Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - BECOME A MONSTER | Motivational Speech

Episode Date: May 3, 2024

"If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering." - Viktor Frankl Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube  Join Eddie Pinero in this empowering podcast episode as he addresses the challenges of feeling alone on your journey. Despite all odds and reminders of potential setbacks, learn to face fears head-on and never back down. With each step forward, discover the strength to defy expectations and embrace your true potential. Get ready to be inspired to persevere through adversity and forge your own path to success.

When it matters most, when the odds are against me when precedent says no, there I will be. When the right path happens to be the lonely path, and victory is separated by a drop 1 million feet deep or a cliff 2 million feet high, there I will be. When they expect failure, anticipate, defeat, celebrate, celebrate each setback, there I will be Standing tall and ready When there appears no way in When my demons push me out When my senses advocate retreat

And the path forward is cloaked in doubt There I will be Standing tall tall and ready. When I feel alone in my pursuit of tomorrow or tempted by the comfort of yesterday, when pride whispers of their relentless criticism and my legs cry out in exhaustion, there I will be standing tall and ready. When hell rains down, when faith lets up, when my reason for beginning is replaced by a million,

reminders of all that can go wrong. There I will be standing tall and ready. When the sky looks like a ceiling, when the floor feels like home, when every light dims and every fear illuminates, when eyes roll and doors lock, when the sun submits, the clouds emerge, gravity flexes and my knees tremble,

there I will be. Never will I back down. Never will I cower. I cower or settle for the present when our future is limitless. I will get back up until I've made my point, won my battle, secured my fight. The world is simple. Moving forward is not without its tests or lessons, but as long as I continue on, I evolve.

With each step, I win. There's no running away or white flag or surrendering to the man in the mirror. the only conqueror capable of bringing me down, no nothing will tell me what I can be. I will always be there, standing tall and ready, not because it's their will, but because each day is mine and not theirs.

Look, I'm tired, I'm worn, but I'm here. And I'm ready for anything that waits ahead. You weren't put here. to live in the shadows of life, to exist beyond the sun's grasp, to stay on the outside, looking in, no, you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life. It's important to remember the difference between now and forever, the distinction between today and tomorrow, because from time to time they look deceptively similar, especially when we inevitably find ourselves in the darkest of times.

When despite our best efforts, our world is reduced to shadows, void of hope. When tomorrow and today have merged into one endless entity, it always seems to be in these times that we forget that right now is just a moment. moment, not an assigned permanent, but a bridge to something great as Victor Frankel says, if there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering. We all suffer, we all hurt, we all go through periods of time where we can't see or hear or feel anything beyond the darkness we find ourselves in, but it's there. Darkness cannot be defined without light. It's in the definition.

Darkness is a partial or total absence of light. They need each other darkness and light. The one thing that can bring darkness to its knees is out there, everywhere, all around it. And if there was ever a reason to be hopeful, enthusiastic, if there's ever a reason to believe, it's that a new life is always a light switch away. It's that darkness is as temporary as the day. And the antidote requires only that you believe it to be true. Only that you find the resolve to reach one foot out,

to remind yourself of the sun's warmth and the infinite beauty of a world beyond this temporary darkness. Because you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life, but to reemerge like a rocket through the earth's strong. stratosphere to swing from star to star like life is a playground and you make the rules. And I think when we look back, we'll be nothing but grateful for those times of darkness. They, in a sense, prepared us for the road ahead by giving us what we need most. Perspective. Life lessens a roadmap to follow because you don't appreciate the light, the sun.

The clear blue skies, the wind on your face, the sound of the waves, the chirping of the birds. No, you don't see the beauty in any of that until even if for a moment it is taken away. You don't learn about life's abundance until you come face to face with scarcity. You don't learn to give until you've had your world taken away. You don't learn to love until you've experienced heartbreak. You don't learn courage until you've been overcome by fear. You don't learn to grow until you've been truly stuck. You don't learn to believe until you've looked in the mirror and doubt peers back.

You don't know who you are until you learn what you're not. See, everyone finds themselves having wandered into the dark. of their own volition, sometimes of fate, but like leaves changing color in the fall, the earth on its journey around the sun, a wave emerging and falling back into that which it came. It is not an end, but a beginning. Life's way of preparing us for what's to come, introducing us to the infinite possibility of tomorrow because you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life, but to emerge from them. To light up the world.

