BEST MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES OF 2023 (So Far) | Let Go Of Your Past

here's to going even when you don't want to go so moving forward when you're uncomfortable to stepping up when you're fearful here's the courage talking to a friend of mine earlier today about understanding the difference between two things on one hand the fear that presents itself when we're growing leveling up right like we've all felt nerves before a big event or an important life change things like that and then on the other hand the emotions that arise when we start to feel like something isn't right for us similar discomfort but not quite the same we feel nervous or uneasy because we know we're misaligned and where we landed in our conversation was that when you were on the edge of that metaphorical cliff and your body's pushing back your heart's pounding your mind is racing you're nervous you're fearful the question worth asking is will I be disappointed in myself if I don't go through with this will I be letting myself down here by turning back you have to jump into the future and imagine future you sitting at the table reflecting on this if you see yourself as regretful wishing you pushed through then it's not an alignment issue it's a matter of Courage and when you think about it it usually feels obvious looking back like I can easily recognize in hindsight the things I stopped doing because they weren't aligned with who I wanted to be like when you stop doing the wrong thing it feels like a breath of fresh air like a step back to Leap Forward those decisions create a more fulfilled life but those times I stopped because you know I let the moment get bigger than my end goal those times I caved and decided I didn't want to pay the price solely because of the temporary discomfort I remember those two that's a different feeling altogether a not so good feeling as we all know Jim Rohn says it like this there's a pain of discipline or a pain of regret choose your pain one of the things that makes life challenging is that we have to be open to some level of discomfort in our lives that's just what it is to be human now our powers that we get to choose where we let that pain in and what it means what it will do for us will it be the type of pain that grows us or the type of pain that reminds us what could have been [Music] I really think most of the time we stop not because the path was wrong for us but because we somewhere along the way forgot that most of life's best experiences and circumstances and opportunities come with a hefty price tag they demand a lot of us and in those moments when the lights shine the brightest when we feel the weight of the world coming down on us it's easy to misdiagnose that discomfort as a stop sign it's like oh I feel alone I feel unsure I don't have any validation my pride hurts my confidence is shaken whatever it may be these things just you know even as I'm saying them out loud now seem awful when in reality they're just the cost of admission right it's like you have to not know before you can ever know but try telling yourself that as you're wandering around feeling nothing but pressure right it's a different story altogether it's a challenge but here's the good news it's a challenge you're capable of handling of overcoming life is about stepping into things we don't feel ready for and then learning repeatedly that we can piece together the knowledge along the way it reminds us that fear is going to show up regardless of what we do in life but to grow into the people we are capable of becoming we have to understand that fear is in its own unique way an invitation the discomfort doesn't mean something's wrong often the opposite it's letting you know that more is available that you are right where you need to be [Music] but you have to change in order to become worthy of what's on the other side life is not saying no it's merely demanding of you courage and courage you have [Music] how much did you care what do you mean I didn't understand the question at first in that room how much did you care what they thought of you like if zero is not at all and 10 is you cared a lot how much did you care hmm eight I said probably around an eight out of ten [Music] and that is the problem because if you care you are not free I've been working my whole life to obtain that word in its true Ascent freedom and I made progress the world around us is tough to change but most things worth changing are tough I've uprooted and walked away from people that brought me down plenty of times I've walked away from places that just weren't me I've committed to carving out a path that I deem meaningful in my life see but you can always turn your back and walk away from people from places from situations here's a little caveat no one seems to tell you about though you have to take yourself with you there's no destination to which you can arrive without your thoughts there's no place you can show up without your narratives or your view of the world and the more I navigate this floating Rock we're on the more I'm convinced that weather is determined by the onlook or not the atmosphere some people simply choose to see Sun some people choose rain our forecasts are internal I've referenced this book often because it's one of the few cheat codes not to any subset of reality but to life in general that allows us to reverse engineer true contentment it's called the top five regrets of the Dying by Ronnie Ware where she speaks with mostly older people during their final days asks them what they would do differently if they could do it all over again regret number one and we can actually stop right there is I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself not the one others expected of me meaning the number one thing people wish they did differently was careless they wished they'd lived in their authenticity put more weight on their goals and their dreams than those of strangers that pass like ships in the night every time we repress who we are our future selves shed a tear and I know that's not pretty or uplifting to think about right a future you looking down and wishing you'd sought out that freedom in its truest form the freedom to live fully but look sometimes carving meaning out of life just isn't pretty sometimes what's necessary is not pretty see Everything's Relative and perhaps understanding that it's not others who are the judge but it's instead that older version of you sitting on the bedside reflecting back on this one roller coaster ride maybe that's who we're living for that's the Well from which our courage should be drawn we are guests passing through a miracle with Minds that falsely and irresponsibly Whisper we have all the time in the world trying to convince us that the trip lasts forever but it doesn't your life is a raindrop in a thunderstorm it will be over as fast as it arrived and how you choose to live it will be everything see the world always in some capacity exist that voice asking you to dial it down There Will from time to time be sweaty palms and shaking knees you know those human things but when you find yourself standing on the edge of that door looking out at a world that you know calls your name let your voice be louder than all of it let the beating of your heart be stronger than your fear and if you can't do it for you then please do it for that version of you years from now looking out the windows smiling about how you almost said no you almost boxed yourself in you almost let what matters pass you by but instead you captured life like a child chasing down a firefly that in a world of constraint you allowed yourself to be free [Music] I was in Arizona last week got a chance to interview Joe polish best-selling author and founder of the genius Network because I was sort of making my way around the genius Network office with my coffee that morning I noticed in one of the meeting rooms there were some quotes hanging on the wall one of them was Joe's that said be willing to destroy anything in your life that is an excellent that's certainly a big statement I started thinking about my little corner of the universe running through all the things that might not meet that standard of Excellence in my life and a few certainly came to mind it was freeing to think about but could Excellence really be a standard for everything I mean that's a high bar and so I wrote it down little reminder to bring it up later during the interview a few hours go by mics are rolling and I asked the question so be willing to destroy anything in your life that is an excellent beautiful quote but how and uh Joe smiled kind of paused for a sec says willing right the key word there is willing and I'm paraphrasing but his point was essentially it's an acceptance of what is and a willingness to be rigorously honest with yourself [Music] because look there's not an athlete entrepreneur parent or student who didn't have to at some point play broken we all do but to live like that that's not a life well lived that's learned helplessness and that quote on the wall is about taking a stand it's the moment you say I want a new standard for my life I'm going to be more assertive more caring more aware Excellence is not a requirement per se because human beings can't be excellent all the time we are flawed we are trying we are growing but what you can do is look around you and start moving towards that version of yourself start cutting away the metaphorical chains around your ankles in his book what's in it for them Joe highlights British Olympic rower Ben Hunt Davis who had one standard for the men in his boat one question that would be asked every time they were confronted with the decision the question was will this make the boat go faster if no then it's not for them and this framework guided their Journey this contributed to their success this Clarity this line of sight it's an awareness we can all learn from understanding that we're not Shackled to yesterday we're not tied to the old Stories the old relationships the old ways of living no our paths are not dictated by what was but rather our willingness to be aware to ask the questions that position us towards our North Star and as the conversation was winding down Joe pointed to a quote from the movie Vanilla Sky States every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around change doesn't happen without the understanding that more is possible that perhaps you'd been conceding too much while asking too little of yourself perhaps you've been surrounding yourself with inadequate resources maybe you've been building walls that without your knowing it became self-induced limitation and yeah excellence in every single aspect of life is unobtainable but what a beautiful standard what a journey to Embark upon a horizon to chase down and the point is not to recklessly destroy your current reality but to build a bridge connecting what is to what can be it's loving the reflection in the mirror enough to know you are better you can be better you will obtain better you need not be perfect or Flawless but you must be willing willing to destroy anything in your life that is an excellent [Music] the world reflects back at us what we currently are like a giant mirror projecting the movie that's playing in our heads we lay on the horn in traffic not when we're at peace with ourselves but when we're in duress we gravitate towards the negative not when we're living in abundance but when we're living in scarcity we quit Retreat contract not when we're confident in the road ahead but when we're doubtful alarmed in other words we find out in the world what already lives within us life in many ways is not absolute it's evidence it's evidence that we'll use to justify the things we already believe Wayne Dyer used to use the metaphor of an orange it can be squeezed and squeezed and squeezed but there will never be grapefruit juice pouring out of an orange no grapefruit juice doesn't live there you can only find on the outside what lives in the inside you can only extract from the orange juice recently a good friend of mine said to me that they'd like to change their financial situation to which my response was perfect you most certainly can right like anything yeah it'll take work and some planning and some restructuring all that good stuff but you most definitely can and his response was sure that's what all you motivational people say okay smart guy now you're an example on a podcast episode congrats why because you want the people around you to realize how much is possible for themselves right it's not sorcery or witchcraft to believe something better is possible in fact if one doesn't believe it's possible they're effectively cementing their feet to the ground at least with regard to that particular Pursuit let's face it you don't begin Journeys that are not possible we don't allow ourselves to do that and so to not believe in an outcome and somehow still wish for that outcome well that's essentially our orange metaphor right can't squeeze Financial Freedom out of a mindset that only sees monetary constraint believing it's possible starts the journey see there's so much pragmatism in growth you know people talk a lot about the law of attraction and yeah I get it right it sets targets but the picture of let's say a dream house on your wall is not why you'll eventually have the dream house the picture of the dream house on the wall reminds you it helps you believe that you're someone capable of someday acquiring that house obtaining that type of success which results in you wait for it doing things that help bring that to life it is the doing but that doing must be connected to belief mid-20s I was unhappy wanted more but didn't really believe myself capable of obtaining more right that was the issue back to the old orange expecting grapefruit juice can't get results in an area not conducive to their creation right it wasn't until I said you know what maybe not definitely but maybe it could happen maybe I can take control here the odds have to be greater than zero percent right there's Jim Carrey and Dumb and Dumber so you're saying there's a chance yeah it's like starting out that's all you need a chance the door cracked in the beginning I just needed to convince myself something different was possible the beginning of transformation and that internal change prompted how I interacted with the external world you do things differently when you believe differently or if you want to phrase it another way believing that you can bring something to life doesn't guarantee that you actually do but believing you can't guarantees that you won't and why not stack the odds in your favor I often juggle back and forth between the philosophical and the tangible or the Tactical right three ways to do X life hacked to change why yeah of course life does in so many ways come down to the tactics to the how to the steps but does that even matter if you don't believe in the pursuit does it matter what Google Maps says if you never step out your front door you have to convince you you have to create an environment in your world where change isn't crazy more isn't absurd it might be challenging but it's possible and possible is enough it is enough to