BEST OF 2023 (SO FAR) | Powerful Motivational Speeches | Wake Up Positive

[Music] at night the sky becomes visible the darkness the muting out of everything else allows the Stars to finally shine through to make their presence known and during the day conversely one cannot see those stars but the world around him on the ground becomes illuminated it's a push and pull that seems to work perfectly [Music] and I think there's something poetic about the partnership existing between the big picture goal and the small steps required to bring it to life as one of my favorite sayings goes keeping your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground because here's what's interesting if one were to only look up at the goal she'd be consistently reminding herself of the ideal without taking the necessary steps to get there and if one were to only look down at her feet well her steps would eventually become aimless and it's that Duality right the need to both reassure yourself you can see the stars as well as use the world around you to pull yourself closer to them that changes things it's that beautiful dance that has to be maintained and this is a balancing act that has certainly been challenging sometimes the pendulum swings way too far one way sometimes way too far the other but in a perfect world you wanted gravitating towards the center I remember just starting the YouTube channel almost a decade ago having you know big multi-million subscriber goals but completely lacking the systems in everyday practices in place that would walk me towards that finish line right I mean sure something's better than nothing I was working and learning but the actions simply didn't align with the objective I had to correct them and then I've been on the other end as well but I'd be doing things every day without knowing why all steps no goal that sort of thing occurs when routine takes on a life of its own you start doing things because well it's what I do is what I've always done [Music] and uh you know this is when one has to look in the mirror and ask the difficult questions and look anytime I can squeeze the complexities down into this simple I try and do that so with that in mind my questioning goes like this what do you want know the answer okay good next question is what you're doing taking you closer every day to what you want asking that question in a serious way takes a spotlight to one's World using my previous metaphor it shuts the lights off so the north star becomes visible and then right turns them back on to ask yourself if you're using your resources to move there and I become pretty good at asking myself this question consistently and still I find things that don't belong to sort of you know they hide in plain view I have faith that I'll end up exactly where I need to be but that faith is rooted in my commitment to continually assess to scrutinize and adjust there's very little hope [Music] and a substantial amount of trust in my ability to continue forward [Music] there's an idea referred to as the Stockdale paradox which states and this is the the first definition I grabbed from Google here you must never confuse faith that you'll Prevail in the end which you can never afford to lose with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality whatever they might be that's where the tough love thing comes in be your biggest fan because no one will believe in you unless you do it all starts with your trust in yourself to navigate the process and arrive where you must arrive but it also requires you are your biggest critic it means the reason you trust yourself to get there is because you know you won't just sit back and say I'll win because I believe I'll win no you'll win because you will while having your head in the clouds be brutally pragmatic with the steps you're taking on the ground you'll win because you're committed to learning and adjusting one of my favorite epiphanies when I started doing this full-time was the realization at a very small scale at first that whoa someone can't fail unless they quit you can't lose unless you stop impossible someone might think right well no because when you miss the mark Or you fall short you take a second to understand why and then you come back to the problem or challenge again right this means life is a game of tenacity of Persistence of commitment the one who keeps adjusting and coming back is bound to connect the dots eventually which makes failure the simple decision that yeah this isn't worth it for me I don't want to continue adjusting and re-engaging with this and look hey depending on the situation that may be the move right there have been things in my life where after sufficient trial and error sufficient data I've said this doesn't align with who I am or what I want I'm gonna walk away and pivot to something that does right but the key is knowing that it is a decision do not reach a particular goal is a choice to no longer attack it relentlessly [Music] and so when you feel lost or defeated or even frustrated with the process try that line of questioning what do I want and is what I'm doing today bringing me there this allows you to start taking a sledgehammer to the things that don't belong refining the process and yeah sometimes walking away from the things that are no longer in the scope of who you want to be and where you're going [Music] but the power is in knowing it's in understanding that your footsteps the little actions of your you know your day-to-day they are incredibly powerful [Music] but most of all when you are methodical with them when they're pointed in the right direction so pick your stars carefully and own those steps that take you towards them failure is not a sickness you catch it doesn't fall on your head like a piano in those old cartoons it's a choice meaning in positive terms as long as you are committed to learn reapproach and repeat you will find yourself Atop The Mountain as long as you're willing to evolve [Music] you will ultimately arrive [Music] [Music] I went on a run yesterday my mind as it often does began to wander [Music] reflecting back on all the streets I've jogged down over the last 10 years all over the country up north in Canada down in Mexico across the Atlantic as long as my body would allow me I was running you could say it's become over time something of a spiritual occurrence for me so as I made my way down A1A I asked myself why why has it meant and why does it continue to mean so much to me this sort of arbitrary activity or exercise and not only that particularly during the times where everything else in life feels so unsteady when there's chaos and turbulence all around me well this is the conclusion that I came to [Music] it was the clarity it was the Simplicity that continued to pull me in and keep me going see when I was running I always knew what I had to do [Music] and there was calm in that reassurance perhaps most importantly a purpose looking back at those days where it's 94 in Miami in August the sun's coming down you know I'm suffering through the Run or days when I'm running through storms Thunder you know cracking all around me my heart racing because I know it's kind of dangerous to be there but what am I going to do I have to keep going those days up in New England in the Northeast right in the winter that first mile where you step outside and the wind sort of cuts through you you feel it in your bones all that's uncomfortable [Music] but problems they seem manageable when you know where you're going when you understand the rules of the game and the rules of the game every time I laced up my shoes they were simple you start at one point and you don't stop until you arrive at the other specified point [Music] it plays stability into an ever-evolving landscape it reminded me during the most difficult times what it was like to be in full control I'm going to say something that may appear drastic here I'm sure many of you know that saying Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication attributed to everyone from Lincoln to Da Vinci to your next door neighbor well I believe that Simplicity saved my life and I think it did many times it's been a very up and down Journey as they all are right and growth is injecting yourself into a world you don't understand definitionally it's being oversaturated with options The Road Less Traveled is uh paved in distraction and one of my purpose and my path felt like they were deteriorating before my very eyes when my understanding of life felt like it was slipping away which is a a pain pretty different than stubbing your toe right it feels much bigger it's much scarier it was faith in my ability to slay the dragon and find the treasure that empowered me [Music] it was the thing that reminded me [Music] when I break things down into little objectives not only do you conquer them but you identify as someone who conquers them right it's peeling back the layers of complexity that reminded me amidst the Clutter and the noise there's Simplicity in what I was meant to do [Music] the shiny objects need not divert my attention we just need to take the time to identify our Finish Lines and they can change what matters sometimes does but the moral of the story is you can't live life trying to hit Targets in the dark and it just makes sense right issues with the project I'm working on go for a run feeling confused frustrated go for a run argument with the girlfriend go for a run run run run right and I'd come back with less in my head than I left with which would funny enough ultimately be more than I left with right the space to think about what matters the Simplicity of starting points and ending points Nothing in life is that complicated it's not but we have a tendency amidst life storms to stop running during the heat waves we forget why we're there we lose that simplicity we lose our purpose and our meaning because we let the unimportant Things become the big things I think that's what running is a reminder that you know when life is simple [Music] we understand where we're going Simplicity isn't convenient it's what keeps your heart beating and your eyes open it is life it's waking up knowing what matters to you so that you can push away the things that don't it's that reassurance that yeah there's a world of infinity outside the window but what makes you brilliant is that you can identify and latch on to a small few things the world around us often says you know we need to use the whole canvas but I say there's nothing wrong with identifying your favorite color and going from there I say identifying your destination and moving towards it wholeheartedly with conviction is a superpower and it doesn't mean we don't stop along the way doesn't mean nature won't push us off course from time to time [Music] but for one who's taken the time to identify for themselves a Finish Line they are never truly lost even during the most trying of times because all that's required is a repointing of the compass I will continue to run for as long as I can because the further one moves into that a bit the more life says look over here a is important no B is what you need you'll never succeed without me or him or them this way that way some in-between way is the right way but no all that is distraction it makes you feel small very quickly and will make you feel unsure and ill-equipped just as fast in my mind the beauty in life is taking all that supposed complexity and finding within it what's required to paint our own masterpieces to run our own races life is a run around the Charles a run down the Hollywood Boardwalk a run to the Dania Beach Pier [Music] it's knowing where your heart needs to go and following it there it's saying yes when required and no when required but understanding you are the one who decides what required means [Music] beauty is simple contentment is simple meaning is simple and we can always access those things they're buried under the complexity we spend our day-to-day swimming in so neighbor here's to the ultimate sophistication to getting more than you've ever had in your life by building your own parameters out of the less [Music] what if those less than ideal things in our lives right so our limitations are constraints the aspects of life we consider to be you know a bad hand what if they weren't just things we need to learn to accept or little tragedies we have to live with what if they were ultimately the aspects of Our Lives that create the best of us the elements of our world that push us to our greatness this came to mind earlier I was listening to a book called How to Think like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson and he explores this point and talks about Socrates and ancient Athens and how he lived in abject poverty how according to the standards of ancient Athens was not an attractive person by any means you seem to have a lot working against him and the question that's posed is whether these exact circumstances ultimately created the man that became one of the most important thinkers in history [Music] he implies that his reality and his surroundings shaped his world view so it only makes sense for one to conclude that all of it contributed to the life he lived their Socrates was born wealthy and attractive and all these things could he have become the man that he became probably not and the reason I love this is because put it simply it reframes those less than ideal circumstances in our lives whether it is a personal trait we have no control over or An Occurrence we deal with it's understanding that a lack of ability in one area helps guide us to that spot where we can thrive a disappointment we encounter helps us regroup and make our way to the thing that is ultimately best the less than ideal the things that at surface levels seem bad or problematic they're always working for us to push us towards our contentment and our growth to our greatness I can say on my end it was the turbulence I experienced in my life that created that sense of curiosity for me it was a lack of understanding that pushed me to write about life explore the hardships we face and the resilience of the human Spirit through it all this is a pretty famous stoic idea that states we can't often control what happens but we can always control how we respond to what happens and there lies the power and the understanding that when one door closes as the saying goes you are pushed closer to the one that will open for you you have to decide whether you will find it within yourself to open it or will you focus on the lack the Gap what's not there what you don't have what went wrong see all those things the things that most people use as their reason to stop or quit or not go they can be the reason you lose or they can be the very reason you win you find a way but that means moving forward trusting there is good to be had understanding that everything that goes creates space for what truly needs to be there I understand it's common right but it's not just a cliche that adversity creates us the difficult times shape us why because we are transformed by The Bad and The difficult and that which in the moment does not seem ideal because they force us to move further into what we were meant to do and who we were meant to be just like Socrates was created from his adverse situation his Brilliance derived from his circumstance your greatness will be derived from yours so remember that next time you feel as though you've been slighted by life or something's been taken