THE MINDSET FOR SUCCESS | Best Motivational Speeches of 2023 (So Far)

foreign [Music] the best thing to do is go there [Music] A wise man once stated that an object at rest stays at rest and while his rationale was a little different than mine I'm gonna borrow from his premise right because when you move even if you don't know where you're going you put yourself on a collision course with something you put into existence an entity to react to some call it destiny others call it fate I call it simply initiative because if your journey is hypothetical you have nothing to celebrate nor correct [Music] a sailboat can adjust its sales once it leaves the harbor right it can learn from and manipulate its surroundings make sure it arrives at a destination right it learns and adapts along the way but from the harbor it speculates it expounds upon a path that might be straighter it might be faster might be more thought out and tied together than the crazy Sailors who took off for the Horizon but in actuality it goes nowhere in the real world it is stagnant and I could be wrong but I'd make the argument 10 out of 10 times that the real world is where we want our results oh and my proof well a journey that started with insurance and evolved into music and songwriting and audio production and video production and creative writing than a sweet spot that kind of combined everything the spot that didn't make its way to my inbox with an exact address [Music] a spot that required a lot of failure and Lessons Learned and disappointment but man more than that so much fun my proof is sitting down right now in real time letting my fingers create a bridge from nothing to something of value by the way after sitting here staring at a blank screen for hours foreign [Music] could I be wrong could I screw up could I wildly miss the mark yes in fact it happens more than I'd like to admit but here's the beauty even if I am wrong I now have something to work with something has been brought into existence well that means I'm officially further along than I once was and I've heard over and over again that the original perfect moment that you have to just go and the idea I mean it makes sense it's impossible not to understand but it's one of those things that until you feel it doesn't mean anything how can you miss something you've never experienced well to put it in a way that helped me understand you aren't going because and what do you have to lose [Music] you're going because everything is to be gained the answers that you pick up along the way like a little coins you pick up in Super Mario right you have to start collecting pieces of a puzzle that you can then arrange I truly believe that one of the most important ideas we need to hold on to moving forward is personal agency self-belief I say that because I I feel like I'm watching it slip there are cases where we literally don't know or understand that it's within our own ability and control to change our lives no person or group or letter in the mail is going to come along and green light your idea in fact you might not even really know what your idea means or how it will look and that's not only okay it's amazing it's the marble that you get to Chisel away at to create something see life is not the the perfect execution of a plan life is the courage to make your way into a world that no one really understands or knows anything about and I'm not talking physics or biology or quantum mechanics I'm talking about the real life that is emergent from those areas of study right there is no perfect formula for a happiness but it will always be true that immobility or standing still is antithetical to progress and there is plenty of data that supports the idea progress equals happiness want to move towards something so that's what this is about right here's to not being scared of what we don't know because somewhere in the realm of what we don't know exists what we need most [Music] so yeah stop waiting for the perfect moment and yes begin not because it's an ultimatum [Applause] do it because the things that make life fun and intriguing and exciting and ultimately worthwhile they live on the other side of your front door [Music] thank you [Music] lead yourself first [Music] before we can influence before we can ever persuade or change anything externally we have to first lead ourselves and that means delivering on the Promises we make to ourselves it means showing up when we tell ourselves we're going to show up it means putting ourselves in an environment conducive to growth there's an old metaphor from Wayne Dyer about an orange where he essentially says that it doesn't matter what you do to an orange it doesn't matter how hard you squeeze it or how many you have or how you manipulate it grapefruit juice will never come out of an orange and only orange juice can be emitted and similarly we can never give or contribute what we do not have inside ourselves we can't expect Our Lives to look like anything other than a culmination of the tiny action steps and decisions we make on a daily basis the external world is a product of the internal world and the internal world is not realized until we learn to rule over ourselves and our lives with conviction you can break this down in many different ways you charcoal willing says discipline equals freedom John Maxwell talks about a leadership lid where success levels can never exceed leadership capability and sure it applies to teams but it also applies to self-leadership are you searching for and committing to the little hinges in your life that is W Clement Stone says swing big doors that make the difference are you taking responsibility for your shortcomings like leaders do are you learning to trust yourself are you seeing past the Trap of perfection and committing to progress are you taking the little things seriously because at the end of the day all things are comprised of little things and only little things the bottom line is that we Master nothing until we Master ourselves trust ourselves [Music] the bottom line is that we win when we lead ourselves to hold ourselves accountable for the little things that matter even when it hurts or we're tired even though no one's going to come up and reprimand us for falling short right there are often no visible consequences when we let ourselves down so let's manufacture that urgency if you promised yourself you'd get up when that alarm clock goes off it comes no longer optional promise yourself you'd go down the road that scares you it becomes no longer one road of many of the only Road even though it may be scary or intimidating it's the darkness that must be confronted you you are more powerful than you know you are more capable than you understand but you must lead yourself to your potential those little things matter and so while the Temptation is to brush them off is insignificant while the rest of the world Ebbs and flows through life like jellyfish with the tide your superpower will be to see harness and multiply those little decisions like they are gold your strength is that when it's easy to run you'll be the one that instead stands up and Lead yourself to Greatness [Music] this weekend I needed to shut off for a little bit so I got some Chipotle yep big night picked a random episode of Game of Thrones sat on my couch and I put my feet up apparently though the universe had other plans for me because I swear I was a few minutes in and I heard one of the most incredible quotes I've ever heard which sent me in 400 directions thinking about how to share it and delve into it with you guys on the podcast so hey sometimes you plan to sit there and watch make-believe armies fight and you end up instead putting together an essay life in the big city right but the uh the the scene I'm talking about there's a character named Sansa Stark for anyone who hasn't seen it and at this point in the show you know she's lost her family been away from home essentially on the run for a long time it was sitting by yourself kind of sulking reminiscing building a little replica of her old home in the snow that was on the ground and she sat there and basically just to set the scene this little kid comes up Stomps on it Sansa gets mad hits the kid she's just devastated by everything exhausted by it all and roughly that time a second character walks up a guy named Peter Baelish and Sansa standing up over her broken snow castle says I was trying to remember what everything looked like I'll never see it again to which Peter replies a lot can happen between now and never if you want to build a better home first you must demolish the old one he's implying that Sansa might think she wants to go home but home is essentially gone that place she knew that place she wants to go back to it's destroyed the people she loved are no longer there she thinks she wants to go back to that place because she's lost and scared and alone and The Human Condition is always to return to the comfort of what we left to recapture that feeling of clarity but to truly find herself what she needs to do is destroy that version of home and build a new one to start again to become something worthy of a new home one that's more conducive to life now which is her character Arc for the rest of the show right slowly evolving into that person [Music] interesting cycle of dying and being born again of leaving old things behind in order to build a new the old you can only give what the old you always gave so when life demands more of us we have a real problem on our hands what you knew is now insufficient it's not enough sure it was enough yesterday but today is a different story and we're always put in this situation where the road before us is asking more of us than we've ever given it demands more than we know how to accommodate this is when it becomes very easy to misdiagnose home to think the answer is behind us what we need is buried beneath what was when in reality what was is no longer sufficient what we really need is to set the past Ablaze in order to create space for what must be brought to life home is an evolution a cycle as our world changes we evolve right along with it as old beliefs fall new ones are built as the old way is lost a new way is found by clinging to Old you sentence yourself to the never Sansa was so adamant about that the expense of the infinite abundance and opportunity that's out there it's worth noting that the Phoenix does not descend from the Clear Blue Sky he Rises From the Ashes it's after the old world Falls that the new one emerges I'm not the same person I was in 2014 when I left what I was doing to do what I'm doing now that version of me died and then again when I packed up my things and relocated my life and business of South Florida and then again when I changed how I positioned myself how I thought of myself in the world and again and again in a a multitude of times since then this current version of myself is dying as we speak making room for the new every time I find myself at a transition point it's pain it's unlearning things I knew to be true I was sure of it's taking a sledgehammer to the old realities so that new ones can take their place so that saying a lot can happen between now and never yeah anything can exist between now and never the world is Limitless between now and never if you understand what never means because the old you could never have the things meet the people go the places or become the person that you will be someday the old you could never see the world the way you do or the way that you will but the old you was never supposed to what we once called home our past our understandings of Life they were critical they set the stage for now they brought us this strange intersection of who we once were and who we now need ourselves to be it's not that crawling on the ground was wrong it's that we are now required to grow our wings to set Ablaze the previous parameters so that new rules can be written change hurts but it hurts far less than carrying the old you into eternity while infinite possibilities left on the Shelf it hurts far less than equating your life now to what's been taken away or lost Rise From the Ashes of what was life will ask you to be better more capable it will ask you for more meet its call over and over again meet its call for anyone willing to let go of the old and give life to the new a lot can happen between now and never [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] 2011 I hurt my left arm and had to get surgery so for a while I was pretty limited as far as what I could do with my upper body and that's really when I fell in love with running I started doing it almost every day sometimes those long runs outside clear my mind sort of reset a little bit and sometimes I mix it up hop on the treadmill and do my favorite workout which was a pyramid right where you break 10 minutes into four segments four three two and one increasing in intensity with each segment and then you start over and that's where this whole idea comes from it's it's this treadmill workout that I want to talk about because there's a little ritual I picked up that I still Implement to this day and it was simple at the very end of my workout or my run I would always add 22 seconds my lucky number twice two and two so for example if I told myself you know the workout's going to be uh you know three pyramids or 30 minutes I would stop running at 30 minutes and 22 seconds if I told myself it was going to be an hour I'd stop at one hour in 22 seconds always tacking on that 22 and I don't really remember the first time I started doing it or even why but like so many things that 22 second period organically became a habit sort of evolved to take on a life of its own and would come to symbolize for me a little challenge the idea that the end is never really the end and no matter how tired I was or how bad I wanted to stop especially when you can see that Finish Line in reach I could always squeeze out a little more but like there's always something extra to give and you could certainly go down that 22 second rabbit hole right just 22 more seconds and then you finish that and you realize you can do just 22 more and just 22 more it's like this never ending Spotlight into how incredible we are as humans that are stopping points almost always are constructed rarely is there not an extra 22 seconds or 22 somethings we can endure and not only that I think there's a case to be made that our growth occurs in that final push there's a ton of value uh you know hidden away in there the the stretching of the Mind and Body the last rep that breaks down the muscle the last few seconds of that run that forced the lungs to work their hardest exhausting that last bit of energy and focus you know studying for an exam maybe that's where you confirm your comprehension and understanding of the subject matter it's like when we are pushing ourselves just outside the limits we drew up we are simultaneously expanding those limits [Music] and so over the years I've adopted that mentality and I look at myself in the mirror now and I can see it I'm not the same person I was a decade ago those little decisions to add on 22 seconds they stack up and they stack up in a unique way because it's not necessarily about the time it's not the same benefit that say an hour every morning that the gym would bring you know obviously that would be incredibly valuable but in a different