begin enough to step out enough to see the trivialities as tools and the resistance as part of a beautiful game remember that the world is a mirror reflecting back at us our world view we find what we look for so give yourself permission to look for things that make life beautiful give yourself the gift of believing change is possible [Music] what's the difference between paying a fee and paying a fine the answer to this question may not be as small or insignificant as we're inclined to believe foreign I recently picked up the book the psychology of money by Morgan hausel it lays out some valuable Concepts and ideas about investing and managing our finances growing our wealth but there's one idea that I wanted to share because yeah from an investing standpoint it's important critical even but it's relevant to so much more and I think an understanding of it will help us in many aspects of life so first let's start with the financial piece and then we'll sort of grow the metaphor right because housel talks about how we should look at investing in the market and one of the hardest things for us to deal with is the Market's volatility and it's difficult for us to invest our hard-earned money and then see the market go let's say for example down 20 like seeing that huge dip in our investment that's not fun right everyone knows that that can be nerve-wracking and it dissuades a lot of people from investing or keeping their money in when they should It ultimately keeps them from getting the returns available to them right but here's the point he makes he says those people who see that volatility as a fee and not a fine are more inclined to win in the long term understanding that market returns are never free they demand a price and that price is the roller coaster ride we all have to deal with that is the market it's the ups and downs and highs and lows that volatility is the cost of admission and if you understand that you're more inclined to stay calm keep your long-term vision you're more than likely to come out on top on the other hand if when that turbulence arrives you know the sudden crashes the ups and downs and you see it as a fine as this terrible thing that's happening to a punishment you're more likely to act emotionally to be reactive and make decisions that aren't in your best interest to drive the point home he mentions Disneyland for example the fee is a hundred dollars and people will gladly pay that fee because you know they get that great experience with their family their kids that they'll have for the rest of their lives that 100 isn't a fine it's not a punishment it's an intentional deliberate trade of one thing for another and if you were to look at it as a fine you'd never get to enjoy that experience if you thought that 100 was a punishment I just wouldn't be the same right so why do I bring all this up [Music] because I'm a firm believer that the best things in life all come with that price or a fee as household States but I also think we sometimes have a tendency to look at that cost that very same cost of admission as a fine as a problem when really no it's just trading some turbulence now for a reward a little bit uh down the road sometimes the right thing is the hard thing the uncomfortable thing with dividends it will pay so long as we understand that it's opening the door to something greater [Music] leaving a situation you know is not good for you hurts right we've all been there we all know this in some capacity but it's not a punishment or even a bad thing right that discomfort associated with walking away is a fee that will enable you to live a more aligned life in the very near future now let's say You're Building something meaningful something you care deeply about but it's just you you and the idea there is no validation certainly no external reward not yet and continuing forward in those moments is hard it's taxing emotionally draining even but this feeling again isn't a punishment it's not a fine it's the fee it's the cost of admission to bring something into life that wasn't there life's greatest moments are expensive it's just are you going to pay the fee to bring it about with a cost of regret at a different time then you get the point right you can take this and apply it to so many things falling down criticism feeling lost having to start from the bottom these things are not fines they are fees they are price tags and so often the initial price is a bargain compared to what we'll get back we just need to stop perceiving their mere existence as the world working against us no these are opportunities in disguise it's easy to walk by the important things to dismiss the uncomfortable things the harsh truth is that our greatest opportunities are often intertwined in our distress that's why so many people walk away from the things that will make their lives better that's why so many people pull their money from the market uh when it takes a dive so many people walk away from a project or idea when things get challenged oh conversely it's why so many people do nothing at all they stay in situations they aren't happy with and know they need to change because the fee to get from point A to point B feels too steep but I think the value is in comparing the discomfort the cost the fee to what it's going to bring you down the road because often it's a bargain we need to remember that what will ultimately provide has life-changing potential understand that resistance is not a fine it is not the world telling you know it's live asking you hey do you really want this because if you do it's yours so long as you sign the dotted line and pay the price most people will be dissuaded by this most people will turn and walk away but most people also leave a hell of a lot on the table and I don't want that for you you don't want that for you the world we live in is one of abundance so when life pushes back understand that it's merely positioning you to move beyond your limits to redefine your worldview and while admission isn't free it's well worth the price the other day I heard someone say that they've found some of the most important things in their life in places where they weren't supposed to find them which is interesting to me one because that seems to happen a lot and two because it's like who creates the parameters around what we're supposed to do who sets the rules to begin with you know I'm continuously Blown Away by our tendency to create imaginary walls and then live within them to build steel bars around ourselves that separate the now from future opportunity [Music] First videos I ever made I talked about this nagging feeling of discomfort that occurred uh right after I left the corporate world and started my own business and at that point to call it a business was giving myself a lot of credit I was basically just starting to make videos and put them out on social media [Music] but I would run in the middle of the day right that was my thing right through Boston along the Charles River I loved running but I couldn't help feeling this guilt like I wasn't supposed to like I was doing the wrong thing doing what I was taught not to do my whole life I learned that you go to school or work during the day that's the right thing in a decade removed I've grown and I've learned I know how crazy it sounds now but it took me a long time to even enjoy it and not feel like some deviant who was leaving everything he'd worked for up to that point to go and fail spectacularly right they're supposed to followed me around like a shadow constantly trying to pull me back in freedom to me is separating oneself from this exact sentiment it's doing what's best for you exploring your own world view blazing as the saying goes your own trail because you'll find very few supposed to's there I think this is a microcosm of a greater truth the most important things we do in life are pivotal moments our epiphanies are found where we weren't supposed to find them because what we're supposed to do is very rarely methodically thought out it's simply the norm it's marching orders it's what the crowd is doing it's what will help us blend in and it's interesting as I've pushed further and further into life I've come to believe that rarely is what's best all one thing or all another it's working to find a balance that supports your ideal life trajectory right that balance will lean substantially more one way or another depending on who you are and what's important to you and so I'm not suggesting one always needs to be different or if something is common it's wrong no thousands of years of evolution and societal stressors have in many ways narrowed down for us what's effective and efficient it's helped us survive and to dismiss this outright is obviously counterproductive but it does explain why any break from these Norms physically hurts we associate them with survival and here lies The Divide between surviving which we are supposed to do and excelling which is to Embark upon a different game altogether [Music] survival is mitigating risk excelling is hunting down the opportunity survival is blending in excelling is asking what about me is unique and how can I dive into that fully survival is not having to innovate on any large scale because the instructions are clear and laid out for you excelling is asking now that I know the rules how can I bend and maybe even break them so that I can improve my life and the lives of those around me now continue with the same example because I know a lot of folks find themselves in a similar situation now I wasn't supposed to deviate from my previous life trajectory my education my career track my 401k but I did and I found something I otherwise would never have an ability to work on what I enjoy and share that with others I wasn't supposed to leave home the Northeast the most important people in my life live up there but I found comfort peace and New Beginnings down here that I never would have experienced I wasn't supposed to do many of the things I'm doing today you in curiosity and a willingness to chase down what's meaningful and the Beautiful Thing is anyone can do that every single one of us can detach and depart from the supposed twos in our lives and hey maybe some of them should be there maybe some are adding value and stability that you need and maybe even cherish but I can promise some of them aren't [Music] and it's worth a look it's worth thinking about those things where can we be a little braver a little more courageous where can we venture outside the scope of what we've subconsciously deemed Every Day Life I love the notion that there's always more in you you just need to give yourself permission to pursue it right it only makes sense that no Journey Begins until we give it the green light The World is Yours once you give yourself permission to pursue it so what are you conceding what have you accepted as a fact that upon further review you might find to be fictional there's a world of infinite opportunity waiting for you just past your acceptance of the way things are just beyond all those supposed to you belong here this was something that was said to the class uh during yoga the other day as I've said before yoga is something I'm really turning to is both a mental and physical approach to a lot of the injuries and imbalances I've been dealing with for a very long time and part of that you know starting something new was obviously not knowing what you're doing it's a willingness to play the fool to be this student it's signing up to be you know at times the worst in the room and so I hear the instructor say this line you belong here and then kind of repeat it again for emphasis it hit me hard you know and I'll never know if this was prompted by me flailing around in the back trying to do Crow pose or she just felt like you know it needed to be expressed in the moment I'm not sure but what I do know is that it was exactly what I needed to hear and in fact it's what I've needed to hear throughout many stages of my life which is why I think it hit so hard I don't want to unpack it for a second when I moved to Massachusetts after spending the vast majority of my childhood in the Los Angeles area I used to joke around with my friends back in La I'm like this is so different that it feels like a culture shock right it seems so little of the world why do these guys uh not wear Dickies or Spike their hair everyone has cargo shorts and New Balances what's happening here right um you know but all jokes aside when you're a freshman in high school that's a big deal the differences were many and it took a while you know but I acclimated I made friends I did the thing but persistently in the back of my head I felt like an outsider making my home somewhere that wasn't really mine like I didn't really belong there came College I went to a small private school where most of the students I knew came from prep schools and that's somewhat of a more rigorous academic background than I did and I decided to be a political science major basically living in my professor's offices during their hours when they would spend extra time helping me uh right show me how to organize my thoughts and put together analytical papers it was a long and stressful learning curve and just like before I figured it out did fine academically but again never really felt like I belonged there were some of the same sentiments with you know walking on to the rowing team where many of the recruits had been doing it all their lives same thing in the corporate world felt a little out of place it was a feeling that yeah never prevented me from starting you know I'd dive in I'd figure it out but there was always this lingering Fish Out of Water feeling that I couldn't shake I'm kind of a tangent but this is you know one of the funniest moments for me looking back in my early 20s I was at an interview at some insurance company in Boston and the guy interviewing me is sitting on one end of a desk I'm at the other he's holding a physical copy of my resume and cover letter not saying a word just kind of scanning them up and down uh and he slowly kind of drops them on the desk and goes so Eddie tell me more about pauses looks back down at my cover letter back up at me back down at my cover letter then he traces the first line of the cover letter quoting it as his finger moves across the paper he goes tell me more about how quote your lifelong dream is to become a data analyst and I was like oh my God this guy sees right through me Eddie what are you doing man like this ain't it you know and I crack myself up every time my mind goes back there it's the epitome of of square peg round hole and I would consistently find myself in that position right but you know I digress the point is me feeling like I'm on the outside looking in has been somewhat of a theme even in the areas of my life where I was Finding success like I couldn't totally be there like find the things that are important to me and commit to them fully and I'd be lying if I said it it didn't still exist today right I've worked like a madman for 10 years to build this company in this brand and certainly I've seen some progress in this industry I've gotten to surround myself with some incredible people and every time I walk into