Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - 1 Hour To Start Your Day Right! | MORNING MOTIVATION | Best Motivational Speeches

Episode Date: August 19, 2022

"Every moment is a fresh beginning" - T.S. Eliot

If you were to walk to the water's edge and stare out, you'd swear there's a point where the ocean meets the sky, where these mirroring worlds coexist, their rules, their truths, their realities exposed, condensed to nothing. It's at this very point that life is rediscovered. where possible is recreated. Never a pursuit for the feign of heart. No, because heart is what carries you through.

Never a battle for the conformists because to follow is to surrender. This pathway in the sky is reserved. Reserved for those willing to construct their own life. their own ladders and climb them to the impossible. For those who risk falling back to earth, knowing that never leaving the ground is a fate, far worse.

It's a journey that's not for them or him or her. It's for that little voice in your head that wonders just how far you can go. See, at the end of the day, just before you close your eyes, you'll know. You'll know whether you had anything left to give. Whether you followed your heart and fought with your soul. Never has the moment been greater, never the opportunity more plentiful. This universe is yours to be transformed and manipulated, rebuilt in your image,

And while some look back at life, within the confines of ordinary others look forward. Towards that spot where the ocean meets the sky towards their dreams and a limitless tomorrow. One where we don't look up at the clouds but look down at the world below. Life won't always point you in the direction you need to go. It won't hand you the direction. or walk you to some finish line. But for those willing to search for something more, to seek out beyond the immediate,

they will find their way past the impossibles and the unknowns. You'll discover the depths of the human spirit and the power of the human mind. For it's in the journey that life is created. It's from the clouds that potential becomes real. So find it. Chase it down, impose your reality on life. The time will come when you're no longer able to step forward

to breathe in the miracle that is around you. That time is not now. Let your actions reflect this truth. The view is always most. beautiful. There was a point a handful of years back where I had one of the most important breakthroughs of my lifetime. And I've talked about this with people close to me, family and friends, to clients, business associates. And it seems like there's a commonality amongst all of us. And maybe, depending on the person that happened in a different way, certainly at different

times, but everyone at one point or another comes face to face with the realization that they have a tremendous amount of control over their lives. And it's at that moment, you know, where one becomes empowered. It's like you realize you have the key to the cell you've been locked in this whole time. And at that moment, one is prompted to ask. well why not start living like it you know there will always be responsibility and sacrifice in life but that awareness makes one ask well what am I sacrificing for where am I going am I spending time with people that lift me up am I doing things that contribute to a greater vision and perhaps most importantly am I even living a life

that is true to myself. Because I'll tell you something, our time here flies by. Not only will next month, next year, next decade be here before you know it, but it's not even guaranteed. And if one doesn't take the time to look in the mirror and ask the tough questions, life will keep on ticking. Time will not stop. No one's going to walk up to you.

And point out the fact that you're just going through the motions here. No, that one's on you. You have to see that this world can become what you decide it will be. That you are presented the tools, but tools require an architect and a creator. Tools require someone in seeing what is not yet there to pick them up and build. And so maybe this is the time for you to ask what? What am I building? Where am I going?

When my day starts, both feet hit the ground and I walk out the door, what am I moving towards? Maybe today is the day you realize that there are parts of your life that don't need to be there. That you can cut away. People that don't deserve your time, that don't elevate you or contribute to your well-being, Maybe there are places you're going because that's where you've always gone. Things you're doing because that's what you've always done. But you don't need to live life on repeat.

If you're not happy about it, how about doing something to change it? There is nothing in your life that can't be adjusted or altered. Just like yesterday is now a story, so is the idea that you are confined to a specific set of parameters. Break down those walls. See things not as they are, but as they can be if you have the courage to walk away from old stories and characters. What if today you created a new ending, one that lights you up in the morning, contributes to your sense of purpose when you close your eyes at night? Again, remember, no one will come up and hand that to you. No one will let you know you're selling yourself short. That

transformation must be internally prompted. And so I hope you'll ask, I hope you'll ask the questions that you've been neglecting for far too long. I hope today can be the first page in an entirely new chapter. A chapter in a story that is truly and entirely yours. There has to come a time when it's now or never. Well, you look at your reflection and realize that the cost of waiting is far more expensive than the cost of stepping out into the vast unknown. In every journey, that's when life effectively starts. But here's why this is so tricky. What's caught me off guard so many times in my life,

