Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Become Better, Stronger and Smarter | Powerful Motivational Speeches | Wake Up Positive

Episode Date: July 19, 2023

“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” - Jim Rohn

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Imagine with me life as a symphony, where everything works together to create the whole, where the high notes, the low notes, the pauses, the rest, the tempo changes, all contribute to the overall theme. None of it's unimportant or dismissable. How could it be? Without the low notes, the high notes don't mean anything. Without the rest, you don't get the satisfaction and the power of the moment that music reemerges.

In fact, it was the... contrast that created the magic to begin with. All of it is needed. Even when you don't understand why. You don't know that this slow beginning, the breaks, the tempo changes, that it will all be the reason you are soon awed by the crescendo that awaits. And how could you? It's one flow. The journey points in one direction. You are in this for the ride. See in our lives the obstacles, the The chaos, the confusion, they hurt. They're unsettling, so the inclination is to dismiss them, to push them away. This isn't what I need, this is void of value, so get rid of it, we tell ourselves.

When in reality, those things are integral components to your song. They are what culminate into your final piece. They're bringing you to that crescendo. It doesn't mean you have to love the challenge. of course not. But it does mean we should understand that even though we can't see it unfolding before our very eyes, it's all playing a role. My hurt made me stronger.

My struggle injected meaning into my life. It made this song richer, the sound sweeter. Today is what it is because yesterday was what it was. And I know when I'm face to face with something that my gut instantly deems to be detrimental, that two things can in fact be true at once. That I need to work to write the ship, to repoint the compass, but also understand that the storm wasn't void of significance. The valley wasn't all for not.

It's gifted me new oceans to cross, new mountains to climb, and new perspective as I peer out over the view. So as you move through the dark, move through the dark as you navigate the chaos of night. Know that the light you're chasing is only meaningful because of the depths you are emerging from. Life beyond these shadows is not where the world begins. It's a continuation of an already beautiful journey you're on.

It's your symphony in totality. See, the time will come when you'll look, back and you'll be grateful for the so-called inconveniences that surround you now. Your heart needs the contrast that this adversity creates. Your soul depends on the hardship to understand the magnificence of life. It's why now, when it hurts, you must keep going. You have to keep going. You have to let the notes. You have to let the notes. materialize into the beautiful song it will become. The masterpiece it was meant to become. In John Maxwell's book, The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, he talks about momentum.

And how the saying, if you can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen, doesn't quite get it right. advocating that it should instead be if you can't create the heat, then get out of the kitchen. And being that we are all leaders in our own lives, I think he hits on something that none of us should overlook. The power of momentum, of not waiting but creating. Reminding ourselves that we are not spectators, sitting in the stands and simply reacting to or complaining about the events taking place below. No, we have the ability to change the things we do not like and create the ones that don't yet exist when we know they should.

Too much of the time we react to that metaphorical heat in the kitchen, as John alludes to, forgetting that we can dial it up or down. We're not only characters that have been created, we are ourselves creators. I talk a lot about mental shifts that have changed my life and there are plenty. But perhaps the most important was the realization that I can do something about the things I don't like. And I know that sounds simple, probably even obvious. But I look back at various stages of my life and I'm blown away by the amount of things I tolerated for years and years simply because I gave it no thought. There were so many questions that I never asked, so many opportunities I never explored,

until I realized, hey, you can stop accepting those things you don't want. It's amazing the power of a simple list that was created, two columns, left side, all the things that bothered me, that I wasn't happy with, or that I knew should be there that had. have been lacking. And then on the right column, what I'm going to do about it? Every single item. Each one, what's the step I'm going to take? And I just poured my heart onto that paper.

And it's like you look down and feel like you have finally moved into the driver's seat. There's something incredible about knowing that you have taken control, something satisfying, knowing that you're not just accepting what falls out of the sky and lands in your hands. especially since we seem to have this proclivity to box ourselves in. Human beings are amazing in their ability to adapt. But the danger is when we adapt to and normalize a reality that falls short of what matters to us. The danger is in forgetting that nothing happens without momentum. And momentum is self-made.

One of my favorite stories is about a man walking through the circus. And he sees these enormous elephants, each with one end of a rope tied around one of their legs, and the other end of that rope connected to a chair. The man, as he's walking by, he's curious, asked one of the trainers, hey, isn't that dangerous? Couldn't the elephant easily break free and get away if he wanted? And the trainer says, no. You see, we started doing this when they were baby elephants.

And when they were babies, they couldn't feel. physically break free. They weren't strong enough. And so over the years, as they grew and became bigger, stronger, it never dawned on them that by simply pulling on that rope or walking away, they could break free. These chains might as well be invisible. And that's what they were. Mental. The rope wasn't keeping the elephants to the chair. The elephants were keeping the elephants to the chair. And there's something there in that message for all of us. For some of us in this particular moment,

maybe it's big picture. For others, maybe we're at a season of life where it's simply creating momentum in some type of smaller capacity. And I travel through these ups and downs personally all the time. I think that's a healthy thing. It's a sign that you're looking for that growth. you're checking the world around you for those imaginary ropes.