No, you weren't put here to live in the shadows of life. Your eyes do not create, they obey. They are projectors that play the stories your mind has written. Messengers, delivering pictures you've already painted. To you win or lose long before they open, your outcomes decided long before they see a thing. Your outlook is not a reflection of the world around you, it's a reflection of the world within you. And I wonder how we can be so lucky as to have the opportunity to literally create our own reality, yet we position ourselves so that we're disadvantaged.

We act as though the wake of the boat is more powerful than the wheel that's steers it. We remind ourselves of the obstacles instead of reassuring ourselves that we possess the ability to get around anything and everything that stops us. If we can create our own landscapes, why insert storms? If we can define our own rules, why penalize our progress? If we're capable of feats beyond our wildest dreams, why do we instruct our eyes to see stop signs? You're a Your eyes long to see the world as it was meant to be seen. With its color, its fullness, its beauty, its perfection, why not give them permission? See, there is no use for the negative.

The downside brings you nothing. There is no value to be obtained or acquired from what doesn't push you. The solution is simple. If it doesn't make you stronger, let your eyes see. beyond it, refocus, re-examine, because I promise you the answers you need are in the same frame as the things that hold you back. The problems, they are the solutions, the opportunities, they are the risk. Life is that portrait, but it is entirely open to interpretation. See, the same people that see beauty, that find magnificence, they will always see it. They will always find it.

In the down times, the winter periods of life, they'll feel it during the days when we look up and we wonder how in the hell these dots connect. They will run towards the chaos. Find answers while others see what's not there. Eyes are the tunnel in which all that data is transferred, but understand this, it doesn't begin externally and flow into your brain. No reality, as you know it, it starts within. is projected out pouring into every step you take every handshake every time you look up and smile you are painting the world colors that correspond to your story your paint by number and when you can only see the things you don't want to see when negativity bias latches on and attempts to hold you in place realize that you are letting the wrong info in subscribing to what doesn't serve you so simply change the

channel step back and look again one more time because you are the author of your own story so see it as you want to live it on your own do you believe do you believe that this world is yours that space and that time are trustworthy passengers on your journey Do you believe in the unseen that what we know and what we don't, what's possible and impossible, they're not so different? They just need to be connected. Do you believe that one person can be the difference? That courage is a choice and that if you have something to say, not saying it, is a tragedy. Do you believe in your resilience? That when your back is against the wall,

that when all seems lost, when everything is in doubt, we are presented an opportunity to evolve into something more. Do you believe that there is a way? That when the road ends, there is another path. That when you can't go around, you can go through. go through and when you can't go through you can go over. Do you believe that the darkness before you is merely the absence of light? A light waiting to be created, brought to light, that nothing is meant to be, any void can be filled and you are in fact the architect

of that light. See what you have before you. It's no easy path. It's not the simple one or perhaps even the one you ask for, but it is in all respects yours. It may seem larger than you. Its uncertainties may make you question your decisions. Its complexity may prompt memories of simpler days, but none of this lasts. over your shoulder what you've left behind will always tell a different story. Always remind

you that you could have stayed home. You could have remained and accepted things as they were dreamt about what might be. But rather than wait for time to expire and take your power into the ground like most ultimately do, you talk to the sky. You let the stars, the infinite world beyond the horizon guides you. And as much as you decided to be here, this path shows you. It shows you to make something new where there was once nothing. To exchange breath for the first time with an atmosphere conducive to your greatness. You did not know it was there the whole time and how could you have?

It wasn't visible to any naked eye. It wasn't accessible to the common man but it's here now because you said yes. So please hold on to that courage because it's everything. The difference between accepting the now and rewriting history is belief. Belief in a tomorrow that is different from today and as you make your way into this darkness, be proud. As you enter that which most wouldn't dare to confront, hold your head high when you falter, stumble, when the ground under you begins to shape.