it's the many shapes that wading takes. See, waiting is not always sitting there and doing nothing, not at all. Sometimes, waiting is just the bare minimum. It's moving forward so slightly and so slowly that you can essentially trick yourself into thinking that you're progressing, into thinking you're making it happen. When, if you really stopped and looked, if you were honest with yourself,

if you really took a second to review, to analyze, you'd see that you're leaving almost everything on the table. You're not creating progress. you're dancing with the idea of progress. Sometimes waiting can mean just going fast enough to not have to look at the fear you're hiding behind. It's reality, right? I think it's a very normal thing,

but I also think life is too short for normalcy. I think we can do better than normal. And I believe with all my heart and soul that the world has for us the spectacular. sitting there on the top shelf waiting for those who can acquire the self-belief and the awareness to reach out and grab it in how crazy a thought to realize that we could have been sitting next to the very thing we've needed for days months years but never taught ourselves to extend our hands and reach when I look back the most important

moments in my life. We're not tangible acquisition and see the flashy things that try and capture our attention, right, the money, the condos, even social media growth, business growth, whatever it is you're working towards. Those things are wonderful. They are benchmarks that hopefully align with your North Star, but they are not the difference makers. Not at all, right? They were the byproduct of what really mattered. They weren't the moments that move the needle. My greatest moments were mental shifts, cognitive transformations. That's why I do this for a living. I see how much can change when we step back and look at life just a little differently.

It was my realizing that I was demanding too little of myself, that the world won't see greatness in me until I see it in me. That shift that pushed me to demand more. of myself, seek bigger challenges, value my work to a greater extent, charge more for my services. And that mental shift is what made some of those externalities possible. It's realizing that if you want it, more is on the table. That yesterday doesn't define you. That it's never too late to begin again.

That everything you need you have, right? These are the ideas that truly change lives. They make the difference. And if we don't become aware of these things, we leave them in the rear view. We walk right by them. In other words, the most important moments of my life were when someone or something shook me and effectively said, hey, look around you. If this is what you want, fine, enjoy.

But for your information, there is more out there. And if you step up just a little, if you do just a little more, if you pivot and come at this thing a little bit differently, you will further that reach. You'll create another ripple effect that will transform your life. But we must stop and look around. A good friend of mine, and this is just the other day, right? We're having lunch. We're talking about marketing. And, you know, we always joke that marketing is just a part of the business that I don't particularly enjoy, right? Necessary, but not my favorite. And we're going through kind of different strategies, ideas. And he presents one. And I say something like, you know, I don't need to do that. It seems a little over the top. And unfiltered, he goes, man, you're hurting your reach. Like, what good is that metaphorical restaurant that's not on anyone's radar? You're going to be the best pizza shop that no one knows about. And it just kind of hit me, right?

It's like, man, I needed to see that differently. Maybe there's room to be a little more aggressive. Again, one example of many. And not every time is the idea or opportunity the right one or necessary one. Right? But at least you stopped. At least you thought about it. At least you contrasted where you are with the potential upside of doing

something differently. That is where we leave opportunity on the table. You know, we most often, myself included, paint regret as this, the result of this blatant walking away from something. A deliberate declaration, sort of a, oh no, I'm not doing that, no way. And sure, sometimes that's the case. Sometimes we're cognizant of our fear and decline to move forward. But I wonder how often our neglect or refusal is softer, more subtle. I wonder how much of our regret comes from simply not stopping and looking around, not letting in alternative points of view that challenge us and force us to level up.

How much of our regret comes from simply not understanding how short life is and how quickly time passes us by. And if we don't create some, some abrupt change in our day to day, if we don't manufacture some momentum in our lives, even when it feels least ideal to do so, the ship we needed to be on will sail away without us. So think back to your hardest days. Even the ones that took you out, that brought you to your knees, and realized that you survived every single one of them.

You have, for years, been acquiring the armor, piece by piece, to move into something bigger. You've been learning. You've been evolving. But today, what about sitting down with yourself and having the discussion you don't want to have but need to have? What about asking if it's time to leap where you once step? to run where you once walked? What about taking a good look around and asking why you're living in ways that don't serve you? Why you're conceding so much of what matters? Again, the evolution you want and need is there.

It's always there. And that's the key takeaway here. It will always exist. But the question is, will your commitment to stop, to think, and to reach for it be there. Years from now, looking back, I think we'll find that our willingness to ask those questions mattered more than we could have ever imagined.

