Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Are you strong enough? DON'T LET YOUR MIND LIE TO YOU

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

"Don't wish it were easier. Wish you were better." - Jim Rohn Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube  Are you ready to unlock your full potential and take your life to the next level? In this episode of the podcast, Eddie Pinero delivers a powerful motivational message that will inspire you to push past your limits and redefine what's possible. Discover the mindset shifts and daily habits that can transform your life. Tune in to fuel your journey towards excellence and become the best version of yourself. Your time is now!

Before we begin, I want to thank the sponsor of today's episode, Pro Compression. Coined the best compression socks you'll ever wear, they're a big part of my running, my lifting, as well as my recovery. For those unfamiliar with compression socks and the value that they bring to your fitness journey, you know, they're known for a few things. One, alleviating swelling and soreness after a workout, boosting blood flow, energy, and also enhancing performance and recovery. So being as into fitness as I am, become a big part of my routine, and I'm happy to pass that along to you guys.

I've teamed up with them. They're currently offering 40% off their entire website. If you use the code EP40, the website is pro-compression.com. And again, the code is EP40. You are always stronger than you think you are. So last month, I was at a Genius Network meeting, and I got to see up close and personal

as Joe Polish interviewed Kimberly Shannon Murphy about her book, Glimmer. It's one of the most powerful conversations I've ever heard. Her book's an autobiography about Kimberly, who's a stunt woman, among other things now in Hollywood, rehashing the pain and abuse she endured as a child, and really pain her whole family. endured because of her grandfather, who is not a good human, to say the least, whatever you're

imagining in your mind, it's worse than that, right? I'll leave it there. And I watched for about an hour as she delved into the pain and how it bled into, you know, so much of her adult life. It was a suffering she spent seemingly her entire youth trying to escape, trying to free yourself from. Again, front row, you can see the emotion in her face, her eyes as she's reliving it. You know, as a spectator, it was truly inspirational. Which brought me to this thought. What are the odds? What are the odds after everything she's endured? Everything. That she was not devoured by the the monster that is her past. Or even worse, a continuation of it.

She instead found it within herself to be the antithesis of that evil. To say never again. No, not in my life. Not in my world, not for my family, not for my daughter. And once my mind went there, it was really all I could think, right? that this person, only a few feet away from me,

found the courage to not only rise above her pain, but to turn it into something beautiful. Now, I'm assuming there are a million different takeaways from her story, right? And I'm sure those who are victims themselves of childhood abuse will receive it in an even more powerful light. But for me, the message was a giant spotlight turned towards the internal. A reminder of just how strong we are and the power we have over the hand that we're dealt.

Even when life feels helpless, hopeless and pointless, that reminder that we always have fight in us. You know, I've been in situations where I've looked in the mirror and asked the question, you know, what the hell do I do next? You know, when you feel like you're suffocating. And sometimes it's simply the stories of others that remind us when we are drowning in darkness, that it may just be that we are the light

that somewhere deep down in the depths of our soul, there exists a glimmer of hope. enough, just enough momentum to get you through one day, onto another, onto another, until you rise from the ashes and find yourself recreated, remade. You know, one of my favorite ideas is that the wake of the boat does not drive the boat. The wake is gone. It's history. Where you go next comes down to whoever's holding the wheel,

and you might hear that anecdote and think, okay. You know, surface level, I get it. but easier said than done. I can point in my life to so many times that just the understanding, just the realization that I'm not tied to yesterday,

that I can break free of what was, that I'm not defined by it, that exact realization encouraged me and pushed me to step out and find an evolved version of myself. Sometimes just understanding that a different reality exists is enough.

And so, you know, after being lucky enough to hear Kimberly's message, you know, that's the idea that I want to pass on to you. You are not tied to what was. You're strong enough to not only discontinue the patterns and the narratives of yesterday, but to grow beyond their shadow and gift the world their inverse, their opposite. Not only can you find the solution, you can become the solution. When you look to your left and you look to your right and you think, impossible, this is too much, it's too big, all of this is just beyond me,

I need you to remember everything you need you have. Remember that inside you right now, even though you won't be able to see the whole picture or how every single piece fits together, that in this moment exists enough light to chart your course. Even, as Kimberly would say, if it's just a glimmer. I want to share a theme with you that continuously reemerges in my life. And every time it does, I'm grateful. I'm a little bolder, a little wiser, a little more grounded.

