Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - 9 Things You CAN Control - BEST MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH

Episode Date: August 21, 2024

"You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." — Marcus Aurelius Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube  In this episode, Eddie Pinero explores 9 key aspects of life that you have the power to control. Learn how mastering these elements can lead to a more fulfilled and purposeful journey. Take charge, focus on what matters, and unlock your true potential.

Nine things you do have control over that will make your life better. This is, I think, one of the most important conversations to have simply because so much energy is placed on stuff that's beyond us, right, that we have no control over, yet we ignore the strength within us, the things that will actually transform our lives and push us forward. You know, stoicism obviously places a lot of emphasis on differentiating between these two things. like letting go of what's not ours and, you know, really cultivating and strengthening what is. And there's plenty of iterations.

One of my favorites and one of the most common, most well known is the serenity prayer. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. It's that idea that you have within you, a superpower. But you have to stop looking outside, right, and pointing at the sky for stuff that's just not yours, right?

So let's dive right into it. That's where the power is. Nine things you can control that will change your life. The first, and this is not going to be a surprise mindset. Why? Because it doesn't matter if the sky's falling or the walls are crashing down. How you think is yours.

It's your strength. and no one said it better in my mind than Victor Frankel, where he says, everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms, the ability to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

And when you understand the context, and this is a man who went through one of the grossest atrocities in human history, the concentration camps during World War II, and clung on to hope, left that situation saying, hey, no one can take your outlook from you. It doesn't matter how bad the world seems. That is one of the most empowering things I've ever heard.

And when I look back at my life, and I'm sure a lot of you watching can relate, some of the darkest times ended up bringing me to the most beautiful places. And going through them in those moments, the ability to pause and just say, hey, I know this sucks. I know it doesn't feel good, but there's value here. Not intuitive. It's not an intuitive thing to do,

which is why I think it's more important. No matter what you're going through, there's something there that's meaningful and even beautiful that will ultimately be transformative. Your attitude is yours. Nothing can take that away. Number two, you always have control over how you allocate your time.

There's an idea that what you water grows, which presents a simple formula. Understanding what's important in your life and asking yourself, are you giving that the sufficient attention it deserves? I think an easy example that we all relate to is people talking about financial freedom, wanting to be wealthy,

or wanting more money in the bank. Right? But when you have a conversation, well, okay, how much is coming in every day, how much is going out, what are your goals, what are you spending your money on, all these somewhat basic questions, they don't know.

It's like, well, you're not giving that the attention. You're not aware. You're not monitoring or studying that. I guarantee you, if you took a spotlight to those things, it would evolve in a way that changes your relationship with money and income in your bank account, right? So simple example, but you get the idea, where you focus is where you'll see results. So ask yourself, are you focusing on the right things?

How can you be, you know, more methodical about your time? Because again, that is always yours to control. Number three is the morning. And the morning is something I always have control over. We all do. and it's one of the most transformative periods of time because it's where you create your momentum. It carries into the rest of your day.

When you go up and take care of yourself physically, for me, hopping in the coal plunge, sauna, coffee, journaling, planning up the rest of the day, it 10x is the momentum and excitement and just the feeling I get as I navigate the day. And so for me, it's a no-brainer. W. Clement Stone, little hinges swing big doors. That, to me, is my little hinge.

I can control that every single day. So it's something to think about. How are you starting your day? Are you just rolling into the chaos? Or are you being methodical? And, you know, there's not a one-size-fits-all, you know? You are your own experiment, but are you playing with that and looking at different ways to launch into a day that is, you know, more productive,

healthier, happier? Number four is gratitude. very simple, right? It's one of the most important perspective shifts you can make. Because if you never think about what you have, what's in your life, who's in your life, how far you've come, you fall into this place of lack, right? You only see the gap.

And there's more to life than that, right? When you understand how lucky you are and how beautiful it is to be here and experience this, It makes the bumps and bruises along the way seem way less significant. So it's not just like a fluffy, hey, be grateful. There's a very pragmatic reason for it. Perspective.

You know, life is innately hard. Okay. It arms you with the ability to handle that adversity because you know you're grounded and you have an incredible situation and you're in position to tackle whatever comes at you. Number five is your willingness to listen. You can always control how much you listen.

This one might seem silly at first or not important at first. So you realize very few people are good listeners. And so much growth and understanding comes from listening, observing. It seems like we're wired to want to talk and share. And as my grandfather used to say, flap our gums. Right. But if you can find that, the discipline to take life in and learn from it and hear what other people have to say,

you're arming yourself with knowledge that you otherwise wouldn't have had. Number six is a commitment to education, constantly seeking knowledge in some capacity. Now, it doesn't have to be in the context of a third grader in a classroom, but what areas of your life are growing, right? There's a very simple idea that progress equals happiness. we are more content beings when we feel like we're in pursuit of something meaningful. Whatever that is in your life.