a room uh with folks that I've looked up to for years I'm grateful which is good but sometimes too grateful which is my entire point right at some point you have to transform from looking up to into being one of to give yourself permission to belong and yes you need to do the work and yes confidence is earned but if you don't give yourself permission to do a thing not kind of or sort of but to fully with all your heart and soul be that thing I think you'll always be leaving part of yourself on the Shelf it feels like uh to me a lingering defense mechanism you can't be great if you're not all in and part of growth has been reflecting and asking hey you say you're all in but are you are you immersed and that's what I want I think to some extent that's what we all want to not just do it but be it in a million years I don't think my yoga teacher would uh expected a words prompted a 10-minute rant starting with my childhood on the west coast but man did that come and create a light bulb moment for me it set the stage for such a beautiful Epiphany it's like you've been doing the thing for 10 years grown in so many areas but have you given yourself permission to become what you're seeking not kind of but pour yourself into it it's who you are the environment the people the variables the ups and the Downs all of it is who you are just imagine what that freedom would allow go be the thing more more more fully all you have to give so yoga class this morning showed up even though I suck even though I'm learning decided hey little little symbolism here no more hiding in the back of the room step into those neon green lights move towards the front you no longer do things even the little things to Simply scrape by or exist do it to be it if you're going to do anything do it to be it you belong here help me realize what being it really is that maybe I'd let my uh definition slip maybe my understanding wasn't wide or all-encompassing enough and yeah there's a line we need to walk no question we must be on the path to acquiring competency in something before we can make it our own but the beauty of podcasts and Audible and books all our media Outlets instead other people's growth and understanding can Fast Track our own I learned from this experience life is too short to always feel like you are on the outside looking and it just is if you earned a chair at the table be at the table if you were let into the room work the room if you're spending time and energy doing something be that thing don't deprive yourself of that precious alignment because it's such a beautiful thing when we allow ourselves to feel it and obtain it but like so many things it starts with you giving you permission it starts with a simple understanding you may be new you may be struggling unsure you might have a hell of a mountain to climb a journey to travel you might have extra work to do you might have to add some things and cut away others you might have to ask yourself the tough questions and accept the difficult answers but you do my friend belong here I was thinking about something recently something we've probably all heard before and in some cases already know but that's why it warrants a little bit of discussion it's not about knowing it's about executing which are two very different things and so I'll start here with the idea that everything is relative right someone who runs five miles a day and then starts hanging out with people who all Run 10 miles a day is more than likely going to at least ask themselves the question could I be running more should I right that's just human nature one's perception of normality shifts when they're around people or circumstances that stretch it and as far as I can tell this can be applied to anything I remember a friend of mine probably about five years ago now asked me what my monthly Revenue goal was and I remember telling him and he paused and looked kind of puzzled and asks you know why only that then I thought only that right that's a that's a big number I was reaching there but that encounter I still remember it rocked my worldview it's like okay wow I need to you know move some things around I need to aim higher it's an important convo for me uh and I think you know there's often a negative connotation we apply to this concept right comparison being the the thief of Joy they're always being more to acquire it's a tool and may not utilized right way or internalized the right way can be unhealthy but there's also when utilized correctly something not only healthy but incredibly powerful and advantageous about it we need to be reminded that we're capable of more otherwise our worldview can't stretch we're able to extend far beyond the reality we find ourselves in but that fact alone does us no good we have to position ourselves to see to feel to believe the more a good friend of mine and I started reporting to each other daily the workouts we do now twice a day and the funny thing is it didn't start out twice a day but just you know the nature of not wanting to be the guy who does less you know we've been friends for a while we're all about helping each other be better in business and fitness and you name it and you can bet when I've been running around working all day and I'm tired and the little voice in my head starts Whispering well you already got a workout in earlier just go really hard tomorrow instead you'll be fine but then my phone buzzes and it's a screenshot of his workout stats it's like nope I have to find time to do it he's tired he has a job and a family he wants to crack a beer or grab a burger but he didn't and the fact that he reached for more makes me realize hey so can I makes me ask what are my targets are they big enough right and that's been incredibly effective prompting you know this conversation making me realize you know there's something to this how can I position myself so that I have line of sight to that precious abundance in the other areas of my life that I deem important how can I nurture the relationships I have that serve as a reminder that there is always another level how can I keep at the Forefront of my mind that there are online creators helping millions of people a day there are business owners making millions of dollars a month and it's not that I'm not proud and grateful I'm both of those things instead I love the journey I love the challenge of seeing what I can become and know that our default is to get so consumed by the current way of things we started thinking hey maybe that's all there is we forget to keep our eyes up [Music] and so a few things I plan on doing I'll share them and maybe they'll prompt some ideas uh in your head for whatever your values are whatever you're trying to improve recently I set up a mastermind quarterly with some buddies I have that are investors and business owners um simple to report growth Revenue future plans as someone who just loves to write and create it's easy for me to put all that stuff second so this is going to hold me accountable Fitness I already mentioned um this one's new I have a few friends that I started meeting up with just to get out to unwind do nothing business related at all which is just as critical as work right I have to make time to soak in the world around me and there are others as well but you get the idea right it's teaming up with those people in my life where our values overlap and we can help each other win the saying goes you're the average of The Five People You spend the most time with but now imagine taking that a step further reaching out to those people and teaming up to help position each other to succeed [Music] you get the accountability the camaraderie you become a team looking to get the most of your time on this planet I've stated many times that my belief is the pieces exist around us to do so many things incredible things Monumental things but how we mix match and utilize those pieces the world around us determines that so let's ask the question what is a life well lived to me and how can I tangibly position myself to obtain it how can I help those I care about obtaining those are some powerful questions and will ultimately lead to some incredible growth foreign Jack Welch has said control your own destiny or someone else will and I'm passing this along today as I believe it's one of the most important things to understand not a once and done thing but a reoccurring question where have I relinquished control how can I recapture what matters most as the world around us shifts slips and slides so does our grasp on it which is why I find this continuous self-reflection so powerful I have a flight this afternoon which means I have a hard deadline and a lot I need to do before I head down to the Miami Airport I've been traveling a lot recently which means I've been finding myself in this situation a lot recently and here's what's become abundantly clear to me as I work through the logistics on travel days I'm exponentially more productive than on my typical quote-unquote work day I wake up with a an urgency and sense of control over my time that apparently is lacking on say your typical Tuesday and I'm shot out of a cannon today for example I've worked out written and recorded two speeches counting this one recorded short video content sent to my editors plan next week's topics might even have time to go live and hang out for a few minutes and I'm sitting here thinking you know dude if I had a flight at noon every day I'd be worth 500 million dollars by June what is the difference between today and every other day simple my Approach towards it how I utilize and control the resources at my disposal this is a powerful powerful thing to realize you know it begs the question how can this urgency be manufactured because that's what it's about right setting up the parameters so that they are most conducive to Our Success [Music] another life-changing quote I came across a few years ago was you are your own experiment meaning life is about testing things trying different methods exploring different approaches and also having the discipline to observe their outcomes why so that you can use that information to position yourself for Success that info is as good as gold one understanding and two implementing so that you know we're not pushed back and forth by external factors like leaves in the wind but are instead creating our own ideal circumstances these let's just call them travel days have helped me realize how much power energy control I relinquish on a typical day and most importantly how I can change that [Music] you know time for a new experiment let's try approaching every day like there's a hard cut off at noon how I'm not sure yet I'll test and explore until something clicks but there's definitely some information worth noting I've picked up my phone zero times today which is obviously valuable I've second guessed my messaging and communication a lot less don't have time to waste on the Small Things nope not when you fly out at noon this is information I'll take with me little nuggets of wisdom uh that I've been able to collect and so I'll finish with an important reminder that this is not so much about efficiency as it is about awareness and a willingness to adapt right like becoming a robot is not the goal here um but the discipline to step outside yourself and look at how you're spending your time so that you can make it more valuable and meaningful is we let the outside world dictate far too much and we don't even realize we just sort of move through it we relinquished control because we had no idea it was ours to take we are very often unaware of the power that we have over ourselves our circumstances and our lives in totality we're unaware of just how much value we walk right by the opportunity is not days weeks or months away it lives with you now every breath every step every decision you just have to open your eyes and invite it in [Music] the other day I was on a podcast with Evan Carmichael who's a YouTuber an entrepreneur and we were talking with Shaquille who was the host about the mental side of the entrepreneurial Journey how we set goals but also prepare ourselves for the inevitable adversity associated with growth in one question Shaquille asked us was where do we see ourselves in five years okay so side note I have a unique relationship with this question as someone who was unsure in experimenting with their career right for much of their adult life uh I never quite knew how to answer it you know it's like two things can be true at once it's a very reasonable question uh but I also uh didn't like answering it right hated it to my core you could even say I could never really articulate why it just made me uneasy right like five years in a lifetime how am I supposed to know and again no knock on the host at all it's a very uh common and practical question I'm glad he asked it because it uh opened the door to a pretty cool conversation so anyway he asked the question and uh I'm thinking oh man like how am I gonna approach this and before I said a word Evan blurts out look if you know exactly what you're going to be doing in five years you're thinking too small [Music] in that comment to say it made me happy was an understatement it was like thank you for saying what my mind has been trying to piece together for a decade and a half you know if you know exactly where you're going to be of course you're limiting yourself there's just too much predictability too much routine process and not enough experimentation not enough life why because growth is unpredictable it takes us places we didn't expect shows us things we didn't anticipate it unveils truths and minor miracles about ourselves that we let's face it never would have seen had we been dismissive of all life's variability in Opportunity now does this mean we don't move with conviction in a general direction does that mean we don't have goals or ambitions no I certainly don't think it does right you can't hit targets you don't aim for that will always be true it merely means life is not about being perfect in bringing about a particular result it's about making adjustments throughout your pursuit of meaning if you feel closer to your purpose when you change the medium then change the medium if it means you know your heart tells you left is where the value lies and not right then go left right to me it's essentially reminding us that life is not a black and white yes or no checklist or test it's a game and you have to Grant yourself the freedom to play you have to give yourself permission to grow foreign five years is and how five years ago I wasn't even thinking about creating media the way I do now with the amazing team of people that helped me I wasn't speaking on stages I hadn't crafted my creative style I didn't know uh the people I know now who introduced me to not only new people but new ideas these are characters they're stories they're opportunities that present themselves only as you immerse yourself in the journey and I was okay not knowing exactly but merely moving towards the general direction the most important decisions were you know looking back not what I said yes to but what I said no to as I move through life experimenting learning growing I was able to craft