way I'm talking about mentally an armor that we come to wear an identity that gets materialized it's how you see yourself and how you see the world you understand how manufactured our parameters are and I get it we have to stop somewhere sure but it's an acknowledgment that those somewheres are fiction they are arbitrary you weren't made to exist within them but to stretch them to re-create them and that's an Endeavor that is always uncomfortable but as far as I can tell always worth it the strength to go a little bit further than initially intended or designed is what will place you in a league of your own and that's where I wanted to start by bringing attention to the idea that there's always an extra 22 seconds and you are always capable of obtaining it that is yours whether you choose to see it or not it's an option it's always an option which sort of connects us to my next thought [Music] if I know that's who I am someone that fights for that 22 seconds if I know that's what I'm capable of and that's what lights me up what about those times in my life when I had no desire to reach for the extra 22. because sitting here I can think of Plenty I can think of times when there was dissonance between my identity and my actions foreign here's a quick story right this was a a shift in in my life and my understanding of reaching for that little bit more right when people ask me uh about my process right what I'm building or where I see myself in X number of years I tell them I'm playing the long game right like I'll sacrifice some short-term wins now uh to continue forward with the plan that I believe wholeheartedly will transform from linear to exponential right it's like garyvee's motto uh you know you're young you have time and impact is not about succeeding at 34 it's about flourishing at 45 and 55 and 65 and 75 like that's fun to me that's the exciting game to play and it's methodical [Music] the challenge is you know as you're locked into this big picture plan you have to pass a lot of shiny objects along the way a lot of hey look at them over there maybe I should be doing that too that worked for her will it work for me right sometimes you forget to trust yourself and stay the course and so a few years ago I felt this pressure to Pivot to adjust focus and I'd been you know talking with some mentors of mine who were you know very successful in their individual fields and passions um and I thought hey you know what it's time for me to start focusing Less on the craft and more on monetizing the craft right the dinero side of things which is great and it's healthy but here's the catch as long as you're doing it in a way that aligns with who you are and so a few months go by and I found myself living in this overly sized and priced condo on the beach that I was going to use to impress clients you know making products that didn't excite me talking to people I didn't really want to be talking to living a life that was not my own I'd lost myself right my love is storytelling it's capturing life seemingly overlooked secrets what I get excited about in the morning that's the value I want to share with the world and look money is important it's necessary it's freedom but for me it can't be about the money or I lose the drive right and here's here's the point I'm making where it all comes together what I found is that when you're a stranger in your own body there's almost no incentive to push for that little extra it's like who cares about fighting for 22 seconds I'm so misaligned I don't even want to be here right that is the red flag that's the indicator that it's time to adjust because if I'm someone who wants more who pursues and acquires more and I don't feel the urge to do so you know it's time to change and I broke the lease put everything I had in the car went on a little three-month Excursion realigned and if I'm not willing to suffer through that little extra to go above and beyond it's not for me and so that's a big example but it obviously manifests in smaller ways as well yes you are someone who can and will chase down the beauty in life who will transform that little extra into something meaningful but you also have to position yourself and the world around you to make it possible and when you don't feel that hunger inside and this is the point you need to understand it's not you it's not broken Hardware it's not that you innately lack drive or confidence it's that you need to rearrange this scenario you need to find alignment because I promise you if you want something enough you'll be willing to fight for it to hurt for it to break boundaries for it but you must first make sure that you're pointed at something you want something that moves you and here's the part where I remind you of all those things you've already overcome in your life of all the times you thought your tank was empty but you found a way all the times you were hurting but kept moving all the times you were broken but put yourself back together we are not told in school or at work how resilient we are we're not told that we often stop thousands of 22 second periods short we aren't told that we're living at a 30 capacity operating at a fraction of our potential we don't even realize the Little Miracles we've created along the way a strong purpose and a willingness to stretch yourself as you pursue it will change your life and that's not hyperbole that is fact if you want what you've never had then push yourself further than you've ever gone and we're talking little stressors expanding one step at a time until you eventually look over your shoulder and see the miles you've traveled until you look at your reflection and see the evolution that has occurred it was never just 22 seconds it was a consistent and sustained shot at the walls you placed around yourself for the opportunity to see them crumble [Music] when you look at erosion I like say Dunes on a beach what you see is something giving itself away little by little deteriorating [Music] sure there will be events that expedite the process but generally speaking it's lost a little bit at a time day by day right in front of our eyes until the time comes when we realize that what we have is no longer recognizable it's sort of redefined and I think in a lot of ways we find ourselves in a similar situation the concessions we allow every day slowly redefine Who We Are you know when it doesn't seem like much that's the thing it never does quietly detaching from what you believe taking on an identity that doesn't quite align with who you are doing things being places that causes something in your gut to protest toning down the color in your life so that you blend in these are not epic Monumental decisions it's the drawn out erosion of what makes you who you are it's the chipping away of what makes you spectacular see the idea that now isn't permanent so I'll just suck it up now what's the big deal I'll just settle for now let me tell you if that's your rationale you're forgetting how easily tomorrow becomes never and now becomes forever we operate under an illusion that things will become easier that change will be less strenuous down the road we'll make things right get back on track be happy then but the harsh reality is that things don't get easier than they are at the present moment it's quite the opposite and to disregard or ignore this is to let yourself wither away at the hands of procrastination if you're planning to wait for that get comfortable and see conceding day in and day out it Alters your understanding of who you are and what you're capable of our actions reinforce our beliefs imagine a straight line a simple straight line drawn on a piece of paper right you're in the middle and on one end is who you are in your heart in your soul and on the other end is everything you're not every time you sacrifice your principle your beliefs every time you say that's not me but fine that's not where I want to be but okay it's only temporary you take a little step toward what you're not and another step and another step in one day you look in the mirror and you have no clue who's looking back at you because you've conceded one small decision at a time you've given away your sense of purpose sure the situation is difficult but the best things in life are the things that are not easy you have to fight for those things you have to stand up in the face of struggle adversity The Narrative that others want to write for you we stay within guidelines because we think the outside is scary no what's inside is scary what's outside is what you need and when you stop banking on the anticipated miracles of tomorrow and manage the reality of today you succeed it's Life's greatest test are you brave enough to be you are you strong enough to fight back when you're tempted to hide to blend in every time you summon the courage to stay true to yourself it gets easier the difficulty lessons you become free of the mental chains you've placed around your ankles there are certain things in life worthy of compromise but your identity your journey what makes you feel alive that is sacred ground that is worth defending until your last breath no one can take that because it's yours and when you look back on your life and the amazing people in it a life live fully will always supersede marching through your days wearing a mask and following someone else's agenda it's your life it's your gift live it [Music] one of the more powerful realizations I've had both in business and life overall is that what we do to win today and what we do to position ourselves to win tomorrow they're often very different things and we've probably all experienced this in some capacity we get sucked into the cycle of doing becoming so task oriented that we don't make time to step back and ask which direction do I want this ship to go because sure we have to keep it afloat and we have to keep it afloat now but also we have to navigate the ship's role isn't solely to float right it's it's a transportation mechanism a vehicle where are we going and so the question becomes how do we balance the two I came across an awesome book by Lee Benson called your most important number and I'm about halfway through but already finding a ton of value that I'll be sharing in the future primarily around positioning your business for success and one of the first things the book discusses is is the difference between what Lee calls eating and dreaming eating being the things we need to do now to take care of matters that are essential for today the things that need to get done so using the same metaphor actions to keep that boat afloat and then there's the dreaming which is essentially doing things now that help position the organization for success in the future down the road it's asking what can I do today that will ensure we are winning tomorrow so boat metaphor it's planning for storms that may arise later in the journey it's analyzing the best destinations and charting the course and here's what really struck me at least suggests based on his Consulting that ideally leaders should be I believe the number was 80 percent dreaming and 20 eating so yeah doing what has to be done today obviously but largely focused on positioning the organization and themselves for success in the days to come and what he's found is that very often out in the world that ratio is flipped people are so consumed by the day-to-day that the future takes a back seat to the nuance and the quote-unquote putting out fires of the present moment we're spending 80 percent of our time eating now like most things this is not one size fits all uh say Frontline manager at a factory he's not going to be 80 dreaming and 20 eating their task requirements are are different but the point remains it's imperative that we in some capacity utilize our resources now to look ahead [Music] I don't know if I've ever told this story but I always joke around with my brother about it when we were kids in Southern California we'd have these basically battles on the beach right where we'd go down to uh the hard sand right in front of the water and would each build these little walls slash Fort type things maybe 20 feet apart from each other this is like emulating World War one type stuff and then we'd make cannonballs out of sand and just throw the sand at each other right so in a way this is a perfect metaphor because uh we would always be juggling on one hand building the fort that would protect us from the other person so dreaming and then on the other hand I mean those things hurt right we'd have to in real time be dodging incoming sand simultaneously to building that wall right so uh the eating and he's a bit younger than me so admittedly this wasn't really fair but regardless you know he would get so consumed with throwing sand uh that his wall would be really cheaply made at the beginning I'd be trying to make this really solid base Foundation he would just be pelting me with this stuff and it was brutal But as time went on I Build That Wall Higher and Higher and eventually it would be lights out for him he'd have nothing to hide behind the Young Buck was doing let's say less way less than 80 dreaming uh and so I'm no longer building castles in the sand but as the Rose said now I'm looking to build them in the air seeking to bring things into life that are merely ideas and Concepts in my head and naturally this prompted me to ask well what's my ratio now because it sure feels like I'm doing a lot of eating it sure feels like I spend a lot of time every day you know dodging Mikey P's incoming sand cannonballs right things are going to be different tomorrow than they are today and to truly win we need to be asking ourselves how do we build that bridge from the present to the Future how do we lay out stepping stones that will allow an evolution in what we're doing and I'm thinking if my day is 95 consumed with eating type tasks then I need to figure things out here right is it automate is it eliminate is it delegate it's something because the ship needs to be more effectively captained and I love these epiphanies just a change in mindset that can completely redirect uh one's entire trajectory it was funny I was having a conversation earlier today with a friend about scaling and impact and growth another person I love to throw ideas back and forth to and he asked me well Eddie what are some of the ways your world within could make money and I was like oh that's it's easy right so I laid it all out in in great detail the ins and outs and he says that's awesome but that's not the question I asked you you answered a different question you answered how is the business making money now I asked how can it make money in the future boom Another Epiphany one of those instances where you catch yourself thinking small now this isn't a knock on the work I'm doing now or the system's in place now they're great now but again now isn't forever if you have plans to add more value and create more impact build more things that has to be baked into your time and resource allocation we all have to eat because we don't want to starve but we also have to dream because if we're unable to look ahead we simply will not be equipped to handle the turbulence of tomorrow right there's a duality to this game and I think the ratio with which we're juggling the two deserves consistent attention and examination now yeah life is seasonal there are times where keeping that