away from you while it may feel negative and I get it from time to time it does It ultimately becomes the wind at your back bringing you where you most need to be thank you it was an ordinary run on my ordinary Loop on an ordinary day right in the middle of an ordinary week I rounded the last Corner that I'd encountered before finally returning back to the street that I lived on beautiful sunny afternoon I remember the sun bouncing off my skin the sweat dripping down my face I was looking ahead not really at anything more so lost in my thoughts then out of nowhere this little butterfly kind of swooped in appeared right beside me [Music] and it seemed as it floated through the air to link its Pace with mine effortlessly gliding [Music] I looked over at it and back at the ground over at it again back at the ground and for a second I wondered what it would be like to be one of those flying machines the ones built for flight navigating the sky with no restriction what a feeling that must be and as I looked over for a third time it had slipped back into whatever types of things are important to a butterfly on a warm June day but realized as I carried forward alone again that for a few seconds we were side by side it in the air and me on the ground I hung in there with the flying machines that's right the creatures with wings designed specifically for flight I was for a Time amongst them so what truly separated us [Music] see my whole life I have Drawn Lines the lines that separate them from me from can and cannot from possible and impossible there have been times where I saw reality is pre-packaged basically as though you get what you get Factory stock out of the box it took a long time to see what I wanted and instead of saying hey must be nice or they have it made to instead ask how can I reverse engineer that outcome what do I need to do now to get what is ultimately available because it's very available and it's very real just because you are not built like those flying machines doesn't mean you can't run alongside them join their ranks become one of them the thing is instead of drawing walls and building parameters you have to give yourself permission to adapt and evolve I was thinking about this the other day is one of my best friends we're sharing some of the work he does with his real estate portfolio he was talking about some of the Lessons Learned on social media and it was met with resentment disdain you have acts I don't you make why I don't you came from Z I didn't [Music] and I read the comments I just shook my head and thought they don't know they don't know he grew up on a farm in Michigan spending a long time working for less than minimum wage they don't know that he put himself through college they don't know that he took out a loan having no clue what he was doing and learned how to renovate a home by himself see here's what he didn't do he didn't point up and say wow look how free they are must be nice no he asked how do I run alongside them I am not an observer I am a flying machine because the truth is we can do so much come so much once we've erased the mental lines that we've drawn over the years once we give ourselves permission to join that little segment of reality we've deemed to be ideal but have yet to walk towards nothing happens to the ordinary moments the ordinary days or weeks or months until you realize ordinary is just a label you've been placing on the pathway to extraordinary everything you need is there accept your past willingness to walk through it and today is a new day you will take to the sky in your own life when you stop drawing lines around everything you want in compartmentalizing it is not for you and instead run alongside the life you want as though it was already yours life is not a game of those who are and those who aren't [Music] the game comprised of those who will and those who won't those who see how they can and those who see how they can you can wish hope and watch time fly by or you can join the ranks of the flying machines that leave all that behind and take to the sky feeling stuck is a feature not a bug having moments of Doubt is a feature not a bug losing perspective from time to time is a feature not a bug there's no way to to step out into the world and avoid these things therefore the question is not will these moments arise the question is when they inevitably do what will you make of them [Music] and I think that fork in the road is often very misunderstood how you look at the world around you is everything not because as the great Tony Robbins says you close your eyes and chant there's no weeds there's no weeds and they're suddenly gone from your garden but because it's indicative of the choice we have that when something happens we don't always get to control um how it unfolds before us but we do get to choose what it means and that's it a simple decision and you can see how it's just as easy to go one way as it is to go another exciting another brilliant voice in this space Jim Rohn used to say something along the lines of success is easy right it's nothing more than a few simple decisions every day well when asked why isn't everyone successful he'd say because being unsuccessful is easy too choosing not to do those things is easy too right everything is about your decoder the world provides the pieces but it makes you the architect and so what are you building the ones who have had the greatest impact designed beautiful change added value to the world they did it through chaos yet those who are the angriest who've done very little with the gifts allotted to them they'll cite some variation of chaos for the reason they haven't succeeded it's the lens it's the decoder it's the fork in the road and you choosing which direction you will take if you're feeling trapped in a routine you have in some capacity taken the pieces around you and created a story of limitation you're forgetting that nothing is stopping you from trying something new today taking a risk today when you're feeling insufficient or like everyone around you has it all figured out you've taken the pieces and created a story of imaginary adversaries this is not you versus the world it is you versus you this moment has given you a fresh start a chance to find alignment with that which is Meaningful to you [Music] foreign metaphors life is a staircase where the chaos and the turbulence are ultimately there for you to tame and then move on to the next step in fact that's the only way we climb the world will consist of challenges and one of the most important gifts we can give to ourselves is to remove the notion that we can just Waltz on through with zero problems having that as The Benchmark sets us up for failure there is no perfect path or Pursuit instead ask where is the value when we fall ask where is the value how can I Rise grow adjust [Music] that's why perspective is everything one man or woman's business failure is the reason he says I tried and talks about what could have been over beer with his buddies for the next decade another man or woman's failure is the reason she's able to pinpoint where the problems existed and come back stronger wiser armed with Solutions see these aren't wildly different uh circumstances or initial occurrences what has occurred are wildly different interpretations wildly different reactions trust me I'm human I get the instinct to point out at the world to shake your fist at the sky turn your back on the opportunity but in truth that's the only way to ensure values not obtained there's a stoic anecdote about a teacher on a boat out at Sea during a storm and it's enormous right the waves are crashing over the side of the boat rocking the boat back and forth and that teacher turns pale just like everyone else he freezes in fear just like everyone else the only difference is teacher is not crying out or screaming right and the message here is that the initial reaction that's human it's human to feel anger it's human to feel frustration fear doubt the difference comes down to can you pause can you collect yourself and instead of immersing yourself in the emotion ask what can I become from this that is power a relationship ended okay how can I now plant a seed to Greater fulfillment the plan didn't work okay why what can I learn that will be advantageous on the next approach I'm lost I don't know what to do okay instead of thinking less of yourself for the lack of knowledge how about appreciating the fact that you've established a foundation upon which a solution can now be sought losses do not exist so long as adversities pointed out and transformed into value and whether or not that happens is entirely up to you when it hurts there is value when you're down there is value there's always something so long as we learn to find it and that's what will make all the difference [Music] adversity is not avoidable but living right means knowing it can't be avoided because it's a requirement it's from the chaos that come in order and meaning and growth and momentum are obtained so even though you may be tempted to turn your back to run or cry out when the winds are strong and the waves come crashing down on your reality remember that you can not only withstand the disarray but you can come out on the other side stronger [Music] [Music] I was watching a Master Class by author Margaret Atwood it was on storytelling and you know I knew going into it it would be interesting I'm not a particular fan of her work at least from a Content perspective but look we're talking about someone who's you know truly made a mark on the world right there's a lot to be learned from her so I buckled in and listened to what she had to say and unsurprisingly there was a lot of wisdom there and uh there was one idea in particular that really resonated with me both as a writer yeah but also outside the quote-unquote creative space which I'll get to in a second the idea was centered around finding the moment to begin a story's true starting point and it was interesting she said you know people think stories start on page one but she'll pick up a book and I don't remember if she was referencing new Authors or maybe someone a book just off the shelf at a bookstore but uh she'll be reading it and she'll think ah okay so this story really begins on page 10. right that's the starting point I think she even referenced her own writing process being a few chapters in and thinking ah this needs to be the starting point gotta cut away the other stuff and move this up to page one and you know understanding that's obviously important for those looking to entertain and Captivate an audience you need to give the reader a reason to stick around but I could also very easily draw a parallel from that to um you know a bigger picture our real world all I could think about was you know what story are you telling yourself and where did it start or more importantly has it even started there's something both liberating and beautiful about the fact that all of us in the stories we are living could at any moment recreate that metaphorical first page and I believe that with all my heart like we think oh page one started years ago this is how things are now this is where I exist in life [Music] but what about the idea that Beginnings don't have to start on page one what about the idea that you can cut away as much as necessary to create the right beginning the story that feels right to you we don't know anything to the words that were written leading up to now we're not beholden to the chapters that came before [Music] Robin Sharma talks about the idea of killing Your Darlings which is an old saying that refers to uh that very challenging task writers face so cutting away the things that aren't absolutely essential to the story's main narrative it's hard to do we place value and importance on these things because they feel like a part of us we feel like they're too significant to dismiss when in reality the act of letting go is ultimately a value add because it ensures that what matters is what stays [Music] it's the ability to understand that the story doesn't begin when thoughts become words it begins when there's alignment when the story captivates inspires and in the one you're writing the one that is your life you can always make that moment right now there's always a new novel that can be written with new objectives and characters and story lines it's okay to chop anything that led to this moment it's okay to create a beginning as you stand here today right it's the idea of sunk costs that changed my life years ago just because you spent a long time making a mistake doesn't mean you need to continue making it just because you've been writing this story of your life for years doesn't mean the beginning is behind you you can start this novel here you can begin this epic adventure now and I think there's tremendous power in looking at life like that it's never too late for a new beginning it's never wrong or impossible to even at chapter four put your finger down on a new starting point and say this is where it all begins where the new ideal takes shape [Music] we are all authors and if authors have anything it's control over the narrative it's the ability to design a world that aligns with the one they imagine [Music] foreign [Music] with you that continuously re-emerges in my life and every time it does I'm grateful I'm a little bolder a little wiser a little more grounded the idea is simple it's creating a low barrier to entry let me explain what I mean the other day I was on a call with Ashley it was a brilliant member of the team here and we're talking about social media and as we're talking I'm going on and on about the end State how I think things should in a perfect world be with you know our platforms and the output and uh it's important to note for this particular project we're kind of on the ground floor right right so in reality I couldn't possibly know what the end State's going to be there's a lot of epiphanies to be had there's twists and turns that I couldn't possibly anticipate I think it's great to have a North star in a vision obviously but winning in the long run requires observation and reflection and adjustment and on and on so as I'm speaking you know she's listening nodding her head you know agreeing with the vision but after some thoughts says well why don't we just start with what we have now right keep the barrier of entry low so that there's less friction and we can start seeing how you know things evolve and I thought that was just incredible right it's what I temporarily lost in the moment for sure uh you win by going and then evolving so many would-be amazing Pursuits were never started because you know we make initiating them too complex same thing happened on another call that same day right I'm talking to uh Tyler a business partner for another project coming around the corner and uh you know I'm sending him videos talking about ideas for rollout different Avenues we could take which again it's great it's better to have a large vision and trim it down than no vision at all but the convo is the same you know Ed I love it it's great but what if we start with one thing though one idea let's get the gears turning that needed to be the theme for the day and I appreciated it right so a few thoughts one surround yourself with sharp people like Ashley and Tyler that keep you grounded but two and perhaps the main point stop creating friction for yourself when you're beginning new things I've talked about