So don't push that aside and think that you're done learning. You're never done learning. There's always growth. There's always some value you can take in that's bringing you closer to somewhere you want to be. Life is a teacher. So don't forget to be a perpetual student. You can always control.

That. Number seven, I know a lot of you will relate to this, your circle. You are the sum of, what's the terminology, the five people you surround yourself with or the average of the five people you surround yourself with? Surround yourself with people who lift you up, who make you better, who are positive influences on your life, who push you to do more, who challenge you. Not folks that drain you and are negative and cripple your growth. You can always control who you're around. And that, as it turns out, makes such a tremendous difference on your life outlook, how you look at yourself and how you look at the world. You can control your circle. Next, how you treat others. You can always control that. You know, are you compassionate? Are you empathetic?

Again, do you listen? Do you seek to understand? These things matter. And, you know, what goes around comes around. When you treat others well, not only do you feel better and pick up allies along the way, but that comes back to you. You know, so it's something to constantly think about and be cognizant of. How are you treating those around you? And lastly, you have control over the goals that you set. There's an idea that you cannot hit targets that aren't there.

Yet so many of us kind of stumble around through life, just hoping will end up somewhere that we're happy with. Most of the time, that's not how it works out. I heard Jim Rohn say this kind of tongue and cheek, and it stuck with me. He's like, there's never been a basketball team or a football team that took the court or the field that didn't have a game plan. And that's for, what, three hours? Yet some people live their entire lives without a plan.

When you think about it in that context, it just doesn't. make sense. So when you set those goals, when you're aware of the targets you've created, you're much more inclined to make everything in your life fit under that tent, to be more methodical and strategic, and ultimately be where you want to be. That's what it's all about, right? You have that control. You just have to remember. So what goals are you setting? So there you have it. Nine things you can control that will change your life. I hope it gave you some much needed perspective and I look forward to seeing you all thrive and flourish and whatever it is you're doing. See you next week. I'm going to take a second and thank the sponsor of today's podcast episode,

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allows the stars to finally shine through, to make their presence known. And during the day, conversely, one cannot see those stars, but the world around him on the ground becomes illuminated. It's a push and pull. that seems to work perfectly. And I think there's something poetic

about the partnership existing between the big picture goal and the small steps required to bring it to life. As one of my favorite sayings goes, keeping your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground. Because here's what's interesting. If one were to only look up at the goal,

she'd be consistently reminding herself of the ideal without taking the necessary steps to get there. And if one were to only look down at her feet, well, her steps would eventually become aimless. And it's that duality, right, the need to both reassure yourself you can see the stars, as well as use the world around you

to pull yourself closer to them that changes things. It's that beautiful dance that has to be. maintained. And this is a balancing act that has certainly been challenging. Sometimes the pendulum swings way too far one way, sometimes way too far the other. But in a perfect world, you know, you want it gravitating towards the center. I remember just starting the YouTube channel, almost a decade ago, having, you know, big multi-million subscriber goals, but completely lacking the systems and everyday practices in place. that would walk me towards that finish line.

I mean, sure, something's better than nothing. I was working and learning, but the actions simply didn't align with the objective. I had to correct them. And then I've been on the other end as well. But I'd be doing things every day without knowing why. All steps, no goal. That sort of thing occurs when routine takes on a life of its own.

You start doing things because, well, it's what I do. It's what I've always done. You know, this is when one has to look in the mirror and ask the difficult questions. And look, anytime I can squeeze the complexities down into the simple, I try and do that. So with that in mind, my questioning goes like this. What do you want? Know the answer? Okay, good.

Next question. Is what you're doing taking you closer every day to what you want? asking that question in a serious way takes a spotlight to one's world. Using my previous metaphor, it shuts the lights off so the north star becomes visible. And then, right, turns them back on to ask yourself if you're using your resources to move there. And I've become pretty good at asking myself this question consistently. And still, I find things that don't belong. That sort of, you know, they hide.

in plain view. I have faith that I'll end up exactly where I need to be. But that faith is rooted in my commitment to continually assess, to scrutinize, and adjust. There's very little hope and a substantial amount of trust in my ability to continue forward. There's an idea referred to as the Stockdale paradox, which states, and this is the first definition I grabbed from Google here, you must never confuse faith that you'll prevail in the end, which you can never afford to lose, with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. That's where the tough love thing comes in. Be your biggest fan because no one will believe in you unless you do. It all starts with your trust in yourself to navigate the process

and arrive where you must arrive. But it also requires you are your biggest critic. It means the reason you trust yourself to get there is because you know you won't just sit back and say, I'll win because I believe I'll win. No, you'll win because you will while having your head in the clouds, be brutally pragmatic with the steps you're taking on the ground. You'll win because you're committed to learning and adjusting. What of my favorite epiphanies when I started doing this full time was the realization at a very small scale at first, that, whoa, someone can't fail unless they quit. You can't lose unless you stop. Impossible, someone might think. Well, no, because when you miss the mark or you fall short.