The idea is simple. It's creating a low barrier to entry. Let me explain what I mean. The other day I was on a call with Ashley. It was a brilliant member of the team here. And we're talking about social media. And as we're talking, I'm going on and on about the end state, how I think things should in a perfect world be with our platforms and the output. And it's important to know for this particular project, we're kind of on the ground floor, right?

So in reality, I couldn't possibly know what the end state's going to be. There's a lot of epiphanies to be had. There's twists in terms that I couldn't possibly anticipate. I think it's great to have a North Star in a vision, obviously. But winning in the long run requires observation and reflection and adjustment and on and on. So as I'm speaking, you know, she's listening, nodding her head, you know, agreeing with the vision. But after some thoughts as well, why don't we just start with what we have now, right? Keep the barrier of entry low so that there's less friction and we can start seeing how, you know, things evolve.

And I thought that was just incredible, right? That's what I temporarily lost in the moment for sure. you win by going and then evolving. So many would-be amazing pursuits were never started because, you know, we make initiating them too complex. Same thing happened on another call that same day. I'm talking to Tyler, a business partner for another project coming around the corner.

And, you know, I'm sending them videos, talking about ideas for rollout, different avenues we could take, which again, it's great. It's better to have a large vision and trim it down than no vision at all, but the convo is the same. You know, Ed, I love it. It's great.

But what if we start with one thing, though? One idea. Let's get the gears turning. That needed to be the theme for the day, and I appreciated it, right? So a few thoughts. One, surround yourself with sharp people like Ashley and Tyler that keep you grounded,

but two, and perhaps the main point, stop creating friction for yourself when you're beginning new things. I've talked about this in different contexts, you know, and I've hammered it into my day-to-day in many ways, right? Like if I'm going on a run, you know, I have the running stuff by the door and ready to go with a glass of water the night before so that when I wake up, the process feels so easy that to not go would seem stupid.

But life is complex, and so are we. It was a great reminder that your handle on something in one area of life doesn't mean you'll implement it across the board. And I was grateful for that reminder, it was what I needed at that time, right? The reminder that winning is going. Winning is beginning. Because you're immersing yourself in the process and you're acclimating to it. You're seeing what works and what doesn't. You're growing, as opposed to taking an extra three months to put into place parameters that will probably change. anyway. One of my favorite mantras is simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Powerful, but sometimes elusive. But if you can keep it front and center, it adds immense value to your life. The most powerful thing you can do is have a general sense of direction and go now with what you have. Ashley and I will change our social media tactics many, many times in the future because we're collecting data and we're moving forward. Tyler and I will approach our venture in probably countless ways. Because we're not in love with a particular strategy, we're in love with the end goal. And perhaps you, in your world, are at a point where you're seeking to initiate something new. And you're playing with the pros and cons, you're listing ideas in your head. Categorizing details and nuance that, sure, it seems important right now in this moment,

But will it forever? Right? My advice to you is to mitigate detail and instead place the value on finding the courage to begin now. Before you're ready, before you have all the answers, before you know how X, Y and Z is going to unfold. Mitigate the friction to such an extent that the pursuit feels like an ice hockey rink. You're sliding into whatever comes next. Never underestimate how powerful that is. powerful that is. And be reassured by the fact that in three months from now or a year from

now the journey won't look the same. You'll be better in execution and wiser in strategy because you simply created a low barrier to entry. You leveraged perhaps the most important ability you possess. You began. As long as I've been alive, there's existed a battle between what I want in the moment and what I need. And it transforms, it takes different shapes, but its impact is always felt. And so the question remains, in spite of the option to concede the temporary way out,

are we willing to endure the now for a beautiful forever, commit to that delayed gratification? Hold off just a little longer, do a little more. See, every time I hold the long, Every time I refuse to give in, the victory tends to be just a little sweeter. So what is this force keeping us from greatness, this invisible, unquantifiable adversary? Telling us to stop, to submit, to just accept things as they are.