ship afloat takes everything we have but it's understanding that that is a season and not the way things are [Music] dreaming allows us to start moving in the right direction even if it's one small step at a time building today piece by piece something we can stand on tomorrow a staircase to the version 2.0 and 3.0 and 4.0 the future depends on what we do today and so we must create space for that seed to grow we must chart the course and Captain the ship to the next Horizon [Music] what you look for in life tends to be what you find what you believe is usually what you see which means your existence hinges on where you build your walls and part of the reason stories music movies they move us is because we're allowed even if it's for a short period of time to change our parameters on these things to let the Mind navigate through a world without any limitation when you think about it we never fast forward through a movie so that we can quickly check off the box and complete it right we never rushed through to move on to the sequel no we want to experience it we want to be overwhelmed by emotion captivated by excitement lost in the mystery and then when it's over we retract we return to reality the walls come back up and the rules are reinstated and from a ten thousand foot View you can't help but look at that and and wonder if there's more there why do we have to retreat to this microcosm of our Ideal World where we're not rushed we can enjoy the moment why does it take a dark room and objects depicted on a small screen for us to feel like it's acceptable to step outside of this everyday script and the question isn't who's enforcing these rules right the answer is always us it's internal but the question is why is it incomprehensible that the same excitement be inserted into your world is it out of the realm of possibility that the rush of adrenaline the peak experiences the laughter love twists and turns be inserted into reality it's like we choose to be chased through life by ticking clocks and measured by socially constructed checkpoints but we can move beyond that much Beyond in those checkpoints they're just as imaginary as the talking raccoon you set aside three hours to watch last night so by the way you could escape from a manufactured reality right there's a powerful authoritative line that separates our day-to-day from the imagination and every second is about pushing that back never fast forwarding through life but making it unlike anything else never applying the word mandatory to things that don't warrant the term we need to think bigger man to build someone else's dream is not mandatory enjoying two-sevenths of your life is not mandatory being confined to one road when there are infinite paths to travel is not mandatory there are components of a bad movie and my point is not to be ungrateful it's not to be resentful it's to remind you that things are the way they are because you've allowed them to be that way Nothing in life is destined predetermined or meant to be everything is decided life is chosen paths are taken and sometimes a simple reminder that you have the flexibility to redefine the rules can make all the difference you are entitled to happiness every day is a continuation of the extraordinary not a break from it and you have to see that you have to believe that you're not alive so that you can every so often Escape you're here to feel the imaginary to challenge the make-believe our view of the world without a concentrated effort it seems to contract and this is your reminder to disallow that to stop living for the five or the ten percent and flip that ratio on its head now is the time to rewrite your script recraft your storyline and if what you look for is what you get then it's time to see what you've never seen before [Music] foreign [Music] you know one of the hardest things to do is to walk away from a situation that's just okay that's fine it's doable livable [Music] there's an idea that the enemy of great isn't it inverse the enemy of great is not average or insignificant or I don't know throwing any similar word [Music] no the enemy of grape is good foreign ly easy to rationalize good it's incredibly easy to sit back and tell yourself hey things aren't currently broken so why touch them leave it alone that's why it's a dangerous place to be Comfort doesn't on its own initiate action or evolution there has to be some sort of stressor to ignite the flame and I'll get a response you know every now and then truly in good faith asking well what's wrong with average why can't I just be not everyone can be LeBron James or Adele or Denzel Washington Eddie this convo sends people down a path of false hope well hear me out because I'm certainly not saying everyone can be LeBron James but they can most definitely be LeBron James in their own world and instead are settling for some sort of bench roll I'm not saying if you're not a movie star making 20 million dollars of film you've lost [Music] I'm merely pointing out that perhaps you haven't even Found the courage to star in your own movie the one that is your life and I can't speak for every human being on the planet here but I most certainly can speak for myself the easiest thing for me the Temptation I always find myself grappling with is the temptation to stay where I am to accept things as they are pass change off is something that's just a little bit out of my control that's what my lizard brain always seems to want it's really nice to not have to feel the burden of knowing I can change things around me right that Prospect of creating my own friction my own chaos so that I can in a sense tame it and Elevate myself that can be overwhelming that's stressful but you know what it is at the end of the day thrilling it's meaningful and it may have taken me years to understand but I'd trade a safe life for a meaningful one any day it was my coming to understand that statistically we should not be here the odds are so small that you're alive listening to this that the word improbability doesn't do it justice it's a miracle in every sense of the word and so what do we do about that how do you explain a feeling how do you explain the cost of not going of fewer sunrises less laughter untapped creativity unlocked paths Journeys never started [Music] you can't which is why you have to go good is not detrimental because it's insufficient it's detrimental because it gives you just enough to make stepping out into the world feel illogical it's a warm blanket keeping you comfortable enough to Forfeit that feeling you truly crave and I hope it's clear my take in this is not that we aren't enough it's that we have to be reminded that our biological Compass points towards survival and survival is a game of stagnation our souls on the other hand they need to run to seek out the magnificence of life and the more times we can be tapped on the shoulder and reminded of this the better see I don't dream of New Horizons because I'm ungrateful [Music] I've learned to chase them down because I'm so grateful that I refuse to Forfeit the gift to leave my curiosity packaged and confined I want to bask in life's abundance before my time here is up and that's just it that's the whole point the friction between the knowing and the doing making that happen physically bringing yourself there it's not an easy thing certainly not as easy as putting your feet up and rationalizing this status quo that's why I listen to voices that inspire me read stories that teach me I talk to people who lift me up going is harder than staying but meaning resides in the going so no it's not about being LeBron James it's about getting off the bench and at least shooting a shot whatever a shot means to you wherever you are because if you don't you'll never experience the thrill of having made one of having felt that success it's not about what you're doing it's about what you're leaving on the table [Music] his average terrible I don't know is a Ferrari never taken out of its garage terrible not really it's still a Ferrari but it won't experience the very thing that Ferrari was designed to experience again how do you quantify that can't not until you go so here's just stepping out of whatever the present definition of normalcy is in your world maybe not frantically changing the world around you but certainly questioning the good questioning yourself questioning the Roger on has the routine overshadowed the reason you put the routine into place has the way things are come to outweigh the way you'd like them to be has good become a distraction misdirecting you away from both life's Brilliance and your own thank you foreign some ways helpless to what occurs around us there are things that are beyond our control possess our power if you will is the ability to determine what we let in how we internalize the externalities we are responsible for being The Gatekeepers of our minds Protectors of our world there's a little saying that I aim to live by it's incredibly simple basically the idea is if something is not a net positive on your life start working to eliminate it if there's a person that is draining creating more negative than positive then they don't deserve to be in your world stop letting them in if there's some place you're going that doesn't align with what you value start working to eliminate that destination from your day today stop letting it in if you find yourself constantly thinking about worst case scenarios it's always well what if this goes wrong or that goes wrong if you find yourself missing the opportunity and instead spotlighting the problem start working to identify and isolate those thoughts so that they can be eliminated stop letting that stuff in the great part about having so much control over our lives and our perspectives is that we get to choose what gets our time and attention the tough part though and it is tough is that it means we also have to ask ourselves questions that perhaps we don't want to ask we have to be honest with ourselves like truly honest and the reality is sometimes it hurts to do that to ask how am I contributing to this pain this struggle what am I letting in that needs to be kept outside the gate from now on and what we often find is that the answers are there the opportunity is there sometimes even in plain view but our attention is often diverted from it and instead allocated to the things that don't even serve us or align with who we are we've habitualized finding the problems and not the solutions now I can list examples of this uh over the course of my life all day right epiphanies where I realized I needed to defend the thoughts that enter my mind and better cultivate a world where I can succeed where I can be happy money for example to switch from seeing it as a scarce resource something that everyone's fighting over how to outmaneuver the guy to the right of me how to get my hands on this elusive object nope block that mentality at the gate and let in instead the idea that money is merely an exchange of value how can I be more valuable to more people where value goes wealth follows or as I've talked about before the injuries I deal with so frequently right keeping the poor me or I can't deal with this or whining I'm willing to put in the work why won't life let me succeed keep all that outside the gate and let in here is an opportunity to get better in other areas I can't lift maybe I'll take a month or two to crush cardio to eat better to build mental acuity find a way or maybe it's that person who made their way into my life that over time became a net negative that we've gotten to the point where our coexistence takes away more than it has they no longer belong inside the gate in my world right only let in people who do make your life better and we have control over all of this it's about accountability it's about personally understanding The Authority you have over what comes in and what stays out and very few things in life are just because things exist in our day-to-day because we have somewhere along the line allowed them to be there so take some time to see yourself as the gatekeeper of Your World audit what you're letting in and what you're keeping out to do so we'll set you up for a life on your terms A Life That's not wasted or even merely endured but one that's lived to the fullest [Music] we all enjoy the prospect of perfection and everyone has an ideal outcome we all make plans but very rarely do they unfold as they were drawn up why well because life is predictably unpredictable it's mysterious yet for some reason we march on toward the acquisition of a Flawless existence scared of anything but an undamaged untarnished Immaculate reflection staring back at us in the mirror but in the real world you know our happiness contentment growth progress that are not a product of perfection they're built from the imperfections that we collect along the way the trials the tribulations you know when you piece all that together like little puzzle pieces they depict a beauty they show the image that's always been so highly coveted [Music] in other words the process of rebuilding creates something more valuable than the same pieces before they were broken down when they were untouched in Japanese philosophy there's a concept known as kinsuki which is the art of repairing broken pottery with a golden lacquer it's the idea that we don't want to hide the damage but we want to rebuild it into something more meaningful more valuable embrace the imperfect own and cherish it there's an old story about a tea Master known as Riku and he was attending a Japanese tea ceremony with one of his followers and the follower tries to impress Ricky by buying this fancy clay jar and making it visible during the meeting but raiku never you know once acknowledges it the praise Never Comes so the student you know obviously upset by the lack of recognition he pushes the jar off the counter it falls to the floor it breaks into a bunch of pieces [Music] and another student ultimately repairs it using kinsugi right puts the pieces back together with a gold lacquer and next time Riku attends the T ceremony as a guest of honor he sees the jar rebuilt and says now it's beautiful now it has character he acknowledges its value and this story reminds us about the myth of perfection right life's not about dodging and avoiding the difficulty it's about facing it head-on because when we come out on the other side we transform into something that was previously unobtainable and rise to a world Beyond imagination see we change not by running around life's obstacles but by running directly through them like a muscle being repeatedly broken down and built back up the pain the exhausted energy is the vehicle the micro creates the macro the difficult becomes the exceptional we need the very things we're inclined to avoid our shortcomings they not only precede and establish our greatness they are our greatness being broken is not a tragedy it is a step along the way it's the beginning of something new a launching pad a chance to be better than you have ever been because look here's the reality if your status quo has never been shaken at its foundation if you've never stopped and questioned the way things are reality as it is if you don't take risks there will be no fragments to take and rebuild you won't have the tools or capacity to change the world around you that is the thing of note beauty is not fearing the