something that worked for me not other people not what's in books there's no road map no it's an experiment and this is more of the reassurance I would have wanted during those years from an older version of myself like it's okay to not know exactly where you'll be just promise yourself this if it matters to you you'll find a way to move to it with it towards it and if it doesn't then let it go surround yourself with people that lift you up and if they don't let them go you'll hear a lot of talk about the right way to do things especially in this information age those ideas and decisions may have in fact been right but they also may be wrong for you try test it out and if not let it go the experiment that is your life is the reward it's a luxury it's such a beautiful ride you know don't box yourself in because of some made-up theoretical plan don't avoid the path to a new world because I check my list and this doesn't line up with where I said I'll be February 23rd 2028. now go live your life do your best to exist in that place the intersection of what you love and what adds value let it Bend let it transform let it teach you things about yourself and the world there aren't correct ways to live but I think there certainly are some wrong ways and that's time spent out of obligation adhering to a story that means nothing to you push gives back your Footsteps in the aggregate will reveal truths and tell stories you could never have even dreamed up it's in going that your book is written and just a friendly reminder people don't read books for the last page the ending no they read them for that stuff in the middle right the journey so next time I'm asked what my Five-Year Plan is I'll probably say same as my 10 20 and 30-year plan I don't know but I can tell you I won't lose sight of that North Star the one that calls my name but at the same time I won't be afraid to wander Into the Night dance in the Moonlight even get lost in the shadows from time to time growth is directly correlated to one's willingness to push forward into the dark and well into that Darkness we shall go [Music] the other day I was sitting in Miami traffic looking out the window and it dawned on me how interesting that human beings haven't solved for this like this is a major annoyance in a lot of people's lives now we put human beings on a rocket ship we've navigated them beyond the Earth's atmosphere we've landed them on the moon but still are unable to effectively get around between 4 and 7 pm on weekdays it's just kind of interesting to realize now there are very practical reasons for this sure not to mention people studying and invested in the problem and I think most noteworthy I'm not even saying one is more valuable than another this is merely a thought experiment we get the results where we place our attention we valued going to the Moon because of this humans walked on the literal Moon and we're so used to this having happened uh that its shock value isn't quite there right but for a species who 100 years ago was traveling by a horse and buggy that's pretty impressive now I just think it's a a cool reminder that where we place our Focus is where we'll get our positive results we can change everything if we place a spotlight on it that begs the question where are you placing your spotlight because John Maxwell said nobody ever went up a hill on accident there was intentionality which gave life to focus and action planning growth we only evolve or we shine that Spotlight or as I've said in previous episodes or videos What you water grows [Music] I've certainly spent my fair share of time angry annoyed by things that have by no coincidence given zero effort to fixing now when you do nothing to solve a problem all you can cling to is the ability to complain about it if you're not putting energy and resources there you most likely won't win [Music] some of the best advice I got from a friend a few years back was to highlight the things that matter to you and measure them because this allows you to be aware to be intentional with your action it's deciding which handful of things are going to be your quote unquote moon landing and then watching over them like they are precious you know let's say a goal of yours is to increase your net worth if you're looking at your bank account every day you're much more likely to make better monetary decisions than someone who keeps their finances in the dark because they hate thinking about it there are deliberate actions that must take place to bring about that change when I look at say YouTube I tend to know a substantial amount about my metrics because I really care about the channel and its growth and its impact I watch it and I monitor it things dip I need to know why if they took a sudden uh upswing and they're great I need to know why if success on a platform is my metaphorical moon landing I'm locked into every up and down I have to understand what's going on so I can make the necessary adjustments to grow and then when the growth happens after time has elapsed I can think in my own little world that was space travel I was driving that metaphorical horse and buggy not all that long ago but I stayed locked in and this may seem simple and it is but for what it's worth my biggest breakthroughs always tend to be I've exhausted a lot of energy and in some cases even paid uh you know a decent amount of money to learn the simple things [Music] nothing is that complicated we just think it is which is why we do nothing and then complain about the Delta between the real and the ideal but I'm here to tell you that if you decide on a few things that matter to you and then measure their progress allocate the energy to moving along with them where you'll be in months or years from now will Astound you it will be breathtaking but you have to be willing to peel back the curtain and immerse yourself in it prove to yourself that sure it might feel big and complex but once you give something that time and attention it becomes clear pretty quickly how simple it all is what's one thing you can do every day and each meaningful category in your life that will get you closer to where you want to be if you watch over that process and you adjust along the way the amount of opportunity available the amount of change you'll create is unbelievable and someday to others on the outside looking in your progress will seem out of this world Larger than Life it will appear a moon landing but you'll know it wasn't the miraculous it was just a simple decision to give it time and attention you watered it and so it grew [Music] the message in this episode was inspired by some background music the very music playing behind my words right now actually I have this thing for acoustic tracks I just feel like they completely changed the dynamic of a story but I digress I was uh writing earlier opened my notes found a topic I wanted to discuss it's been about two hours on it but as I listened to this song and looked over my words I just felt like what I'd written didn't do it justice due to that feeling where maybe it's your work or any other aspect of life really where you know what you have is good enough like no question good enough to get by maybe even better than average but at the same time you have this little voice in your head almost guilt because you know there is within you something better like sure this will get you through the gate just know You're conceding Something and it's that Curiosity that question what could I have created and given to the world that just pulled me in a little deeper [Music] I was recently in Cincinnati one of my oldest friends Mike we met in fourth grade we've been uh in touch ever since and we were having dinner talking about how we were always in trouble back in the day and I mean we were always in trouble as kids went to a little Catholic School in Southern California and the way they disciplined us back then was they had this system where if you were talking when you shouldn't be you'd get a t for talking and that tea basically counted as one strike if you did something besides talking that was inappropriate you'd get an eye which I presume is for inappropriate and eyes counted as two strikes and we couldn't really remember what the system was completely but I think we landed on you know if you got up to seven total strikes before the end of the week you'd get a note sent home to your parents and uh we were going back and forth kind of disagreeing on the effectiveness of that system you know the classic uh carrot versus stick argument you know Mike thinks it was a great system and certainly there was a lot of value there you know it kept us uh in check to an extent uh but I saw it differently in the sense that all it did at times was rearrange incentives you know like if it's Friday afternoon and I'm sitting there I only have one tea for the week you bet the teacher turns around I'm throwing that apple shape stress ball right at the back of Mike's head you know I've earned myself a little breathing room over the course of the week do I not do just enough to avoid that note going home to Mrs P and it just seems like looking back now uh that a reward based system might have been more beneficial instead of tiptoeing around and manipulating the rules so that we could avoid those negative outcomes why not learn to aim to reach for more right for the positive outcome and here's why I'm going down this rabbit hole because I know this seems trivial but here's the honest truth it took me into my mid-20s to unlearn this and even the most basic sense certainly not just because of my elementary school it's how we're all raised right to avoid the negative to do uh enough to avoid punishment or embarrassment it's not about mountaintops it's about dodging the t's in the eyes learning and manipulating this system to get what we need so that we have just enough you know when as an adult I'm not talking merely finances here I'm talking relationships I'm talking health I'm talking all aspects of life right that little voice that we all have we all know it the one that said to me two hours ago yeah this speech is fine you'll avoid missing your deadline you'll feel like you got everything done on schedule today you won't have to call your editor or postpone anything but like how good do you feel about it because you're capable of more this is good but somewhere behind that curtain there is great no I'm not saying this episode is going to be you know third in history behind King's I Have a Dream speech in the Gettysburg address but the message means something to me it means everything to me the ability to leave good in pursuit of great changed my life and most of the time not even in the larger than life sense I'm talking about the little things I'm talking about the courage to walk away when I had to to fight for more when I felt slighted to get out of bed when I felt like my ego was crushed in a world where we're conditioned to find and settle for adequate [Music] that little perspective shift little fire in my soul which honestly if anything just makes life more fun more exciting more impactful when you feel like you're generating meaning in your own life it puts color into the mundane and that's the message that I want to leave you with when you hear that little whisper in your soul that question is this your best is this who you want to be is it where you want to be [Music] why not entertain it dive into the Curiosity walk through the door and see what lives on the other side at worst case the decisions reversible as most are and you backtracked the start [Music] and repeat the cycle but it life opens up [Music] and sometimes it's a hard conversation to have with yourself no question sometimes it hurts being that vulnerable with the person in the mirror but your soundtrack deserves a story that matters to you and you don't find meaning running from the t's and the eyes you don't find contentment hiding in the shadows of life you arrive where you're supposed to be by following that Curiosity straight into an evolved version of yourself by listening when the voice asks is this where you were meant to be [Music] just imagine if we implemented into our lives all those things we already knew would make us better imagine if we became Masters not just of knowing but of transforming knowledge into motion a friend of mine Tyler will reach out every once in a while after listening to uh one of the episodes and we'll just kind of Riff back and forth on the content chat about the overlaps the differences most importantly you know how we can each in our own world be a little better happier and healthier Tyler recently built and sold a tech company and is now transitioning into a new chapter of his life and in essence starting over which is something I can in many ways relate to and this morning I got a voice note and said man imagine if we implemented wholeheartedly the things we knew to be true imagine if we could execute for ourselves with the same advice that's so obvious when looking out at the world at others and I thought oh man right as someone who spent a decade thinking and philosophizing about this stuff this is uh a very real and valuable question not only that sort of comes in a perfect time and here's why right those of you who have been listening to the channel or podcast for a long time you know this for me has been one great adventure documentation of a journey starting with the first video I ever released owed to Excellence which was essentially me promising myself just to give this Creator thing a try and not go back to what I knew to be safe to videos like running in the rain or I discuss my coming to understand the value of identifying as a person who does the hard thing to speeches like make you proud where all I'm really doing is during hard times assuring myself that things will be fine so more recently we're sure I'm finally seeing some of that growth and 10 years of effort compounding but now grappling with brand new challenges right since day one I've been coaching myself through the ups and the downs but what are these stories what do they provide for me or for those who listen to them well in a sense they're the Lessons Learned they paint a portrait of the ideal they're merely information yes life gives you more when you ask more of life and yes discomfort is often the cost of admission yes you can get through life's greatest storms if you take it one step at a time and yes the challenges we Face evolve and the context changes but we are equipped to confront and handle them guess what though none of that information matters if we don't act on it if we're not using the past to recreate the present those stories are my map but even the best map in the world is meaningless unless it's being utilized and Tyler's very simple and direct question was valuable to me and that it did two things first it made me think Eddie look back at your journey Look What You've overcome right in a number of ways you've learned you know what needs to now be done and simultaneously prompted me to ask and so now this very moment what are you doing about it I love the lesson I think there's art in our struggle and Beauty in the overcoming of our suffering but if all those lessons if the ideal