Well, as Stephen Pressfield states in his book, The War of Art, this is resistance. The ego in disguise, it's the desire to stay the same. stay the same, pushing us away from the very action necessary to obtain what we truly want, not in the moment, but in our souls. Our true reason for being, after all progress is happiness. So we follow this train of thought. The next logical question must be, well, can we control this enemy? This resistance? As it turns out, not only is the answer yes, but one's ability to do Just that makes all the difference. We can harness that demon that lobby so hard for the status quo.

We can learn to laugh every time it throws a fit when we attempt to change ourselves, our situation, our environment. It can be told no. In fact, Pressfield states that people who live free lives have learned to master themselves. People that can't master themselves will find someone else to rule over them. whether it be excuses, critics, or other outside constraint. See, the key, the answer couldn't be simpler. It's not easy, but it's simple.

Show up. And as a writer, I really resonated with this, this line. The hardest part isn't writing. It's sitting down to write. It's arriving. And now life can flow through you. You're able to be that messenger that carries the divine so that it can be shared with the world distributed to the masses. But you must first say no to that voice proclaiming that it's not important.

That it doesn't matter. You must tear down the idea that you're not good enough. Walk up and sit in that metaphorical seat, whatever it is for you. begin speaking, writing, painting, analyzing, constructing, devising, but you must sit down and begin. That is the essence of the war of art. The war that is you versus you, that resistance, proclaiming that your next move is too little to matter, that the same is the best. But you have to see beyond what's in front of you.

It's why the author is so adamant about not giving in saying if you cave in today, you're twice as likely to cave in tomorrow. It's like talking to a telemarketer. You cave, you give an inch, and it's over. See those little decisions, the ones were so inclined to overlook, the ones we say, eh, we'll come back tomorrow, they're insignificant. That's essentially making a hole right through the center of a dam. Eventually, the entire thing is coming down.

But the good news, those same little decisions are within your grasp. You can own them, master them, and ultimately master yourself. Start by simply showing up when you don't want to because this is war. And this war, the one fought every day, is what will ultimately hand you the keys to the kingdom. Powerment is knowing that you have control of your life. that you create the expectations and you carry them out. Whether it be tomorrow, in a month, in a year, or even longer, it's knowing that the image in your head is the standard.

It's fact. Because when you leave the door open, when you leave the door to your ambitions cracked, even the smallest amount, the realities of the present moment, they find their way in and they create dissonance. They want you to see, they want you to be intimidated by the gap between what you have and what you want. And truly, the greatest gift I've ever given myself is to start every pursuit,

knowing that whatever I'm chasing, whatever it is I want to obtain, it will be reality. It's possible. Period. That's my starting point. All I have to do is connect the dots. No questions. Just steps. So there's a certainty that I possess as I move on to the next level. And as a creator, whether I'm creating for my YouTube channels, collaborations, clients, it doesn't really matter.

There's a common theme. And it's that the world can't see the image you have in your head until you complete it, upload it, share it, email the final result. You know what the outcome will be in a way that just can't be expressed or articulated. It can only be shown upon completion, and you must be the one to show it, by the way. The reason that's so significant is because there's no difference between making a film or realizing a dream. Either way, there's no rewards, there's no applause, there's no assurances until you're done. until you've crossed the finish line. Just like a client can only point to things they've seen as a reference point.

Well, the people around you, they only know the present moment. They only know how things are. And so it's borderline crazy to put those opinions on a pedestal, right? To absorb that criticism, to adhere to those rules. They navigate around the now, the present, not the future. not where you're going right who cares about the now you'll just be looking back at it as you make your way on to your next goal see all this circles back to those dots that need to be connected because the places you're going the things you're

becoming they require three things the understanding that all problems have solutions the certainty that you will find them and the persistence to power through That's all. That's the mentality that will put you in a position to do anything you want. It will empower you It's not that the people around you are dumb or that the world wants you to fail. It's just that placing your fate in their hands is meaningless to discount your dream based on how things are or the opinion of someone else is like a pilot worrying about airspace. He's already flown through Or asking the random dude in seat 22B to fly the plane, right? They are passengers on the journey, a journey that is worth the climb, that will be rewarding, that is waiting, but you have to be the one to see it. And you have to see it before the world does.