rebuild it is the rebuild it's not feeling sorry or hopeless but hopeful seeing your situation for what it is an opportunity it is what you need a blank canvas your chance to make art while redrawing creative boundaries if perfect is the goal I take this step why take the chance why risk messing things up it's never been about perfect it's about picking up the pieces and Rising again [Music] so you've made a decision congrats your three percent done now I'm paraphrasing that that's an idea from author and entrepreneur Lee Benson belief and execution the duo that will change your life first believe why because nothing happens without belief nothing begins without an understanding and a trust that the future contains something of value to the seeds of discomfort being planted will bear fruit we simply don't walk through doors if we don't believe something of value exists on the other side [Music] and then there's execution the doing congrats you gave yourself permission to begin that was a big step right but now you have to deal with life and life my friends is no picnic it's in the doing that success is either obtained or not that a new reality is birthed or not in the book your most important number Lee Benson has said so you've made a decision congrats your three percent done why because well now comes the implementation the execution now the feet are on the ground and the wheels the road and we must transform the thoughts into things thinking can be so much more convenient than doing execution is trying things it's recognizing the attempts that didn't work it's moving forward only to realize wrong path or wrong approach or maybe what's required of you is not yet something you're capable of producing and so you must evolve it's seeing setbacks as data points it's understanding that to not know is okay because we collect our answers as we go and seeing the journey is an experiment one in which we seek to understand ourselves and the world there is so much contained in that 97 percent to write your own ending storybook [Music] an infinite number of paths and outcomes But ultimately only discoverable by you [Music] and I think that's one of the most beautiful things about life [Music] the once you give yourself permission to walk a certain path once you believe in something greater than the world as it currently exists you become an artist painting something that was not there before using the highs as little benchmarks to remind you why you started to begin with when your landscape becomes Gray it's using the lows as fuel that turns the ordinary into extraordinary that slingshots the old you to the new you adding brightness and Vibrance to the overall scene you're encapsulating all of it as you move through that great unknown as you push further and further into the abyss you're playing the role of maker not because you knew how it would all turn out but because you didn't and still you executed [Music] recently in an interview I heard Alex hermosi and now accomplished entrepreneur in his own right talking about some of his failings Consulting gyms in the fitness industry the moment when things went South and he lost it all now for a moment he thought he had money assets and perhaps even the pride gone but came to learn that money and those assets they are lagging indicators they aren't the value that's obtained the value is who you become the value is learning how to be someone who can obtain those things in the first place it's emerging from the old restriction and limitation the old narratives [Music] because that cannot be taken away when we execute we're making ourselves something we otherwise could never have become [Music] and so Alex learned that what he lost was insignificant compared to what he gained and why is this such a common theme the industry leaders folks speaking on their accomplishments I think the answer is simple because you don't get there without the doing and the execution and if to execute means to step forward without having all the answers after all we are only human life will humble us excellence must be a game of trial and error we can't escape those lost everything stories because choosing the right path every time well that only happens when you choose no path at all we have to act and be okay understanding that action brings with it mistakes and lessons and setbacks you know all those little annoying things that become greatness [Music] 97 is left because the path before you is unlocked but know that it contains everything everything you need so believe it decide because nothing starts without that initial three percent but nothing changes without the subsequent 97. that's where we are shaped and when you come face to face with the inevitable adversity know that life might take the material gains it might demand a price you deem to be steep it might collect as a toll assets you've been accumulating along the way but it can't take what you know or who you've become and that is why you execute to build the world around you yes but most importantly to build yourself into someone who can thrive in such an environment it's in doing that the man is built and as was said in Gary Keller's book The One Thing build the man and the world falls into place [Music] Les Brown has said you don't get what you want in life you get Who You Are but the man together the world responds you build yourself up evolve life around you will transform someone once asked me on a podcast episode about imposter syndrome why I think it's actually a very positive thing my thinking is imposter syndrome is a sign that you're in an arena somewhat foreign to you you're trying something new playing the student anytime you do that of course you're gonna fill out a place you have to you don't grow without putting yourself in an environment in which growth is possible we have to shake up the old in order to create the new and it's that process to Les Brown's point that makes us who we are it creates our reality Jim Rohn has said something similar in that it's not what we have it's what we become having something is one thing sure but building yourself up to be someone who can repeatedly go out and get that thing over and over and over again well that's something different altogether are you willing to be that vulnerable to start on the ground floor and work your way up because here's the deal there have been many times or I knew I had to be more than I've ever been in order to obtain something I've never had and if I aim to live life to the fullest and I do realizations like this will only continue everyone knows it's painful when there's a Delta that exists between what you want and what you're currently capable of having or acquiring that's a tough realization and what epiphanies like that tend to do is leave you with a few options right you can run away or get better you can surrender and find something lesser or become worthy of that thing you want talk about a difficult conversation with yourself acknowledging that you're currently not where you need to be the ego does not like that it's uncomfortable that's why so many people raise the white flag and run it can be much easier to shake your fist at the world around you than it is to delve into the one within you Joseph Campbell has said the hero's journey is inside you throw off the veils and open the mystery of yourself close your eyes and imagine a world where you aren't scared to go after what you want foreign to grow along with your dreams your goals aspirations where you walk directly into that space your curiosity is begging you to explore where you condition yourself to de-personalize the criticism and failure and instead focus on the becoming that's not some crazy proposition you're not being asked to go perform some miracle it's simply about giving yourself permission to evolve into what you can become allowing water to nourish the seed that is your soul when you look around you and feel the very human thought that is I wish something about this was different I challenge you to be courageous enough to point in and ask how can I make it so how can I level up and become the type of person that has X that gives why that experiences Z you are capable of filling that Gap again not a negotiation with the world but an agreement with yourself to accept more discomfort in your life in exchange for the upside that comes with it there's something to this saying don't wish it were different wish you were better because again it places power and control in your hands to evolve and make it reality it's crazy to me how easy it is and because of that how many people complain about something their entire lives without owning the change becoming the person who lives differently sees differently feels differently it's all there you get in life Who You Are and how incredible that who you are never ends it's Limitless if you're willing to push to grow and change it is your ticket to the ride of a lifetime [Music] you can become so fixated on winning or losing the game that you forget to ask yourself am I playing the right one is this my game am i setting myself up to win in an arena of significance to me because look there are infinite games out there and sometimes we find ourselves uh caught up in a race we have no business running meaning it doesn't really do anything for us it's not where we want to be or should be there's a saying by someone in a few social media Outlets actually uh like restricted my post for suggesting it was Einstein so it might not be Mr Einstein but whoever said it thank you you're awesome the saying goes everyone is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing it's stupid now there are a lot of us fish out there attempting to climb trees as we speak wondering why we're not where we want to be perhaps seeing the results or lack thereof as an indication that we're insufficient inadequate in some way when hey that's not the case at all and so we haven't taken the time to identify our own personal intersection of what we love and what adds value to the world we haven't manufactured those fireworks that's something that has to be explored found JRR Tolkien not all who wander are lost right and I think we innately fear this process of searching because it's unsettling to not know how things are going to play out trust me I've been there right it's taxing to not have your packaged little elevator speech and a five-year Vision when it seems like the whole world does but to deprive yourself of this exploration is to potentially forfeit the very thing that you come to live for most of the time purpose doesn't fall into one's lap you have to have your eyes open what's meaningful must be sought out now I'm gonna play little devil's advocate here because our world is not black and white it sort of lives in this gray space right can you win at someone else's game sure there were a lot of people quote unquote succeeding in areas that are not ideal that they don't love that they're not their best in but how is Success being defined I've talked extensively about my journey and all those games I used to play the targets I used to aim for and I know a lot of people who've come to similar epiphanies right but when you don't realize you can exit stage left and begin again start something new you simply continue this same song and dance right it's not life that keeps us confined it's ignorance that keeps us confined we simply have to be taught that there's more and I understand to find an arena where you can thrive in a purely historical context is a luxury and you are programmed to survive you're not programmed to build an art studio because it's your passion right but their lies the battle we are at a place in time where we have collectively cultivated abundance the phone you're using to consume this content that little thing can be a portal that transports your thoughts your creation your business to the masses you have at your fingertips access to billions of people you have reach that humans only 30 years ago all the way back to the beginning of mankind could only dream of the means are there in so many ways it's about freeing yourself to pursue the opportunity that exists all around you because we self limit Alan Watts asked the ever important question what would you do if money were no object now in a practical World why ask such a question simple because removing those monetary constraints says you contemplate your answer allows you to truly analyze what Endeavors are meaningful to you when something is Meaningful you want to do it when you want to do it you immerse yourself in those little intricacies in those details that the average person simply doesn't pay attention to making you so good at whatever that thing is that eventually not only can you be the best at it but you can monetize it and probably at a very high rate it's not money holding you back it's not time holding you back it's not the external World holding you back it's what you have been conditioned to believe that's holding you back you are a genius at something you are king or queen of your Empire Victor within your Arena but to realize these things you have to one understand it's a possibility and two refuse to stay stagnant we have to stop conceding so much while simultaneously accepting so little life will never provide what you do not ask for so why why be scared to ask life won't tell you you're a fish climbing a tree you must tell you that Life Won't expand your horizons and adjust your trajectory you must initiate that change to find your Genius you must be willing to leave what's insufficient to capture what's meaningful you must be willing to leave what is meaningless [Music] let's agree to alter the question do I have genius level Talent because you do and you live in a society that also rewards those who realize it [Music] the question we need to be willing to ask is are you willing to walk on Shaky Ground to abandon at least for a period of time safety and the comfort of predictability in order to find that genius are you willing to nurture the greatness that already lives within you because it was never a matter of ability it's a matter of what you're willing to discover [Music] [Music] when our backs are against the wall we're forced to become more when the clock is ticking we are tasked with finding answers that hide Among Us it's in the darkness we find light and while lost we find ourselves the Paradox of life is that from our pain comes our purpose our Evolution and our greatness [Music] I love thinking back to about 2014 making my way around Boston having just quit my job essentially purposeless clinging to a YouTube channel and a podcast idea that I would name your world within foreign do I think back why does this mean everything to me well because at the time I knew nothing I understood nothing nothing about speaking or media audio video nothing about running a business but more importantly I knew very little about life and what's truly required to progress in a world with infinite moving parts I didn't know that my lack of understanding is what made everything feel overwhelming and complex and that it was up to me to simplify [Music] I didn't know the extent to which I'd have to befriend failure and that was the most eye-opening realization because when you gravitate towards a risk-free existence and you box yourself in as I had for so long of course you don't get the upside but you also don't fail