Believe not only in your pursuit but in your resilience Life remains hold and dark Until we find the courage to do something about it Until we step out of the shadows See you aren't escaping the emptiness you're leaving behind No you are the one who will give that emptiness life The maker of a new universe You are the architect of light

Life is the manifestation of stories. Stories we tell ourselves about the world and our place within it. Rules that we've constructed and we respect we adhere to. They dictate the outcomes we get. They become our reality. Because to establish a parameter means at some point there's a line that we don't cross. And there are obvious lines that we point to and we say no thanks. For example, our values, right?

I won't do X because, well, it will hurt someone I love? Or legal parameters. I won't do Y because I know the repercussions, they're too much. It's not in my self-interest. And these are obvious. These are talked about. We're aware of these stopping points. But I want to talk about a different set of rules.

The stories we're writing without realizing we're doing it. How we think we're running. running a sprint, but I have no idea that there's heavy weight on our shoulders holding us down, and you can't take that weight off if you don't know it's there. And this all came to me a few months ago. I was in L.A. for the weekend, having lunch with some incredible entrepreneurs. They've done some amazing things. And one of them sold a dating app for hundreds of millions of dollars, another one a health care company, another one had a very successful food distributing business. And I'm sitting there kind of blown away and my priority was to listen not run my mouth or fabricate or impress

but to simply observe what creates this type of result I was listening to Alex Mayer who created Zusk talk about his upbringing right he came to the U.S. as an immigrant from Iran and worked his way up from nothing it's not like these folks were given the world they took it and it took me about three minutes to find a commonality in their worldview. To me, it couldn't be more evident. It was impossible to miss. They don't look at life how I do, or at least how I did. See, the story I told revolved around my parameters. Sure, I had moments of boldness. I pushed myself. I worked hard, but I looked at life in terms of what it would allow. Here's how things are. Okay, how can I stretch that, but that's like repainting or adding on to a house that was already built, right?

There's only so much flexibility, so much you can do with that. But these guys are going around the table talking like little kids on Christmas, right? Talking about life like it's a game. Talking about opportunity, like it's an apple waiting to be picked from a tree right outside. There was no, what will the world allow? It was with the smile, anticipation, and self-believe, what can I make? And Alex, who I mentioned earlier, sold Zeus, created Menzerbox, and he loves beef.

Eats it all the time, right? And so it's become his next entrepreneurial venture, a healthy beef stick company. And every thought seems to revolve around that. How can he take something he loves and share it with the world? His imagination is now driving his thought process, which drives his action. Not parameters, not someone else's reality, but possibility.

See, I left the table with this feeling I've never really had before. It's like someone tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me of the freedom contained in every single step. Not flexibility, but freedom. Like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Who cares if you mess up? Who cares if you lose? Who cares? That's part of this game we're playing.

A game where reality isn't an obligation to be lived. It's an opportunity to be explored. It's not about what you don't have. It's being grateful for everything that brought you to right now. Because right now is a perpetual launching pad. You know, growth is learning. And that afternoon, I learned to take life way less seriously. To enjoy it.

To let imagination drive every step. Because the difference is some of us build because we don't want to lose. We don't want to succumb to fear and not meet. fear and not meeting our potential, right? We fear being inadequate, falling short, we see obstacles. Some of us, we build to capture the beauty, the excitement. That makes the difference. And look, I'm not presenting you empirical data.

I don't have all the answers, but I'm willing to bet that years from now, looking back, that simple understanding will have played a substantial role in whatever comes next. The rules changed and so did the path. Let's not become so focused on each footstep that we lose sight of where they're collectively taking us. What are you building? Why are you here? To play by someone else's rules or to transform yourself and by default the world around you?

See reality is fluid. It's malleable. And the beauty is in that process of creating a ship leaving the harbor has infinite possibility. Unlimited potential and that gives it its power. There's no right turn or wrong turn. The only way to lose is to stand still, to think that horizon in the distance is too far or not for you. See, a harbor is not a stopping point, it's a beginning. So take control over that world, push it, test it, see what it has to offer, throw your interests

and your curiosities against the wall, see what sticks, see what ignites your soul. Test the universe because life it rewards the bold, those courageous enough to step outside their front door and not follow, but design. who know things are the way they are simply because others before them had the courage to make it so. Well, now it's your turn. You defeated the one in four hundred trillion odds stacked against your birth. You navigated through your low points. You've done enough to get to this very moment, this instant.