That silence often implies the lack of adversity needed to evolve. Because the reality you want, it doesn't come to you. You must go to it. And that means re-approaching today's normalcy in comfort seeing those things for what they are, a continuation of the status quo. Nothing changes until you change. So take a look around, examine those pillars holding up your worldview. Not once, but over and over again.

And if one, many, or all of them must be knocked down, then so be it. The point here is that you can build. The point here is that life happens on your terms, realize it or not that doing nothing is accepting what things are it's a head nod and a thumbs up to reality as is so again ask yourself what you want out of life and if you are missing that mark tear down what must be torn down it might be hard now it might hurt now it might be uncomfortable now but when you're eventually standing upon an existence that aligns with who you are and what you want, you'll see how necessary it all was,

how it was there the whole time. And thank God, you found it within yourself to reach out and take it. The other day I woke up with a plan. Three things I had to do. So I wrote them on my whiteboard. essentially my objectives for the day. But it ended up being one of those days where things didn't unfold the way I anticipated. And for a variety of reasons, curveball after curveball with some sloppy decision making sprinkled in there. Eventually, morning became afternoon, afternoon became evening.

I found myself exhausted and looking up at a whiteboard that was showing me I had accomplished none of the things listed. And I hate that feeling. Having clear objectives and not meeting them. Right? And so after dinner, I got a phone call and I found myself talking about how I fell short, getting it all off my chest, letting it all

out there. And I got that reassurance that I wanted without even realizing that I wanted it, right? The voice said back to me, Eddie, this happens. It's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. No one's perfect. You put a lot of pressure on yourself. Tomorrow's a new day, right? That type of thing and it's like, okay, exhale, time for bed. And the next morning, I was outside relaxing, doing some thinking, and came to this point.

And you'll see how these dots connect here in a second. But essentially, I see life as a staircase, right, where we thrust ourselves out into discomfort, into chaos. and then amidst the storm, we're forced to grow. We step into shoes. We were once unable to fill. And what was once bigger than us is now normal. It's every day. It's ordinary because we fought for it.

We pushed ourselves through. That's evolution. But now, guess what? That old ceiling has become the floor. It's time to evolve. It's time for that next step in the staircase, time to thrust ourselves back into the chaos of life so that we can again tame something bigger than us. Take the next intimidating thing and make it commonplace.

And as I sat there outside thinking, I found myself to be at that next step, ready to leap out again into the tumultuous winds of life. but this time it felt different. There's an intersection, and I talk about it often, of doing what adds value to the world and doing what makes you content personally. Okay, I think where those two things meet is peak living. That's where the magic happens.

And I'm fortunate enough that these thoughts, speeches, episodes, videos, whatever you want to call them, on some days, literally reach over 200, thousand people, and that's not meant to be a humble brag or anything like that. It's just to me so incredible that I can't process it, right? I get emotional thinking about it. My dream is to add value to other people, provide that little lift that might help someone look at their own problems differently, maybe see a path when before they were unable to. That's what it's all about. And then, in addition to that, a parallel track, on a personal level, feeling like I'm growing and evolving as well, constantly stepping up those stairs one by one, having the courage to continue fighting those unknowns and making sense of life's complexities.

That's why so many of you were on this journey with me. And so as I looked up at that next step, and it felt bigger than it ever had before. for I knew the task needed to be bigger than it's ever been, which would require of me one of the biggest changes I've ever made, and that scared me to death, knowing that in order for something to be born, something must die, something must be left behind. I'd been stepping forward for years and thank God for that, but now it was time for a leap. And so back to that whiteboard I mentioned earlier. If you hang in with me long enough, I usually come full circle. Right, back to the list of goals I miss, the bad day. Why am I so fixated on that? Well, it has nothing to do with the

day itself. Everyone swings and misses from time to time. It has nothing to do with those three goals. Everyone falls short here and there. That's part of life. It's about the person I want to be as I endure those turbulent times. It's about the strength to handle my own chaos and battles differently. Before you can lead others, you need to lead yourself. And that means being vulnerable. It means being honest. It means looking in the mirror and asking yourself the tough questions.