remains stagnant like a caged bird what's the point that wisdom must be set free and that only happens with the targeted deliberate effort I felt this uh sense of excitement invigoration in asking myself how can I highlight the doing where can those Wheels hit the road faster how can I delve further into those very epiphanies I love to explore something that I'm encountering now that's both fun and challenging is the transformation from I mean really being a solo Creator speaking writing producing in his Studio to sing the process as a business owner to building a support structure and systematizing workflows right as a as a friend has said to me before a little less Mickey Mouse in order to be a little more Walt Disney and it's happening but the truth is right you don't get where you're going the same way you arrived Where You Are so how can the old lessons be turned into action now knowing my world changes the second I decide to act it's like having an unused Arsenal at my disposal knowing my foot is barely touching the pedal is power and we can all focus on that actualization of our knowledge we can all ask what's one thing I can do today that I need to I know that I need to perhaps I wouldn't have if I didn't give myself a little push I love the idea of that simple diagram where you draw a line straight down a page and on the left side you're listing your current obstacle the things that are really bothering you or the reasons you're stuck and then on the right one single thing you're gonna do about it all it does is reinforce action then action is everything because to Tyler's point you know I really know what needs to be done we all really know what needs to be done not how things will end or maybe what the Finish Line looks like but we know now we have a gut sense of what we need to do and where the opportunity lies we're aware we understand [Music] so a world where we become masters of doing is the world where we transform beyond our wildest imagination and the things I talk about they can ultimately in my life become everything or wither away into nothing they can sit there as it's supposed to an ideal and ultimately uh I wish I did all that depends on what I do with it and how I choose to act when I'm uncomfortable moving into a new space the same can be said for anyone listening to this you're equipped with at least a starting point you probably know what you don't like you're probably aware of some things that must be eliminated or left behind but knowing that is only as good as your first step so are you willing to partake in the doing in taking the little pieces of wisdom and breathing life into them by walking out your front door by looking in the mirror entrusting in your ability to adapt to change to grow in a world of complexity let's simplify we know what must be done so let's focus on the doing [Music] and on the journey if we misstep or miss the mark adjust and move again because we know there's nothing more tragic than doing nothing at all I do something today that takes an ax to the tree of stagnation not everything but one thing when you are in motion that world seems to conform to rearrange around you so here's to giving life the opportunity to make that happen to giving yourself the opportunity to experience it as Tyler stated just imagine if we implemented wholeheartedly the things we knew to be true not kind of or sort of but with the same or greater intensity and in many cases intentionality it took to acquire the knowledge what would that look like let's move now let's swing away let's uncover that world where your lessons translate to feet on the pavement in reality in the palm of your hand [Music] we are the stories we tell ourselves [Music] I used to tell the maybe someday's story until I saw the value contained in the why not today story I was the main character in The how do I not mess things up story until I pushed my way into the how about capturing life's upside story I believed wholeheartedly in the what will my friends acquaintances people I Used to Know think of me story before I felt the freedom of the you don't live life for them you live life for you story [Music] my scarcity story preceded my abundance story my bowing before the odds story preceded my simply do not stop story my you don't deserve them story preceded my if you're not a net positive on my life I don't want you around story my maybe I can be that impactful add that much value make that much money have that much fun story preceded my I'm going to do all those things now how do I arrange these pieces to support my mission story [Music] as I've grown and learned and changed some of the stories that I've told myself and I can look back and always draw a direct line from the stories I was telling and the life I was living we get in life what we allow and our narratives our stories happen to be The Gatekeepers if you want to change the situation change this story right if you're telling yourself the world is against you you'll live like the world is against you if you're telling yourself the world is conspiring to help you live your best you'll find the opportunity where you otherwise would and you'll find it not through magic but because you're looking for it it's that simple we don't look for things that go against our narratives we don't seek things out that we don't believe exist those internal stories prompt our action and our action changes our reality [Music] since finding this a few weeks ago it's become one of my favorite ideas Alan Watts speaking to a classroom of students he says when a flag is flapping in the Wind is it the wind or the flag that moves neither it is the mind that moves our minds are moving they are internalizing and painting the portrait that becomes our reality if you don't like the reality you're seeing guess what it's not the world it's how you're viewing the world it's what you're doing about your world and I understand how hard it can get how we all oscillate between periods of struggle and contentment how low the lows can feel I get it but the truth is the wrong stories will simply keep you down hold you there 'll ensure blinders stay on as life rotates around you and the opportunity dissipates we are the stories we tell ourselves and that's beautiful news because it means the reflection in the mirror holds the key to transformation [Music] life can give you the details the context but it can't write the script that my friend is all you [Music] it's impossible to know how their story ends foreign but we do need to be willing to light up the 10 feet in front of us we need to be willing to illuminate the now [Music] it's how little nothings transition into those very meaningful some things one illuminated piece of the puzzle at a time [Music] they say that complexity is the enemy of progress things seem too big too far away when all the world appears dark we pause we become crippled by how much we don't know we hide in the shadows of life's unknown but I have and hopefully will until my final days hold on to the idea that we have within us enough light just enough light to brighten up The Path before us directly in front of us it's always been just enough to get through anything when the world is dark you can't see the hand in front of your face it will always be true that you possess the ability to cut through that Darkness to highlight the next stepping stone there's just enough light to collect the data and information sufficient to make one more logical decision one more to take one shaky and uncertain step it's amazing what they become over time see I've spent some time in that metaphorical Darkness I've also been in the light I've believed I've had all the answers and been brutally humbled by life there have also been times where I bet on myself when the odds were small and emerged Victorious whether up down high or low the Saving Grace was remembering that if I turned the light on the headlamp initiating from my eyes and projecting out into the world it would always provide enough for me to do perhaps the most important thing I'm capable of doing moving forward there's no skipping in life no jumping races to arrive at any particular Finish Line [Music] but there is always enough to carry on this realization has been interesting to me our struggle when it emerges it's usually not derived from an inability to do the right thing it's not like we're missing something no our struggle comes from thinking we need more than we do it's frustration that our goals are so big and so far away and so Out Of Reach we lose sight of what we can control blinded by a standard that no human can live up to stop beating yourself up for not being a God no mere mortal ever leapt a mountain everything is not the goal one thing is the goal and you are capable of one thing everyone is capable of one thing one little action to initiate momentum and push you further into that unknown but where you might wonder I need to know where to which I say breathe because the wearers make themselves known when you're in motion As you move forward the wrong destinations prompt you to learn and then self-correct and the right ones inspire you to push further in their Direction both valuable right the only way to lose is not go the only way to lose is to say because I don't have it all figured out I'll remain right here like a toddler refusing to put a puzzle together because he can't see the completed mural in each individual piece the whole point is to put it together the fun is to put it together the growth and the value is in putting it together and I get it we want to know right humans want to know that's why evolving is hard we have to be okay with not knowing and that's what life is about formulating your hypothesis and then letting the data derive from your progress alter your approach that data is not gifted to you while you stand stagnant so the question is will you sign that dotted line the one that says when you can't see the Mountaintop what you will be left with is solely trust in yourself that you can bring it about it's easy to say yes when the sky is blue and the birds are singing storms when your mind begins to whisper that perhaps it will never end when it begins to ask you if there was ever even a point after all look around there's nothing but Gray [Music] that is when you have to remember the rules of the game that's when you have to remind yourself it's not about knowing it's about trusting about creating puzzle pieces not finishing murals anyone can create just one puzzle piece and in just one more and just one more because yes it's difficult as is life but you'll remember why as you move into this storm and watch all those little pieces connect around you [Music] find something to make yours I connect every few months with some of my good friends to strategize kind of reflect back on the previous quarter plan for the new one with each of our businesses kind of share ideas stuff like that and I was chatting with my friend Keith about life before he found success in what he's doing now the struggle and the turbulence he faced as well as ultimately his decision and that's entirely what it was to turn things around and I've talked about his backstory before so I'm not gonna get uh too much into it but essentially he grew up in a very negative environment dealt with a ton of adversity but got through it started his own National Business installing and repairing commercial pizza ovens and the guys just crushing and you know our conversation in that moment wasn't so much about the doing it was more on the overcoming and how mentally we had to recreate ourselves to have any chance of moving beyond what we knew I've talked about it a little before kids are simply not taught in school how to thrive how to build how to ask more of themselves in the world uh they're taught to follow instructions to do what they need to do in order to pass the exam to progress to the next level then there's a gray area because I'm not saying this is totally valueless but I am saying that anything beyond that requires a reworking of sorts now you ask anyone who stepped out of that cycle and they'll tell you the mental and psychological shift that needed to take place it was almost overwhelming right it's a lot but it's imperative I recently looked up the word entrepreneurship and this is the definition the activity of setting up a business or businesses taking on Financial Risk in the hope of profit and in my mind it is the risk precisely that's challenging that brings us so much pain but also contains within it the reward it's one of the craziest dilemmas we face you know you'll have to endure some of the worst times of your life but because of that you'll get to experience highs that would otherwise have been almost completely improbable we have to rework the thinking that says discomfort equals run away like no discomfort equals the price of something better and sure it's by no means mandatory but it's where the upside lives you have to train yourself to step out into the chaos with the expectation of taming it and yeah everything could go wrong but also everything could go right and just imagine imagine what that would look like that possibility alone validates the risk we just need to convince ourselves and that risk by the way is not just Financial in fact most of the time it's not it takes a variety of shapes in our lives you run the race you risk losing you go up and talk to the girl you risk rejection you pick up and move somewhere new you risk winding up somewhere you don't want to be and maybe temporarily things do fall apart but maybe you win the race maybe you find the love of your life maybe you relocate to the happiest place you've ever called home calculated risk is the beginning of everything the matters and so back to the convo we were talking about the different risks we've taken how some chapters were fun some were challenging and some were both and how for me there was even from time to time a conversation where I was asking myself whether it was really worth it you know when you're uncomfortable the Mind wants to do one thing get rid of the discomfort and I had to convince myself remind myself that I'm someone who risks good to pursue great risk hurts and somewhere in that conversation was when Keith said he remembers the exact point the risk became worth it the discomfort became easier to manage we're so used to taking orders to playing scared at the incentive just wasn't there until Keith's words it became mine the most invigorating thing he ever did was find a pursuit to call his own that's powerful his business injected him with a new energy and in essence a new life because he suddenly had a stake in the game and I think that's what so many of us in so many areas are missing the risk appears bigger when it's not counterbalanced by something meaningful so find something to make yours the Simplicity there is beautiful complex ideas expressed in simple ways are always worth holding on to right we are programmed to lose because we are programmed to live according to someone else's standard to think small to ask ourselves how do we not screw up but when you can step outside that little self-imposed circle and instead ask yourself what's something I can create