For the mistakes that brought you here will become the wisdom that leads you forward. that takes you to places you never thought possible. And where exactly that is, is entirely up. One of life's greatest lessons is that yesterday is only as powerful as we allow it to be. Yesterday is an idea, a story, a movie that started and ended. Now, it's quite possible that story or that ending, is disappointing or it hurts to look back on. Perhaps a reminder of something that wasn't ideal,

something you want to break away from. So the question is, why do we give that old story power? Why do we relive it, create this self-inflicted wound? See, the past undoubtedly played a critical role. It brought you to where you are now. It in many ways shaped your worldview, constitutes your beliefs. It was the very road to this moment and there's value in that. But imagine this scenario.

Imagine stepping into your car, turning the keys, and thinking to yourself that you can in this very moment only drive down the roads you drove on yesterday. Only associate with the street signs you know, the places you've already gone. Your reality now is determined by what you've already done. So adjust and get used to it. You would say that's outrageous, right? Yesterday's path has nothing to do with where I'm going now. Just like a boat's wake, trailing off behind it,

has nothing to do with where it's going next. The person holding the wheel controls that. We are saturated with freedom. There is so much opportunity and possibility and potential in front of us that we failed to see because we can't stop thinking about that fictitious story we call yesterday. We confuse the path we took then for the one we need now,

the wake from the steering wheel, what is and that story about what was. The gateway to change is unshackling ourselves from those imaginary monsters. And more often than not, And more often than not, the answer isn't in finding some solution. It's in cutting ties with those things that no longer serve us. Then we see the world as it truly is.

Then we see the magic laid out before us. And I get that it's easier said than done. Leaving a part of us behind hurts. Looking in the mirror and being vulnerable enough to say, I can be more than this. It's not easy, but it's possible. And everything starts with how we see ourselves. And when we remain captives to the past, everything about who we think ourselves to be is outdated.

We're neglecting one of our superpowers, the perpetual ability to restart. And one of the most important conversations I've ever had was on this topic. It seemed trivial at the time, but I was having lunch with a friend. And we're talking and I mentioned to her that I was full. And she goes, well, then why are you still eating? And I'm like, because I paid for it, right? I wanted to get my money's worth. And she says in a very, you know, pragmatic way,

Eddie, just because you paid for it doesn't mean you need to eat it, right? It's a sunk cost. Why don't you move on? And the whole thing seems silly, right? It's like, yeah, if you're not hungry, don't eat. Move on. But in the grand scheme of things, how many of us keep on consuming that which doesn't serve us,

how many of us stay too long when we should be letting go. We let the path behind us dictate the one before us. See, there's a tendency to overvalue what we know, to feel so invested in how things are, even when we're not happy or it's not healthy, that we'll take the pain of now over the potential for something greater. And that's precisely why the unknown is so terrifying.

It's not concrete. It's a world unsettled. And man, do we hate being unsettled? But what we fail to realize is that every time we close our eyes, take a breath, and work up the courage to step into that unknown to leave yesterday behind us.

Life gives us new pieces. It resets the stage. It provides new tools to build something incredible, something more ideal, more conducive to our goals, our hopes, and our dreams. And the thought is, well, but what if things become worse than they are right now? What if I move forward and I find myself more confused, more lost? What if things are more chaotic? And that may, for a moment, be true. But what we do is we adjust.

We learn things we never knew. We see things through a lens that we never could. Touch things that we never thought existed. It wasn't in staying, but in leaving, that we rediscovered who we were meant to be. That we allowed our truest selves. to flourish in worst case scenario. Contrary to popular belief, it's not that the world ends.

No, the worst case scenario should you find the courage to move forward is that you end up right back where you started. A little more confident, a little bolder, and better prepared to live this life like you never had. All that's needed is for you to convince yourself that there is more. You just need to taste the fruit. Step into the sunlight. That's the difference between reality and the story in your head.

Reality is that this world has for you everything you need to change, to grow, explore, build a light that means something. It has the support structures and the resources for you to pull yourself back up every time you fall. To say, okay, that hurt. Now let's try a different angle. There is undoubtedly what you need. And the question is never whether the X on that treasure map exists. Trust me, it's there.