You have to believe it before anyone else will. Because you'll build brick by brick on a foundation that the rest of the world would simply walk right by. Why? Because right now it's not a skyscraper with a beautiful architecture, 50 floors and an incredible view. Right now it's an ordinary plot of land that no one would think twice about. So remember, yes, it's possible. Yes, there is a way. And when we focus on the vision and connecting the dot in front of you, the world opens up. Be your own biggest fan.

Learn to cherish the sound of your own applause because that is always what must come first. You were made to rise. To take your pain and convert it to purpose. To take your struggle and transform it into meaning. In a world of concession of self-sabotage and defeat, You were made to rise. And so it's critical that you look around where you are now and adjust your lens. It's critical that you see the present moment, not as an ending, the culmination of wrong turns or broken plans, but as the beginning of what all that will be turned into.

This start of the next chapter, a new road, because you were made to rise. Life has an interesting way of not pushing us to be more until our backs are against the wall, until we've fallen or found ourselves where we don't belong, but it's down in the ashes that were presented this blessing, that we're going to be. given the chance to be more than we've ever been. You weren't made to look around and call this diminished reality home. No, you were made to rise. Life is about decisions, what to accept and what to cut away,

and it's in our moments of distress, we must find our calm. When we feel low that we must remember the high heights were capable of obtaining. Look, our greatest invitations, they often feel like defeat, like hopelessness, but see beyond that narrative. Look in the mirror and know that what looks back at you isn't the problem. It's the reason you'll succeed. Someday you'll see the present as the moment that made you, the days that shaped you, just as a sculptor arrives at his masterpiece. So stand up, brush yourself off and look up because that is where you're going. Now is where it begins.

You weren't made to accept what is. You were made to rise. One of my favorite quotes is sometimes success is simply hanging on when others would be letting go. The reason is that it reminds me how frequently the advantage is in not stopping. It's in consistency. It's in showing up. When I run particularly long distances, almost like clockwork I can break it down to feeling good at the beginning.

Usually a little rough stretch in the middle and then somewhere on the second half, I can I catch a second wind or a second blast of energy. The question just becomes when? Will you hang in long enough to capture it? Because you don't know when it might be, where it will show up, you don't know when you'll find that nice rhythm again that makes the sport so enjoyable to me. And when I say, you can pull an infinite amount of life lessons from running,

this is one of them. That depiction of trusting that the road ahead has everything you need to cross your finish line. Even when the short-term chaos is all you can see and feel, even when it's hard to look up and imagine. Because it's easier said than done when you're tired and worn down to continue on, right? When you're in the trenches.

There's an uncertainty to the road ahead, but each footstep is a shot on target. Each step forward is saying, I'm worn down, but I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. And life can present an almost eerily similar narrative, right? Whether personally you're at a low point, whether you've been working and working and working and haven't seen the result you're looking for, whether you're uncomfortable and starting to wonder whether this reward is really worth the high price tag.

You need to remember that second win, that second blast of energy, just enough. momentum to ease your worry and recalibrate your journey it's there it's waiting but you know the rules of life it won't come to you you must go to it through the storm into the night beyond the comforts of home most sadly don't arrive not because they couldn't but because they ultimately let go they looked too far down the road at the distance to be traveled and forgot that their only job was to hold on through the doubt, the pain, the worry, no miracle, just a willingness to fight each battle as it presented itself, to let time stack up, to let the distance over your shoulder

accumulate. See, the thing about stopping is that you never know when that much-needed second wind will arrive. There's a saying that many of life's failures had no clue how close they were to success when they gave up, when they turned around. Now I'm not suggesting the road will be perfect, or that it won't come with its adversity, mistakes, and lessons. But what we always have control over is the ability to push forward until we finally come face to face with that which we so desperately needed, it's there. I could say it a million times and it wouldn't be enough.