this in different contexts you know and I've hammered it into my day-to-day in many ways right like if I'm going on a run you know I have the running stuff by the door and ready to go with a glass of water the night before so that when I wake up the process feels so easy that to not go would seem stupid but life is complex and so are we it was a great reminder that your handle on something in one area of life doesn't mean you'll implement it across the board and I was grateful for that reminder this is what I needed at that time right the reminder that winning is going winning is beginning because you're immersing yourself in the process and you're acclimating to it you're seeing what works and what doesn't you're growing as opposed to taking an extra three months to put into place parameters that will probably change anyway one of my favorite mantras is Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication powerful but sometimes elusive but if you can keep it front and center it adds immense value to your life [Music] the most powerful thing you can do is have a general sense of direction and go now with what you have [Music] Ashley and I will change our social media tactics many many times in the future because we're collecting data and we're moving forward Tyler and I will approach our Venture in probably countless ways because we're not in love with a particular strategy we're in love with the end goal and perhaps you in your world are at a point where uh you're seeking to initiate something new and you're playing with the pros and cons you're listing ideas in your head categorizing details and Nuance that sure it seems important right now in this moment but will it forever right my advice to you is to mitigate detail and instead place the value on finding the courage to begin now before you're ready before you have all the answers before you know how X Y and Z is going to unfold mitigate the friction to such an extent that you know the pursuit feels like an ice hockey rink you're sliding into whatever comes next [Music] or estimate how powerful that is and be reassured by the fact that in three months from now or a year from now the journey won't look the same you'll be better in execution and wiser in strategy because you simply created a low barrier to entry you leveraged perhaps the most important ability you possess [Music] you began we spend a lot of time and we exhaust a lot of effort looking for that so-called Edge capturing the little changes or advantages that add value and ultimately pushes closer to where we want to be right these so-called life hacks are everywhere from you name it reshuffling daily tasks to activities you know exercises that enhance our Performance Food supplements apps the list goes on and on and I'm speaking broadly here intentionally because that quote unquote Edge could mean a million different things to a million different people [Music] obviously tremendous value there in finding ways to become better faster and stronger but why this topic excites me in what I'm specifically looking forward to exploring is what I believe to be the most important Advantage there is and that's consistency consistency the unsexy unremarkable answer right but you can always distill everything else down into that simple art of showing up being there every day to me that begins it all that will always be the foundation we build everything on over time it becomes the reason you win or you lose and I believe that wholeheartedly like nothing matters if you aren't locked in and repeatedly making the daily effort no pill is gonna make you a starting point guard or a stellar performer at work or you know an amazing parent that's dedicated concentrated consistent effort a metaphor I like that demonstrates this process to me is trying to get fit right whether you run or go to the gym whatever it is it's much easier to stay home and take creatine protein supplements than to actually show up to the gym every day than to actually put in the miles every day right but without showing up all that other stuff is meaningless and that's the heart of what I'm getting at it's the lifting that's transformative everything else is supplemental it's even in the term right supplements now is this obvious sure but man do we forget the obvious and there is a hefty price for doing so it's like yeah we should look for advantages along the way and this becomes more and more relevant uh you know the longer we've been immersed in the process those little details mean more and more but they never mean more than having a goal and committing to it every single day never forget that showing up is power there's a few quotes I like um by James Clear who's considered by many to be an expert on habit building that hammer down on the power of consistency he says improving by one percent isn't particularly notable sometimes it isn't even noticeable but it can be far more meaningful especially in the long run when it goes on to say if you can get one percent better each day for one year you'll end up being 37 times better by the time you're done and I think that's what gets me right that line one percent better every day means 37 times better in a year nothing can replicate that there are no shortcuts to arrive at that type of progress or growth none ensure the environment can change there are times where the landscape shifts right under your feet you have to reach further outside your comfort zone than you ever have but that's still a product of your commitment to improve every single day [Music] the context changes the details change but you still show up one percent is essentially a rhythm it's automated it says just like breathing air and drinking water this is what I do a dollar in the bank every day what you're doing is giving life to a compound effect that will change everything in my world my showing up is every day how do I become a little bit better at storytelling how do I refine that intersection of personal development and entertainment so that you know we can enjoy and get the most out of the journey how do I make this brand matter a little more mean a little more be a little more effective [Music] that's my Super Bowl every day and funny story I was driving this morning listening to a podcast about AI right everyone seems to be talking about AI right now and for a good reason I heard one of the guests say that in 10 years there will be two types of businesses those that successfully leverage AI and those that failed and are no longer in existence and it's a hypothesis obviously but it's eye-opening right AI is going to change everything and I had to check my initial Instinct that was honestly oh here we go right another way for people to cut corners and cheat and I I had to pause and think about it like that's just a terrible way to look at a new technology that's a scarcity mindset instead think about the opportunity remind yourself that you show up every day with the same Mission and the same goal you'll earn that one percent every day and this is just another supplement to your growth right utilized correctly at least in the current moment this is whey protein or creatine for your lifting at the gym so leverage it right that's all same with any new technology and the most Comfort there there was comfort in looking back at thinking look at all the previous technology it's Evolution look at the social platforms how we interact now through it all the changes the highs lows ups and downs you showed up you held on to that North Star and over and over again made necessary adjustments right that commitment has been everything YouTube's algorithm changes did not kill me it ended up making me a better Storyteller writer speaker covid you know pushing my live speaking engagements aside for a while causing me to further digitize my business model that didn't hurt me it made the brand bigger short form content blasting off onto the scene tick tocks IG reels that didn't hurt me it forced me to be smarter and more thoughtful about how to integrate short-term content into my long-form content how to make them work together it ended up being an advantage right the bottom line being when you are consistent when you show up for your thing no matter what no matter what changes are occurring no matter what's happening externally when you're there for your mission that allows you to make whatever little changes need to be made along the way being there for yourself committing to the twists and turns is everything and it may be extreme to say especially in such a rapidly changing environment right now but my mentality is who cares who cares about all the detail and the minutia and the externality who cares you know what matters you know what you're here to do so keep that front and center Simplicity being the ultimate sophistication doesn't get simpler show up never let that one percent that James Clear talks about out of your sight and then make the adjustments as necessary integrate the life hacks and the tech evolutions by fighting for that one percent every single day becomes 37 times better in a year think about how powerful that is let the world argue over this and that let them be on this path versus that path your strength is entrusting yourself to adjust along the way but knowing that through it all you will be there every morning when the sun comes up the light moves through your window you'll wake up committed to being a little better than you were yesterday and that's why through it all the turbulence the highs the lows the ups and the Downs you will still be standing there ready for whatever comes next foreign yourself not that you'll know everything but that you will continue forward when you don't promise yourself not that you'll avoid pain but that you'll find meaning in pain as it arises that you'll use it to shape your destiny like fire forging metal yeah promise yourself not that you'll remain undefeated but that you will transform amidst defeat Like a Phoenix Rising From the Ashes we're often inclined to look around and see the current state as a reflection of our abilities and our potential but right now is merely a culmination of decisions made up to this point just because the map you've been following has led you to a dead end doesn't mean the world consists only of dead ends separate yourself from the walls around you separate the map you've been following from the world's landscape in totality let's look at not what has occurred but what's possible let's understand that we all face dead ends we all find ourselves amidst disappointing outcomes times we've fallen short this is not a youth thing this is a human thing this is a life thing [Music] and so here's the question are you going to look around and say this failure is me this is who I am are you going to understand that life is ups and out and the ones who win who truly live don't Define themselves by their difficult times no they de-personalize and leverage that adversity those who make it out do so because they saw themselves not synonymous with the valley of Despair as they trudge through they saw themselves as passers-by strong enough to climb out destined for a higher Peaks that past it is not you remind yourself of that say it out loud if you have to you are your very next step you're the road untraveled you're the Summits to be reached in the stories to be told and yeah you won't have all the answers but they're not required to press on you won't always be pain-free but it's from that pain you'll find your wisdom and your strength and of course you won't always win but every defeat brings you a little closer to what matters this is that Phoenix Rises From the Ashes you too will transcend that which has fallen around you you too will rise above what is in pursuit of what will be just promise yourself not that you'll be perfect not that you'll always be right but that you'll have the courage to evolve even when you're not foreign there's a really cool clip of Steve Jobs in 1997. he's on stage at Apple's worldwide developers conference back a little over a decade after originally being fired by Apple he's taking questions from the audience and this particular guy stands up and grabs the mic and asks a vicious question he basically tears into jobs implying that he doesn't know what he's talking about questioning the value that he brings to the company uh it's just super aggressive and I think one of the reasons it stuck with me all these years is because upon hearing it you know my instinct as an observer was to be insulted for Steve Jobs the guy just got lit up and you'd think he'd fire back defend himself and his accolades of which there were obviously plenty to draw from but that's not what he does at all he instead does two things in particular that have over time added tremendous value to my world view the first thing is I was kind of alluding to there is he didn't at all get angry or defensive which may seem like an easy thing to do but again observing it like you can feel the tension there it's like jobs saw the criticism as merely procedural that's it right there's something to be expected as one builds he completely depersonalized the attack um as it was being fired his way his exact quote was you know you can please some of the people some of the time but one of the hardest things when you're trying to affect change is that people like this gentleman are right in some areas then I'll explain what he means when he says the guy's right in a minute or two here but that response like totally reduced the tension by 90. right understanding that they're going to be people who have things to say some of which will question your ability and your effectiveness and if you're looking from a 10 000 foot view that's to be expected and this is the part that was shocking to me warranted right he says the criticism is warranted growth is messy and sloppy and a work in progress and so criticism will from time to time hit the nail right on the head and you as a designer and Creator have to know that you'll both make mistakes and be called out for them that's the way it goes that's the contract one signs with the world in order to bring to life those things that are not yet visible it's scary it's intimidating right at least at first again my reaction was to get defensive but I think what made Steve great um as he smiled and jokingly said here we go mid question was the reassurance that look I signed up for this so in actuality it's a good thing it's not an attack it is growth and I try and keep that in my back pocket as I do my thing right it says sharing your thoughts it's a vulnerable thing and if you are going to fall apart or crumble anytime someone's not totally in love with where you are at the moment or what you're creating or your last piece of work you're in for a you know a rude awakening it's going to be a long journey so that depersonalization is everything and um incredibly valuable and the second part a ton of value to me as a Creator as well just in a different way and this is the part that I alluded to earlier when Steve said that his critic was in some way correct you know when he was being hounded about his knowledge Gap in some specific technology right I'm not really sure what the technology was um but jobs basically explained that you're right I'm not an expert there but it's not about the specific technology or the minutia it's about giving your consumers your audience the world what it wants it's about having a big picture A Vision and that's what made jobs