You take a second to understand why and then you come back to the problem or challenge again, right? This means life is a game of tenacity, of persistence, of commitment. The one who keeps adjusting and coming back is bound to connect the dots eventually, which makes failure the simple decision that, eh, this isn't worth it for me. I don't want to continue adjusting and re-engaging with this. And look, hey, depending on the situation, that may be the move, right? There have been things in my life where after sufficient trial and error, sufficient data,

I've said, this doesn't align with who I am or what I want. I'm going to walk away and pivot to something that does, right? But the key is knowing that it is a decision. To not reach a particular goal is a choice to no longer attack it relentlessly. And so when you feel lost or defeated or even frustrated with the process, try that line of questioning. What do I want? And is what I'm doing today bringing me there?

This allows you to start taking a sledgehammer to the things that don't belong, refining the process. And yeah, sometimes walking away from the things that are no longer in the scope of who you want to be and where you're going. But the power is in knowing, it's in understanding that your footsteps,

the little actions, of your day-to-day, they are incredibly powerful. But most of all, when you are methodical with them, when they're pointed in the right direction. So pick your stars carefully and own those steps that take you towards them. Failure is not a sickness you catch. It doesn't fall on your head like a piano in those old cartoons. It's a choice.

meaning in positive terms as long as you are committed to learn, re-approach, and repeat, you will find yourself atop the mountain. As long as you're willing to evolve, you will ultimately arrive. What is the complex, but an accumulation of that which is simple? What are big things, if not just a multitude, of little things? There's comfort in the understanding that all we have in life, all there is, is simplicity. Easy to understand pieces. It's just that sometimes we stack them so high that they start to take a new shape.

But like Greg McKeown references in his book Essentialism, the power isn't always in acquiring answers. You already have them. They're in front of you. The power is in cutting away the things that don't need, removing all that stands between you and your ideal existence. And I think that's one of life's great misunderstandings. We don't need to find more.

We need to remove that excess until we're face to face with what matters. And to adopt this principle, it's nothing short of liberating. chaos, confusion, disorder, they don't imply that you lack the right things. They suggest you haven't stripped life of the wrong things. You have not simplified. A thousand miles is intimidating when you look at it holistically. It's a long journey. But it's just a collection of steps and well, shouldn't we find solace in the fact that anyone

can take one step? It's not a game of complexity. It's a game of understanding what's in front of you. And what's in front of you is always manageable. So much of our stress stems from forgetting what that journey is made of. Whether it's a change in career, mastery of an art, some kind of personal transformation, the result we want. When looking at it from the starting line, it's too complex to understand, two minutes

pieces stacked up. So let's break it down. Let's find the foundation. What's really there? What are the one, two, three things we need to do? What is that golden question? What matters? If you lose sight of that, then you will stumble through life. I've learned this, I've lived it. The time I take to myself every day is invaluable to me because I ask myself, those two questions, what mattered and what are the simple steps I need to take. What can I remove? I was talking about this during an interview this week, my personal growth. And one of the most important aspects has been the understanding and the zeroing in on what's important. I used to take so much pride in composing the background music to these speeches, end to end. I used to love to be

able to say I did it all. That was so I thought the great differentiator. But ultimately I learned to take a step back and ask what matters here. What do you care about? It's the storytelling that I love. It's the impact. And let's be real. No one cares who wrote the background music. It's holistically, how does the piece make you feel? Right? And this understanding allowed me to cut away. License the music. Saved two days a week, acquire clarity. realize my goal is not to be Mozart. My journey is to be one of the great communicators, storytellers of our time, and if a day goes by where I'm not taking a little step towards that, it's the wrong move. Small example in the grand scheme of things, but right on point.