It means being stronger than I've ever been. There will be times that require of me. that I push forward without having to hear from my parents or girlfriend or buddies that everything's all right. The next step requires that I trust myself to be the guy in my own life. To have impact in the world, one must find strength within themselves where they didn't know it existed. This is a leveling up that I know is required for me.

me to be more than I've ever been, stronger, bolder, more confident when I'm most fearful. There was a line I used to draw, separating me and the people I look up to. And the moment for me was a message. I knew it was time for me to mentally remove that line. You'll never be more than you envision yourself to be. It was time to be my own answer. promote myself to that next level, from the kid with the dream to the man that makes it happen, it's time, it's just simply time. Even the ones I love, the ones closest to me, they can't provide that. Has to be internally derived from a place so deep that come hell or high water, it's happening.

And telling people about my little misfortunes so that they can pat me on the head and tell me things are great. that's antithetical to what is required of me next. There is a level of courage and strength and excellence in all of us that lives at the bottom of this abyss that we must pull up with everything we have. Until it becomes intertwined with who we are and where we're headed. And as I sat there, I knew it to be true. I couldn't help but feel that change was about. to happen and it would stem directly from how I see myself. It would be the product of who I knew myself to be.

And so now, most importantly, I present this question to you. Are you at that next step? Are you looking at a chasm that must be crossed? Were all your little decisions, all the courage and discipline and strength that you utilize to get here that has positioned you for this moment, is it telling you something is next? Is it time to dig deeper and be more than you have ever in your life been? In my example, by the way, was not about holding in our problems or dismissing those around us. Asking for help and we need help is courage. The small circle we surround ourselves with

is a direct reflection of who we are. No, for me, it was a about being the type of person who trust myself to weather those storms, about moving with greater conviction, graduating from going to be to is currently. That whiteboard, that phone call was the turning point, and nothing more. And my example may fit your life like a glove. You may think, wow, that's exactly the lens I need right now. But maybe it's not.

Maybe your situation is a little different. Maybe the road you're on is newer, less traveled. Maybe it's the courage to take that first step, to play the student. Perfect. Because whatever it is, as you look up at that next step, what matters is that you know in your heart and soul that you have what it takes to become that person. It's not bigger than you, it is you. Someone once told me that the world will not believe it until you do.

So believe. Believe it like your dreams depend on it because as it turns out they do. As it turns out everything about your future is make believe until you breathe life into it. Look around you at your current. reality. Remember that it is a product of what you've allowed and that at any time you can up the ante, climb the step, reach a new level. You have it within yourself to do that. Just give yourself permission to be that person and it will be scary. It's going to hurt at times. But let's be that vulnerable. Let's show the world what we can

create when we move into it as though it's ours, as though destiny isn't assigned but written one beautiful act of courage at a time. If you're lucky enough to be different, don't let go. I spend a lot of my time and energy exploring the power of perspective, how our reality is determined by how we interpret what's in front of us. How one person can look at one thing and see pain or a problem or a barrier and another person can look at that exact same thing and see opportunity or a future win or a bridge to something better.

And I think one of the best examples of this is how we perceive those qualities that make us unique, those things that put us in a different category. Maybe we're a little hesitant to fully embrace. because they're not common. And when it comes to that which separates us from everyone else, well, I believe we have a decision to make. I'm going to go back to Robert Frost's fork in the road, right? He says two paths diverged in a wood.

I took the one least traveled by and that made all the difference. On the surface, you could easily brush this off as trivial. It's like, oh, nice, that's cute. He took the path less traveled by. But what does that mean? What does that mean? As it turns out, it means a lot. It means instead of burying what makes him different, he made it his battle cry.

Instead of slipping under the radar and sneaking through life like so many of us do, he signed the dotted line for the pain of being a beginner, the struggle of being uncertain, the discipline and sometimes torturous road that is turning a passion into excellent, trading peace of mind for the pursuit of meaning in life. Exploring what makes you unique, it takes courage. And in that message, he chooses courage because it's not just that you're alone. Taking that path means every step of the way, your mind screams at you reminders that you're alone. It's not just fighting traffic patterns, it's fighting your DNA. It's resisting that impulse

to please sit down, shut up, and blend in. So is it a trivial decision? I'd say not really. Maybe even the most important decision you can make. Because I promise you it's not your commonality with those around you that will bring fulfillment. That will leave a mark on your life in the world that surrounds you. No, it's that thing that's unequivocally you. That's a little out there, that's somewhat strange, that you don't know why, but it's gravitational force. Pulls and pulls and pulls.

A tug of war. Where one side begs you to just relax, conform, do less, begs you to never be laughed at or criticize, to take the easy road. Then you have the other side, poking, prodding, asking you, hey, yeah, but what if? What if you sacrifice the comfort of right now?