so special right he didn't need to be involved at such a level of granularity the vision changed it revolutionized technology right because it was reverse engineered and brought to life here's his exact quote job said one of the things I've always found is you've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards for the technology you can't start with the technology and try to figure out where you're going to try to sell it and I've made this mistake probably more than anybody else in this room and I got the scar tissue to prove it and I know that it's the case end quote that was an incredible thing for me to hear if anything because so often we get caught up in the weeds right we let the details Drive the decisions whether it's technology or anything else I often think of that you know in my world don't worry about what's in place right now worry about where do you need to be and then backfill to make it happen and sure you know some people might not get it and sure it will certainly mean you'll have to delve into areas you don't quite understand as you seek to support that Vision or bring it to life but that's the price that must be paid because vision is King and so taking those two concepts I just talked about if you were to combine them you'd walk away with the understanding that one growth is sloppy criticism is inevitable and two don't forget that adding value to the world should light your path not the little details that pique your interest along the way right not everyone is going to get it as you build and that's okay the way I see it everyone is building something and as they build it will surely come face to face with some sort of resistance and while it's not always easy there's value in finding the strength to smile to yourself and understand that resistance is merely part of growth it's a necessary component of your Evolution as you add value to the world as you seek to leave yourself and the world around you better than it was yesterday foreign has a quote that states to avoid criticism say nothing do nothing be nothing what a waste that would be of the potential and greatness contained within you to let it slip away for fear of what might be said as Jobs explained right you can please some of the people some of the time but it's not about that The Benchmark is not being perfect and never making anyone angry no it's seeking to bring to life that which does not yet exist trusting yourself and your vision it's not taking personal that which is merely part of the process because when the storm arrives that will ultimately carry you through to the most incredible things you'll have ever done in your life foreign surrender no not in this lifetime there will be knowledge picked up along the way I have no doubt there will be adaptation there will be adjustments made but there will be no surrender and look should life require change I will evolve should a demand growth I will rise to the occasion should suffering be entangled in my Pursuit I will weather that storm but these things they will not be the end of me no they are Little Beginnings the consistent rebirth attached to one who refuses to back down because look I may not be the most talented and may not be the best suited or best equipped to break through I may not be the most knowledgeable but I will always have enough enough in the face of danger standing in the shadow of adversity to take one step forward to transform the chaos into Triumph one courageous yes at a time there will be no surrender here not now not today not in this lifetime I will find a way through when night is dark when the road is long when the path so lonely that the world speaks not a sound I will find a way ensure there may be frustration maybe even fear but there will because of an undying self-belief know surrender foreign [Music] the sunrise is not the best part I want to explain something I've tried to articulate over the years but at least in my mind I have never quite captured how I feel or what I mean because I think it's important now a tad trivial or could be seen that way in fact that picture one of those memes were the top says nobody in the bottom would say Eddie screaming about the sunrise for 10 years the buddy of mine recently said you know a bird flies over my right shoulder and I want to go home and write a novel about it but you know truth be told there's Beauty in the mundane and I think when looked at correctly some of our greatest lessons about ourselves about the world and about how those two things often aren't as different as we might be inclined to think shine through so we're going at this again one more time the beginning 4am I couldn't sleep last night so I got up I got dressed went to the Dunkin Donuts drive through around the corner and I was sitting there right as it opened at 5 30. got my French vanilla coffee and headed to the beach to see Knight turned and here's an interesting thing if you were to search Sunrise Pompano Beach on that particular day it would have told you 6 28 A.M I got to the beach around 5 40. and this will become more and more relevant as I sort of progress here but when I arrived it was dark it was not a soul outside except for a man with a dog who for some reason warned me that he had a dog and another man twirling around a glow stick uh it was listen Florida's the the best place I've ever lived by far but it keeps you on your toes man so I walked by them and I found a spot by the water I sat down and it was truly theatrical it's almost hard to find the words for the south Florida sky in the morning as night terms today right and as I'm sitting there looking out over the Atlantic you can see right where the ocean and Sky touched these little patches of teal and orange and pink that start to slowly break up the darkness almost like someone's dipping their brush in paint and just flicking it at a canvas random assortments of colors and uh it's very interesting because it happens subtly and somehow all at the same time piece by piece these little neon strips start making their way over the horizon I just sat back with my coffee and I watched the world around me come to life birds start flying over the water the sand rake if that's what it's called started driving around preparing the beach for everyone that would come visit that day you start to hear voices and laughter infiltrate uh uh you know the the beach around you and here's my thing here is that thought that I truly feel is important but have a hard time with the why it's how people show up at 6 15. and make their way to the sand to watch the sun come up [Music] obviously understandable it is an incredible sight to see that giant ball of fire emerge in the distance seemingly make its way up into the sky I get it I just can't help but feel like in some way know it's it's similar to fast forwarding a movie to the point where the villain's already been defeated where the problems already been solved it's like it's the post game interview after the Super Bowl The Magic In My Eyes is the before the sun rises it's watching something so dark so empty so hopeless replaced by a masterpiece that takes your breath away it's seeing out in the distance the light that was coming it was always on its way make itself known to you for the very first time and is that extravagant March from nothing to something takes place above and all around you suddenly you can see your hand in front of your face it's like you blinked and night became day that type of of transformation that Journey from one extreme to the other it's so incredible so emotional it screams hope foreign it makes it that much harder for me to say I can't I can't change I can't let go I can't build it's like look you just watched the black of night become day it's a reminder that things are always dark until they're not we can never see until we can it's just make believe until it's real it's a process of holding on sometimes it's just holding on until that paint begins to color in the world around you so it's not that the others are wrong again I totally get it I get the appeal of putting the beach chair down at 6 15 snapping some pictures of the Sun in its magnificence I get it it's real it's tangible it's the shiny object theoretically it's what we should be looking at but let's not forget that magic in its infancy because for everything that is for every Sun that rises its origin was once Darkness It's Beginning so convoluted and so Bleak that it's only logical one would look around and fail to see reality stretching Beyond those desolate confines the world seems to like pointing out the shiny things and the obvious spectacles but if you ask me the power precedes that sun rising the power is navigating through nothing knowing the things will not only be different but that a light show is soon to emerge that the line between possible and impossible Between Heaven and Hell is showing up it's settling in and hanging on is the darkness Fades and gives way to Mourning certainly reminds me to hold on it reminds me that amidst every storm I'm living moments that when zoomed out comprised the masterpiece it reminds me to hold on to find color to see the beauty to appreciate the journey because the sunrise is not the best part [Music] [Music] foreign lessons I've learned is that I already have what I need most now as I unpack this think of it not in a fluffy uh sort of your magical just the way you are context and instead let's look at it through a truly practical lens hey life is about connecting dots and I personally believe there's a way to make almost anything happen you just need to figure out what dots have to be connected to get there and you know even if this message isn't true 100 of the time uh me believing in it believing it so has pushed me to find ways to succeed when I otherwise would have walked away to me it's a 100 value ad so let's dive in let's say you're you're currently going through a rut in life just not feeling good about yourself how things are okay we've all been there in some capacity you might think about your ideal life and think well I have none of that I have none of those things I'm not any of those things right that's just a different world altogether and when you look at it in one giant leap like that you're correct but again your job is not to wake up tomorrow and be perfect open your eyes and be a god or goddess jump out of bed with a PhD and have your life all figured out right now there's none of that your job and this is the the point here is to Simply connect dots from one little thing to the next so again you're stuck let's say theoretically the the road to something better starts with energy having to feel good right otherwise doing anything is is difficult Feeling Good Feeling energetic is a baseline so draw a DOT at waking up at a reasonable time right breathing in the morning air letting the sun hit your face as it comes up in the morning boom dot connected you did that you're a little bit better next make a DOT at groceries what are you taking in how are you fueling yourself make a few changes that will have you feeling good about how you are taking care of your body boom you just connected another Dot next dot at gym three days a week you get the point right these little changes you're starting to feel like a different person and you can see how this upward spiral Works none of those three things was a Monumental transition they were small manageable tasks and everything of substance is a little change like this sometimes that's just hard to see right when you're frustrated when you're looking at what you don't have when you're comparing yourself to others when all you see is the Delta or the gap between where you are and where you want to be [Music] all that is poison but true change is about connecting little dots making little road maps being consistent but patient expecting more of yourself but also giving yourself love and grace as you make the journey and it's from this vantage point that you truly do already have everything you need it doesn't matter the goal objective or Pursuit you have exactly what you need to win why because you have everything you need to connect that next dot always if only we would stop wasting time looking out wishing and chasing things we think will solve our problems when in reality we walk around with the solution every single day you know Jim Rohn used to say it's not where you're going it's who you become along the way [Music] cause as we seek to evolve and grow we learn to create and connect those dots We Trust ourselves that look we don't need one giant leap we need to step we need little consistent action and we're more capable of that than we could ever imagine and I'll get personal for a second a goal of mine I want to be one of the most impactful thinkers in orders of Our Generation that invigorates me it also is a lot right even saying it feels like a lot as the words come out of my mouth it feels pretentious right who am I to categorize myself with the best of the best the nerve right but I believe and I believe it wholeheartedly to the point that I've bet my life on it why because I don't need to wake up tomorrow and write like Ralph Waldo Emerson or speak like MLK I don't need to think like nietzscho or Inspire like Churchill nope not tomorrow I just need to keep creating those little dots that will bring me closer and closer I need to find ways to connect them in real time one day at a time one dot at a time and I will do that and the best part so can you I'm not special no not in this regard what am I I'm a decade into connecting dots a decade in understanding that I have everything I need to take one step and another and another and my friend you are capable of the same [Music] so understand that strange dichotomy of thinking big and small simultaneously you have to dream big otherwise what's the point dream big because it forces you to ask big questions pushes you to arrange and rearrange until you have evolved but when we get caught up in the end result we forget how to get there you don't transport to Greatness in your Endeavor no you follow that road map that road map of consistent steps you connect the small immediately achievable they are the formula to outcomes that exceed expectations and bend reality ultimately arrive where you most want to be not a miracle you need a simple understanding you need to acknowledge that right now In This Moment you have everything required to build and connect the next Dot and that will always be enough not too long ago I shared a few thoughts related to stoicism with one of the most important messages in my eyes being you can always help how you feel their biological elements there are emotions that we as humans simply cannot Escape but what we have control over is how we act right what we do amidst the feelings of sadness or anger or despair well as it happens fate brought me face to face with that lesson once again and one of the most interesting aspects of life is that the lessons often have to be relearned right is the context around us changes we are forced to draw from that well to take what we knew and transform it and level up and so quick story two weeks ago uh ish my Facebook account was hacked which happens to a lot of people it's not uncommon and to be honest I'd never really thought much about it but I'm sitting there and I start getting these emails coming in right telling me my phone numbers changed my email address has changed my username's changed all this stuff is is changing I'm