as dramatically either life was a simple game of cause and effect do work get result not mushroom for more than that and so stepping outside that box in the way that I did change some rules I learned some things first you can spend time on something you can exhaust energy on something and get nothing in the short term for your effort and I mean nothing unless you count getting your pride stomped on how much you count your friends disappearing when you need them most unless you count self-doubt in a constant worry about not amounting to anything I mean these are very raw very real human emotions [Music] they tend to arise when we start something new but in them is also the power this is where the light bulb turns on and the path emerges it's where I learned that we only get what we want when we endure what we don't and what a foreign concept when you think about it right it's like Eddie take this mic go stand in front of this audience and pour your heart out your knees are shaking chest is pounding but dude trust me it'll be good for you funny enough it was it was because the fear in my stomach became the indicator that something new something exciting something more was around the corner like Pavlov's dog hearing that Bell anytime the fear kicked in I could feel myself getting closer to something meaningful to a higher version of myself [Music] the pain is an invite the sheer Terror and let's face it that's what it feels like sometimes it's an upgrade disguised as the monster that you think you should be running from when it is as I recently mentioned the adversary you should befriend we have to change our relationship with discomfort because our initial understanding the one that comes stock in our minds is never sufficient to build anything of significance its default setting is to preserve the now not expanded and so just like those stock speakers that came in my 1999 Ford F-150 when I was in my early 20s let's rip it out let's customize let's upgrade the quality of the sound we hear and the things we say to ourselves what an advantage it is to know that the hard things are what make us level up to find that awareness what a blessing that when life's difficulty startles and scatters the masses who could be the one that remains Standing Tall the advantage amidst the commotion every little Act of Courage becomes more and more meaningful powerful but we must lose ourselves to find ourselves we must embrace our fears if we are to become courageous we must fail in order to succeed and sure sometimes the price seems steep foreign but I promise not going costs more wishing costs more if only's cost more so maybe for you it isn't a YouTube channel or a speaking career maybe it's something totally different but it is something yourself to to pursue that which your heart pulls you to pursue you'll have those moments of defeat where you're mad at yourself for leaving the comfort and safety of your previous World you'll have times where you have no idea what to do where you feel alone or stuck or unsure the difference will be whether you see this as the invite you've been waiting for or the reason to turn around and settle for less that's the question how do you internalize all that emotion that will feel like it is consuming you I couldn't believe how strong that Temptation was to go back nagging at me every day just come off the edge just be comfortable again but as my old coach would say in college when we're doing wall sits or something physically taxing 15 seconds and is in life just a culmination of 15 second windows it's compartmentalizing the process it's turning the difficult into the advantageous you have the ability to not think like everyone else have it within you to rewire your previous conceptions of the world Darkness not as your reason to hide from conjured up monsters but as your invitation to become the light remember that the best way to be more is to have the courage to put your back against the wall and you won't want to in the moment there will never be a perfect time but committing to that vulnerability will release from within you the power the strength the greatness that has been for so long tucked away by moving into the chaos you were simultaneously creating the calm you always dreamed of you're realizing the possibility that just needed the door left a jar to make its way into your world [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] there's a saying that in order to become something new you have to leave something behind [Music] you have to detach in some capacity remove yourself from the Physical Realm because the obstacles that we face not physical 99 of our problems are not physical they're mental [Music] and you know as you sort of drive that metaphorical ship into the horizon the biggest turn is never going to be the anchor or the headwind or the bow line no it's going to be this storyline it's going to be The Narrative of the person navigating that ship and it's interesting because our first inclination when we feel stuck it's always to point out attribute our problems to the world in this predetermined position within it maybe that's the issue we take our power we put it into the universe cross our fingers and hope things work out but that will always be a losing proposition it will always come crumbling down because it's not the world that keeps you from showing up you're not physically incapable of taking that first step or growing or evolving developing becoming something new know that demon lives in your head that's the mental Goliath we struggle with right because there's there's cognitive dissonance between who we know ourselves to be and who we want ourselves to be that's the sea we have to cross the terrain we have to navigate it's not the physicality of taking the steps anyone can do that it's believing that you are worthy of the journey and you have to ask yourself is it that you can't become something new or is it that you can't won't refuse to detach from who you used to be you're still tucked away in that container that box you've been building for years and years and years that you've placed yourself in because I can promise you one of the most liberating things to understand is yesterday is not a life sentence yesterday's not forever yesterday's not defining it's simply a stepping stone and every morning when you open your eyes Sun comes through the window illuminates life around you that's never your cue to put on a fake smile play the same role you've been playing day after day after day no it's an invitation to do anything you want to do to begin again to start fresh it's an opportunity to detach from that character detached from the people and the things that don't push you towards what you want detach from the negative self-talk and when all that's gone everything is removed and it's only you and your self-belief a will to move forward I promise you that pendulum shift life becomes simple and how beautiful Simplicity is it's shining a spotlight on what matters it's Clarity it's taking control it's picking up the clay and molding what you want to mold it's opening the door and deciding to walk through everything else is variable everything else is noise everything else is detail and distraction is what you want it's there and it's waiting for you to Simply remove yourself from who you used to be to step into right now and believe that you are worthy of everything else to come [Music] I recently heard someone say it's not about doing your best it's about doing what's required [Music] are they different very here's my take doing your best has an emotional component attached to it it's subjective what exactly is your best well it's a story that you tell yourself a narrative opening the door to limitation I've always found that when we put our backs against the wall and Venture into scenarios where it's essential that we get something done we somehow always find a way when we leave no plan B for ourselves we are required to make plan a work and so we do it's a testament to both the resilience and power contained in the human Spirit as well as the reality that we can Astound ourselves when we're unwilling to take no for an answer that it's not the resources that are the problem it's usually our unwillingness to move forward into the dark our hesitance to try explore tests build and rebuild actions that are surprisingly unrelated to One's best and have everything to do with accepting nothing less than an identified outcome one of the reasons I fell in love with the sport of running because it reinforced this notion in my life it became the template with which I could repeatedly amaze myself I talk a lot about earning confidence and oh how I earned it step by step mile by mile day by day in the sun in the rain in the desert in the woods through city streets all over the country and the world I came to understand the relationship between the turbulence of now and the satisfaction of later it was on those days that push beyond my usual level of comfort when that cloud of pain and Agony would hover over me I couldn't even really point to where my body hurt it just all seemed to come together into this one giant hell and to learn that I could not only endure that but grow in those moments to see myself rise above any preconceived notion or understanding of best in order to defeat My Demons conquer the day's objective it changes the way you see yourself in the world now could onlookers be tempted to call these self-created goals arbitrary even unnecessary sure then I get why they would but I'd also completely disagree those days were a master class in doing what is necessary realizing that when you shut your rational brain off and don't give your mind a chance to talk your body out of it see just how powerful you are you realize that story of your best is nothing more than a house built on Sand life is not about that story you've told yourself it's not about your personal records and Peak performances what you think you can do or how far you think you might be able to go it's about not stopping in the moments when it hurts doing what is required a decision that compounds over time to create what was once impossible [Music] one of my favorite quotes is by Admiral William mcraven an absolute Hero Of Mine and funny enough he says if you want to change the world you must be your very best in your darkest moments and what a beautiful idea to rise when life presents its periods of turbulence and sure it may be a matter of semantics but in those moments of Darkness I think of your best not in the traditional sense not as a personal metric but as a willingness to do what must be done a removal of the spotlight from you all together and instead point it directly at the road ahead at the task at hand when you choose to make the journey not about what you can and cannot do but instead make it about what must be done the universe as Paulo coelo has so elegantly stated conspires to make it happen [Music] think back to my journey and in so many periods my best wasn't good enough I was so lost and so overwhelmed that the only thing I could do was not stop moving that was my superpower simply trudged through the fear of things falling apart the nagging pride and hurting ego and what I learned was that life is no different than all those miles I'd put in running how I felt and what my previous capabilities were what I deemed my best to be it was all noise it was all irrelevant what was required was that I moved forward through the chaos and to something better and so I did and in your world so can you the stories we tell ourselves are so powerful and in many ways valuable in our journey through life but there's one narrative that eliminates the necessity of so many others you can get to the top of whatever Mountain you are seeking to climb so long as you do not stop so long as you let go of the limitations tied to your quote-unquote best and instead do what is required to get there you'll see how adaptable and transformative that best really is how it's a lagging indicator it will take time but you're capable of being patient and it will have its moments of chaos but you are capable of weathering those storms it will present obstacles that leave you unclear uncertain sometimes unprepared but you're capable of picking your head up and moving through that Haze what you know of yourself now is a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what you're capable of doing [Music] and how far that goes will be determined not by putting a stake in the ground and calling it your personal best but as Emerson has said by hitching Your Wagon to a star and pulling yourself towards its light a little bit at a time [Music] [Music] foreign are you afraid of what's holding you back is the giant rock you inhabit spins to the universe a speck in a galaxy of stars it's easy to look out and see the vastness of the world around you and forget entirely about the strength that you possess forget entirely that the mind's capacity is as infinite as those same stars that surround you I don't think it's that we definitively choose to sell ourselves short I think we simply lose sight of the fact that we have a say in the matter to begin with our fears keep us wishing our insecurities keep us hoping we stay standing still when we should be moving forward but truth be told our pain comes from not doing but wishing that we did it's no coincidence that the more we fail the more we realize life is a game that expands as we push the power of making mistakes isn't the mistake itself it's that when we get back up and brush ourselves off our cognitive mapping of the world changes we see that we can step out a little further our very definition of what's possible expands and I believe that's what courage is the willingness to step into that chaos of life knowing that each time you find the strength to push forward you are restructuring your reality the resources are there the tools are there the opportunity is there how crazy is the fact that we just need to convince ourselves that more is worth it that the difficulty of short-term vulnerability isn't an enemy the very ticket required for admission to the show and so I ask again what are you afraid of falling because you will rise and you will rise stronger than you ever were is it criticism because one people are so focused on their own Endeavors that they look up way less than we think they do and two other than the small group you surround yourself with why would you care is it pride because building things of significance requires starting on the ground floor and there's no shame but honor in breaking down to build up and when I look at my life in terms of chapters right childhood High School College 20s 30s the things that were my biggest concerns during each chapter are now laughable and maybe just maybe if I saw that I could have lived a little free or been a little Bolder what if we were to get ahead of that learning curve what if we understood that life is beautiful and flexible and exciting and what if we understood that now instead of looking at this chapter 15 years down the road and chuckling to ourselves for not having the courage to have made the leap taking the chance to have moved out into an unknown we cannot physically see that which doesn't exist which is why it's that we know we are The Architects that the fear pulsing through our veins is indicating that we are building that we