The question is whether you can pause that story in your head. The tales of a dark, mean, and scary world trying to hold you down. Pause the idea that you're nothing more than the you of yesterday. You're nothing more than how people, knew you to be. Pause the idea that you're nothing without that job title or that relationship. Pause the idea that you need him or her or them in your life. Every day you wake up, you are a blank canvas. Who cares about yesterday? What do you want to paint now? When you walk out your front door, where do you want to go now? Step outside that circle of familiarity. See how artificial

and in some cases ridiculous these boundaries are that we place around ourselves. Life is an invitation, not a set of requirements, and when you free yourself of that, not only will you feel like someone new, not only will you experience life as it was meant to be experienced, but you'll see that this world will conform to your new definition. This world wants to support you. It wants to lift you up, and yeah, it may be challenging and, yeah, it may be challenging and It may force you to work harder and be braver than you've ever been, but it is at the end of the day your ally You just have to see your future self before it materializes when no one else gets it

So move on from all that does not serve you Break away from the old rules regulations and guidelines Maybe you exhausted time and energy into creating this reality Maybe it feels like a monumental piece of your identity maybe right now is the only security you have fine but my hope is that you can respect it and walk away see it as the sunken cost that it is just because you paid to get there doesn't mean you need to keep paying to make wrong decisions just because it took your time doesn't mean it's entitled to keep stealing your time just because it's

part of your identity now doesn't mean it must be tomorrow just because it creates security doesn't mean it's right Jails and steel bars are also incredibly secure. No, today we are breaking free, leaving the past in the past and setting our sights on the horizon. Today is the end of yesterday and the beginning of the rest of your life. Be loved or be hated, but never simply tolerated. In life, you can live

to chase opportunity or you can live to avoid failure. And there are two very different things. Rather than pursue, we often avoid, we avoid failure, we avoid criticism, we don't want to ruffle feathers or disrupt. No, we choose to simply exist. Never condemned, but never extraordinary, just tolerated. And it's an interesting dilemma, Because the best things exist on the extremes, life's fringes.

That's where you find your accolades, your accomplishments. That's what we celebrate. It's where you need to be. And you get there not by worrying about what everyone around you thinks, but by taking your strength, your unique self, holding on, and pressing the pedal to the floor going all hands. And yeah, that means suddenly, my friend, you are exposed. You are vulnerable, you are now out there.

It means those who don't have the courage to chase their dreams, they will find you threatening and they will let you know. But it also means that the shackles are off. The door is open, the light is green, and you can build from the ground up. You can build the life you want. The finish line has now become, has now become more visible than the prospect of falling along the way and you've granted yourself permission to run through it.

Sure, some will love you for these accomplishments, some will hate you for these accomplishments, but let me reiterate the word accomplishment. Because when you live to be invisible, it's a term that rarely presents itself, I promise. it rewards the bold. Those who are bold in their beliefs, bold in their actions, their dreams, and their pursuits. They are not for anyone but you. And years later when you look in the mirror, you'll know that you gave every single thing you had to a life that meant something to you. Loved, yes, hated sure, but merely tolerated, no. Of course, of course, understand your vision. Of course it means nothing to them. That's how the world works.

People need to see results, not ideas. They need to see to believe. In fact, everything you dream of believe in, it needs to be carved into existence. And the important thing worth noting here is that it's not personal. It's not a reflection. It's not a reflection. of you or your talent or your potential, the differentiator in life will always be one's ability to turn ideas into things. You have that power within yourself. Literally to change the world as we know it, that's not a question.

It's not even far-fetched. You're capable. But we need to spend less time feeling like we're owed something for that exhausted energy. The world is a tough place. It rewards value. And sometimes it takes way longer than we like to see a return on that investment. As James Clear mentions, you put an ice cube in a room at zero degrees and you gradually

turn up the temperature. You won't see it even begin to transform until you hit the 32 degree mark. That's not when the work began. It's not indicative of everything. That's when the effects of the work become visible. And getting to that point, it's one of life's greatest challenges. It's hard to give everything for something you can't collect when you go to bed at night. It's hard to be that patient.