like what's going on and and before I could do anything I go to look and realize I'm locked out of the account right then I go from my personal page to my business page where I share thoughts like these these episodes videos writings and uh basically you know stuff I've been working on for years and realize I'm locked out of there as well so Whoever has the account is now operating it and for whatever reason posting like spammy images and videos replying to people pretending to be me and there's just nothing I could do right I'm just locked out watching this happen and when I say I felt angry it's probably an understatement uh I was surprised and how Furious I was it was a rage that I wouldn't have anticipated in a million years I could not help it and uh you know maybe it was vulnerability right that feeling of helplessness that some stranger had access to um you know around 100 000 people that trust me um they had no idea what was happening right or maybe it was anger at whoever it was doing this anger at Facebook for being non-responsive maybe a fear that look you can work so hard for so long and have something taken away incredibly quickly whatever it was I was distraught for like three hours and uh eventually I calmed down a little bit and I remember just sitting there being so disappointed in my reaction right I hated that I felt the way I did because leaders and that's what I consider myself that's what I aim to be in the world they have to be more composed than I was period I thought about that story about uh the ship at sea that was it was trapped amidst the storm where everyone was terrified the ship's going to sink people were pale um you know just frantic screaming except for the professor who although he felt the same fear and was overcome by the same biological characteristics he was not crying out indicating that you know emotions often can't be avoided but the response is what carries the weight and I I just think it was a great lesson for me because for a quick period of time I definitely using the same metaphor cried out right and if that intrusion on my work and privacy was a ship amidst the storm it's okay that I felt the way I did but now we have to work on the reaction and by the way I've gotten plenty of opportunity to right the account still hacked there's still weird posts going out under my name uh but I manage it way differently there's a calmness that I've managed to acquire and maintain we're done complaining about problems here we're looking for Solutions amidst what we can control and letting go of what we cannot look I know it's a cliche that our most important lessons come from our moments of duress but this is exactly what I believe that phrase refers to right you need to be hardened by the adversity to change yourself you need to be able to look in the mirror and go oh I didn't like that I'm not doing that again right and it took an embarrassing three hours of me being Furious and acting irrationally um okay fine but that's a small price to pay for the lesson that I acquired so I think for someone listening to this my hope is twofold one don't forget that the initial reaction is often you know sewn into your DNA it's okay to to feel what you feel when things don't go your way but also as you sort through the chaos know that you have the ability to not only tame it but make something from it I truly so that next time something similar arises you have a blueprint you'll be a step ahead you'll find that perspective probably realizing as I have that it's just not the end of the world anyway when you're able to eventually step outside your emotions operate from a point of clarity a reshuffling of priorities always seems to take place look the storms will come and if you're pushing and growing and trying to take risks right those storms will be numerous the question isn't will you feel them the question is can you get a little better each time at not crying out [Music] can you improve the reaction can you regain composure and stay locked in on what truly matters [Music] foreign [Music] you can salvage the day you can salvage the weak the month the year the years all is not lost it's never lost the Trap is looking back and using what happened to Define what will happen using what's behind you to map what's in front of you what brought this to mind well personal note this has happened before today was not a good one at least not until now not from a productivity standpoint I just got back from Europe a little jet lagged I've never had more to do but simultaneously done so little with my time it's frustrating but I'm going to the gym in an hour and that leaves me 60 Minutes to salvage what could easily have been looked back upon as a lost day good I think is beautiful about life is that you can get countless things wrong you're afforded substantial room for error and it's often you know you only need to get one thing right like take dating right countless wrong relationships you only need one to work out right entrepreneurship ton of mistakes lots of swings and misses that's built into the process but the one win can change everything or these stories these ideas I share on social media right A lot of them Totally Miss they resonate with me and you know sometimes me alone but if one resonates with others one gains traction there's a lot of impact to be had there and so I wanted to share this because it's a slightly different angle to what I've talked about before of course this has elements of yeah you don't feel like it will do it anyway right David Goggins would have an aneurysm uh hearing that I even contemplated not writing today but here's the thing it's very easy to group a period of time together and call it a loss ah it didn't happen today it might tomorrow right it's easy to look back on what you were and use it to build walls uh around yourself to say is what you are now when in reality there is still value to be squeezed out just because what existed before now it was antithetical to everything you wanted it to be well that doesn't mean there's no wind buried in there it doesn't mean between 445 and 5 45 here today I can't share something that's important to me that might help other people identify and dive into something that's important to them right all is not lost if time remains it's a message that sure it might be psychologically easier to walk away from the day because the first half wasn't good but that's not the move they're contained somewhere in there the seed that will grow or at least begin the process of growing what you need Jim quick he recently said some days all you have is 40 and on those days giving 40 is 100 percent maybe seeing that subconsciously saved my day-to-day I don't know but it's very easy to check out uh when the past was not what you wanted it to be instead of thinking yeah but one right move right now Changes Everything Changes the momentum Alters the personal identity you're always one move one decision away from reigniting momentum a quote unquote bad day can be completely mitigated with one incredible decision or action so let's pull this up a level where does it bring us it brings us to those moments we're sitting in bed wishing things were a little different went a little differently or looking in the mirror disappointed in the day [Music] and instead of letting it Define the story in totality remembering that there's something there maybe just one thing one action one Decision One move you can take to salvage what remains there's some value you can find that will reposition your outlook on what has occurred there is no loss here only the win that hasn't happened yet [Music] imagine with me a world where you stopped segmenting out the difficulty in your life as other than will you stop seeing the turbulence as an obstacle to your journey imagine with me life as a symphony where everything works together to create the whole where the high notes the low notes the pauses the rest the tempo changes all contribute to the overall theme none of it's unimportant or dismissable how could it be without the low notes the high notes don't mean anything without the rest you don't get the satisfaction and the power of the moment that music re-emerges in fact it was the contrast that created the magic to begin with all of it is needed even when you don't understand why you don't know that this slow beginning the breaks the tempo changes that it will all be the reason you are soon awed by the crescendo that awaits and how could you it's one flow the journey points in One Direction you are in this for the ride see in our lives the obstacles the chaos the confusion they hurt they're unsettling so the inclination is to dismiss them to push them away this isn't what I need this is void of value so get rid of it we tell ourselves when in reality those things are integral components to your song they are what culminate into your final piece they're bringing you to that crescendo doesn't mean you have to love the challenging times of course not but it does mean we should understand that even though we can't see it unfolding before our very eyes it's all playing a role my hurt Made Me Stronger my struggle injected meaning into my life it made this song richer the sound sweeter today is what it is because yesterday was what it was and I know when I'm face to face with something that my gut instinct deems to be detrimental that two things can in fact be true at once that I need to work to write the ship to repoint the compass but also understand that the storm wasn't void of significance the valley wasn't all for naught it's gifted me new oceans to cross new mountains to climb A New Perspective as I peer out over the view so as you move through the dark as you navigate the chaos of night know that the light you're chasing is only meaningful because of the depths you are emerging from life beyond these Shadows is not where the world begins it's a continuation of an already beautiful Journey you're on it's your Symphony in totality see the time will come when you'll look back and you'll be grateful for the so-called inconveniences that surround you now your heart needs the contrast that this adversity creates your soul depends on the hardship to understand the magnificence of life it's why now when it hurts you must keep keep going you have to keep going you have to let the notes materialize into the Beautiful song it will become the Masterpiece it was meant to become courage takes many shapes sometimes courage is slaying the Dragon and sometimes it's merely picking up the sword and seeing yourself worthy of swinging it sometimes courage is running sometimes it's walking sometimes it's crawling and as we navigate life seasons and oscillating chapters as we transform so does courage right alongside us it's relative and understanding that can not only change your life it can save your life I recently got in touch with an old buddy of mine from childhood hadn't talked to in years at this point and he's been going through a rough time A Series of Unfortunate Events and because of that you know fallen into a bad place and he's just a top tier dude huge personality lights up every single room he walks into and pretty quickly as we're talking I could tell that it hurt him to walk me through you know where he was in what he was going through almost as though there'd be some sort of judgment on my end but see here's the thing no one is immune to succumbing from time to time to Life's misfortune that's just the reality at any point in time every single soul walking this planet is a few bad decisions away from Rock Bottom just like they are a few good decisions away from the clarity and positive transformation and growth they've been looking for and knowing that that's a fine line to me I mean that's empowerment because it reminds us during the bad times we are you know a few decisions away from climbing up and during those good times that we're not infallible that nothing should be taken for granted no one is above misfortune you're not less than for walking through your personal hell it's merely your turn to find courage within yourself and rise above it now that's exactly what he's doing and this is ultimately my point he's getting help hurt Pride hurt ego angry at himself he's Rising above all of that to get help for the betterment of himself his family and his family's future to me it does not get more courageous than that it's a courage I'm not even sure I fully uh can comprehend and I get it right you're in the middle of the chaos you know you don't see it we never see clearly in the middle you know because it feels like he's digging himself out of a hole so he doesn't see the magnitude of his decision but given the season he's currently in he is making himself the hero and there will be a point a few years from now and sure courage will look different because what life asks of him at that point will be different but we have to understand the moment what's more courageous than saying I don't want this anymore I'm going to fix it and taking a step towards that and that's what we need to understand you know I witnessed this firsthand especially in the you know personal development world I love consuming uh personal development on YouTube and podcasts and books and everywhere what I find is the message I need Ebbs and flows depending on the season I'm in right there are times particularly in the first couple years of starting this business where I'd need the garyvee's and Eric Thomas's of the world every day to say dude get off your ass and do more stop hiding behind your excuses be better right and there are still days where I need exactly that in those moments courage for me meant overcoming the desire to cling to short-term fulfillment courage was doing what I needed to do not what I wanted to do then there are times where you know I'm fighting through something uh deeper something personal and courage looks a lot different it's not go right to speeches and run 10 miles go be better and do more no not that day those days it's looking the mirror to remind yourself that what you do matters and that you are worthy courage is picking up the sword it's when I dive into the philosophical it's Eckhart Tolle explaining the power being present Jordan Peterson shedding light on uh what what one's pursuit of meaning truly entails courage is recapturing my why pushing through the fears and insecurities and feeling again like the person who Han and so the bottom line is as I evolve as I change as life Ebbs and flows courage changes with me and sometimes the smaller action in a particular situation is much more powerful much more meaningful than a big action taken when you know things are going well and the stars are aligned and life is smooth perfect example something that almost always chokes me up and I'm not exaggerating seeing someone who's overweight and you can kind of tell they're struggling through jogging on the side of the road right because I know how insanely hard that is to begin a journey of that magnitude to look at one's life and say hey I'm changing the situation right to lace up your shoes and suffer through a run outside or even a walk outside think about how powerful that statement how much it took how much fear and insecurity was pushed aside in the pursuit of something better [Music] now imagine what would be missed imagine what a loss they didn't celebrate that Victory their strength in stepping outside that day why bill because their neighbor ran 10 miles they only ran one but