are choosing to step into a world that will give more if we find the courage to ask so as this giant rock you inhabit spins through the universe the spec in a galaxy of start perhaps each little light up there exists not to remind you how small you are but to remind you that those same elements exist within you to show you that the fire of a Million Suns sits in your soul beats in your chest waits for your signal now so what are you afraid of [Music] it's running around this morning trying to get a head start on some things decided to stop in grab a quick coffee so I'm standing in line door opens Two Gentlemen walking stand in line right behind me you start chatting back and forth and basically one of them starts talking about how he's had a rough morning dealt with some unfortunate things and was basically capping today off as a bad day uh which on the surface is pretty ordinary you know we all have rough days they're real and this happened to be one of them but it also happened that as he said this I was looking at the clock and it wasn't even 7am now I don't know this guy's situation it's absolutely none of my business and I have no intention of delving into it but internalizing all this sort of got the gears turning in the back of my head you know I'm thinking about how much the day is left sun is still coming up as this conversation's happening so I grab my coffee and I walked outside started to think about all the reasons that today is good which is sort of an awkward activity at first right it's not something we consistently walk around talking to ourselves about but as I gave it some thought I immediately saw the benefit today is good because for starters what I'm left with at the end of the day is directly correlated to the decisions that I make throughout the day think about how powerful that is in itself right you know that feeling when you have a blank page to write or paint or there's a movie that you've been dying to see the opening credits first come out the first note is played at a concert I'm living that right I am personified opportunity just walking down Beacon Street if I go left everything that happens will be because I went left think about the power that's contained in that I mean it opens the door for unlimited opportunities today is good because it's right now I may have made some rough decisions last week last month last year but guess what they don't exist where I'm going in fact they don't exist at all maybe yesterday but not today right they've played their part they've provided their wisdom now they can disappear today is good because didn't be here because so many people were robbed of today because I get the opportunity to see the sun come up and because the time will come when that will no longer be the case today is good because I have friends and family to share it with this ridiculous ride chock full of ups and downs and all that stuff in between right I'm certainly not capable of sitting here and dissecting the meaning of life but I do know that whatever it happens to be it's substantially better when shared when enjoyed and today that's what I'm going to do today is good I'd like to think there's a lot in store down the road you know some of it will push me forward some of it will cause me to stop make adjustments but I'll be damned if it will take the joy out of my day not today I have something very different in store and I plan to see it through I have the ability the resources the determination I can't think of anything else I'd need so coffee in hand here I go [Music] I once heard a metaphor that our existence was like standing behind a curtain with tears or holes and reality becomes which holes we decide to look through when we're peering out at the world on the other side what do we want to see to see and this message well it's for whoever out there feels like giving up or folding their hand whoever's been waiting for things to change but only sees the clock moving forward this is a reminder that the very thing you need is on the other side of that curve and you don't need to change who you are you just need to position yourself to see it because it's there and you're ready my life hurts we might have every reason to be in pain to feel lost or confused but I always find it to be a beautiful reminder that we also have every reason to seek out from that pain something we've never been before why is it that our greatest accomplishments come when our backs are to the wall our greatest Acquisitions after losing something dear to us why is it that we find ourselves in our way only after being lost I've never heard someone say thank God I never changed or left or tried something new no it's thank God the adversity forced upon me the courage to evolve into something more pain is to our potential what water is to a seed it's the beginning of everything unshackling opening the gate and making us realize we were sitting on the answers that adversity doesn't stop you it makes you stronger that the down times lift you up that when you lose yourself you find a part of you that can now become the bridge to your future see I understand that things are difficult and challenging I understand they're not easy and I'm not asking you to pretend it's not happening or ignore it or close your eyes I'm asking you to find amidst all of this that one thing one thing that will get you to tomorrow I'm asking you to find the courage to say yes this hurts yes I'm stretched thinner than I've ever been but I'm still going to find a way I'm still going to make it happen because at the end of the day you won't remember what hurt or what stood in your way but you'll remember what you did about it you'll remember how you arranged those pieces how when your instincts said run you stopped and built something you'll never forget foreign [Music] strength wealth status Excellence many different words many different meanings but they do share one important thing and that's that they are all outcomes they are not obtainable by themselves just like an effect can't take shape without the cause that contributed to its materialization right they need something else a seed a root a foundation if Excellence were the tallest building in your city and you ripped it apart piece by piece until only the core existed only that Foundation what you would see is courage because courage is the thing that gives you a platform to build on every starting block is comprised of unknowns every Endeavor every Journey every time you start something new you're by definition a rookie you're at the bottom of some pecking order and I want you to never be fearful of these situations but to be thankful for them they're the roots that allow the tree to grow and the only thing required for you to move forward is Having the courage to say yes life is opportunity the world around you is the opportunity some people close their eyes and ignore it others choose to see it Courage is never closing your eyes everything around you is courage that building you're walking by someone had the courage to start that construction company the music you're listening to someone had the courage to put their art out there into the world to embrace the critics the naysayers the envious they didn't stop and now their creativity is Flowing out of your headphones and into your life courage is the understanding that simple and easy are very different words it is incredibly simple to work harder than the person next to you it is simple to make sacrifices to move out of your comfort zone you don't need to understand Einstein's theory of relativity to be able to do those things hope it's side note they're insanely difficult at first they will kill you inside you'll be nervous scared self-conscious courage is the understanding that fear becomes progress that being nervous transforms into excitement and that what once ate away at you will become the fire that reshapes your life allow yourself to stumble through the beginning let yourself fail that guy running a five minute mile at one point he ran it in eight that woman worth a billion dollars at one point was worth a million 100K maybe she was broke it takes no courage to run the same speed your whole life it takes no courage to stay stagnant courage is saying to yourself I am worth more than I have now I am faster than that stopwatch is showing I am better to miss grade reflects courage is when your actions take on a life of their own when they embody that winning mentality when your friends your peers and the people in your life give you a hard time because you're not the same person today that you were yesterday courage is smiling and moving forward it's when the first setback comes and the second and the third and the fourth and you go straight through it you adapt you never lose sight of what you want courage is believing so strongly in your ability that you welcome discomfort today just so that you can turn it into an advantage tomorrow courage isn't listening to this taking your quick blast of adrenaline into the living room and streaming Netflix no it's thinking about what you want more than anything else and driving toward it one courageous step at a time that is courage [Music] if these walls could talk they would remind you of the things that you sometimes forget [Music] yeah those elusive things you tend to walk right by it's not that you've chosen to ignore them it's that while people are complex and we have a tendency to skip over some important things as we remain fixated on our problem our perceived inadequacies finicky negativity bias the one that states if you went to a restaurant 100 times had 99 incredible experiences but something went wrong on the 100th well that restaurant would forever be known to you as the place where things go wrong we are wired not to see the good but to identify and avoid the bad and if these walls could talk they would unveil to you the Brilliance that exists slightly out of frame they would suggest you look over your shoulder and take a peek at how far you've come because my friend you've come along [Music] way it's funny how slow progress moves it's interesting how our lowest moments Force us outside of ourselves push us to step into those shoes we didn't know were sitting in the closet unworn waiting for the day we'd take on that new role waiting on you to see that who you were yesterday is not correlated to who you can be today and if these walls could talk they'd fill you in on a very important statistic they'd tell you that you've stood face to face with some of the biggest curveballs life can throw you took on struggle and hardship that rocked you to your core and as you stand here now your success rate through all that comes in at well 100 percent you are literally undefeated in your ability to move through adversity and every time you did whether you knew it or not you walked into that closet and put on a new pair of shoes you became something new sometimes progress is so slow that it feels like pain and it looks like stagnation but it is anything but foreign s could talk they would remind you of that truth they would beg you to see what you've become Who You Are if these walls could talk they would remind you of life's ever-changing transformative nature all the times they witnessed you upset about people and things coming and going as you tried to hold on to that which perhaps no longer served wishing you could make permanent those things that were just meant to be transitory shooting stars across the sky of your life [Music] but something doesn't need to be forever to be meaningful and thank God because nothing is forever and as we make our way into that vast unknown we have a choice we can live in the shadow of a particular Moment In Time or we can cherish the value that those moments offered to us they gave you just enough to take a new step forward and sometimes a new step in that direction that's calling you is the difference between nothing and everything so if these walls could talk they would tell you to keep your head up and be thankful for those shooting stars in your life for they made you who you are and the path forward would be impossible without them [Music] if these walls could talk they would ask you about those times you came home sat down in your room and wondered how you could ever be enough they'd call attention to that seemingly non-stop battle with imposter syndrome they'd ask when you will feel like you've learned seen or traveled enough to gain some semblance of authority in your own life they'd wonder when you'll give yourself permission to be that you've come so far endured so much you're not the same person you were a year ago now if you could just stretch a little further if you could just extend a little higher if you could see all the new shoes you've worn and the shooting stars you've collected along the way you would know that you are designed to overcome external pressures obligations criticism none of it matters this is between you and yourself and if these walls could talk they would ask you when you'll see what they see the brilliance the magnitude of your potential when will you be you Marcus Aurelius wrote remember how long you've been putting this off how many extensions the gods gave you and you didn't use them there is a limit to the time assigned to you and if you don't use it to free yourself it will be gone and never return today is precious because it is the only one you get each second unique in its own way a measurement of opportunity represented by a single tick from the watch you're wearing and if these walls could talk they would tell you that they've seen people come and go that you aren't the first and you most definitely won't be the last and every single soul that stepped inside wish they'd found that courage a little sooner wish they'd looked back a little earlier wish they'd found the inspiration amidst the chaos and turbulence of their day-to-day lives and if these walls could talk they'd hoped that maybe this would be it for you the next step in your evolution it's most incredible is that you get there not by becoming something you've not yet become no In This Moment it's about noticing who you already are instead of the one mistake or Reason to shrink into yourself how about shining a light on those 99 reasons to expand when it hurts know that it's hurt worse and you've persevered when you experience loss know that it's not about what's gone but what you now have and will keep with you forever and most importantly know that you can always step into a new pair of shoes you can always reinvent recreate you are never defined by something that happened in the past the wake of the boat does not drive the boat and so with this in mind chart your course to New Horizons understand that the math you need has nothing to do with externalities but rather the solutions that already exist within you so take a second and peer back over your shoulder look at that you in the past standing at the bank of a river hoping praying for help a lift for some technology to get you across knowing as you stand here now that you have traversed oceans look the context changes and yes it will always change but your ability to endure it does only one thing it multiplies you have everything you need because you couldn't have gotten to this point without accumulating the knowledge and expertise to take one step forward and miracles they are merely the culmination of those