will reflect excellence, mediocrity.

Okay, here's a thought that goes with that.

Mediocrity blends in.

Excellence stands out.

So your willingness to go above and beyond is what's actually going to get noticed.

Okay, when you just blend in, that's your thing.

I don't care if you say blend in.

I think Dawn Staley with the University of South Carolina, like them or not, one of the things she tells her team, you either blend in or you shine when you play, and that's why they have won national championships back to back like they have and have been as successful, is because she coaches her team to shine and not blend in.

So distinguishing marks, you know, you need to understand they reflect excellence.

Number five, distinguishing traits are rooted in values.

So another part of what we did when we kicked off the community, we had everyone pre joining or pre New Year, everyone had worked on finding their word and I gave them a worksheet to work with to find that one word for the year.

And now they got into their personal core values.

And these values are so important to them because their traits, their distinguishing traits are going to be rooted in these values and they're going to make decisions from these values.

So the fifth one is distinguishing traits are rooted in values.

And does that mean.

What does that mean?

Integrity, discipline, and a commitment to doing what is right even when it's hard.

That's what's foundational to you to, to distinguishing yourself and being rooted in values.

Number six, distinguishing characteristics are Consistent.

Ooh, that's a big one.

My word for the year is discipline.

And so in order to be disciplined, I have to be consistent.

And so you can't have discipline without consistency.

Well, you can't have distinguishing characteristics if they're not consistent.

So true distinction isn't occasional.

It's demonstrated day after day, no matter what the circumstances are.

That's it.

They're not situational.

It's always okay.

Number seven.

Distinguishing marks inspire others.

Remember, I said excellence, honors.

So this is inspiring others.

This is what I love.

Distinguishing marks will inspire others.

People will notice people are motivated by those who lead by example, not lead by word, not lead by information, by example.

When people can say, hey, let me talk to you about leadership.

And then they bring you to the people they lead.

They bring you to the people.

Not that they trained people that they have developed and have led to another place.

Okay, so that's what I mean by that.

Show me them.

A lot of organizations struggle with reproduction, the ability to reproduce, the ability to grow from within, because we've lost what it means, the apprenticeship idea to where you go, right?

You go, and then you bring someone with you, and they see you do it.

Then you go with them, and they do it while you watch, right?

That's the way you do it.

And then you tell them.

Now you go and you do the same.

You bring someone with you.

Like that is the simple thing to do.

So, hey, people, see what you do.

Your actions.

Number eight.

Distinguishing traits.

Thrive in adversity.

Ooh.

Because adversity will reveal who you truly are and not who you say you are.

Now, guys, I've been in situations, and it was adverse, and I was very disappointed in what came out of me.

Things that people have caused harm toward me and things where I've caused harm for myself.

Very disappointed, not only in my own actions, but even in how I responded.

And so what that is, is I want to change that.

I want a different distinguishing trait in adversity.

And so what I have to understand is if that's going to be true of me and I'm going to have a higher quality response in adversity, and I'm going to be different in adversity, then here's what that means.

Challenges will not diminish my distinguishing traits.

Instead, they're gonna.

They're going to reveal what's in me, and it's also going to refine me because of it.

I'm going to understand that when I want to be distinguished, what's revealed is going to come out into the light so that it can be healed, it can be refined, it could be developed.

That's a big thing.

Because adversity will show up.

Adversity will reveal who you truly are, not who you say you are are.

Number nine.

Distinguishing characteristics focus on contribution and not recognition.

I gotta say that again.

Distinguishing characteristics focus on contribution and not recognition.

So exceptional individuals focus on the impact that they make, not the applause that they receive.

And I'm going to be honest with you, I'm the same guy that you're hearing right now.

I'm sitting at my.

My home back.

And this is how I communicate in a room full of 5,000 people, a room full of 500, a room of 300, a room of 10, one.

And just me now talking to whomever might be listening.

I'm the same.

Same delivery.

It's because I'm.

And the reason I can do that is because my focus is contribution, not recognition.

Okay?

So people are not wanting the applause.

Exceptional individuals focus on the impact that they make.

What's the impact that you're trying to make?

And if you can focus on that, become a very good student of what you're going to do and get out there and practice and apprentice and go through the process of learning and growing, then you can really get into impact.

And that's when you can see it makes a difference.

And then you'll no longer look for recognition.

You won't be this person stuck in a search for significance.

Because the impact that you make will, trust me, that fulfillment will be there, and that will be the significance that you need.

And number 10 is this.

Distinguishing marks will leave a lasting legacy.

So they're not just about today.

Okay.

It's kind of like people that in politics, flip floppers, distinguishing characteristics of flip flopping or a bandwagon team person this, team next team that other team always changing jerseys.

You know, people changing all the time, their ideas, their mind here, their mind there.

And I'm going to do this next.

I'm going to do this.

And I know it's called a process of discovery, but what happens is we don't allow process to really get into what will give us the mark that leaves the legacy.

Right?

That's what we're looking for.

So they're not just about today.

Distinguishing marks aren't about just today.

They create a ripple effect of inspiration and progress that will actually outlast you.

It will outlast me.

So there you have it.

Those were the 10.

First one is distinguishing marks are intentional.

The second one, distinguishing traits are visible in action and not words.

The third is distinguishing characteristics require effort.

The fourth distinguishing marks reflect excellence.

The fifth distinguishing traits are rooted in values.

The sixth is distinguishing characteristics are consistent.

The seventh distinguishing marks inspire others.

Number eight distinguishing traits thrive in adversity.

And number nine distinguishing characteristics focus on contribution and not recognition.

And number 10 distinguishing marks leave a legacy.

So let me tell you something, my friends.

Go ahead and distinguish yourself.

Do it.

Build the person that you want to be.

Build that person and focus on those core values that make a difference.

So until next time.

We'll talk soon.