The only way to break through the noise to create something is to fully wholeheartedly believe in yourself. Believe in yourself to the extent that you can detach from the criticism. attach from the facade of perfect lives on social media and the expectations you're immersed in. This isn't a race between you and the world. It's a battle of will between you and the voice that says there is no 32 degree mark. Removing that negativity, it's just as important as focusing on the positive. Dreams live at that intersection of belief and action. And I've always wondered what people think they're gaining.

by shouting about how important they are, the things they're doing, or their plans. That does nothing. You need to know what you're doing, and that's all. Words mean nothing, ideas or empty, respect is earned by adding actual value, by making a difference. So reallocate that energy into the gift you are giving to the people around you. That is a feat best accomplished with your mouth, close, and your eyes open. Every day, every action unnoticed, effort unseen,

it stacks up to create something that will truly change the world. I once heard a metaphor that our existence is like standing behind a curtain with tears or holes, and reality becomes which holes we decide to look through when we're peering out at the world on the other side. What do we want to see?

And this message, well, it's for whoever out there feels like giving up or folding their hand. Whoever's been waiting for things to change but only sees the clock moving forward. This is a reminder that the very thing you need is on the other side of that curtain. And you don't need to change who you are. You just need to position yourself to see it. Because it's there and you're ready. When life hurts, we might have every reason to be in pain, to feel lost or confused, but I always find it to be a beautiful reminder that we also have every reason to seek out from that pain,

something we've never been before. Why is it that our greatest accomplishments come when our backs are to the wall? Our greatest acquisitions, after losing something dear to us? Why is it that we find ourselves in our way only after our own? after being lost. I've never heard someone say, thank God I never changed or left or tried something new. No, it's thank God the adversity forced upon me,

the courage to evolve into something more. Pain is to our potential what water is to a seed. It's the beginning of everything unshackling, opening the gate and making us realize we were sitting on the answers. that adversity doesn't stop you, it makes you stronger, that the down times lift you up, that when you lose yourself, you find a part of you that can now become the bridge to your future. See, I understand that things are difficult and challenging.

I understand they're not easy, and I'm not asking you to pretend it's not happening or ignore it or close your eyes. I'm asking you to find amidst all of this, that one thing, one thing that will get you to tomorrow. I'm asking you to find the courage to say, yes, this hurts. Yes, I'm stretched thinner than I've ever been, but I'm still going to find a way. I'm still going to make it happen. Because at the end of the day, you won't remember what hurt or what stood in your way, but you'll remember what you did about it. You'll remember how you arranged those pieces.

How when your instincts said run, you stopped and built something you'll never forget. Where is your finish line? What is your maximum effort? Think about that question. What is your indication that you've hit your peak? It's an interesting question because when you look closely, you'll find that there truly is no end. answer. Right? People point to fatigue, being tired, maybe they're happy with the result. But it still leaves the question unanswered. What is your limit? There's no automatic mechanism

that shuts us down when we've given everything we have, when we've done all we can do. It's not like a glass of water that reaches the top and overflows. For human potential, think bigger. Think of an ocean. How many buckets of water could you pour into an ocean before it couldn't physically hold any more liquid? What is the number? No one knows exactly. You can stop at a thousand buckets at a million at a trillion,

but at some point you'll have poured the last bucket and stopped. And the question remains. At that moment, could you have added one more? more, that is human potential. It's mind-blowing. Every time you've thought you've given your all, you're relying to yourself. And not in the sense that you weren't trying hard or what you did wasn't important, but in the sense that you artificially created your own finish line, you determined your stopping point. Not the loss of nature, not some unearthly being, you dictated your limit. I had an old coach who used to reference Roger Bannister. He was

the first person to break the four-minute mile a feat that at the time was simply unheard of. So what happens? He accomplishes this goal and suddenly people start doing it all over the world. Rapid fire. In a very short amount of time. Why? Because it became real. People had living proof that it was was possible. Four minutes? What is that? It's an artificial stopping point, a self-created limit. It does not exist. Just like the reason you think you can't write the next best-selling book, or the reason you go to a job you hate every day, because you've settled. You've limited your potential without even realizing it. Why would you cut yourself off there? There's so much more to

so much more to achieve, so much weighting. Man, life is just too short to not make the most out of it. To get in the way of your own greatness. Why would you decide to wake up every day and not feel like it was the best gift possible? Not take advantage. Why would you limit that for yourself? There will be times when you struggle,

there will be tough days, There will be times of self-doubt. But let it all fall to the wayside. See past it. Your destiny lies far beyond any self-made wall. Take that with you. The miracle isn't that I've finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.