It's the power in understanding what matters that makes a difference that allows you to grow, evolve. And I'm confident that this not only applies to long-term pursuits, but also our challenging times, the dark moments, the periods of uncertainty and discontent. Same concept. Where do you want to be? And how do you get there? What's the simple thing you can do to close that gap because you are never helpless. You can always do something and my friends those little somethings ultimately evolve into everything and when we put our phone away step beyond the noise spend time with ourselves we can see how much of life is running in place stacking and stacking pieces that aren't even part of the

masterpiece we're trying to assemble if you You want answers. Start with the understanding that they're buried under mountains of things you don't need. So cut away. Cut away the people and places and things that convolut your story. Cut away the exhaustion of time that provides no value in return. Cut away the thoughts that make life more complex than your journey from where you are to where you'd like to be.

As you stand right now, you have everything you need and there's nothing greater than that, nothing more powerful than that understanding. So why not step outside the complexity that you've manufactured that you're living in into a world of clarity, simplicity, and capture what matters? What if those less than ideal things in our lives? So our limitations, our constraints, the aspects of life we consider to be a bad hand. What if they weren't just things we need to learn to accept or little tragedies we have to live with? What if they were ultimately the aspects of our lives that create the best of us?

the elements of our world that push us to our greatness. And this came to mind earlier. I was listening to a book called How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson. And he explores this point. He talks about Socrates and ancient Athens and how he lived in abject poverty, how according to the standards of ancient Athens, was not an attractive person by any means. just seemed to have a lot working against him.

And the question that's posed is whether these exact circumstances ultimately created the man that became one of the most important thinkers in history. He implies that his reality and his surrounding shaped his worldview, so it only makes sense for one to conclude that all of it contributed to the life he lived. If Socrates was born wealthy and attractive and all these things, could he have become the man that he became? Probably not. And the reason I love this is because, to put it simply,

it reframes those less than ideal circumstances in our lives. Whether it is a personal trait we have no control over or an occurrence we deal with. It's understanding that a lack of ability in one area helps guide us to that spot where we can thrive. A disappointment we encounter helps us regroup and make our way to the thing that is ultimately best.

The less than ideal, the things that at surface levels seem bad or problematic, they're always working for us to push us towards our contentment and our growth to our greatness. I can say on my end, it was the turbulence I experienced in my life that created that sense of curiosity for me. It was a lack of understanding that pushed me to write about life. Explore the hardships we face and the resilience of the human spirit through it all.

It's a pretty famous stoic idea that states, we can't often control what happens, but we can always control how we respond to what happens. And there lies the power and the understanding that when one door closes as the saying goes, you are pushed closer to the one that will open for you. You have to decide whether you will find it within yourself to open it. Or will you focus on the lack, the gap, what's not there, what you don't have, what went wrong. See, all those things, the things that most people use is their reason to stop or close. quit or not go.

They can be the reason you lose, or they can be the very reason you win. You find a way. But that means moving forward, trusting there is good to be had, understanding that everything that goes creates space for what truly needs to be there. I understand it's common, right? But it's not just a cliche that adversity creates us, that difficult times shape us. Why? Because we are transformed by the bad and the difficult and that which in the moment does not seem ideal. Because they force us to move further into what we were meant to do and who we were meant to be.

Just like Socrates was created from his adverse situation, his brilliance derived from his circumstance. your greatness will be derived from yours. So remember that next time you feel as though you've been slighted by life or something's been taken away from you. While it may feel negative and I get it from time to time it does, it ultimately becomes the wind at your back bringing you where you most need. A good plan violently executed.

currently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. That's from George Patton, General in the United States Army, integral to the Allies victory in World War II. So why? What makes this statement so powerful? Well, it rings true because we have to move beyond the idea that we can manufacture greatness with one swing of the bat. stroke of the pen.

That if we wait for the right moment, perfection will come. The light will turn green. The stars will align and the path will emerge. I feel like I could scream this from every mountain top and it wouldn't be enough. Life is not a perfection game. Life is an adjustment game. And I'll speak anecdotally here. In my experience, looking over my shoulder,

reflecting, you know, those times that I'd clung to perfection, rationalizing my immobility by saying, hey, you're not ready, this isn't good enough. I'd only have to dig a few layers down to see that my not moving wasn't out of some loyalty to excellence. No, I was standing still because of fear, a fear of going, of starting, a fear of the unknown. Perfection is the biggest con there is.

It's a scam. It says, wait here. Your perfect moment will arrive. Hang tight. The right time is coming. No, there are no perfect beginnings. There's merely the courage to move into something new or the regret that will ultimately come from wishing that you did.