The pieces exist. Will you hang in long enough to collect them? When the road is intimidating, will you hold on? When you run into those moments of self-doubt, will you hold on? When you feel small, navigating the ups and downs of life, will you hold on? Because if the answer is yes, you'll find yourself crossing some finish lines that will blow your mind.

You'll get from life that which most can only dream of. And again, not because of the miraculous, but because you knew that the second wind was coming, you knew it would be there for you so long as you kept moving forward. Holding on when most would be letting go. Standing at the edge of the pond, looking down at my reflection, I asked the man looking back at me if he was willing to make a deal. What kind, he asked, seemingly intrigued. Well, I need you to be there. See, I have big plans and big aspirations, and sometimes things get really hard.

Sometimes I feel lost and confused and overwhelmed, and I need you to be there. I need to know you'll always be. I see, he said, eyes shifting up towards the sky as he thought through my request. This is doable, but I'll need something of you in return. Of course, I responded. Anything. Okay. you replied, do I have your word that when you fall, that when you don't succeed, you'll get up until you do?

Yes, you have my word, I replied. Do I have your word, he asked, that when you're lost, when the world shakes beneath you, you will continue on until you find steady ground. Yes, you have my word. Do I have your word that when you feel life's resistance like wind pressing against you with all its might, you'll keep pushing into it, not hoping it gets weaker, but knowing you'll get stronger. Yes, I said for a third time, you have my word. Then I'll be there. I'll be there every step of the way.

I'll be your biggest fan I'll have your back when you feel alone I'll remind you how strong you are when you feel weak I will point to the upside when you have a hard time seeing it but you have to keep moving forward that's your end of the bargain I'll open those doors for you I'll be your light in darkness but listen to me

me. It will all be in vain if your feet are not continuously in motion. It will all be for not if you don't, regardless of what life throws at you, commit to carrying on. So for the last time, look me in the eyes and promise me, promise me that you will not stop. Yes, you have my word, I said, then my friend, we have a deal, and I will be there for you always. 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 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. Sitting by herself kind of sulking, reminiscing,

building a little replica of her old home in the snow that was on the ground as 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 Baylish. 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.

See, life is this interesting cycle of dying and being born again. Of leaving old things behind in order to build anew. 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. 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 It's 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, Sonsa was so adamant about it, at the expense of the infinite abundance and opportunity that's out there. It's worth noting that the phoenix does not dissonance, 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 to South Florida. And then again, when I changed how I positioned myself, how I thought of myself in the world, and again and again, and a multitude of time 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 possibility is left on the shelf. It hurts far less than equating your life now to what's been taken away or loss. 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.

If you want to feel more connected to humanity and a little less alone, listen to Beautiful Anonymous. Each week, I take a phone call from one, random anonymous human being. There's over 400 episodes in our back catalog. You get to feel connected to all these different people all over the world. Recent episodes include one where a lady survived a murder attempt by her own son. But then the week before that, we just talked about Star Trek.

It can be anything. It's unpredictable. It's raw. It's real. Get Beautiful Anonymous wherever you listen to podcasts. The Rose said that most men lead lives of quiet desperation. and go to the grave with the song still in. Probably an astute observation,

as most death is potential put to rest. Most stories were stories about what could have been, perhaps simply because it's easier on the ego to talk about what life could have looked like if you cared enough to shape it than to have actually put skin in the game and fallen short. But there lies the misconception. To step into life's chaos with the hopes of taming it is why we're here.

And yeah, obviously it hurts to fail. It hurts to be vulnerable, to put yourself out there, especially when it seems as though all eyes are. on you. But that hurt is a fraction of the hurt the road describes. Falling hurts, but it hurts less than wishing you had the courage to fall. Ridicule, it hurts. But it hurts less than being the one on the sidelines, pointing the finger and simultaneously longing for the courage to take action in their own life. What keeps us from going?

What keeps us from building? We know life is short. We know regret is the ultimate pain. We know how much opportunity is out there. So why? Why would we not go? Why would we designate dreaming to sleep? In his famous man in the arena speech, Teddy Roosevelt said this.