John Bingham. We all share a commonality. The runner on the starting blocks. The one at work, the one studying, the one trying to create the best life possible for their family. See, we are all at a beginning, looking up at an idea. Nothing given, nothing to adjust or react to no just an idea. And ideas when we are at the bottom looking up, they're deceptive in nature, their size, their weight, their breadth. They like to present themselves.

as much more than they actually are. And so, to turn ideas into things one needs see themselves, not as some descendant of Mount Olympus tasked with lifting that 2,000-ton boulder before them, but as one armed with an understanding, the awareness that the 2,000-ton boulder before them can be broken down, piece by piece that it is nothing more than a facade and while it may stop most in their tracks you are simply not most not because the world treats you differently but because you see the world differently by knowing you are bigger than the

sum of its parts you have defanged this wolf you have put yourself in position to do that which makes the world that which causes even the most confident to doubt, you have put yourself in position to begin. See, there is a time to look at the top of the mountain, breaking through the clouds, powerful and majestic. And then there is a time to look at your feet. And right now is the latter. You're not concerned with the big things. No, not right now.

Your job is to move forward into this haze, to not see but adapt, to not know but trust. Things will materialize, and you know that. But at the same time, you can't control the future. Your battle is right now, and it's with the space immediately in front of you. It's with the thoughts attempting to deceive you. It's with the things the outside world will tell you,

but forward motion is the antidote. to all of that. And so forward you must go. The beginning is always the hardest because our thoughts are a mightier foe than life's obstacles. Thoughts take on lives of their own. They become monsters, demons, dead ends,

obstacles. On the other hand, just ask that we adjust. There is no obstacle that can't be addressed by stepping into it. And so while the temptation is to sit, thinking, speculating about how challenging the road ahead. This is where you think less and move more. Harness the world as it comes,

because the truth is nothing is as big as it appears to be. Life is incredibly solvable. Every problem has a solution. Every bad chapter ends. Every setback is a chance to be more than you've ever been. But how would you know that? If you bow down to the mountains in your head, how would you know that?

if you never began. So let today be the dotted line you sign with your future self. A promise to be aware that the mountaintop peers over you, but to not be distracted by its shadow. To take the climb one rock, one step, one second at a time. Let it be an acknowledgement that nothing light throws at you can't be broken down and conquered so long as you don't get in your own way. Gone are the days of being held captive behind steel bars of self-doubt and fear.

That road ahead is not the problem. It never was. Refusing to give yourself permission to travel down, it was the problem. So without constraints, meet life head on. Let the trials and tribulations emerge because they will, but know that you will rise to meet them. Let the unknown highlight all that you don't know. You can't see. Fine.

The one thing you are sure of is that you will, one by one, transform the unseen into strength. And when those thoughts emerge, telling you that you've gone too far, that you're in over your head, that this isn't meant for you, Know them, not as truth, but as the only obstacle that can derail and distract. You don't have time for make-believe monsters. No, not today. So onward you go. To map the unknown, to tame the untamed, to live your life the way it was meant to be lived.

There's a quote from Henry David Thoreau that I've learned to love over the years. He says, we are constantly invited to be who we are. Meaning essentially, there is always a hand, you know, reaching out to invite us to leave the confinement we've allowed to become our lives, the pressure of the outside world, and attack a world that means the most to us, not obligatory, but for the opportunity. Because it's there, it's perpetually available,

and that's what Henry David Thoreau means. And what's interesting is the second we lose sight of this, our lives become consumed with things that really have no relevance to our goals or our objectives. In fact, the daily routine becomes the goal. It's the box that needs to be checked to feel accomplished. We do things because, well, isn't that what you're supposed to do? Adher to rules and processes and guidelines, almost like we forget why that routine matters. Like we forget the car has to go somewhere of relevance. You don't just get in and drive it to drive it.