And sure, a part of it's almost counterintuitive. It's like, why isn't it beneficial to wait? Why would you want to take the leap before you're ready? Here's how I see it. One of the most important distinctions to understand is that between the thinker and the doer. The thinker who ponderes, who reflects, who studies and studies and studies, thinking he or she can create for him or herself a perfect jump-off point, thinking they can obtain for themselves all the necessary information,

all the answers before they begin the jump-off point. journey. The truth is, greatness is forged through repetition via wheels on the road, and yes, you are terrible at first, completely unsure at first. You get lost at first. But this becomes the knowledge that shapes the journey. When you go before you're ready, two important things happen. First, after falling down and feeling embarrassed and insecure, you get back up, you look around and you go, wow, okay, I'm still here. That sucked, sure, but it wasn't as bad as my brain told me it would be. Next, you learn from the exchange. You can start doubling down on what works and eliminating what doesn't. And eventually, as you take this confidence and wisdom onto the

next step repeatedly, the curve becomes exponential. In doing, you begin stacking bricks, creating a foundation. Those experiences that humbled you become what you lean on. They're what turn into the experience, the knowledge, the credibility. And see, thinking you can skip all that ugly stuff by waiting on the ledge for perfection to arrive in your hands, that will be your undoing. That's just as crazy as a sailboat waiting for the wind to stop. It's like, no, you need that friction, that resistance to reach your destination. And no, we cannot control everything. Yes, there are powers beyond us.

But if you go now, you learn to use and navigate them. The greatest gift we can give ourselves is permission to go. It's looking a year ahead and dreaming of the moment. We pause and say, wow, what a year, the twists and turns, the lessons, the highs, the lows, the peak moments all brought me here. And how different here is from back there. How far I've come. Knowing, by the way, that life was never asking me for perfection, but rather a willingness to start, to dive in, to adapt along the way. I know a lot of people with businesses that exist in their minds, but not in reality. A lot of people in shape when they close their eyes, but not when they look in the mirror.

A lot of people living their best lives when talking about the future, but not when they pull up to work on a Monday morning. We shorten the gap between our ideal existence and the present moment by going, by stepping now. even when we can't imagine how the process will unfold. Because let me tell you, life will bend and twist in ways you can't even fathom. It'll take you places that ignite your soul, show you things you never dreamt of seeing, but you have to put yourself in position to receive that from life. The world wants to help people who help themselves.

So give yourself the gift of progress. Of momentum, if a dream is only worth the action one is willing to take to bring it to life, let that action start now. Move beyond the illusion of perfection and towards the opportunity to take the imperfect every single day and transform it into greatness. Every time your mind says you're not ready, let that be your invitation to step forward. See, life may not be a race, but that doesn't mean time will politely wait for you. We must say goodbye to perfection as we evolve, as we grow.

I can guarantee you it won't be missed. I saw a quote that read, people wait all week. People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer and all their lives for happiness. In many respects, waiting is what humans do. We wait to start or wait to stop, wait to go or wait to leave, we wait, and we wait, and we wait. And in doing so, fool not time but ourselves. That clock is going to tick away regardless of of the IOUs we write to it.

It will take those plans and dreams and ideas, and with its two hands, carry them away as part of the perpetual rhythmic march. See, one of the most dangerous words in our vocabulary is tomorrow. A concept, illusion, a hesitance that becomes oxygen to the eventual flame of regret. It becomes the stories we tell about what could have been if only tomorrow arrived a little sooner.

But the problem with waiting for tomorrow, as Jim Rohn has famously said, is that when it arrives, it's called today. Tomorrow is the box in which we place the things we've not yet found the courage to start. But I want you to be that courageous. I want you to take the shot, to step out, to create momentum, knowing that your journey will be one of imperfection. But imperfect is how everything valuable begins. Perfect, on the other hand. You know what's perfect?

Tomorrow is perfect. Ideas that never start, that contain no mistakes are perfect. Wishing is perfect. hoping is perfect. But capturing the beauty contained in today, that's not a perfection game. That's a willingness to start and adjust along the way. It's a commitment to begin now. So let's disarm tomorrow by making our magic today. By pointing directly at all those things, You've been worried or scared or intimidated by, and simply taking one step towards them.

Rather than waiting for life to push you forward, walk yourself there and let life react. Feeling stuck is a feature, not a bug. Having moments of doubt is a feature, not a bug. losing perspective from time to time is a feature not a bug there's no way to step out into the world and avoid these things therefore the question is not will these moments arise the question is when they inevitably do what will you make of them and i think that fork in the road is often very misunderstood how you look at the world around you is a

everything. Not because as the great Tony Robbins says, you close your eyes and chant. There's no weeds, there's no weeds, and they're suddenly gone from your garden, but because it's indicative of the choice we have. That when something happens, we don't always get to control how it unfolds before us, but we do get to choose what it means. And that's it. a simple decision. And you can see how it's just as easy to go one way as it is to go another. Citing another brilliant voice in this space,

Jim Rohn used to say something along the lines of success is easy. It's nothing more than a few simple decisions every day. Well, when asked why isn't everyone successful, he'd say, because being unsuccessful is easy too. Choosing not to do those things is easy too. Everything is about your decoder. The world provides the pieces, but it makes you the architect. And so, what are you building?