It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again because there is no effort without error or shortcoming. But who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause,

who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at worst if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat. No one who is content in their own life will go out of their way to bring you now. There was never a critic deeply immersed in their own journey who took the time to mock or scoff at the man in the arena. I think our fear is pointed in the wrong direction. It shouldn't be concentrated on or focused on the opinions of those who have not yet themselves walked through those doors. No, the fear should be letting life go by without ourselves walking through.

The fear should be contributing to thorough statistic of quiet desperation. The one most men face. But you are not most men face. most men or most women. Not because you were given some special power or status, but because you decided. You can choose not to be like most people. Basic math, taking into account the number of people in the stands

versus the number of people on the stage or court or in the arena, well, it tells a tale of courage. Anyone can sit in the stands. Anyone can. Anyone can from the nosebleeds decide whether to clap or point or boo or cheer. But who suits up and enters the game? Who looks at the finitude of life and says, this is my reason to start building, to put it all on the line? Because if I fail, it will mean I was one of the few who looked around and said,

this isn't bigger than I am. This world is not predefined. It's being built in real time by those willing to walk through the doors and step into the arena. Not the critics, but the doers. And look, everyone has a thing, right? I don't know what that thing is for you,

but you do. You probably think about it all the time. Dream about it every day. You probably know it's where your heart is pulling you. Do not let your life become a statistic. Don't you dare go to that graveyard having been someone who held on tighter to excuses than to what mattered most in your life. So go.

Step into the arena and if they point, let them point. If they criticize, let them criticize. your concern isn't with those wishing they had the courage to step through those doors themselves. It's not about them, it's about you. It's about understanding the beauty and the opportunity and the freedom contained in life. It's for those who find the courage to reach out and take it. You don't have to be perfect. You have to persevere.

And they are wildly different. One is a limiting belief that because things are not exactly how you'd like them to be, you've lost. And the other says, look, things will never be exactly how you'd like them to be. So buckle up and make art of the chaos. There's something to the notion that the last one standing gets the prize. Why? Well, because when life presented obstacles, he became a capable navigator. When life became convoluted, she learned to break complex things down into manageable things. When life indicated that his work wasn't enough, he learned not to take it personally,

but rather to evolve. The rest of them though. The rest of them went home, disappointed that they didn't meet some standard of perfection. Look, you don't have to be perfect, but you do have to be in motion. You do have to be going. It's amazing what we find when our feet are moving. It's incredible what we think of when presented with new stimuli. As if the castle doors have been opened, been opened, inviting in the little pieces of life that will be made into new stories and

transformed into new possibilities. Imperfect brilliance. So how does one win? Well, he scoffs at the idea of perfection and stumbles instead into meaning. It's token, not all who wander are lost. Life is an experiment. In my friend's experiments cannot be perfect. So who wins the game of life? Perhaps it's the one who can find out what not to do the fastest. See, to persevere is to stand, to move forward, to see your current ignorance as currency that will be used to acquire knowledge.

As the saying goes, sometimes life is merely about hanging on when others would be letting go. No, not living in a flawless world. No, performing, no miracles, but fighting, scrapping, holding on, being willing to fail spectacularly and get back up. Those are the occurrences, the stories worth remember. So why is life a courage game? It's a courage game because getting what you've never had means doing what you've never done. And doing what you've never done,

well, cue the circus music. It isn't always beautiful. At least not until we're able to look back. And when that time come, and you smile and reflect on the journey the change you've created, I guarantee it won't be because you're going to be because, you minimized the bumps and the bruises along the way. It won't be because you were afraid to scrape your knees.

It will be because in a world of no, you said yes. In a world where people are afraid to feel flawed, to appear ignorant or unsure, you stepped into the chaos and made something out of it. Door number one, perfection. The door of no mistakes, of minimal criticism, but minimal growth. Door number two, the door of perseverance, the door of humility, vulnerability. Yeah, chaos, but also upside.

And so the question remains, which one will you walk through? Which step is going to mark the beginning of the rest of your life? A word we throw around all the time is difficult. How difficult will the journey be? How hard is it going to be to succeed? This is more or less asking, is a desirable outcome likely? We're asking if it's worth our time. Right? If something's difficult, we associate that with the low probability of success.