What if you explored? What if you took that which you love and you ran with it? What if you worked for a delayed payday? What if for a moment in time when people ask you what the plan is, you have to look back and say, you know what, I'm not quite sure what I'm building?

But I'll keep pivoting until it's so clear you can see it from the moon. Those are the paths that pull us apart. And every time I've lost my way, it's because I've doubted my unique path. And I mean that every time. It's when I become impatient with the journey or look around and see someone else winning

in a different arena using different methods, different strategies, see the latest trends and success formulas. Hey man, I want part of that, right? I'm human, I want to win, I want to succeed. But just like a little opening is enough to let in the outside water that sinks the boat. Well, a little bit of doubt is enough to derail your process. A process that you have to believe in, protect, nurture. A process that I've come to separate into two pieces.

Number one, believing that the exploration, of that thing that makes you unique, it's valuable. That your abilities mean something. They're not inconsequential. They're not stupid or trivial or unnecessary. If it means something to you, it will most certainly mean something to others. And you bringing it to life not only helps yourself,

evolve, grow, flourish, It helps the world. You just have to believe that enough to bring it to life. That's number one. Number two, trusting that as long as you don't stop in pursuit of your unique self, you can't lose. You can't lose. And I don't mean continuing to ram a square peg into a round hole. I mean growing, learning, experimenting, seeing what works.

There's a saying that when you hit a day, dead end, it's not that the goal or the dream should be abandoned, it means the plan needs to be changed or adjusted. And as you get better and more experience and continually work to adjust your strategy and your plans, learn from your mistakes, it becomes a matter of time. You increase the odds with every step forward. Being different is the most precious thing. afforded to you. But to realize that miracle requires a combination of both the mythical and the

practical, the imaginary and the real. Dream that dream, visualize that growth, create a world out of those ideas that don't exist yet. But also understand that the conversion process from dream to reality is a practical one. It requires representation. repetition, learning, losing, adjusting, and people don't like that. It's much easier to blend in than spend years pushing through the agony of setting yourself apart. But it's worth it. And the evidence is so obvious, so plainly pointing to the fact that we only celebrate

the outcasts, the crazy ones. We sit around campfires, listen to lectures. watched movies and documentaries about the people that had every reason to doubt themselves, but kept moving forward, about the people who could have swept their unique abilities under the rug, but instead used them as their foundation for everything, not being distracted by what's popular or how anyone else lives or operates, not seeking to be anyone but themselves, knowing that that is enough, knowing it's the seed to something precious. The only question is, will you provide the right conditions and nourishment for that little seed to grow? Will you do what so few

people have the courage to do? Let their authentic selves shine through. Let who they are emerge. Emerson has a quote. He says, to be yourself and be, a world that's constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. He goes on to say, my life should be unique. It should be an alms, a battle, a conquest, a medicine. And see, perpetual happiness is a fool's errand. Now, life is full of trials and tribulations and ups and downs. But fulfillment comes from that quest for meaning, for more, for building, something for creating your unique self, a process, a pursuit that must be chiseled from stone. It's never given or provided. It has to be found. Take it.

And as Emerson beautifully implies, now is the time. The question is, what are you going to make with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? What will you make of the possibilities that only you know, only you understand that only you can bring to life, never doubt yourself or your gifts or the things that set you apart. You don't need everyone else to believe in them. You just need to convince yourself.

Everything else, it falls right into place. Sometimes what we need most, is not what we think we need most. It's not that break we've been waiting for the universe to provide. Or the answer we've been desperately seeking. No, sometimes we need only three words. Don't give. Don't turn back now.

And see, I know you want to. And that the meaningful thing, the right thing, requires we give all of ourselves. It metaphorically speaking is the most expensive, exhausting, sometimes disheartening. But this is your reminder that there will come a point when you look back on this moment and the best thing you'll have ever done will have been continuing to put one foot in front of the other, continuing forward despite the circumstances. towards that which means something to you.

I remember in South Florida a handful of years ago, I'd just moved down here and I was exploring the area a little bit, looking for a place to live. And I found this kind of odd little park in between a parking lot and the beach. And I pulled over, just started walking around, and ended up sitting down on this bench that faced the ocean. And just looked out for a while.