The ones who have had the greatest impact, designed beautiful change, added value to the world, they did it through chaos. Yet, those who are the angriest who've done, very little with the gifts allotted to them, they'll cite some variation of chaos for the reason they haven't succeeded. It's the lens, it's the decoder, it's the fork in the road,

and you choosing which direction you will take. If you're feeling trapped in a routine, you have, in some capacity, taken the pieces around you and created a story of limitation. You're forgetting that nothing is stopping you from trying something new today, taking a risk today, when you're feeling insufficient or like everyone around you has it all figured out, you've taken the pieces and created a story of imaginary adversaries.

This is not you versus the world, it is you versus you. This moment has given you a fresh start, a chance to find alignment with that which is meaningful to. One of my favorite metaphors, life is a staircase. where the chaos and the turbulence are ultimately there for you to tame and then move on to the next step. In fact, that's the only way we climb. The world will consist of challenges and one of the most important gifts we can give to ourselves is to remove the notion that we can just waltz on through with zero problems.

Having that as the benchmark sets us up for failure. There is no perfect path or perfect. suit. Instead ask, where is the value? When we fall, ask where is the value? How can I rise, grow, adjust? That's why perspective is everything. One man or woman's business failure is the reason he says, ah, I tried and talks about what could have been over beer with his buddies for the next decade. Another man or woman's failure is the reason she's able to pinpoint where the problems existed and come back stronger, wiser, armed with solutions. See, these aren't wildly different circumstances or initial occurrences.

What has occurred are wildly different interpretations, wildly different reactions. Trust me, I'm human. I get the instinct to point out at the world. to shake your fist at the sky, turn your back on the opportunity. But in truth, that's the only way to ensure values not obtained. There's a stoic anecdote about a teacher on a boat out at sea during a storm, and it's enormous, right? The waves are crashing over the side of the boat, rocking the boat back and forth.

And that teacher turns pale just like everyone else. He freezes in fear just... just like everyone else. The only difference is the teacher is not crying out or screaming. And the message here is that the initial reaction, that's human. It's human to feel anger, it's human to feel frustration, fear, doubt. The difference comes down to, can you pause? Can you collect yourself?

And instead of immersing yourself in the emotion, ask, what can I become from this? That is power. A relationship ended. Okay. How can I now plant a seed to greater fulfillment? The plan didn't work. Okay.

Why? What can I learn that will be advantageous on the next approach? I'm lost. I don't know what to do. Okay? Instead of thinking less, of yourself or the lack of knowledge, how about appreciating the fact

that you've established a foundation upon which a solution can now be sought? Losses do not exist so long as adversity is pointed out and transformed into value. And whether or not that happens is entirely up to you. When it hurts, there is value.

When you're down, there is value. There's always something so long as we learn to find it. And that's what will make all the difference. Adversity is not avoidable, but living right means knowing it can't be avoided because it's a requirement. It's from the chaos that calm and order and meaning and growth

and momentum are obtained. So even though you may be tempted to turn your back to run or cry out when the winds are strong strong and the waves come crashing down on your reality. Remember that you can not only withstand the disarray, but you can come out on the other side stronger. I was watching a masterclass by author Margaret Atwood. It was on storytelling and, you know, I knew going into it, it would be interesting. I'm not a particular fan of her work, at least from a content perspective. But look, we're talking about someone who's truly made a mark on the world.

There's a lot to be learned from her, so I buckled in and listened to what she had to say. And unsurprisingly, there was a lot of wisdom there. And there was one idea in particular that really resonated with me. Both as a writer, yeah, but also outside the quote-unquote, creative space, which I'll get to in a second. The idea was centered around finding the moment to begin. A story's true starting point. And it was interesting.

