Step 3 Million: What If The Goal That Scares You Is The One That Saves You

What if one small step could change your entire story? We share the raw, honest path to a three-million-step milestone—starting with a walk to the mailbox and a promise to keep going. This is a grounded look at transformation: how context gives meaning to small actions, why tracking creates accountability without shame, and how mindset outlasts motivation on the days when everything in you wants to quit.

You’ll hear the turning point that transformed a casual walk into a life-defining challenge, the simple system for writing things down that turned fog into focus, and the gritty reality of walking in 110-degree heat when excuses sounded reasonable. We dig into balance over binge, choosing discomfort today for joy tomorrow, and replacing the story of “I can’t” with “I’ll go one more block.” The number matters, the weight lost matters, but the lasting win is identity: moving from background character to the star of your own life.

If you’re starting from scratch, you’ll get practical principles you can apply today: set a context that makes small actions matter, track the truth on good days and bad, and build a minimum standard you can hit even when life is heavy. We reflect on what comes after a huge goal—whether that’s more steps, more strength, or building something new—and why the real finish line is a stronger, clearer you. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs a nudge, and leave a review with the one habit you’ll start tracking this week.

Chapters

• 0:03 Setting The Three-Million Goal
• 1:36 Becoming The Star Of My Life
• 4:05 The Spark And The First Steps
• 5:42 Tracking, Honesty, And Momentum
• 7:07 Heat, Grit, And Mindset Over Motivation
• 9:12 Identity Shift And Lasting Wins
• 11:01 Beyond Three Million: What’s Next
• 12:07 An Invitation To Take Your First Step