that is my own something I care about that I can nurture invest a part of me into that's when life really starts paying dividends you're not existing you're living or as I've recently discussed you're empowering yourself to not just sit in the room but be in the room fully I use entrepreneurship as the model for this discussion because that's been such a huge part of my life where I've been injecting my time and attention and yeah risk but the point is not that everyone needs to stop what they're doing and become an entrepreneur that's one path of many obviously the point is that there is a risk reward dynamic in entrepreneurship that we should all understand extract and inject into our own lives where it best applies we've learned to settle in so many ways that we must know there is tremendous value in asking what is it in my life I want to invest in make mine give myself the opportunity to experience the excitement of defining the things I care about and watching them grow right whether your current arena is entrepreneurship or motherhood fatherhood academics a particular relationship some combination of these or anything else to make magic out of the mundane requires we first make it ours we take ownership responsibility for the journey we accept the risk and Chase down the rewards [Music] you can do amazing things when you realize what you're capable of and commit to its manifestation so in a world where yes we are conditioned to fail step out from those subtle shackles of learned helplessness you are anything but help it's just that you've yet to reach out and pull your dreams into your orbit you've yet to put a stake in the ground and say this matters and it's time to see it through because once you do that the good stuff begins I wouldn't make excuses for you I wouldn't look you in the eye and tell you everything is great when in actuality the wheels are falling off the wagon no I'd point to the insufficiencies and remind you that you're capable of chipping away at them I think that pragmatism can save someone's life but guess what being human is knowing there are things you don't know realizing that growth is picking up little understandings along the way and bringing them with you into the future allowing them into the evolution that is you [Music] and part of my personal Evolution was coming face to face with the fact that looking forward isn't all of it [Music] it's part of it yeah we need to be better of course yeah we can always squeeze more value out of the time allotted to us 100 percent this forward progression as far as I'm concerned is intertwined in human fulfillment are in this moment the manifestation of the obstacles we've already overcome we are the times we wanted to stop and didn't we are the losses we bounce back from and the adversity we forged into opportunity were the endings that we melted down into beautiful beginnings we are the mistakes the obstacles the little encounters with hell that didn't Define us but instead changed us and that matters so quick story time for about five years after I graduated college some of my friends and I have this Fantasy Baseball League we'd use to stay in touch right and I think even they would begrudgingly admit that I was oddly good at it I won like three or four out of the five years or something like that and you know what my strategy was it was simple I picked players based on who they were over the course of their career not based on how they performed last year which is a trap people seem to fall into right so a guy that hits 30 home runs six years in a row and then last year suddenly Only Hits seven it's not out of the question to think he'll hit 30 again revert back to the mean to his average his track record that to me is more meaningful than some recent struggle and I took that bet every time now as you can imagine the point I'm making here has nothing to do with baseball it has everything to do with life in general so much of the time we completely focus on the current insufficiencies the bad things happening now the misfortunes in our lives were striking out and our brain goes into panic mode it says Gap Gap Gap how do we fill it and again yes that's important right our plan for Resurgence is necessary but we can't forget who we are and what we've done we can't Overlook our track record as the saying goes you've survived 100 of the bad days you've lived through countless struggles you've climbed out of many catastrophes at least I have and it seems as though it's when we need that reassurance most that we are most inclined to forget it's when we more than any other time need to prove to ourselves that we are unconquerable that we question our ability to persevere [Music] never say to you the road ahead will be easy I'm not saying it won't suck at times I'm not saying it won't take all of you I'm merely saying that you are equipped to emerge Victorious to handle not some of it but all of it I'm saying that the person in the mirror is stronger than you can even imagine but understand you're not operating on Blind Faith here you're not hoping for some miracle you're operating on your own record of success what you do is find a way what you do is win you don't believe me look over your shoulder take a trip down memory lane glance back at all the mountains you've already climbed and life it won't be smooth sailing all the time you'll have your slumps and your adversity no question but they're not you they are what you were made to navigate everything has brought you to this point and it's great to focus on this point but don't lose the everything sometimes it's not about who you will be someday sometimes it's about what you've already become it's about Who You Are now so much of life comes down to control understanding what we cannot control while simultaneously capitalizing and making the most of the things that we can [Music] a constant awareness that's critical to our evolution Epictetus wrote we must be at once cautious and courageous courageous in what does not depend upon choice and cautious in what does [Music] this idea has been shared many many times in many ways over the centuries another of which a lot of folks have heard is the Serenity Prayer right God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can in the wisdom to know the difference [Music] but regardless of how it's said and who it said to the point is the same there are things we cannot control that we must find a way to stop exerting ourselves stop exhausting our energy on they are as the saying goes what they are these obstacles are immovable and rather than continue to push and push and push with all our strength and energy our time is best suited learning to effectively navigate them [Music] and then there exists those things that are in our control I believe it was The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle he said yeah and I'm paraphrasing if something cannot be changed stop thinking about it right the future represents anxiety it's worrying about things that haven't happened yet the past is essentially depression it's worrying about things that already happened we can't do anything about the past or the future all we have is now and if it can be changed then act now and bringing about a desired result take that first step create some semblance of momentum no matter how small but to worry about what is behind you or in front of you is actually insanity I Remember Loving the Simplicity and pointedness of that message accept it eliminate it or adjust yourself to it sometimes it helps when I think about things in metaphors and I tend to do it often this morning I was drinking coconut water right of all things and I was thinking man it'd be nice you know those little pieces of coconut that float around in there it's like it'd be great if they if they were not in there right so I have this idea just grab a strain or pour it through the strainer into the glass I'm leaning over the counter watching the pieces of coconut collect in the strainer and I'm just thinking sort of zoning out like imagine if those were my problems just being separated out of my life just like that how nice it would be captured in a little net and then you know discarded thrown away but you know it didn't take me long to realize a couple things one such an idea would never happen life will always have some obstacle to place before us that's what life does after all the word is predicated upon the avoidance of death it's a struggle and a necessary one which leads me to the realization number two we want hardship you know purpose and meaning they're derived from our willingness to overcome adversity and transform because of it a life without struggle is a car without wheels and sure you might avoid the fender benders but you're not leaving the garage so that's a that's a thumbs down so I thought okay well what if I slightly adjust that thinking what if it's a subset of problems that I can remove that's when it kind of hit me the opportunity at hand right not the so-called problems but my thoughts about them there are the real Difference Maker here the negative storytelling that can be removed pushed through the strainer again not novel or groundbreaking like I said a few minutes ago this idea has been around for thousands of years but sometimes things land perfectly right moment right time and I knew what I needed to do was remove the worries and concerns pertaining to the events that I could not change yet I exhaust my energy dancing around and around with my thoughts about them [Music] you cannot change the future you can change right now which ultimately becomes the future and there's a difference I had to you know pull that back in saving most of our problems are derived from anger or emotional attachment to the immovable the unchangeable one of my favorite sayings is uh you can't change the direction of the wind but you can always adjust your sails and see when you remove the self-tormenting you have going on about your past things you wish you did or didn't do when you remove the concern that the future won't be exactly what you want it to be which tends to be where I lean of the two you're left with one thing the present right Clarity you have officially empowered yourself because the things you allocate your energy to can be changed can be made better or adjusted and that's really what it's all about you can't change the fact that someone you loved or cared about Let You Down but when you dwell on it you're now giving up the present as well you're preventing yourself from doing what is required of you now to make your life better you can't control the fact that uh your company's reducing its size and your department is being eliminated can't control the fact that eight percent get accepted to whatever you're applying to can't control the fact that you will be criticized for doing the unpopular thing the thing that you believe to be right and I say these things not to be a downer I actually don't think there's anything sad about this to the contrary right now that you've accepted these truths accepted this is reality now you can move toward what's best for you no more dwelling on the unchangeable no more fighting unwinnable Wars no it's time to go put yourself in position to conquer whatever mountain is next by straining out the things that cannot be changed you are left only with what can you can't change your company's Personnel reduction but you can find something else something better out there you can set the stage for a New Journey you can't increase the acceptance rate but you can increase your value go above and beyond put yourself in position to succeed and if you don't their loss continue learning continue growing continue moving forward you can't stop the world's criticism but you can learn to toughen up emotionally learn to trust your intuition and decision making surround yourself with people you trust who lift you up see when you stop wasting time and energy on the wrong things you get the right things like Greg McCune says in essentialism it's now but we can acquire but often what we cut away removing the things that weigh us down that we're dragging along with us everywhere we go they don't need to be there I say to myself often that I have everything I need it's there some of it's materialized some of it exists as a seed that I need to identify and water and nurture but it's all right here which means the problem will never be that I'm incapable it will never be that I'm not good enough no when I'm in the wrong it's because I've forgotten to see it I've either become consumed with the wrong things or lost faith in myself to do the right things has been a gift it's been tremendous the darkest moments to re-acquire what matters most sometimes it takes hours sometimes days even weeks or longer but I get there eventually I arrive and so can you you have the ability to parse out why you feel the way you do to categorize the thoughts in your head can I change it no okay gone and with all that's left Begins the journey the good stuff the adversity and the problems that will make you who you are and don't misunderstand me I'm not saying it will be easy saying it will be worth it and that's critical to understand your world is there to maneuver and adjust to reshape but its transformation depends on a laser-like focus on that which is malleable that's saying do what you can where you are with what you have it will lead you to exactly where you need to be even if you don't trust the road before you trust yourself [Music] to walk down it [Music] [Music] I'll never forget listening to Jim Rohn was taking a walk in the middle of the day I needed to get out decompress rethink realign and this message came through my headphones he said we must all suffer from one of two pains the pain of discipline or the pain of regret the difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons he did that I needed that because sometimes we forget why in the midst of the day-to-day the trials and tribulations of life we forget why we endure and there's a strange dichotomy that exists because you know you can't measure discomfort that hasn't arrived yet you can identify regret that hasn't materialized [Music] yet in a way you have to you have to somehow make that tangible you have to know that sacrifices of today deliver you from the anguish of I wish or if only or maybe I could have [Music] heard it said that humans ability to delay gratification is what makes us so unique incredible even but that doesn't mean it comes easy [Music] so as I walked [Music] I became reacquainted with the trust that I had in myself in the future and the steps I was taking it wasn't that I'd reached some Grand Finale but that I gave myself permission to stop constantly expecting one [Music] worrying when things didn't go as planned feeling disgusted with myself when I fell short this is after all part of a process and if one stays the course builds a foundation of discipline to guide them towards what they believe in things will evolve [Music] we feel uncertain because new things don't have a precedent at least not a personal one and that feeling of you know I wish I knew or had some predictability it's real it's common but if minimizing regret is what means the most