courageous stats and yes when we are stuck when we're at that Coastline looking out at foreign Horizons I get that the answers seem big sometimes even bigger than we are I get that the mind wanders right to the potential disasters to the what ifs and the worst case but if these walls could talk they would let you know that you've come this far endured and accomplished all this not because you've left mountains or jump those but because when you were at your worst you found it within yourself to carry on the exponential compounding of what has made you great and what will continue to make you great look if these walls could talk they'd show you how the difficulties of years past have become Stepping Stones so commonplace so easily solvable that they no longer even warrant your attention that by moving forward you have faced your obstacles taken the value from them and made them obsolete if these walls could talk they'd remind you that you are not only ready but made for everything that awaits every step you take is an investment [Music] every decision to do the difficult thing is a gift to your future self [Music] think about this for a second one of the many things that makes Being Human so incredible is our ability to engage in delayed gratification to do things now that will Elevate us at a future time we need a fundamental level we understand that we've heard the famous marshmallow study where kids were left alone in a room with the marshmallow placed in front of them and the ones who showed restraint and could resist eating it ended up in many regards being more successful as adults we've all heard the mantras working hard pays off that's valuable but I'd like to take it a step further because when you say yes in the face of adversity when you move forward when tired seek out a way amidst the chaos of life you are contributing to a foundation so powerful that it will Elevate you in ways outside your current level of awareness by simply saying yes when I was unsure and often fearful by continuing to write and speak I was unknowingly building these opportunities that would manifest years later right many of which were not planned they were not methodical my dedication and my North Star never changed I held on tightly to those but the surrounding components were always moving and transforming people are in my life today because of steps I took five years ago I know things about myself and my hopes and my dreams because of risks I took when I was let's face it too ignorant to understand their repercussions but I knew it felt right see here's what I did understand if I as Emerson put it hitched my wagon to a star and move towards it when I felt great and when I didn't when I was confident and when I wasn't when I was winning and when I was not I knew the other stuff would take care of itself I trusted the process and here's why that matters here's why I'm taking you all on a little trip down memory lane because writing speaking inspiring storytelling they are my world within what is yours what is it that moves you that lights up your soul I want you to know that I want you to know that because its Pursuit requires not only a delayed gratification but an acceptance that your dedication will evolve in ways so incredible that you can't even imagine that all those little decisions become emergent and together represent something more powerful than the sum of its parts I love the example or idea of the human brain right so complex and Powerful that it appears almost divine it's essentially a universe behind our eyes even our understanding our comprehension is minimal we are awed by its capability yet it's not about one single piece of the brain the tissues or the neurons individually it's the network all these microscopic occurrences create together something bigger than everything combined creating a Consciousness we can't even find or point to when looking at the evidence but we know it exists and we know it's somehow derived from this ball of nervous tissue this is not unlike one's pursuit of Excellence the level of achievement or Consciousness we are searching for it can't be singularly identified it's emergent it materializes after the discipline after the consistent work after the self-belief after the will to do what is required whether we wanted to in the moment or we didn't then we get our quote unquote Consciousness you can and won't always see the value in your dedication in your sacrifice and let me level with you I get how crazy it feels to think yeah but someday it will mean something someday that work will put people in my life that will change my world elevate my existence it will create opportunities that expedite my Evolution lessons and occurrences that will amplify my wisdom and world view but that's the name of the game if you know in your heart you are pointing to the right star then it's just about stepping adjusting and repeating move adjust move adjust move and adjust there will be a time when you look over your shoulder and are stunned by what you've created by the distance you traveled look you can't see the future you can't know what everything will mean and what will occur but you can continue forward into the darkness so that when the long awaited light inevitably presents itself you are in position to receive it to stand on the foundation you have been building all along the thing about storms is that they all have one thing in common they pass [Music] and once gone they leave you as a person different than who you were before you stepped in before you found yourself consumed by its adverse conditions they are disruptors breaking down and shaking up but not for the sake of chaos itself no storms break us down so that we can build again so that we can find within ourselves the power and the strength that simply remain tucked away during those sunny days and so walking up to this storm but you'll immediately notice is a break from the normal the everyday an obvious Detachment from the standards by which you had been living but don't be fooled into thinking those dark clouds and heavy winds have nothing of value for you don't be trapped into thinking the rain will consume all the good in life [Music] because at the end of the day it's that very rain that washes away the excess and leaves the meaningful we don't grow despite the storms we grow because of the storms so compose yourself and embrace what's around you [Music] amidst the storm you might realize that you don't want some of the things you thought you did you might realize that life contains variables that make it incredibly unpredictable I'm an old plans meet new variables sometimes we learn that the path we were walking down requires adjustment it needs change [Music] not because we were wrong the dream was wrong where the path was wrong but because life is an experiment experiments are meant to test hypotheses and support exploration without the storm sure everything seemed fine everything was Flawless but in the thick of it when the variables the multiplicity of factors present themselves it often paints a picture for us that we previously weren't able to see that's okay ideal even it's life so when amidst the storm and presented this new information this new portrait pivot grow with your understanding and newly acquired knowledge there's no point in remaining tied to the ideas the people and the places that once served you but have since run their course growth is perspective and awareness and as the storm shakes your foundation it also hands you a clarity to those blue skies simply could not [Music] so adjust adapt and move further into the person you are destined to become you can't learn that on a sunny day no that's what storms are for and amidst the storm you might find yourself scared nervous unsure [Music] you might even look back and wonder what life would have been like had you not stepped in perhaps you're angry with yourself for not navigating around the inclement weather maybe you'll find yourself asking how did I let myself end up in such a situation when there were visual indicators and weather forecasts people warned me about moments like this yet here I am you might find that the drop in temperature is uncomfortable the rain difficult the wind annoying but here's what they don't tell you there's something innately powerful about proving to yourself that you can move forward despite those things that when you're scared and step forward anyway when you're lost but maintain your Poise and Trust in the process when you're down but cling to hope to that light at the end of the tunnel you emerge with a different understanding of who you are [Music] you end up stronger because you've allowed yourself to become stronger and you don't get that on the sunny days no that's what storms are for [Music] you might feel like the sacrifice required in life is more than you want to endure maybe even more than you can endure after all it's during our trying times that we're forced to make some of our most difficult decisions we might be forced to let go of some things that had been Staples in our lives [Music] that in order to say hello to some things we must necessarily say goodbye to others and this hurts especially while it's happening it hurts [Music] but what you're really doing is learning to identify what matters and mitigate the things that don't support that Journey sometimes storms teach us that growth is not about acquisition and obtaining more and they show us instead that we've been carrying too much [Music] that we become accustomed to surrounding ourselves with things that no longer Elevate or Inspire or push us and the best way to evolve is to move forward with less so when you see parts of yourself fade away or dissolve hold your head up because when you get to the other side you just might see that cutting away those things was more liberating than anything you could find or pick up along the way and we're not taught this lesson on those sunny days no that's what storms are for and amidst the storm it's quite possible that you'll feel lonely from time to time maybe misunderstood perhaps like the whole world has everything figured out they're moving single file through the correct door while you wander around aimlessly that's not true no one has all the answers and everyone has their storms the question has always been as far as I'm concerned what will you make of yours because we're always presented with the decision to let our adversity Define us or to find something of value in it the opportunity hidden in plain view you're never alone in your pain or your distress those things are an inevitability tied to the miracle that is life but what you are is powerful powerful enough to learn in your Solitude and bring that understanding back out to the world powerful enough to let the lessons guide you to Something Beautiful powerful enough to find the meaning underneath the turbulence we often confuse our times of greatest transformation with setbacks we often forget that the darkness cannot withstand a single flicker of light and we can be that light when we trust ourselves it's a lesson that can't be taught on sunny days no that's what storms are for and that storm that very thing you want with all your heart to avoid it's not antithetical to your happiness or your Prosperity no ultimately it's how you create those things the trials and tribulations help us look at life from different angles they remind us what we are capable of show us we can do so much more than we thought that we have in many cases been accepting a reality that is not our own that is just the beginning and so whether you were on the outside looking in or at this very moment in the heart of chaos remember this is making you who you need to be and sure it never feels good in the moment it's never exciting when it's happening but there will be a point when you look around and see a world unlike the one you stepped away from one in which you are stronger Bolder wiser one in which you have greater Clarity and understanding a better sense of who should be with you and where you are going it's not despite but because of the storm that you'll Rise From the Ashes and from the quote unquote misfortune to find yourself and your way [Music] how do you visualize the road you're on with its twists and turns smooth terrain rough terrain straightaways Hills what is it all mean do you find it odd that it gets more challenging as you get closer to your destination right the further along you get the more tension life puts between you and the finish line almost like the universe is adamant about weeding out those who think they can skate by what is the difference between saying you want it and really wanting it perhaps it's a willingness to fight through a storm just for the opportunity to find calm and serenity in its Center [Music] this morning as the sun was coming up I went for a run a nice five mile run down the coast and the way I planned it out was simple right 2.5 or halfway up in soft sand and then I'd stop and I'd turn around and I'd run 2.5 back but on the harder surface right easier to handle almost like a reward for pushing myself on the way up I think things were going perfectly I made the 2.5 mile run up and when it came to stop and turn around I realized what should have been obvious from the beginning it was high tide which means I didn't get that hard surface to run back on instead Not only was it it's softer than the way up but I was running on a slope and that just threw my mind for a loop right I'm embarrassed to admit I was actually angry about it you know I pushed myself hard going up and wanted that breather almost felt like life pushed the Finish Line back 2.5 miles I didn't trust me as I'm writing this seems ridiculous to talk about but in the moment just irrationally annoyed that was the the carrot that had been chasing the whole time so I begrudgingly you know moved forward kind of trying to figure out what to do and It ultimately just continued forward and you know the the emotion subsided and as usually happens you pull yourself out of the weeds a little bit The Big Picture Tells a different story different story means different perspective and that's what I came across right this idea or this question well why do we expect life to be flat ground why was that my assumption to begin with the easy to navigate path why is that the standard and the more I thought about it right the more I I wondered if that's the very reason why we underperform it's the little spark that ultimately lights this this Wildfire of regret because when convenience is the standard everything else becomes unfair everything else is a burden when the road should be flat what are we to make of the hills in our path thinking life should be easy it provides oxygen to a victim mentality you know and sometimes it takes these little experiences for me to refocus on these subtle realities the flat ground is not the standard it is earned it's a gift it should be cherished and appreciated because guess what life wasn't easy it isn't easy and it never will be [Music] but I believe the differentiator is knowing that right so I I kept running on the slope feet sinking into the sand I got my teeth kicked in just a little bit longer and life didn't end in fact I think the mental aspect was tougher than the physical we're only talking five miles here but when the standard changes so does the performance it's about