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:03

This is a podcast episode that I couldn't wait for. It feels like the moment I started this podcast, the 3 millionth step awakening, that I've been waiting for this moment to come. And now that it's come and it's about to come to fruition, I'm about to take my three millionth step. And I get to share that with you. And I think along this journey, the one thing that has kept me going is sharing my journey along with you guys. And in this podcast, I can't wait to share how I've grown since I took the first step to now number three million. And I want to take you on this ride. So if you give me a few minutes, let me share what's been working and what's helped me get to my journey for the very first time. I want to start out with a quote: Sometimes the step you're taking right now is the one that changes your entire life. Well, that's been me in a nutshell. I feel like every step I'm taking is basically a new chapter to my new life. Welcome to the 3 million step awakening podcast. I'm your host, J.A. Medina. Well, here we are. I'm literally recording this podcast on the day I'm walking my last mile before hitting my 3 million step. I was 2,500 steps away from a goal I created 11 months ago, back in January, when I didn't know who I would become or what this journey would wake up inside me. And I'll be honest, this moment it's not just for me. It's for every single person who supported me, stood by me, encouraged me, text me, pushed me, and clapped for me. It's for all the people who didn't give up on me when I had spent years giving up on myself. Because I'm a different person on step three million than I was on step one. And sometimes words can't explain that difference. Sometimes the transformation is too deep to put into sentences. But I hope, I really hope, that my actions over these last 11 months have shown not just me, but everyone watching. The person I always wanted to be. See, growing up, I was always the underdog. People didn't believe in me. People dismissed me. People didn't give me the space to shine. And somewhere along the way, I started believing that too. Believing I didn't deserve space, didn't deserve success, didn't deserve to be proud of myself. But this journey changed that. Not because I'm finally shining, but because I'm finally the star in my own life. And let me tell you, after a lifetime of walking away from things in fear, in doubt, in shame, and in rejection, it feels damn good to walk towards something for once. For the first time, I feel enough. I don't know if it's the first time in my life, but for the first time in a long time, I feel enough. I feel accomplished. I feel powerful. I feel awake. I set out to create this crazy, chaotic, impossible sounding goal. Three million steps, and I had no idea what it would make of me. And here's the wild part. When I took my first step, I didn't even know the challenge existed yet. It wasn't until step 160,000 when I was listening to a song by the proclaimers, I'm gonna be 500 miles, and something just hit me. What if? What if I did something bigger? What if I created a challenge I didn't even know how to complete yet? And right there, a goal was born, a goal bigger than me, a goal that scared me enough to push me. People think these journeys start with big moments, but mine with something tiny. I just walked to the mailbox. That's it. One slow step. One small walk made the next one possible. The next mailbox, the next day, then the first 5,000 steps, then the first 10,000 steps. That's the one thing no one tells you. You don't recognize the first step that changes your life until after you take it. You don't see the meaning until you give something context. When I said this isn't just a step, this is just step one of three million, everything changed. It became real, it became meaningful, it became bigger than laziness, excuses, or fear. Then came the part that really shifted my entire life. I started writing things down. I never used to do that before, but this time I told myself I got to start writing things down to bear witness to what I'm accomplishing. Before that, everything was just floating in my head. Numbers, ideas, goals, excuses, hopes. Nothing had structure, nothing had weight. But the minute I started writing things down, seeing the numbers every day, seeing the wins and the failures, everything changed. Writing things down forced me to face myself. The good days, the bad days, and even the ugly days. But was amazing is I got to see the amazing days. And yeah, that's scary. We're afraid to track things down because we're afraid of seeing the moments we fall short and the moments we have to be responsible because we did so well. But writing things down taught me something huge. One bad day doesn't mean a bad life, one setback doesn't kill a journey, but all of it showed up honestly, right there on the calendar. And that's honesty. And that honesty, it changed everything. Let me be real. This journey was not smooth. There were days I didn't know how I would hit 10,000 steps. Days when I was literally walking in 110-degree Scottsdale, Arizona desert heat, thinking, what the hell am I doing out here? No breeze, absolutely no shades from any cactus or tree, no comfort, just grit, just commitment, just one foot in front of the other. Those were the days that built me. Because anyone could walk on the easy days, but who are you when it sucks? Who are you when your mind wants to quit? Who are you when every excuse is screaming at you? That is where I met myself. That's where I learned who I really am. Mindset became the backbone of this whole damn thing. Not perfection, not discipline, not motivation, because motivation disappears real fast. Mindset kept me moving when sabotage whispered in my ear. Mindset helped me choose one cheeseburger every three weeks instead of eight in a week. Mindset taught me balance instead of binging. Mindset made me honest with myself. Because comfort will kill you faster than the pain ever will. Comfort was the trap. Comfort pretended to be my friend, but walking, writing things down, holding myself accountable, it woke me back up. That's why this podcast is called the 3 million step awakening. Because that's what happened. My soul woke up. Losing almost 70 pounds wasn't the biggest win. Hitting 3 million steps wasn't the biggest win. The biggest win was the identity shift. The biggest win was proving myself. I wasn't that lazy guy anymore. I used to think I was. The biggest win was realizing I can choose discomfort today to get to joy tomorrow. The biggest win was stopping the lies in my head that said, you can't, you won't, you never do, you fail at everything. No, not anymore. I prove myself wrong. And today, right now, this walk, these last steps before the moment, this feels like hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to win a World Series. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life. No one can take this feeling away from me. Not ever. And no one can take your moment away from you either, my friends. People keep asking me, what now? Where do you go from three million steps? Here's the truth. This isn't the end, a rebirth, a beginning. Maybe next year it's four million steps. Maybe it's building muscle and those abs I've always wanted. Maybe it's the gym. Maybe it's cleansing my body. Maybe it's writing a book. Maybe it's motivating thousands of people. I don't know yet. But I know this: there will be another goal. Because goals give me life, goals keep me awake. Goals remind me of who I am. This isn't the finish line, my friends. This is the starting line of a next chapter. The truth I want everyone to hear. Listen, my friends, I was the laziest person in the world. For real. And if I can do this, if I can walk through a million steps, if I can change my life from inside out, then don't you dare tell me you can't. Don't tell me your excuses. Don't tell me your fears. Don't tell me you're too far gone. If I can do it, you can do it. And I believe that with everything in me. As I approach these final steps, I want you to know something. I'm not walking them alone. I'm walking with you, for you, beside you. The journey was never about me. It was always about showing what's possible. Showing what happens when someone who felt broken, someone who felt overlooked, someone who felt lost finally says enough. I'm stepping into my final steps of 3 million. And I'm inviting you to take your first step. Walk with me. Walk for you. Walk into something bigger than your fear. This is the 3 million step awakening. And this awakening, it's not only the beginning. And I will end with this quote: your life changes the moment you decide to step toward the person you were always meant to become. Thank you for listening, my friends, and for always having my back. I look to creating more goals, and I look to make a difference in your lives as much as you made a difference in my life.