I remember looking at the people who all seemed so happy. They all seemed fulfilled, looked like they had it all together. I looked at the ocean that was so much bigger than me, so vast, so powerful, at the non-stop stream of planes flying overhead that all seemed to have a direction, a purpose. They had their courses mapped. And I think I remember it so vividly because I'd never felt more alone than at that moment. Like deeply, painfully, alone, and it's not that I enjoy bringing up these types of experiences. I bring them up because time has revealed repeatedly that from these moments of doubt

and sometimes even despair come what we need most. So long as we don't run from what the world. is trying to provide us. It's as though we must experience emptiness before we can become fulfilled. We need to be overcome with this sensation that there's no way out before realizing that there is always a way so long as we're willing to find it. And the pain associated with that willingness, well, it far outweighs the alternative. I often break things down into this dichotomy of the easy, meaningless way versus the hard, meaningful way. But that may be oversimplified, right?

Easy compared to what? Hard compared to what? It's easy to shut down when we're at our lowest. It's easy to stop when it hurts. But easy now evolves into what's actually incredibly difficult tomorrow. A difficult, heart-wrenching, regretful forever. Admittedly, a controversial figure, but regardless, one of the most important quotes I've ever read. It was by Lance Armstrong in his book, It's Not About the Bike.

He says, pain is temporary. It may last a minute or an hour or a day or a year, but eventually it will subside. And something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. See, the easy thing versus the hard thing is to simplify. void of imperative context. The question is, in our darkest moments, will we stand up when it hurts

so that we can walk, run, and ultimately sprint towards what matters? There's a realization that helped me, because when we're in these situations, the thought goes like this. Things are wrong, things are broken, my life isn't what it should be. I need to fix this and make it whole, make it right,

so I can live a good life like everyone else. There's a deep loneliness associated with that misconception as though the world is put together, but I am not. Well, let me dispel that notion and end that narrative. The world is a series of objects that mean nothing other than the value we place upon them. Seven billion people all fighting their own battles, all trying to make sense of things,

all pretending like the little fairy, The very tale they've manufactured in their heads is the real thing or the right thing. When in actuality we are all just passengers along on a ride we do not understand. Fighting battles that we don't often comprehend and cannot grasp. But you are not broken. You are human, perfectly imperfect. Equipped with the tools to take another step forward despite the chaos and the certainty. Steps that become in the end everything. I remember reading about Jefferson, how he had

migraines so severe while president that he would do most of his important work in the morning because of the high probability he could literally be incapacitated from noon on. And I just thought, man, we are all fighting battles. We're all doing what we can to make the most of our circumstance, to redirect discomfort into opportunity and pain into progress. And what's most incredible is that we can. There's a saying that it's not supposed to be easy. The getting where you need to go requires the treacherous path associated with a hero's journey.

The vast unknowns. The questions that remain unanswered for extended periods of time. the villains that seemingly inject themselves into our lives. Please understand that this is not a reflection of you, who you are and your capabilities. This is the game of life. This is today's difficulty in exchange for tomorrow's meaning. The pressure that creates the diamonds,

and you don't have to be sure of anything. other than that you know you will continue stepping forward because you can. Things won't always go right, but in the failures are the new tools to grow and redirect. You won't always feel on top of the world, but it's in the valleys of despair that we're forced to truly analyze, to think deeply, re-approach, and perhaps most importantly, You may have days where you let yourself down, fall short, perhaps lose sight of the courage to which you have attached your dreams, but that's okay.

You are defined not by your mistakes, but by the present moment. Not some impossible expectation of perfection, but by your ability to rise and rise again, when it requires all of you to lift your head up, and carry on. So go. Into that unknown, where fear is transformed into courage and doubt to strength,

go. Because if not here, where, and if not now, when, go. All you need, you have. And when life finds you sitting down on a park, bench staring out at a world that feels too big and too complex that seems impossible to navigate. Find it within yourself to smile. Smile because of what you've already overcome, what you've been through, who you are. Remember that you are exactly where you need to be staring up at the

meaning in life as opposed to down at your feet. Now go. No miracles here. No mountains need be jumped or oceans crossed. But if you, one, step forward and two, believe in yourself to put the pieces together as they arrive. There is nothing you can't do or be. There is no obstacle before you that is insurmountable. Just keep going. And sure, sometimes that's all we can do. But it also happens to be true that it is your greatest superpower.