that's the thing about courage it doesn't look the same who cares what the neighbor did you understand what just happened his courage to push through a 10 mile run is astronomically different than your courage to shift your identity to transform into someone who runs again there will be a point uh in time when what courage means for you changes but understand the now celebrate this in how remarkable your action in this moment [Music] and I hope I'm able to communicate the variance there right like sometimes courage is finding a way through uh you know the fire in your lungs and pain in your legs to get your split from six minutes a mile to five minutes and 45 seconds and that's amazing sometimes courage is getting out of bed it depends on where you are and what life is giving you and I promise you it's not an excuse to do less everyone wants to grow in some capacity I know I sure do this isn't a cop-out and I don't think anyone listening wants to be patted on the head and told hey you're wonderful Just the Way You Are don't change no the meaning is in the evolution what I'm saying is I've seen in others some close to me and I've certainly experienced in myself that misunderstanding what courage means in a given moment ends up hurting more than it helps it creates and highlights a gap where a gain should be courage has many shapes it will transform around you all your life so take the time to understand where you are take the time to explore what the next steps look like and give yourself Grace give yourself appreciation for taking the required steps courage is not measured by what you want to do three years from now it's not measured by what your neighbors doing it's not measured by uh 40 steps down the road courage is finding it within yourself to do the most important thing in your life now [Music] you can only exist within the walls you've placed around yourself so question where have you placed them think of the concept you can only hit targets that you aim for and expand it out because my point here is you can only exist in the plane that you have deemed to be real for you that you have decided is reality and if we think about that just on a common sense basis it's pretty apparent right people don't do things that stretch beyond their perceived identity if I don't think I'm capable of accumulating wealth for example I'm simply not going to do the things or take the necessary steps required to accumulate wealth why would I if I don't think I can help or add value to others I'm not going to do things in an attempt to help or add value to others using that example that stuff would exist on the other side of those walls I've placed around myself that's why deciding what those targets are is so important deciding what's real matters because if you set the scope too small if your reality is void of all possibility and Imagination even if you win you've conceded too much the premise you've been basing your entire existence and your decisions on is so limited that you can win there and still lose overall still leave everything on the table and there's you know a ton of examples of this um you know I I commonly hear people refer to it with their work I'm not crazy about what I'm doing but how do I fix it how do I learn to like this job how do I exceed expectations in my role how do I get a promotion uh so that I can bring in more income [Music] all all valid questions certainly valuable questions if it's where you should be and I can tell you I remember asking those same questions to myself and the conclusion I finally came to was no what you need exists on the other side of those walls in this part of of your life it's critical that you move Beyond those parameters [Music] that's not what lights a fire in everyone but it's what lit a fire in me I was asking the wrong questions right was go over there and and start your own business start your own journey start sharing the things you want to share so what Alex hermosi refers to is playing a different game altogether and it's kind of a weird concept to grasp you know that you can win the game you're playing and still end up losing you know because you never thought to look for more you never ventured to peer out over what was directly in front of you this is a matter of self-reflection at its finest because you'd never see those walls unless you really took the time to think about it to be alone with yourself and ask those questions it's the fun what ifs what if I stopped doing those things I don't like and started doing what I love what if I didn't accept this as what I have to do and it instead took a different path altogether what if I was capable of playing a different game and what we find is that we're capable of some pretty incredible transformations we're capable of taking what matters out of a less than ideal environment and recreating it somewhere that is ideal that is conducive to our success in our growth and our Evolution and our contentment instead of conceding so much and asking so few questions why accept those limitations [Music] so again I ask where have you built your walls and why and what if you push them back like lines in the sand meant to be redrawn [Music] see perhaps the the income coming in is a direct result of you feeling like hey that's just what I make perhaps your Fitness level is the result of you thinking that's just how I am perhaps your friends and the people you surround yourself with are a result of you saying it's just who I know but there comes a point when new targets must be set and new lines drawn at least if any type of evolution is going to occur you don't have to perpetually navigate the revenue streams Fitness levels and friend groups you have now you can play a different game again it's not always asking how do I live Within These Walls walls exist within these circumstances [Music] sometimes the question is how do I step into a new Arena entirely [Music] Swiss Explorer Bertrand Picard said very often human beings are living on autopilot reacting automatically with what happens what interests me about the life of an Explorer is you are in the unknown you are out of your habits that's exactly what interests me that contrast between the unknown in our habits being on so-called autopilot right because a life without examination and reflection is going to be a life void of some pretty incredible things obviously yeah life requires balance right there's a time for routine and a time for exploration a time for consistency and a time for adventure but overall I think we very often forget how big the world and how small the piece of it in which we've given ourselves permission to exist admittedly in the past you know I've fallen victim to the doing without the thinking but some of my greatest breakthroughs were realizing that you know understanding that I have the ability change and here's a story that in a unique way emphasizes this um the other day I was on the plane and it was watching some variation of Animal Planet right specifically talking about animal Migration and a species of penguin came up and these penguins hatched somewhere near New Zealand when they're strong enough the first thing they do is swim offshore thousands and thousands of kilometers to Antarctica for food here's what's interesting though the narrator States funny enough they have everything they need right where they are right before they even start the journey they have all the food they need but still mysteriously they Embark upon this trip the longest single Journey made by any penguin and I'm paraphrasing here but the narrator says it's it's quite possibly entirely pointless and it's thought that maybe their ancestors started making that trip two million years ago when the only food that existed was in Antarctica so they had to go there he jokes it's a tough routine to break and the reason I found this interesting the the reason there's a correlation in my mind but between that Journey and human beings is because of the tendency to go into default mode and do things that aren't conducive to what's best but Penguins they don't have the ability to assess and change humans on the other hand we get to reflect we get to examine the paths we take or don't take for us in uh in the current year autopilot most often doesn't mean we're taking a thousand kilometer trips away you know it usually means we're staying contained and stagnant our autopilot our instinct is to place safety above everything else to live in fear of the same lines that pursued us thousands of years ago thinking they're still around every corner right when purpose is what we actually need well we actually crave but when we do not think we are driven by fear whether we realize it or not we completely push away the unknown and accept the status quo that's our default that's our metaphorical trip to Antarctica it's part of who we are it's how our species survived so it's nothing to be ashamed of but to see that acknowledge that and then seek to change that in ourselves uh so that we can live in a way that's conducive to what's meaningful that is a superpower that's how you go from existing in the world to living in the world what am I doing for the sake of doing and how can I lock into the things that truly matter [Music] because that default setting it won't take us to the promised land right so it's up to us do we adjust the path so that we get the most out of this short-lived time on Earth do we look beyond the routine of our day-to-day and make the changes build the models push the boundaries that create a new set of standards [Music] it's amazing how just by examining how we spend our time we unveil so much about ourselves and what we want we give ourselves a chance to step off the Merry-Go-Round and carve out something of value so I asked how are you spending your time what does your day-to-day consist of do these things align with what matters or is this routine designed perhaps subconsciously to keep the world out and then now secure are the people in your life and the places you go the things you do intentional so they bring value or are they that dreaded autopilot again the enemy isn't necessarily What routine brings we need it to some extent the enemy is what too much routine keeps out it's not letting yourself grow into the person you could become that version of yourself that requires breaking the chains of predictability and safety to pickard's point if we don't think we will act automatically but the path to something greater does not automatically reveal itself it materializes over time with intentionality with thought it emerges from the comparison of where you are and where you'd ultimately like to be this world is comprised of unlimited possibility just as you're comprised of infinite potential but for these two truths to intersect you have to look around you have to create and walk down your own path I was talking to my friend on the phone this morning and he's been on a very long journey a lot of highs a lot of lows but now he's doing incredibly well he's heavily invested in real estate has a very successful business I mean you talk about a turnaround he's it and uh he says Eddie do you know what the best part of all this is when I get up in the morning I think yes I don't think oh man I wish I could sleep just a few more minutes I don't wish for a little longer in bed I think yes and I found that moving if that's not Peak living I don't know what is the second your eyes open to be excited about what's to come right so I asked him Tom you know what's the the biggest mental change made in your life that brought that about and he said essentially this is a a term uh used a lot by Dan Sullivan he says I learned to always be the buyer now I'm just starting reading Sullivan's books so I'm not too familiar with the idea I said Tom can you explain kind of expand upon that a little bit paraphrasing he said he started to look at life like he was worthy of it like he was the decision maker right and I don't know if if you've been there I certainly have where it's like man I hope this person accepts me I hope they hire me I hope I can be included now that's uh it's an existence of constantly selling yourself but when you make that mental shift of instead saying uh I have value to add to this person I am the buyer here you Empower yourself right a buyer cannot get rejected instead of walking around hoping the world accepts you it's having confidence in yourself and your ability as my eighth grade teacher Mr Bettencourt used to say when we were kids the worst thing you can do is hold your hands up to the sky and hope something of value falls into them the worst thing you can do is take the power out of your hands and Outsource it to fate because the truth is you do have value to add there is change you're going to make in the world there's a beautiful mark on Humanity to be created by you and there must come a time where you see that as a valuable resource you're on a mission and it's not about other people saying yes or no to you it's do you want to allow these people to come along with you on your mission not selling yourself but buying the pieces that will comprise your greatness subtle shift but also a powerful one and the reality is people respect it right that's the crazy thing when you find the courage to dig deep and unlock that confidence in yourself you get more of it from others and this is from experience right I've never been the loudest guy in the room not an attention seeker it's easier for me to listen right but I find that when you live with conviction the world around you conforms respect finds you people will never believe in someone who doesn't believe in him or herself and this is kind of an interesting note the good friend of mine has has helped uh do some booking on podcasts and events right and part of that's trying to get speakers and personalities to participate you have to explain to them the value and this is what I found amazing he says a formal well thought out letter stating the ins and outs how grateful the host would be how beneficial The Experience would be gets ignored 99 times out of 100. but a simple hey X is happening gonna be incredible give me a shout we'll see how we can get you involved gets responded to way more often why because you're not selling you're buying right people want to be around those who live with conviction who have value to add so make that clear right instead of writing up those four paragraph emails asking the world for answers for assistance now you weren't put here to wait for permission to tiptoe through life and not make any mistakes you weren't put here to impress others or be accepted by those around you you're here to live life on your terms to make magic to enjoy the passing moments with the ones you love spent how you choose to spend them never forget how much you mean and how valuable you are never forget that you have every right to wake up and say yes I get to get out of bed today I get to Chase my dream and bring along with me the people and things that are worthy of the pursuit that's not arrogance that's confidence that's not existing that's living in a world of conformity of please take what I have to offer in a world of concession in a world of I don't want to but okay you have to get to the yes you have to become the buyer not only in each specific exchange but the buyer of a destiny that belongs to you good [Music] deciding who you'd like to be most often starts with leaving the parts of you you no longer want to carry