then it also means that we must have the discipline to walk steadfast into the unpredictability of tomorrow a long term sustained discipline [Music] and one of my favorite interviews bronnie Ware who wrote the top five regrets of the dying who's talking about surrender and how she mentioned in her book letting go and I asked her can you explain that what's the angle because the way I look at life there's always something you can do you can always improve your situation somehow and she basically said it's not about what you can control what you can do it's about putting yourself in position to live the life you want to live and then letting go of that which you cannot control it's about not worrying over external forces as you walk your path because all you can do in life is walk your path and that became the marker or the question am I walking my path right now look at it like this first a vision gives you Direction purpose keeps you excited injects meaning into life second discipline keeps you moving becomes the Tiny Steps that transport you through your pursuit of meaning [Music] and third trust in the process that you are here to give everything you have to give and then the rest as brawny says must be surrendered [Music] but the reason I bring this up is because all of it fits together like a puzzle like three pillars of a Parthenon now when people reach out to me all the time they're upset that they're not as disciplined as they'd like to be and they're listening to the speeches they're watching the videos they're absorbing the content trying to improve but nothing seems to get the engine going and I'm wondering what is your North Star what are you aiming for because as far as I'm concerned it's impossible to be disciplined if you don't have a reason you know when Jim Rohn states that the pain is in ounces now well there's an implicit compared to what being asked right compared to that top of the mountain that you'd presumably miss out on so if the mountaintops not to find you're on a Fool's errand [Music] that's why I had so much trouble with my old career for example it's hard to be disciplined there's no buy-in on the purpose using my previous metaphors Little Steps sure but towards what if you don't know it's only practical then to look around and ask yourself why am I taking them why not go drink with my friends why not stream this series on Netflix until 4am why not skip the workout [Music] you can listen to people on YouTube scream at you to do more and be more and try harder all day but without that peace it will not get you very far [Music] thank you a vision the discipline to pursue it and a trust in the process and you could say the same with someone who might have a Clear Vision a dream a perfect idea of what they want but never take action right the discipline never materializes makes the Endeavor just as meaningless [Music] things don't change until you take that big picture that vision and you break it down into little things you can do every day that's it and isn't that amazing the greatest most influential people from the friends and family that Inspire us to the greatest athletes and entertainers to our greatest thinkers creators world leaders all they do is a handful of things consistently every day in the direction of something that is Meaningful to them a process that has been talked about since the beginning of time The Compound Effect as Darren Hardy calls it that breakthrough was huge for me the realization that I don't need to LEAP any mountain I just need to ascend one tiny rock at a time and that is not a superhuman ability that is a single decision [Music] so here the question isn't can you be more disciplined of course you can the question is which few things are most meaningful to you which will you be focusing on every day so that they expand and inject value into you and the world [Music] and then lastly there is Trust sometimes the most difficult seeing the Unseen maintaining confidence in that which is unknown an incredibly challenging expectation in an instantaneous world a world where things are immediate feedback is immediate messages are sent across the planet instantaneously goods and services arrive within hours we have forgotten patience because it is disintegrating before our very eyes we are a society of now but the best things in life they take time they require that we hold up our end of the bargain and that we trust life will fall into place [Music] belief in a process that will come to mean more than anything that arrives in 30 seconds ever could vision the discipline to pursue it and a trust in the process do for your midday walk your little Excursion into the soul to ask yourself what is it you are moving towards why are you doing what you're doing does it mean something and if not perhaps some adjustment is in order perhaps you've lost sight of that North Star that lights up our lives and illuminates the way [Music] solace in the fact that life is not as serious as we make it out to be we don't live in a world of right and wrong good and bad yes and no but a Continuum an opportunity to seek out and find the beautiful ups and the meaningful Downs to set our sights on the horizons that matter see when the little things feel too complex or burdensome it's because the big things are misaligned and that is a powerful idea to grasp it's never that life is too difficult it's that we have closed our eyes so don't be fooled by those selling you reality as some problem some obligation that must be dealt with no today is the greatest gift of your lifetime and the same will be true every day moving forward and to Echo Jim Rohn absolutely it is a gift comprised of sacrifice and discomfort along the way [Music] but that's a small price to pay for entry to the show for the ability to embrace the mystery and Embark upon the adventure when you're pointed to the right North Star well the road it feels less treacherous on your feet the hills less strenuous on your legs what we often deem to be a lack of preparedness ability strength well might just be a lack of alignment [Music] so adjust because this world flexible and Limitless invites you to do just that invites you to huge floor until you've uncovered your vision to pursue it like nothing else matters to sidestep the obstacles invert the setbacks and lastly to find hope when there appears to be none to set your sales walk your path run your race and surrender to that which is beyond your control and you'll find that with a vision with discipline with trust in the process there is no situation or circumstance outside the scope of what's possible for you [Music] laughs [Music] there's often a vast distinction between what we think is holding us back and what is actually holding us back and that may even be putting it lightly most of the time we're just plain misinformed most of the time we're looking externally at irrelevant discrepancies between ourselves and someone else we're looking at things that happened yesterday possible outcomes that may happen tomorrow we're creating entire stories crafting narratives building hostile worlds that simply don't exist when what we need is simple [Music] to give ourselves permission to let ourselves walk out that front door and towards what we long for this came to light recently I I shared a simple 20-second message on Tick Tock where basically I highlighted John Green's quote about the best things in life occurring after we find the courage to depart or leave where we are right to build again and as I was looking at the response it was both beautiful and eye-opening hundreds and hundreds of comments from people saying that the message helped them feel empowered to do what they've been putting off and some called it fate some called it what they needed to hear at the exact moment they needed to hear it and as I'm going through I I keep thinking the same thing over and over and over every single one of these people they already knew in their hearts what needed to come next they knew what would make them feel alive they knew where the compass was pointing [Music] yet their default LED them to the same place we've all been waiting for external permission waiting for life to give us a reason to say okay the light is now green you can go the time is right now don't get me wrong it means the world that a simple message can shift one's perspective that way I've been on the receiving end I'm stock looking for some type of guidance we all have but I think we'd all agree that if that guidance helps us get back on track then the real question should be how do we live so that we can stay to the best of our ability on track find ourselves less prone to those occurrences more confident in ourselves in our dreams in where we're going [Music] for me it's been understanding that in my life I am the one that creates signs and sends the permission slips I say go and when I remember that I'm free to do what's best for me I'm simultaneously the architect and the pieces the wind and the sail [Music] see you don't need a reason to walk out of a relationship you're not happy in you don't need a reason to leave a job that's not pushing you to be you who you most want to become you don't need a reason to change a habit or reinvent yourself or Begin Again know all you need is the courage to Green Light what your heart already knows it wants we think that the external world has the answers for us when in reality we've had them the whole time we just want something to point to to say see I was right [Music] but we don't need we can be proactive you can be the one that lights the fire [Music] when you follow your intuition your heart your sense of purpose life conforms because it has to conform when you become an immovable object life around you moves it makes way and if it doesn't then you go back to the drawing board you adapt and adjust and that's the beauty of life that's how we build meaning trusting ourselves to walk into that resistance [Music] because the friction and the headwind is never what's holding us back are they uncomfortable yeah the times does it scare us sure it's supposed to but it's not what holds you back waiting for someone or something to come along and green light your journey through life is what holds you back and it's funny I think we again and again Overlook the simplest of truths the hardest part is starting it's convincing yourself that one it's possible and two you're worth it everything else you face from the second you walk out that front door can be conquered in fact we ourselves grow along the way so that we can rise up and meet the demands of life but it's unquestionably doable that thought as you look out the window right what if the worst case scenario happens [Music] it can't because the worst case scenario is sitting in that seat your whole life looking out the window and imagining a world where you found the courage to be more to explore [Music] to live life as it was meant to be lived but let's say let's say that what we fear does come to fruition then I ask what are the odds it's reversible probably high let's say I want to start a podcast and I finally work up the courage and I get my mic and I start my show and no one listens but I keep going and I keep going and nothing sticks and most importantly I learned look I'm really not crazy about this idea it wasn't what I thought it was it's not me okay perfect now you know and sure it took time to learn that lesson but you have the rest of your life to continue the beautiful experiment to search for what lights you up But You Found the courage to explore to try to begin and you are now better because of it that's your worst case scenario sounds a lot less scary to me than a life lived sitting there looking out the window see we can't let the fear of an unlikely worse case stop the possibility of that oh so coveted best case don't let the virtually zero percent probability of losing everything overshadow the opportunity to gain everything let's never allow ourselves to get caught standing still waiting for the universe to give us the answer as though we're waiting for a letter in the mail no give yourself permission to see the upside to make your own decisions and most importantly to live your life [Music] [Music] [Music] what if I told you that you already know what must be done you just need to put yourself in position to do it you need to unlearn the rules that crippled you the ideas that can find you we are in constant Pursuit of the thing that will magically write all our wrongs the answer that will give us something we've never had [Music] know everything you need you have now you just need to allow it to flourish declutter simplify remove all that unnecessary stuff and walk your path Einstein once said everyone is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid and what's great about this is the idea that who we are is not found it's acknowledged it's accepted [Music] and I think in our world there are so many fish as Einstein says trying to climb trees that it creates a sense of learned helplessness we are judging ourselves using the wrong metrics equipped with the skills the characteristics and and the abilities to win in our own arenas but playing in someone else's how loyal are you to your own instincts do you do what you know is right or what you feel obligated to pursue when was the last time you listened to you [Music] in Tim Grover's relentless he introduces a brilliant metaphor he says a lion doesn't have to be taught to be a lion it just is it hunts runs roams explores lives life the only way it knows how if you capture Alliance bring it to the zoo or put it in a cage who will carry itself differently will lie down move around lazily sluggishly navigate its little space to passersby they'd never know what that lion really is they never know what it looks like in its element [Music] but despite all this it is still in fact a lion it maintains that Killer Instinct his characteristics haven't disappeared and if it were released from the cage it would go right back to doing what Lions do being what lions are meant to be it just has to ditch the cage and the point is perhaps so do you there's a little light in your soul that Waits day and night to explode into something meaningful where your nature meets your environment where the I shouldn't do this the odds are impossible the I'm not good enough I can't lose what I have now where all that Fades away where it's left behind you and you're finally free to Reign Over your own territory your own life your own Empire [Music] see we constantly feel like our glasses are empty like we're missing pieces in need of something just one more thing that will be our answer that's all we need and I can say with confidence it's not about what you need it's about what you no longer need it's about mitigating the noise so what matters can shine through removing those people in your life that drag you down or ADD no value it's about getting rid of the things that make your world unnecessarily complex removing the need for immediate validation success and accolades and instead embracing the little hinges in your life that is W Clement Stone said will ultimately swing the biggest doors [Music] we all have the lock the key and the map right