To simply find a way to run if you can, crawl if you must, but find a way. Because deep down in your soul, the pieces are there. And it will be, at some point, as you look back, the greatest decision you've ever. ever made. Life is delicate, defined as easily broken or damaged, fragile. There's nothing around you that's forever. There's no permanence in our world, and sometimes this is a difficult thing to grasp. Certainly, it's why we long for patterns of consistency where we can find them. We do everything we can to manufacture some semblance of predictability for as long as we can.

Doing our best to repress the idea that everything we know is as temporary as a setting son. I had a family member rushed to the ER a few days ago. And thank God she's completely fine. She's back home. She's doing her thing.

But I can't stop thinking about the call. How it shook me to my core. how my walls of certainty and predictability were breached. It was this unsettling reminder that life as we know it isn't guaranteed, that things we love, they're not untouchable. I had to look my helplessness in the face for the first time in a while and realize, well, just how little of the world is mine to control. Which brings me back to a conversation I had when I was younger.

I talk about my grandfather often in my work, primarily because of a few impactful conversations that we had. And it's interesting to me how relevant they continue to be. I remember a handful of times we talk from childhood, and it's like I piece them together retroactively. Things make sense as I get older and kind of figure out what it all means. One of my last conversations with him, we went to this little diner. called Leos along the Cape Cod Canal.

And he said to me, there are things now that seem impossible. But as you grow and you get older, they make sense, right? Even the most challenging things become manageable. And I get mad at myself for not understanding the context at the time or putting two and two together. But basically, he was diagnosed with the brain tumor and he knew what that meant, right? and was basically giving me a heads up like kiddo this is going to be tough but hang in there

that was one of the first times i've dealt with loss of that magnitude right and when you're young so many things seem stable they seem certain you don't yet get the fluidity of life that stream is moving and no matter what it's going to continue to move sometimes that means it takes you places and presents realities that overtake the map that you created for the world, what you understood, what you hoped for, that little understanding of what life means. And I guess I wanted to pick up the baton from that conversation and pass it on to you with maybe a more comprehensive viewpoint. Because I think contained in those words is a message so powerful, so important, that we really can't afford to miss it.

It's like, yes, life is unpredictable. And yes, life can hurt and humble us and knock down what we thought was certain it can challenge what we believed and shake our foundations. It can make us feel small in a universe that stretches beyond comprehension. But at the very center of all of that, we are equipped with something that can't be broken. The only thing that can't be ripped away. The sun around which everything else revolves, your ability to endure, your strength to carry on, to take one step forward, whether it feels like you're entrenched in the depths of hell, or swinging from the stars in the sky, your resilience,

your ability to not only handle life around you, but rise from the ashes of its turbulence and its misfortune, that will never leave you if you don't let it. Victor Frankel has said, everything can be taken from a man, but one thing, the last of the human freedoms, to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

See, life might be more than weak in control or comprehend. But amidst the might and power of its ocean, our determination is unsinkable. And believe me, there are times when you hear this and think, well, okay, that doesn't affect me. I'm good. I'm doing my thing, right? Just like I did sitting at that table over eggs and bacon that morning.

and man, I hope that's the case, and I hope it stays that way. But life has a way of keeping us on our toes. It never lets us stray too far from the realization that to be human is in some way or another to suffer. It's inescapable, and that's not to scare you, it's to remind you that, one, storms will come, and two, regardless of how heavy the rain falls or how loud the thunder roars,

it will pass, and you are strong enough to hang on until it does. That as you grow and as you evolve, you become more and more capable of seeing the inevitable, not as the world's personal vendetta against you, but is your time to dig deep. And find within yourself the strength and the courage that was there all along. And that's what that morning was.

A message that, look, what's coming will hurt, but you can handle it. And not only that, every time life brings you to your knees, you get back up stronger. That doesn't mean it's easy. But the point is not that it's supposed to be easy. It's that you're capable of handling a world that is not easy. You're capable of navigating a reality that is not simple,

a sea that is not smooth sailing. You're equipped to handle the complex. And sometimes that little reminder is the greatest gift one can receive. There's so much I can't control, but my God, there's so much I can. The reality you have mapped out, the day-to-day, the things you've come to know and rely on, as much as we wish they weren't, they are delicate. Withering away with times susceptible to the intricacies, the trials and tribulations of life.

But your heart, your soul, your world within, that is untouchable. It's the divine, the sacred, it's strength limitless, it's breath endless. So remember, even in the darkest of times, you are the very light you long for. And as long as you believe that, there will always be a path.