around so reminisce think back examine because you didn't just arrive at today this moment is the result of thousands upon thousands of steps and conversations and just decisions our lives are sculpted like Ocean Shores one wave one gust of wind at a time I'm sure there were certainly events that expedited the process point is holistically Landscapes take time to materialize as did the but you're not confined to this moment in fact you in and of itself is an idea you is a story that incorporates the things you used to do places you used to go people you used to know you is not right now you is how you summarize the path that created right now but you can change because you will always mean what you decided us so reminisce think back examine [Music] and feel the warmth of the good times bask in the moments that lit up your soul but don't be afraid to pull back the curtain on those things that well maybe you aren't too proud of the things that no longer Define you perhaps never defined you to begin with because see before we cut ties with those stories and send them out to sea we must do the hard work of recognizing what they are [Music] before we can identify the life to be lived we have to be able to see the one that will live no more and so it's okay to walk down that road those things are no longer you they are ideas old ideas bad ideas and so they will be relegated to the sands of time they played their part as everything does and now it's time so reminisce think back examine grab what you love and let it become your Guiding Light take hold of the meaningful and pour it into the new you the one you're making now the one that matters now you'll need [Music] because the old you it'll try to re-emerge it'll present itself in the shape of old faces with old expectations old places connected to Old Habits old stories just don't want to end but these characters they play their part and thank God they did because now they're recognizable now you know to cut ties you know I wish it weren't so I think we all do but sometimes life requires that we touch that burning hot stove in order to understand that it's hot it's easy to dismiss these occurrences as a bad thing or wasted time but I think they're a beautiful thing recognizing and mitigating our mistake leaves us with a New Foundation to build on a blank can it makes you not a prisoner to yesterday's work it makes you an artist again the designer a creator so reminisce think back and examine but not to hold on reminisce to let go to say the goodbyes that will make space for the hellos to Free Yourself of excess that will make space for the necessities you've spent a long time designing you some of it ideal but all of it valuable in its own unique way the reality is that now in this current moment not all of it needs to come with you so reminisce think back examine so that before you move ahead you know exactly what needs to be left behind [Music] the difficulty we face in life is not personal if you remember this you disarm every adversary obstacle every complication you'll ever face so quick story recently I was renewing a lease for my apartment something that usually is pretty simple right only this time things were not simple confusion chaos misunderstanding after misunderstanding I received emails and letters saying you know you need to provide these documents in order to renew you need to have x y z information submitted to his ASAP and I'm sitting here thinking guys you have all this info right I've lived here a year same guy let's put two and two together and after a while I started to get like truly annoyed eventually to the point of taking it personally so I stopped what I was doing go down to the front office thinking I'm going to go scorched Earth here I really wanted to emphasize how absurd and ridiculous all this was I opened the door and just kind of stopping my tracks first thing I see it's a crowded room filled with tenants asking for things making requests looking for info and the people that worked there were so patient and kind running around doing their absolute best to make everyone happy and get everything done and almost immediately I realized Eddie you made this about you this is not in any way about you basically I created this fallacy that because things weren't working the way I wanted them to then there must have been some Universal resistance right there's an idea I heard a while back that very rarely steers me wrong is that two things can simultaneously be true at once so in this case is there opportunity for these guys to tighten up a bit bring more clarity to their operations and best practices certainly true but on the other hand was building this up as a them versus me match in my head dumb and counterproductive yes also true the world will always provide adversity right that's not news to anyone it's just what the world does that adversity will take a thousand different shapes and appear an infinite number of ways but here's the deal life is neutral things just happen they aren't good or bad they just exist in The Ether we as storytellers decide to put a charge into things we decide whether it's happening to us or for us we choose and that's the takeaway here there's power in Remembering not to take things personally in any aspect of life because when we do we actually lose our grip on reality we become emotional and not rational and this is visible everywhere and take rejection for example something we all deal with it's not personal the person on the other end is thinking about themselves they're locked in on their own incentives they're not thinking about you and however you feel about this it's just the truth so assess the situation sure maybe find some areas where you can improve and carry on being mistreated again not about you as the saying goes hurt people hurt people same goes for criticism and hate online right something that a lot of people truly fear it will almost always be true that people who are more accomplished than you or further along in their career trajectory won't waste time bringing you down in the comment section no it's people saying things hoping that their comments will get approval and attention so they can feel validated their actions are being carried out for ready for this themselves and to misdiagnose or take it as a shot to the heart well that's creating a battle scenario that doesn't need to exist it's not them versus you it's them versus them you're just in the crossfire now does this perspective or or point to not take things personally uh mean that we abdicate personal responsibility does it mean we say well it's not me it's it's the world so not my problem no of course not right this perspective gives you the power to do the right things and the necessary things because you understand that the problems you faced are not a giant indictment of you as a person getting angry creates a scenario where you know you reallocate your your energy from doing what's best for you to instead being mad at him or her or this group or that circumstance or the world in general you know bad things happen and by the way they happen to everyone gets rejected at some point everyone gets let down by people close to them at some point everyone loses their way at some point everyone has their expectations fall short everyone has pushed back it's not just you it's the world doing what the world does and there's eight billion of us running around operating uh in our best interest trying to navigate a big crazy world that's often uh incredibly difficult to understand so with this perspective right going forward you know my lesson from a few weeks ago what would I have done differently during all that chaos with the apartment a handful of things I'd first of all remind myself that in the grand scheme of things it's trivial it's just not that important to understand incentives like these folks aren't trying to make things hard for me they're trying to do their jobs well so they can live their best lives which brought their attention to other things it happens and three when you're calm you can actually solve the problems at hand when you don't stack your problems up to look like adversaries working against you when you instead see them as merely a challenge or puzzle to be solved Life Starts to look a lot different it just feels different to walk around as though life is on your side as though hardship is nothing more than the water necessary for the seed to grow as though all those challenges you face are opportunities being presented to you because I'm not sure you can simultaneously fight and solve I think one of our most important decisions is to select one you can make the rejection an opponent the criticism a rival you can make the disorder your nemesis or you can realize that all of it falls squarely into the box that is life [Music] taken out one by one so that you can construct the ideal life comes down to the advantages that exist all around us the choices we make to live freely with the wind at our backs or confined by the walls we build around ourselves and sure your current obstacles might be because of decisions you've made maybe even decisions you wish you could take back but the current moment right now in this second is neutral it does not hold a grudge or have an agenda now right now is simply right now in the same way that two plus two is four four is not good or bad it doesn't want you to win or lose it's just four same goes for the crossroads before you and that puts the onus entirely on you to decide what you will make it all mean will you slow things down to find Clarity will you open your eyes to see the value because look there will always be a Delta between reality and the stories we tell ourselves about reality it's how human beings work it's how we've managed to survive for millennia so understand that and gift yourself to narratives that bring you closer to the place you want to be the road before you will be challenging not because it's pushed back is personal but because amidst the resistance you'll find the components you need to live your very best life [Music] of all life's lessons it's my relationship with what it means to suffer that's transformed my reality something that's learned not unlike one's ability to read or write an understanding that unlocks the door to fulfillment Nietzsche says to live is to suffer to survive is to find meaning in the suffering Dostoevsky says pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and deep heart the really great men must I think have great sadness on Earth Helen Keller says although the world is full of suffering it's also full of the overcoming of it our problem is not that we suffer our problem is that we don't know how to perceive it when it inevitably arrives we're taught that it's synonymous with a giant street sign saying wrong way we're taught that the perfect life is free of its grasp it's why when suffering does arrive we're so inclined to run from it I reference my experience as a D1 rower often not because I stood out or even really because of my love for the sport I reference it because it is the point in my life when I learned to suffer when I learned what I could put my body through my mind through and see that like all things discomfort simply ends and life is different on the other side that's why I talk about waking up to go to the gym in the morning when it's still dark in the middle of winter the practices that made me throw up having three exams two papers but thinking about a 2K test because part of me couldn't believe I was doing it because up until that point in my life I would have simply said no that's why I reference the three of us Walk-Ons that were their senior year out of this 60 plus that showed up freshman year we built a relationship with suffering you understand what opens up to you when you agree to for a moment in time walk through those flames of hell it's not a trick or a complex formula it's just taking yourself to places most haven't learned to go not because they can't but because they haven't learned when you know you can push yourself far beyond what you thought possible not only survive but come back renew re-energize the different understanding of the world it's hard to see anything is too much or outside the realm of possibility in my personal life I can make difficult decisions in my professional life I can sit down and write when I don't want to when I feel like I can't I can take on projects and scare them that take me so far outside my comfort zone my ceilings have no choice but to become floors you elevate yourself with ETS Gustav Lanson says there is no art without commitment and suffering that is not a demon to be avoided it's truly the beginning of everything Jocko he says discipline equals Freedom or what is discipline if not one's ability to accept and harness suffering to teach yourself not to step back but forward in ink into the chaos into the disarray that's where our lives are assembled it's where we are made and so my message is where you would once say no dare to say yes even if it's a footstep a moment one toe in the water teach yourself that the very discomfort you've been running away from that most run away from will be the reason your life transforms change isn't a miracle it's a decision [Music] foreign [Music] sometimes the moment has a way of appearing bigger than it really is sought let me explain [Music] there was this kid when I was in first grade let's just call him Mike and what Mike would do was follow us all around the classroom and outside at recess we'd constantly look for reasons to quote unquote tell the teacher on you right dude was an absolute menace I'm 35 and I still remember Mike my buddies and I would be you know playing basketball outside uh you know maybe just learn some awesome four-letter words would love to give him a test run but no not if Mike was around Mike would go right to the teacher and see we feared Mike because we feared being in trouble now as time passes yeah you look back and realize how absolutely ridiculous that is I want to shake younger me and say who cares about Mike go live your life he doesn't matter but the reality is at the time he did matter he mattered a lot because he was the personification of uh what was most scary to us in the moment right as a child avoiding being in trouble or time out or whatever it was uh seemed to be a big deal here's what I think I think every chapter of life has a mic not in the literal sense but in the sense that there's something we fear something that consumes our time and attention something that's been inflated to a state far greater than it really should have been that has an impact disproportionate to reality because it's real as it seems in the moment a few years down the road we'll do the usual you know shake our head and laugh about the seemingly obvious lack of perspective during that chapter hindsight being 20 20 will be shocked we couldn't see what we eventually came to see but that's what growth is it's a good thing we want to evolve no one wants to be the same in 10 years see life the same way in 10 years foreign but it's also an opportunity to obtain some perspective to understand that our current fears aren't all we've built them up to be we just can't see it yet unfortunately the dust has to settle before the picture makes sense just like right now we can't judge the world around us the same way historians will be able to with clarity that's why I often referenced Ronnie Ware's top five regrets of the