But that's not the right way. way of looking at it. If you want something enough, difficult becomes your best friend. It's your greatest asset. And this is one, because of the growth that comes with it, but two, because very few people are willing to chase it down. The reality is most people are average. And that's just looking at the definition of the word. Right? If everyone was great, greatness wouldn't mean anything. There's something special about it. It's unique. It sets people apart. We just generally live amongst people, places, and expectations that make up everything we know. That's our normal.

That's our box. But what's particularly interesting is that the people we celebrate, the accomplishments we admire, they go far beyond this sort of confined view of the world. So where is the line? Something's weird, it's abnormal, it's looked down upon until suddenly it's not. You snap your finger and it's cherished. That guitar player practicing 15 hours a day, it's lame, they don't have a real job, they're not contributing anything to society, and then here she puts out an album that revolutionizes music and they're a hero. The whole thought process is counterintuitive, and that's why the words difficult and great are so closely related.

Not because it's physically stressful, but because great comes with a hefty mental price tag. Difficult means you are consistently doing what the average, normal, and unspectacular deemed to be too great a sacrifice. They're not asking if it can be done. They're not asking if it's possible. What they are really asking, what they want to know is if they have to break through everyday normality to achieve a result. Do we have to make ourselves uncomfortable? Do we have to give more than we normally would? Do we have to be better than we were yesterday?

If that answer is yes, the vast majority say thank you, but no thank you. And that's where defining opportunities open up. Great means you had the desire to set yourself apart. Difficult means you have the dedication and the drive to do the little things no one else wanted to do. There is nothing miraculous about greatness. It is not divine. It is not incredible. It's simply seeing the word difficult as a staircase instead of a brick wall.

It means you get the opportunity to both give more of yourself and get more from the world. It is your secret door, your passageway. If the incremental progress, the growth and the sacrifice are worth the prize, easy, difficult, and everything in between fades away. The only thing worth the second of your time is making sure that every step you take point you in the direction of where you want to be most. Today is not an obligation. Today is a gift.

Why is it important that this distinction comes through loud and clear? Because the same action can differ wildly depending on what brought it about. Was it an order or a choice? Were we told or did we arrive there ourselves? And we know this innately from a child being told to go to his or her room for punishment, that place where they'd gladly be, if it wasn't being mandated by angry parents.

When we're instructed, being told to, mandated, when we're doing something because we have to, We process this differently than a choice or a conclusion we came to on our own. We think about it differently when it's something we get to do. When I talk about transformative perspective shifts, this was one for me, going from what's expected of me. How do I not mess this up? What would make me look like the person I'm supposed to look like? To instead understanding that, listen, today is a gift and I'll never get it back.

a series of opportunities and decisions, a choose your own ending story waiting for me every day as the sun comes up in my eyes open. To me, the difference is more than semantics. The difference is between feeling free and going into autopilot so that I mitigate mistakes and blend in. That's not freedom.

That's becoming a prisoner of your own making. You can walk the same road and see it, differently every time. You can take in the same event and come away with very different interpretations of it. All depending on the role you chose to give yourself as you walked down the path or peered in at the event. Were you the hero in the story or an extra? Someone who capitalizes on all to be or someone who hides from the fear that they might misstep. Obligations are about minimizing risk and doing what is merely required. An opportunity, on the other hand, asks, what more could you do with what you have?

How could you take what you love and multiply it? How could you capture your inspiration and delve further into it? The one living out of obligation will always find the problems in the next. But the one who knows they have in their midst the greatest winning lottery ticket of all time, well, they'd be foolish not to cash it in. And so look, you might be going through some problems, as we all do. You might have your challenges and your struggles. They're unavoidable.

But these are part of a greater narrative. They're what will build you up and push you for. push you forward as you move deeper into the miracle that is your life. And that's the difference. The first step in being able to capture the opportunity is understanding that you are living in one. Life is not obligatory. It is a giant get to.

And when you realize that, you are truly...