That doesn't make sense. And a friend of mine recently showed me this book of insights from different photographers. It's called The Photographers Playbook and it's life lessons that helped each one of them along the way. And one that stood out to me specifically was Andrea Parleto. And she talked about a concept called hibernation or cutting off, temporarily leaving your day to day or your craft. so that all the have tos and the should bes can dissipate. And you can ask yourself the question that we so quickly lose, the question that should be the target,

that should be the foundation we build upon. Who do you want to be? Because when all is said and done, and you're looking back, that's what will matter. That's what will dictate your happiness. Not that you were five for five on your checklist every day on your 20s, 30s, 40s, on, right? No, what does it look like when you heal that back? What does it look like under the

surface? What makes you, you? And sometimes we have to step back, go away, leave the day-to-day world we've created to see life from a different angle. Eliminate the steps, the requirements, the technicalities, and what are you left with? When you put your head on the pillow at night, What makes you smile? Broni Ware states in her book, Regrets of the Dying, that not living a life true to oneself was one of the greatest regrets people experienced.

Isn't it worthy of your time, your attention? Don't you owe it to yourself to make sure that your vision is defined and your actions support that? See, anyone can move just to move and anyone can breathe just to breathe. But the ones who make the most of each step, each breath, they put themselves in position to live life differently. To accept the invitation to be who they truly are. To take their inspiration, their gifts, and their dreams, and never look back.

Sometimes when you don't know where you're going, the best thing to do is go there. wise man once stated that an object at rest stays at rest. And while his rationale is a little different than mine, I'm gonna borrow from his premise. Because when you moot, even if you don't know where you're going, you put yourself on a collision course with something. You put into existence an entity to react to.

Some call it destiny. Others call it fate. I call it simply initiative. Because if your journey is hypothetical, you have nothing to celebrate nor correct. A sailboat can adjust its sails once it leaves the harbor, right? It can learn from and manipulate its surroundings. Make sure it arrives at a destination, right?

It learns and adapts along the way. But from the harbor, it speculates. It expounds upon a path that might be straighter, might be faster, might be more thought out and tied together than the crazy sailors who took off for the horizon, but in actuality, it goes nowhere. In the real world, it is stagnant, and I could be wrong, but I'd make the argument ten out of ten times that the real world is where we want our result. And my proof? Well, a journey that started with insurance and evolved into music, in songwriting, in audio production, then video production, and creative writing, then a sweet spot that kind of combined everything. A spot that didn't make its way to my inbox with an exact address. A spot that required a lot of failure and lessons learned and disappointment.

But man, more than that, so much fun. My proof is sitting down right now in real time, letting my fingers create a bridge from nothing to something of value. By the way, after sitting here staring at a blank screen for hours, it's just starting. Could I be wrong? Could I screw up? Could I wildly miss the mark? Yes. In fact, it happens more than I'd like to admit. But here's the beauty, even if I am wrong. I now have something to work with. Something has been brought into existence. And well, that means I'm officially further along than I once was.

And I've heard over and over again that there is no perfect moment, that you have to just go. And the idea, I mean, it makes sense. It's impossible not to understand, but it's one of those things that until you feel it doesn't mean anything. How can you miss something you've never experienced? never experienced. Well, to put it in a way that help me understand, you aren't going because what do you have to lose? You're going because everything is to be gained. The answers

that you pick up along the way, like a little coins you pick up in Super Mario, right? You have to start collecting pieces of a puzzle that you can then arrange. I truly believe that one of the most important ideas we need to hold on to moving forward as personal agency, self-belief. And I say that because I feel like I'm watching it slip. There are cases where we literally don't know or understand that it's within our own ability and control to change our lives. No person or group or letter in the mail is going to come along and green light your idea. In fact, you might not even really know what your idea means or how it will look. And that's not only okay.

It's amazing. It's the marble that you get to chisel away at to create something. See, life is not the perfect execution of a plan. Life is the courage to make your way into a world that no one really understands or knows anything about. And I'm not talking physics or biology or quantum mechanics. I'm talking about the real life that is emergent from those areas of study. There is no perfect formula for happiness.

But it will always be true that immobility or standing still is antithetical to progress. And there is plenty of data that supports the idea. Progress equals happiness. We want to move towards something. So that's what this is about. And here's to not being scared of what we don't know. Because somewhere in the realm of what we don't know exists what we need most.

So yeah, stop waiting for the perfect moment. And yes, begin. But not because it's an ultimatum. Do it because the things that make life fun and intriguing and exciting. exciting and ultimately worthwhile. They live on the other side of your front door.