there amidst the trivialities of our day-to-day and we walk right by them look right at them we pick them up and put them down but have we learned to truly see them everything starts with that awareness my life did not change until I recognized that until I began asking myself questions I'd never asked before big picture questions obvious questions just because it's obvious doesn't mean it's always intuitive right what do I want out of life what is important to me what's something I love doing that I can dedicate myself to that I can commit to being great at long term that I'm so immersed in that when the inevitable down times arrive the losses when the doubt and insecurity Creeps in I can keep moving forward because I'm so in love with the process but I don't let the little things like that Define me is Jordan Peterson famously puts it choose your sacrifice a life of meaning isn't easy but there's nothing more fulfilling because when you Embark upon that Journey it allows for the evolution of the self we can become something more this Nietzsche says those who have a why to live can bear almost any how we equip ourselves for anything the universe can throw at us we position ourselves to evolve Victor Frankel says man's main concern is not to gain pleasure to avoid pain but rather to see meaning in his life to align yourself with and pursue that which is your reason for living that's how we transcend the day-to-day life we've come to know when we breathe in possibility dance with the infinite and of course something of this magnitude it consists of ups and downs it's not the easy road but it's the one worth taking our metaphorical lion doesn't succeed every time he's prowling for food but he doesn't roll over and die he doesn't recede or quit being a lion he gets up tomorrow and does it again because it's who the lion is and while life doesn't unfold until you find that same thing for yourself and people say well I don't know that's the problem I have no idea that's not the problem that's the essence of life that's the beauty you're here to explore and find that for yourself but the power is knowing you're not looking for something or someone to save you you're looking for an environment in which you can best be you you're looking for the right terrain to share your gift with the world if you have what you need then you're not looking for the product you're looking for the delivery mechanism the vehicle to nurture and transport your value to a world that desperately needs it you're looking to build yourself up and in the process Amaze yourself look what you're capable of is beyond comprehension it's Limitless almost unfathomable but it is as Ryan holiday says out of confidence that must be earned so start now earn it let yourself succeed your intuition knows what feels right and what doesn't but the seed must first be planted so make today about setting yourself up for Success turning off the idea that you're one piece away from completion one minute away from starting that you're almost ready no you are ready now you have what you need now you know what's necessary now you just have to be your own Ally put yourself in position to be yourself let your values shine double down on what matters to you look it's not a game of acquisition it's a game of Courage do you have the courage to be who you are to follow that potential that possibility into the Great unknown [Music] why is this battle you versus you with all the complexity all the obstacles out there why are you your greatest opponent well to put it simply because all those obstacles and all that complexity still can't tell you no they can't say enough is enough they can't look back at you and say let's just settle for what we have now you know only you can do that the world may create the landscape it may construct a Terrain and those obstacles but you are the sole decider on where along the way you stop you decide how far you want to go and how much you are willing to endure when it comes to your advancement or limitation you are in the driver's seat [Music] I just picked up a copy of Will Smith's recent book and one of the ideas that stood out to me was resilience and this part in the book it's actually kind of uncomfortable to get through but incredibly powerful he's talking about his childhood and the polarity of his father's personality a man who would do anything to provide for his family he took pride in that and saw it as his primary responsibility but simultaneously was their greatest source of pain and he mentions his father you know hitting his mother from time to time in one particular example struck his mother in the face so hard that it knocked her on the floor and as she stood back up she said something along the lines of you can hit me but you can't hurt me and that was the first time will understood as the child the difference between uh what the outside world inflicts upon us than how we choose to react to that occurrence that understanding is power that's why you are the author of your story in the sense that every single thing dropped at your feet every situation every occurrence they come with an implicit question attached a question that you and only you are responsible for answering the question is what does this mean and how you respond to that question determines whether you go left or right at that metaphorical fork in the road is the occurrence detract from your Ambitions or is it a multiplier does it confirm your doubts and insecurities or is it your reason to rise to the occasion an opportunity to stretch to evolve d That's a gift that's an invite not some sort of divine punishment but the challenge is removing the layers until you arrive at the value and it's hard but you get there by saying yes you get there by choosing to see the value and here's a quick example my favorite thing about Athletics which was for me a ton of running now I throw more interval training in there but the same Concepts apply it's a chance to remind myself that I don't negotiate with my weakness I don't give myself an opportunity to rationalize with the voice that wants me to quit that question that fork in the road I answered it I charted its course before the workout started knowing this is going to be uncomfortable at times but it's where I need to go there will be no more thinking from here on out and so today's workout for example switching deadlifts burpees to squats to core you don't think you see the next requirement the next task and you simply say yes you don't need your mind for this in fact you go before your mind even knows where it's going because that dotted line has already been signed and that was the Breakthrough for me when you separate what you have to do with the hurt associated with doing that Thing You Free Yourself after all what's there to hold you back if you can't talk yourself out of doing things see we tend to think our greatest adversity is the pain or the confusion or the unknown but it's like no those are the byproducts of doing anything of significance the adversary is the voice that begs you to slow down because of those things and if you can figure out in your own life how to create space between the two how to separate the task and the discomfort often brought about by the task there's nothing that we'll ever be able to slow you down and look I'm not saying that you walk around without ever utilizing the power of that brilliant mind you possess the one's ability to think is everything but what I am saying is there is a time to shut it off there is a time in which to avoid overthinking we simplify Action Reaction one more mile okay end of story one minute of jump squats next Roger that period it's taking the emotion out of the process refusing to leave the door cracked for the inner dialogue that says hey maybe you don't do this maybe you slow down are you sure you can handle what's next no all of that is tuned out it's assignment go next go next go you know this is the right thing you did your thinking before grabbing the sword shield and stepping into the arena now guess what it's Instinct it's doing what has to be done and what has to be done hurts and look you didn't have to accept that you didn't have to step in you could have stayed home but somewhere along the way you looked in the mirror and said the difficult path is the one with the value and now here you are face to face with hungry lion clashing swords with your adversaries there's no turning back now now is when you parse out pain from the objective the pain is now part of the audio it's not with you or in you it's watching from above as you do what you came here to do so yes those swords Clash but the eyes remain focused on what's ahead and yes those Lions Roar but that's background noise when you simplify your world into objective and action objective action objective back question there is time for nothing but forward progress and sometimes that is all that is required of us in the face of adversity in the face of pain self-doubt in the face of discomfort can you break your world down into nothing but one single step forward one more set one more rep one more Session One More attempt just one more no rocket science no negotiation there's nothing to figure out here it's walking the path before you it's the discipline to carry on it's one more swing of the ax audience or no audience lions or no Lions you are bound to the universe at your feet and that simplified concentration is why you will succeed [Music] thank you [Music] the road to this moment wasn't an easy one there were times where you thought you knew simply didn't [Music] there were plans made that drastically differed from the ones fate had prepared [Music] there were days that made you question yourself your beliefs that made you ask what is my purpose look to live is to have felt these things asked these questions to have seen first hand the discrepancy between what we draw up and how life unfolds now I think about this discrepancy often the swings and misses they hurt you know that quick shiver you feel down your spine when thinking about the wrong turns made the tugging at your heartstrings when reflecting back on things said or perhaps worse left unsaid [Music] it's easy to get lost in that feedback loop letting the past dictate the present letting yesterday Define today but here's what I've come to see as the truth to experience the things that make life beautiful we have to be vulnerable in a way we otherwise wouldn't open ourselves up to an unknown that you know we could have skipped all together if we really wanted to all that pain all that hurt the past provided could very easily be the reason you shut down the reason you play small that hell you walk through could be your justification for never stepping out chaos of life again that would at first glance appear to make sense seem ideal even foreign but that pain could also be the reason you look around you and say after all that After experiencing everything life through at me I'm still here and as I stand here now I'm looking out at an array of possibility that is infinite I'm equipped with an understanding and a world view that was once foreign to me I'm armed with the perspective that has changed my life for the better by stepping out into the often dangerous brutal unforgiving world I have elevated myself and that has made all the difference and while it may feel intuitive to run from a reiteration of yesterday's pain it's wisdom that urges us to instead use that pain as a multiplier the key to something more something miraculous not to cower because we once endured it but to Stand Tall because we overcame it and that's what we often miss we can think back to the adversity sure but we're often unable to see how that adversity shaped us Our Own Strength it's never going to scream out at us it's never going to let us know it's there [Music] we have to take the time to acknowledge its presence we have to peer over our shoulders to see how far we've traveled we'll always have obstacles before us but if we don't stop and assess we won't see that the obstacles have gotten bigger not because life's gotten harder but because our own Evolution has permitted us to step into bigger arenas it has equipped us to take on larger adversaries a simple willingness to vulnerable has become the flame that lit up your soul [Music] so the question is will you step out will you see that vulnerability not as a crack in the foundation or a in the armor but as strength [Music] to love it requires accepting a susceptibility to being hurt play the game requires an acceptance that you just come up short to bet on yourself means understanding that you might fall right on your face to want more than you have now means acknowledging that you might be humbled along the way this is what it means to live giving a piece of yourself in order to acquire that which means the most the torture is often counter-intuitive willingness to step out into the darkness of night when your heart races and your mind moves a million miles a minute it's vulnerable that is [Music] and it's an investment in a tomorrow that otherwise would not have been available to you you are not your past you are the wisdom derived from its lessons the courage removed from its trials and the hurt that hurt that was perhaps at one point the only thing you felt it's not your reason to shrink into yourself it's your reason to step back out to say to the universe I have the strength to again dance with the unknown to risk the short-term discomforts that life often hands out like candy in exchange for the chance years from now to look at your reflection and say I got back up I did the hard thing I followed my heart I wandered into that Darkness to obtain the wondrous reality that is for a Time concealed I did that so love again Grow Again try again build again believe again see again Feel Again step out into the world again this is who you are [Music] underneath the fear and insecurity underneath all those reasons to not go there lives the beginning of the miracle that is life and it won't be easy the timing will never feel perfect but the question will always exist it will always exist within an Arm's Reach of where you stand can you be that vulnerable can you be that courageous then not just when things are going well but amidst the turmoil the chaos the self-doubt when your memory only wants to play highlight reels of where things went wrong where you swung and missed to see those moments not as the chains that confine you but as the strength that elevates you will you be vulnerable enough to give away some of you in order to expand and transform all of you [Music] [Music]

Channel: Eddie Pinero

Views: 1,223,463

Keywords: live inspired, motivation, your world within, Eddie Pinero, inspiration, running motivation, motivational speech, motivational video, motivational speech morning, best motivational speeches, motivational speeches to start your day, best of 2023 motivation, best speeches of 2023, motivational speeches compilation, motivational videos to start your day, wake up positive, listen when you wake up, let go of your past, begin again, rise again

Id: RcTnwm3uJj8

Length: 180min 11sec (10811 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 24 2023