She said, you know, people think stories start on page one, but she'll pick up a book. And I don't remember if she was referencing new authors or maybe someone, a book just off the shelf at a bookstore. But she'll be reading it and she'll think, ah, okay, so this story really begins on page 10. That's the starting point. I think she even referenced her own writing process, being a few chapters in and thinking, ah, this needs to be the starting point. We've got to cut away the other stuff and move this up to page one. And, you know, understanding that's obviously important for those looking to entertain and captivate an audience, you need to give the reader

a reason to stick around. But I can also very easily draw a parallel from that to, you know, a bigger picture, our real world. All I could think about was, you know, what story are you telling yourself and where did it start? Or more importantly, has it even started? There's something both liberating and beautiful about the fact that all of us in the stories we are living could at any moment recreate that metaphorical first page. And I believe that with all my heart. Like we think, page one started years ago this is how things are now this is where I exist in life but what about the idea that beginnings don't have to start on page one what about the idea that you can cut away as much as necessary to create the right beginning

the story that feels right to you we don't know anything to the words that were written leading up to now we're not beholden to the chapters that came before Robin Sharma talks about the idea of killing your darlings, which is an old saying that refers to that very challenging task, writer's face, of cutting away the things that aren't absolutely essential to the story's main narrative. It's hard to do. We place value and importance on these things because they feel like a part of us. We feel like they're too significant to dismiss. But in reality, the act of letting go is ultimately a value add, because it ensures that what matters is what stays.

It's the ability to understand that the story doesn't begin when thoughts become words. It begins when there's alignment. When the story captivates, inspires, and in the one you're writing, the one that is your life, You can always make that moment right now. There's always a new novel that can be written with new objectives and characters and storylines. It's okay to chop anything that led to this moment. It's okay to create a beginning as you stand here today, right?

It's the idea of sunk costs that changed my life years ago. Just because you spent a long time making a mistake doesn't mean you need to continue making Just because you've been writing this story of your life for years doesn't mean the beginning is behind you. You can start this novel here. You can begin this epic adventure now. And I think there's tremendous power in looking at life like that. It's never too late for a new beginning. It's never wrong or impossible to, even at chapter 4, put your finger down on a new starting point.

and say, this is where it all begins. Where the new ideal takes shape. We are all authors. And if authors have anything, it's control over the narrative. It's the ability to design a world that aligns with the one they imagine. We spend a lot of time and we exhaust a lot of effort looking for that so-called edge.

Capturing the little changes or advantages that value and ultimately pushes closer to where we want to be. Right, these so-called life hacks are everywhere from, you name it, reshuffling daily tasks to activities, you know, exercises that enhance our performance, food, supplements, apps. The list goes on and on, and I'm speaking broadly here intentionally because that, quote, unquote, edge could mean a million different things to a million different people. obviously tremendous value there in finding ways to become better, faster, and stronger. But why this topic excites me, and what I'm specifically looking forward to exploring is what I believe to be the most important advantage there is.

And that's consistency. Consistency, the unsexy, unremarkable answer. But you can always distill everything else down into that simple art of showing up, being there every day. To me, that begins at all. That will always be the foundation we build everything on. Over time, it becomes the reason you win or you lose. And I believe that wholeheartedly. Nothing matters if you aren't locked in and repeatedly making the daily effort.

No pill is going to make you a starting point guard or a stellar performance. former work or you know an amazing parent that's dedicated concentrated consistent effort a metaphor I like that demonstrates this process to me is trying to get fit right whether you run or go to the gym whatever it is it's much easier to stay home and take creatine protein supplements than to actually show up to the gym every day than to actually put in the miles every day, right? But without showing up, all that other stuff is meaningless. And that's the heart of what I'm getting at. It's the lifting that's transformative.

Everything else is supplemental. It's even in the term, right? Supplements. Now, is this obvious? Sure. But man, do we forget the obvious? And there is a hefty price for doing so. It's like, yeah, we should look for advantages along the way. And this becomes more and more relevant, you know, the longer we've been immersed in the process. Those little details mean more and more, but they never mean more than having a goal and committing to it every single day. Never forget that. Showing up is power. There's a few quotes I like by James Clear, who's considered by many to be in half.

expert on habit building that hammer down on the power of consistency. He says, improving by 1% isn't particularly notable. Sometimes it isn't even noticeable, but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. It goes on to say, if you can get 1% better each day for one year, you'll end up being 37 times better by the time you're done. And I think that's what gets me. Right, that line 1% better every day means 37 times better in a year. Nothing can replicate that. There are no shortcuts to arrive at that type of progress or growth. None.

And sure, the environment can change. There are times where the landscape shifts right under your feet. You have to reach further outside your comfort zone than you ever have. But that's still a product of your commitment to improve every single day. The context changes. The details change, but you still show up. 1% is essentially a rhythm. It's automated.

It says just like breathing air and drinking water, this is what I do. A dollar in the bank every day. What you're doing is giving life to a compound effect that will change everything. In my world, my showing up is every day, how do I become a little bit better at storytelling? How do I refine that intersection of, personal development and entertainment so that, you know, we can enjoy and get the most out of the journey. How do I make this brand matter a little more, mean a little more, be a little more effective?