dying because it's a list of things people in their final stages of life look back on and say yeah that was dumb as people who have already walked the path pointing out the metaphorical mics they've encountered along the way because here's the deal the root of our stagnation the root of our frustration our despair comes down to fear in some capacity right when you dig deep it's a fear of leaving or staying a fear of criticism a fear of unknowns fear of letting down the people we do know our demons are manufactured they're comprised of fear fear that sure will eventually laugh and shrug off [Music] but oh the power in being able to fast forward that sequence to understand that life is too short to be held down by chains of our own making right how about laughing in the face of what intimidates you now not five years from now but now how about looking around and asking yourself what obstacles in your life are Mike esque how about breaking our constraints down into what they've always been manageable tasks simply waiting for us to change the narrative if you aren't pursuing that which is Meaningful it's most likely because somewhere deep down fear is holding you back and that fear is holding you back because let's face it you've let it in see the moment is beautiful it's powerful it has everything you need but it's not bigger than you it never will be bigger than you so let's not wait for some arbitrary time in the future to arrive at that conclusion [Music] when it comes to the almost 8 billion people on planet Earth there's undoubtedly a variance in the resources at our disposal the influence we have what we all share is the ability to rule over our own lives our own thoughts as the Rose said think for yourself or others will think for you without thinking of you see life moves quickly and if one is unable to slow it down to examine the world around them well they'll find themselves a cog in the wheel of their own existence a Pawn on the chessboard of life because reality is a battle a battle of self-interest that requires that we build walls around that which is precious that we protect it it all costs your world view was the foundation for everything of value in your life yet it's constantly under attack from the negativity at the gate the suffering attempting to breach the walls the outside influences praying that you'll Outsource your thinking that you'll let them rule from afar to maintain control over your own Outlook it's no small feat it's perhaps the most important Battle of your life it's the difference between intentionality and chance the role of the ruler or the ruled [Music] as the saying goes if you don't build your dream you will spend your days building someone else's if you don't ask yourself what you want in life those needs will ultimately be buried under nonsensical obligation that takes their place where there are vacuums in Awareness they will be filled usually not by actors with the same interests as you see mistakes are not the problem no mistakes mean you're present driving towards something collecting data for this experiment that is life it's autopilot that destroys like that frog put in a pot heating up so slowly it never knows to jump out the external World becomes its demise and this message isn't to instill fear or intimidated it's to remind you to ask the question that so few ask how is my life best lived and What can I do to bring that to reality if you can think for yourself you're never out of the fight if you can think for yourself you're always a decision away from advancement in the direction of that which matters most so trust you to do what's right for you in a world where no one knows what they're doing I can assure you you don't need external endorsements or stamps of approval take Robert Frost Road Less Traveled by and don't look back don't feel remorse that's where you're forced to find yourself to ask the tough questions to embrace Who You Are because the crowd is antithetical to rationality not just because responsibility dissipates not just because human beings become essentially well-dressed chimpanzees but because rarely on the micro level is the collective goal your goal have the courage to see that have the courage to understand that life is not an instruction manual everything around you you have in one way or another accepted and in accepting it you have chosen it by not saying no you have in fact said yes so realize that the world around you doesn't change until your thoughts become the bridge that connects current to Future today to tomorrow and so you realize life can't make you a victim more a Pawn on its chess board without your permission whether implicitly or explicitly no you have the ability to think control orchestrate something greater than what's in front of you [Music] let today be your next courageous step in the direction of that reality you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life to exist beyond the sun's grasp to stay on the outside looking in no you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life [Music] it's important to remember the difference between now and forever the distinction between today and tomorrow because from time to time they look deceptively similar [Music] especially when we inevitably find ourselves in the darkest of times [Music] when despite our best efforts our world is reduced to Shadows void of Hope when tomorrow and today have merged into one endless entity it always seems to be in these times that we forget that right now is just a moment not an assigned permanent but a bridge to something great as Viktor Frankl says if there is meaning in life at all then there must be meaning in suffering we all suffer we all hurt we all go through periods of time where we can't see or hear or feel anything beyond the darkness we find ourselves in but it's there Darkness cannot be defined without light it's in the definition darkness is a partial or total absence of light they need each other Darkness and Light the one thing that can bring Darkness to its knees is out there everywhere all around it and if there was ever a reason to be hopeful enthusiastic if there's ever a reason to believe it's that a new life is always a light switch away it's that darkness is as temporary as the day and the antidote requires only that you believe it to be true only that you find the result to reach one foot out to remind yourself of the sun's warmth and the infinite Beauty of a world Beyond this temporary Darkness because you you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life but to re-emerge like a rocket through the Earth's stratosphere to swing from star to star like life is a playground and you make the rules for those times of Darkness they in a sense prepared us for the road ahead by giving us what we need most perspective life lessons a road map to follow you don't appreciate the light the Sun the clearer blue skies the wind on your face the sound of the Waves the chirping of the birds no you don't see the beauty in any of that until even if for a moment it is taken away [Music] you don't learn about life's abundance until you come face to face with scarcity you don't learn to give until you've had your world taken away you don't learn to love until you've experienced heartbreak you don't learn courage until you've been overcome by fear you don't learn to grow until you've been truly stuck you don't learn to believe until you've looked in the mirror and doubt Piers back you don't know who you are until you learn what you're not see everyone finds themselves having wandered into the dark sometimes of their own volition some times of Fate but like leaves changing color in the fall the Earth on its Journey around the Sun a wave emerging and falling back into that which It came it is not an end but a beginning life's way of preparing us for what's to come introducing us to the infinite possibility of tomorrow because you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life to emerge from them to light up the world no you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life [Music] when the ground beneath us shakes We crave stability when the heavens open up and Rain Pours Down we run for shelter when life presents us with vagueness with flashes of possibility we long for Mastery it's more Instinct than anything else could it be that that instinct that we run to like moths to a flame is leading us astray that it doesn't have our best interests at heart could it be that we're so worried about protecting and maintaining an acceptable image for the world that we forget to build something internally that's worth protecting what if that's shaking is what brings down the foundations that held us back what if that rain washers away the limits of yesterday as we evolve into something more and what if those flashes of possibility require of us not Mastery no not yet but a willingness to be the fool and what if that willingness isn't an unfortunate dead end but a beginning in one of his lectures at the University of Toronto Jordan Peterson said if you are not willing to be a fool you can't be a master [Music] in the cycle that is self-discovery that is growth we have to at some point step into an arena that's foreign to us that we don't yet understand we have to be willing to operate with inadequate resources trusting that you know they'll be picked up along the way and that's a lot to take in it's painful to know that others are going to have Knowledge and Skills and competencies that you want that you'll willingly inject yourself into the bottom of some hierarchy with nothing more than aspirations [Music] but that willingness is your vehicle and what's clear is that everyone wants the moon but very few people have the courage to start constructing that spaceship very few have the courage to be the student that's why our inclination is to quit when we can't snap our fingers and magically beyond our way when we can't leap past that wandering around the unknowns the reality is we have to fight to scrap to obtain that sense of belonging in a particular competency and just talking about it brings me back it's an obstacle that we all face it's super real to me I remember being featured on a podcast where the host literally asked me why should I listen what you have to say right like who are you why why are you Road mapping your journey and I remember fighting for relevance in an area on which you know at the time I knew almost nothing about and I love how Peterson articulates this battle he says at some point you'll want to make a change and you'll feel like an imposter and guess what you are but you have to be you'll ultimately feel worse if you don't do it that's imposter syndrome feeling like a stranger in your own body and guess what it's not wrong it's just a beginning I like explaining it like jumping into a cold pool feels uncomfortable at first it feels out of place but then things normalize they become comfortable and what's the other option to fear that minute of of discomfort and never jump in it's what we need to tell ourselves when we want something but the the climb seems to steep right that climb is manageable you'll acclimate the adversaries pushing beyond that fear of starting anew taking your limited understanding bringing it to the base of that mountain a new Goliath and looking up with confidence and the question is can you be foolish enough to do that and once you've made that ceiling your next floor will you be foolish enough to do it again and again and again and breaking through that fear knowing that stumbling around for a period of time doesn't kill you it's required it's the inability to show weakness or appear vulnerable that's what chips away at you for a lifetime if you want more immerse yourself in that cycle of Mastery start at the bottom and Ascend and when you approach the top separate yourself and find another ceiling to chase we plant a seed play the role of the fool again this is the formula for growth for prosperity for fulfillment this is the pathway to anything of substance you take your L's you embrace your critics you swallow your pride and move towards the tomorrow that far exceeds today as your reality changes your perception changes The Company You Keep changes you'll start to see that what's around you is made by people who are willing to fail and fail often our world is one devised by those who could put Pride On Hold by those who were humble enough to crawl through the unknown long before they ran anything who knew that knew that before they played for any title or change or chess ship they must first play the fool foreign [Music] your eyes do not create they obey they are projectors that play the stories your mind has written Messengers delivering pictures you've already painted do you win or lose long before they open your outcomes decided long before they see a thing your outlook is not a reflection of the world around you it's a reflection of the world within you and I wonder how we can be so lucky as to have the opportunity to literally create our own reality yet we position ourselves so that we're disadvantaged we act as though the wake of the boat is more powerful than the wheel that steers it we remind ourselves of the obstacles instead of reassuring ourselves that we possess the ability to get around anything and everything that stops US if we can create our own Landscapes why insert storms if we can Define our own rules why penalize our progress if we're capable of Feats beyond our wildest dreams why do we instruct our eyes to see stop signs your eyes long to see the world as it was meant to be seen with its color its fullness its beauty its perfection why not give them permission see there is no use for the negative thing there is no value to be obtained or acquired from what doesn't push you the solution is simple if it doesn't make you stronger let your eyes see beyond it refocus re-examine because I promise you the answers you need are in the same frame as the things that hold you back the problems they are the solutions the opportunities they are the risk life is that portrait but it is entirely open to interpretation see the same people that see beauty that find magnificence they will always see it they will always find it in the down times the winter periods of Life they'll feel it during the days when we look up and we wonder how in the hell these dots connect they will run towards the chaos find answers While others see what's not there eyes are the tunnel in which all that data is transferred but understand this it doesn't begin X externally and flow into your brain no reality as you know it it starts within and is projected out pouring into every step you take every handshake every time you look up and smile you are painting the world colors that correspond to your story your paint by number and when you can only see the things you don't want to see when negativity bias latches on and attempts to hold you in place realize that you are letting the wrong info in subscribing to what doesn't serve you so simply change the channel step back and look again one more time because you are the author of your own story so see it as you want to live it on your own terms foreign [Music] foreign

Channel: Eddie Pinero

Views: 239,777

Keywords: live inspired, motivation, your world within, Eddie Pinero, inspiration, running motivation, motivational speech, motivational video

Id: VAkBY51lJDI

Length: 181min 55sec (10915 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 04 2023