Josh's Weekly Insights - July 23, 2025

“I can control my destiny, but not my fate. Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left,but fate is a one-way street. I believe we all have the choice as to whether we fulfill our destiny, but our fate is sealed.”

-Paulo Coelho

I was working with a group of bankers recently and we were discussing what they had been able to implement since our last meeting. During our discussion, there were many obstacles preventing them from implementing a lot of the items they wanted to handle. 

Has this ever happened to you? You have grand plans to improve your life but you keep getting stopped by the little things that pop up each day. It happens to most of us and we miss out on doing the most important items on our list. This leads to feeling busy but not accomplished. You keep going through each day at a million miles an hour but look back at the end of the week and don’t see any progress.

The interesting thing about this behavior is that many of us don’t feel like we made choices that led to these results. We see all the different things we took on during the week as necessary steps. However, I want you to pause any time you feel like you are rushing without making progress. Stop and ask yourself, “Do I have a choice here?” I would bet that in most situations, you do have the opportunity to choose a different path. To plan your next step instead of doing whatever comes along next.

If you take this approach, you will find more fulfillment in life because you will get the most important work done instead of just working to fill your time. And while I used the term “work” there, this can also apply to life outside of work. Choose to make a difference instead of choosing to stay busy. 

Now get out there and crush your week!