just moving forward and like poetry with about three quarters of a mile left right the beach widened it leveled out the ground became harder each step became easier and yeah I was running but in my head it felt like I was lying on a bed of feathers because when you prepare to base life's demons when you're ready for battle when you anticipate you'll have to give everything any adversary that falls short of that feels like wind behind your back we can endure anything the question is whether or not we put ourselves in position [Music] mistakes they don't Define us heartbreak it doesn't kill us and criticism it doesn't shape us but I'll tell you what the fear that they do stops a lot of people from becoming who they're capable of becoming panicking at the slightest sign of discomfort moving away from anything but the convenient when in reality inconveniences are the path is Ryan holiday famously put it the obstacle is the way [Music] it doesn't even exist without a will to overcome what meaning does the Finish Line have without miles of self-doubt when questions and fear and Dragons being slayed while you prove to yourself over and over again that you know what I am more then I can be more in the crazy thing is that there's not even a stopping point here this rocket will Propel as high in today ether as you choose to take it and look it's not about running on sliding clients or Sinking a few inches into the sand here it's not about being rejected losing or castigated by seven billion self-interested Souls no it's about not being scared to take the bridge that connects currents to Future complacency to Recreation the known to this seemingly impossible You're Made Of so much more than you give yourself credit for you are so much stronger than you think you are so for yourself and for the world capture that own it and redefine what it means not to Simply exist but to your core with every ounce of your being your soul every fiber in your body to truly live [Music] thank you foreign [Music] why is this battle you versus you with all the complexity all the obstacles out there why are you your greatest opponent well to put it simply because all those obstacles and all that complexity still can't tell you no they can't say enough is enough they can't look back at you and say let's just settle for what we have now you know only you can do that the world may create the landscape it may construct the terrain and those obstacles but you are the sole decider on where along the way you stop you decide how far you want to go and how much you are willing to endure when it comes to your advancement or limitation you are in the drivers [Music] I just picked up a copy of Will Smith's recent book and one of the ideas that stood out to me was resilience and this part in the book it's actually kind of uncomfortable to get through but incredibly powerful he's talking about his childhood and the polarity of his father's personality a man who would do anything to provide for his family he took pride in that and saw it as his primary responsibility but simultaneously was their greatest source of pain [Music] and he mentions his father you know hitting his mother from time to time in one particular example struck his mother in the face so hard that it knocked her on the floor and as she stood back up she said something along the lines of you can hit me but you can't hurt me and that was the first time will understood as the child the difference between what the outside world inflicts upon us than how we choose to react to that occurrence that understanding is power that's why you are the author of your story in the sense that every single thing dropped at your feet every situation every occurrence they come with an implicit question attached a question that you and only you are responsible for answering the question is what does this mean and how you respond to that question determines whether you go left or right at that metaphorical fork in the Rope is the occurrence detract from your Ambitions or is it a multiplier does it confirm your doubts and insecurities or is it your reason to rise to the occasion an opportunity to stretch to evolve that's a gift that's an invite not some sort of divine punishment but the challenge is removing the layers until you arrive at the value and it's hard but you get there by saying yes you get there by choosing to see the value and here's a quick example my favorite thing about Athletics which was for me a ton of running now I throw more interval training in there but the same Concepts apply it's a chance to remind myself that I don't negotiate with my weakness I don't give myself an opportunity to rationalize with the voice that wants me to quit that question that fork in the road I answered it I charted its course before the workout started knowing this is going to be uncomfortable at times but it's where I need to go there will be no more thinking from here on out and so today's workout for example switching deadlifts burpees squats to core you don't think you see the next requirement the next task and you simply say yes you don't need your mind for this in fact you go before your mind even knows where it's going because that dotted line has already been signed and that was the Breakthrough for me when you separate what you have to do with the hurt associated with doing that thing you free yourself after all what's there to hold you back if you can't talk yourself out of doing things tend to think our greatest adversity is the pain or the confusion or the unknown but it's like no those are the byproducts of doing anything of significance the adversary is the voice that begs you to slow down because of those things and if you can figure out in your own life how to create space between the two how to separate the task and the discomfort often brought about by the task there's nothing that we'll ever be able to slow you down and look I'm not saying that you walk around without ever utilizing the power of that brilliant mind you possess no one's ability to think is everything but what I am saying is there is a time to shut it off there is a time in which to avoid overthinking we simplify Action Reaction one more mile okay end of story one minute of jump squats next Roger that period it's taking the emotion out of the process refusing to leave the door cracked for the inner dialogue that says hey maybe you don't do this maybe you slow down are you sure you can handle what's next no all of that is tuned out it's assignment go next go next go you know this is the right thing you did your thinking before grabbing the sword shield and stepping into the arena now guess what it's Instinct it's doing what has to be done and what has to be done hurts and look you didn't have to accept that you didn't have to step in you could have stayed home but somewhere along the way you looked in the mirror and said the difficult path is the one with the value and now here you are face to face with hungry lion clashing swords with your adversaries there's no turning back now now is when you parse out pain from the objective the pain is now part of the audio it's not with you or in you it's watching from above as you do what you came here to do so yes those swords Clash but the eyes remain focused on what's ahead and yes those Lions Roar but that's background noise when you simplify your world into objective and action objective action objective action there is time for nothing but forward progress and sometimes that is all that is required of us in the face of adversity in the face of pain self-doubt in the face of discomfort can you break your world down into nothing but one single step forward one more set one more rep one more Session One More attempt just one more no rocket science no negotiation there's nothing to figure out here it's walking the path before you it's the discipline to carry on it's one more swing of the ax audience or no audience lions are no Lions you are bound to the universe at your feet and that simplified concentration is why you will succeed [Music] a life well lived is a dance between having the strength to walk away and Having the courage to go all in it's juggling the idea that absolutely nothing matters and the idea that every second is a blessing Beyond which I'm capable of even explaining or articulating nothing matters so Live Without Limits or constraints like you're on a once in a lifetime Journey but everything matters so know that every second along the way is perfect a building block a microcosm of the universe resting in the palm of your hand s and I think about this push pull from time to time I play with the idea that nothing matters when I need courage when I need to convince myself to be a little bold reinforce the understanding that there is no pressure here life can only give what I'm willing to carve out and as that clock ticks away in the background what do I have to lose is Mark Twain put it it's the things we don't do that we come to regret and then on the other side when I need a little discipline I play with the idea that the little things are everything after all two things can be true at once and The Details Matter a lot for me getting up two hours earlier does make a difference that pushing a little harder will add up the Little Things become everything and painting that portrait that had been tucked away in my imagination well that's done one very real very tangible brush stroke at a time it's participating in that dance between nothing and everything the real and the imaginary but for the time being let's leave those very important Little Things and focus on the Divine big things those nothings that with some vision and concentrated effort become some things I have a friend that says to me all the time nothing matters and not in a nihilistic you know throw your hands up and stay inside until the end of time type way but in a way that poses the question why wouldn't you risk it all nothing matters why wouldn't you risk seeing how far you could push how long you could run how much you could become because maybe just maybe this whole thing isn't as serious as we'd like to think it is and instead of feeling confined and scared what if you felt a lie blessed to even be here and I think realizing that we build these imaginary boxes around ourselves and live within them is a huge step that awareness that we spend so much time reaching out for things that will save us when in reality we simply need to set ourselves free we need to open the gates build Bridges to the infinite opportunity that surrounds us when I think about this a feeling that still comes to mind feeling I had after 2K tests in college those of you that have been on the rowing machines I'm sure you get it but if not picture a feeling similar to an all-out Sprint for roughly six or seven minutes depending on when you cross the line and when it was over after I finished picking myself up I would just sit in the hallway cherish the feeling of being done right after pushing my body to its maximum I'd appreciate the nothingness the same nothingness that I'd never pay attention to at all otherwise but in that moment it was everything what a gift as you regain your composure as your heart rate comes back down to earth still I still love that feeling after physical exertion the reminder to just be thankful for a moment of Serenity a reminder that life can and will inflict upon us these period absolute chaos of turbulence and often they're very necessary they Harden us they shape us but they also remind us to appreciate their absence same thing goes and a lot of you I'm sure will be able to relate to this for something like a headache or a migraine you know when they come and go in my life it's like the second a brutal headache dissipates that nothingness is the greatest gift I could ever imagine the absence of pain infinitely more valuable than any tangible acquisition and I think in those moments we get a glimpse of the world in its purest simplest form where all the nuance and detail we worry about doesn't matter much because look at what we have look how much surrounds us when we position ourselves to notice when we simply pay a attention Tolstoy said if then I were asked for the most important advice I could give that which I consider to be the most useful to the men of our Century I should simply say in the name of God stop a moment cease your work look around you an incredible reminder to never forget where we are or what we were given to remember that by breathing in the air around us we have in a sense already won and I love this because for a brief moment in time it swings that pendulum to the nothing matters side of life when you're living a miracle-wise sweat the small stuff and I can ask myself why do I get so worked up it's no big deal why not take the risk what's the worst case that I failed and have to backtrack because they're now more informed and knowledgeable person why not stand in the face of my fears the upside is consistently enticing it consistently Rewards look around and see what life has provided how dare we wasted and with that said I'd also be remiss not to include this little caveat you know I'm careful with the words nothing matters because even though in the context I've been using it for years it's a it's a positive empowering thing it's my reminder to push boundaries I could also see how it begs the question well if nothing matters why should I care and so let's reframe because it's not that nothing matters it's that nothing outside the scope of your world view matters it's the acquisition of Freedom addition by the subtraction of all those externalities we let hold us back because you know as well as I do it's not really the externalities that shackle you it's your thoughts about them so open the gate to your mind let the detrimental out and keep the necessary and the ideal in nothing matters if it doesn't align with your values and your destination I know I say in every video speech podcast episode that we are the authors of our own stories and it's because we craft our nothings and our everything it's because your Universe the one behind your eyes it needs a maker every morning and if you allow it each Sunrise can be your Genesis your own beautiful creation story you have your hand on the dial and so amidst this world of infinite Beauty and opportunity look around you soak it all in ask yourself what does freedom look like feel like because you were put here to pursue that and outside of those parameters I believe that nothing matters so why not live like it dream like it use the little thing in front of you to build the big things that have not yet arrived [Music] walk away when it's misaligned and go all in when you know in your soul it's right there is everything to gain and nothing to lose [Music]

Channel: Eddie Pinero

Views: 1,168,454

Keywords: live inspired, motivation, your world within, Eddie Pinero, inspiration, running motivation, motivational speech, motivational video, best motivational speech, best motivational video, 2023 motivation, study motivation, morning motivation, motivation compilation, motivation for success, 2023 motivational speech, powerful motivational speech, best motivation, mindset motivation, 3 hour compilation, listen when you wake up, morning motivational video, best of 2023

Id: qP0EBBrdYCg

Length: 185min 34sec (11134 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 14 2023