That's my Super Bowl every day. And funny story, I was driving this morning, listening to a podcast about AI. Everyone seems to be talking about AI right now and for a good reason. I heard one of the guests say that in 10 years, there will be two days. types of businesses, those that successfully leverage AI and those that failed that are no longer in existence. It's a hypothesis, obviously, but it's eye-opening. AI is going to change everything.

And I had to check my initial instinct that was honestly, oh, here we go, right? Another way for people to cut corners and cheat. And I had to pause and think about it. Like, that's just a terrible way to look at a new tech. That's a scarcity mindset. Instead, think about the opportunity. Remind yourself that you show up every day with the same mission and the same goal. You'll earn that 1% every day, and this is just another supplement to your growth.

Utilize correctly, at least in the current moment, this is way protein or creatine for your lifting at the gym. So leverage it, right? That's all. Same with any new technology. technology. And there was comfort there. There was comfort in looking back at thinking, look at all the previous technology, it's evolution. Look at the social platforms. How we interact now. Through it all, the changes, the highs, lows, ups and downs, you showed up. You held on to that North Star and over and over again made necessary adjustments. That commitment

has been everything. YouTube's algorithm changes. did not kill me. It ended up making me a better storyteller, writer, speaker. COVID, you know, pushing my live speaking engagements aside for a while, causing me to further digitize my business model. That didn't hurt me. It made the brand bigger. Short-form content.

Blasting off onto the scene, TikToks, IG Reels. That didn't hurt me. It forced me to be smarter and more thoughtful about how to integrate short-term content. short-term content into my long-form content, how to make them work together, it ended up being an advantage. Right, the bottom line being when you are consistent, when you show up for your thing no matter what, no matter what changes are occurring, no matter what's happening externally, when you're there for your mission, that allows you to make whatever little changes need to be made along the way. Being there for yourself, committing to the twists and turns is everything.

And it may be extreme to say, especially in such a rapidly changing environment right now, but my mentality is who cares? Who cares about all the detail and the minutiaa and the externality? Who cares? You know what matters. You know what you're here to do. So keep that front and center. Simplicity being the ultimate sophistication doesn't get simpler.

Show up. Never let that 1% that James Clear talks about out of your sight. And then make the adjustments as necessary. Integrate the life hacks and the tech evolutions. Fighting for that 1% every single day becomes 37 times better in a year. Think about how powerful that is. Let the world argue over this and that. Let them be on this path versus that path.

Your strength is entrusting yourself to adjust along the way. But knowing that through it all, you will be there every morning when the sun comes up, the light moves through your window, you'll wake up committed to being a little better than you were yesterday. And that's why through it all, the turbulence, the highs, the lows, the ups and the downs, you will still be standing there ready for whatever comes next. Promise yourself. Not that you'll know everything, but that you will continue forward when you don't.

Promise yourself, not that you'll avoid pain, but that you'll find meaning in pain as it rises, that you'll use it to shape your destiny like fire forging metal. Promise yourself not that you'll remain undefeated, but that you will transform amidst defeat like a phoenix rising from the ashes. We're often inclined to look around and see the current state as a reflection of our abilities and our potential. But right now is merely a culmination. of decisions made up to this point.

Just because the map you've been following has led you to a dead end, doesn't mean the world consists only of dead ends. Separate yourself from the walls around you. Separate the map you've been following from the world's landscape in totality. Let's look at not what has occurred, but what's possible. Let's understand that we all face dead ends.

We all find ourselves amidst disappointing outcomes. Times we've fallen short. This is not a you thing. This is a human thing. This is a life thing. And so here's the question. Are you going to look around and say, this failure is me?

This is who I am. Are you going to understand that life is ups and downs? And the ones who win, who truly live, Don't define themselves by their difficult times. No, they depersonalize and leverage that adversity. Those who make it out do so because they saw themselves not synonymous with the valley of despair as they trudged through. They saw themselves as passers-by strong enough to climb out,

destined for higher peaks. That past, it is not you. Remind yourself of that, say it out loud if you have to, you are your very next step. You're the road untravelled. You're the summits to be reached and the stories to be told. And yeah, you won't have all the answers, but they're not required to press on. You won't always be pain free, but it's from that pain you'll find your wisdom and your strength. And of course you won't always win, but every defeat brings you a little closer to what matters.

Just as that Phoenix rises from the ashes, you too will transcend that which has fallen around you. You too will rise above what is in pursuit of what will be. Just promise yourself. Not that you'll be perfect, not that you'll always be right. but that you'll have the courage to evolve even when you're not.