Recently I went through a period where I just felt too long had gone by without something significant happening. I needed to create momentum. And so I asked, well, who was I reaching out to? How was I pushing myself? What was I doing that scared me? What was I doing that was growing? How could I take things up a level?

All these little levers of opportunity are all around us but we have to know to look for them, to see them and pull. And it's truly an incredible thing. You do that, and you start to feel the movement underneath you, the momentum, the excitement, because you're trying new things, you're taking new risks, talking to new people. And that's how that snowball grows. We have to realize that we are mighty big elephants perpetually, tied to these comically small chairs.

We have to create that heat in the kitchen because we're not only capable, we are ready. We are equipped to move forward. See, the moment is never going to be perfect. The momentum will never come to be on its own. Those things wait. They wait for you to stop watching life go by. and click start on the stopline. Yeah, time has always ticked away,

but it will never mean as much as it's about to now. Tick, talk. Whispers the opportunity. Signifying that in order to evolve, we must decide we are bold enough to go where we have not yet gone and strong enough to leave some things behind. To choose to accept some discomfort

and it's impermanence, instead of a regret that is forever. And that's a trade that demands we look into the future and find value in the unseen. It's a move that says the seconds ticking by mean too much to dishonor them by not making the most of what's around you. And those answers are always there. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about, right? that we make decisions without even realizing we're making them. To accept the current moment as fate is to choose what you're given over what is possible,

over everything that's out there available for you. It's never too late to pull on that rope around your foot. To be who you, as the saying goes, might have been. Know that in your world, nothing consistently shows up exists without your stamp of approval. That will always be true. Nothing carries on without you allowing it to do so. And that understanding will be the difference between the ground level and the exponential heights you are capable of reach. The creation, the email, the phone call, the ride, the book, the period of time, the step out, the door, any and all of life's seemingly unremarkable characteristics.

within them is your ticket to greatness. Just know that you have to be the one that winds the clock. You are the sun around which everything else revolves, the architect that makes something of value from them. There will always be momentum where you decide there should be momentum. So pick your head up, open the door, step out into the world of potential that await. Naval Ravikon has said inspiration is perishable.

So act on it immediately. And what he means is those fleeting moments of excitement where you have an idea, a concept. Those must be cashed in. They must come to life. Otherwise, they're gone before they had a chance to change. anything. See, what we don't really talk about much is that inspiration is only as valuable as one's willingness to act upon it. Just like a seed without the right nutrients can't grow,

or a wheel is only useful once it touches the ground. It's the world able to act upon these objects that makes them powerful instruments. And so with that instance, inspiration, that momentary jolt you've captured, the faster you act upon it, the more likely something comes of it. Inspiration transforms into action, which creates momentum and then more inspiration. And so goes the powerful cycle we must seek to create. Inspiration to action. to inspiration, to action. I talk all the time about the myth of perfection. The idea that the perfect moment is out there,

that someone or something will give you permission. But no, that green light is self-created. And when it arrives, don't waste it. It's not about reaching a mountaintop right away. You don't need to create the perfect solution right now. But give yourself a chance to see those wheels hit the road. Allow that cycle of inspiration and action to propel you forward. Because so much of life comes down to what you did when that fleeting moment arrived,

what you turned it into if you gave it life. A lot of people out there think that the secret to life is having the right answers. But I'm here to tell you it's the courage, the willingness, the strength to move forward before you have them. To take that little bit of inspiration into the sunset. Let it mean something. Let it be a beginning. So when you look back years from now, you'll see that single decision to act meant so much more than what it felt in the moment. that single step you courageously took was everything.

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Sometimes I wonder why. Why does this season of life feel like it's one undesirable outcome after another? What happened to the law of averages? When is the wind? Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? Why would I continue going in this direction when it feels like that spot? on the horizon I've been chasing has eluded me. Why? Why are my results not aligning with my output? It's hard to wake up and do this. It takes all of me to give this much. Sometimes I wonder where is the delayed gratification everyone speaks of? Where's the fruit of my labor, the arm on my shoulder that says this is why it was all worth it? Why hasn't the payoff shown itself? Why?

And why does it seem like every curveball materializes at the worst possible time? Why won't my body cooperate now when I need it most? Why does my mind play with the worst-case scenarios? Why does an already challenging path have to be more difficult than it is now? How many ways do I have to feel pain? Why does discomfort follow me around? Why won't life let me shake this? Why?

Just maybe. It's to show you how strong you are. What you can endure. Because deep down, in your soul, you know you are the 1%. Because if you can pull, push through this, you can push through anything. And I don't know why life gives us its lessons when it does. Why the world seems to stack it on when we're at our most vulnerable, when the ground

beneath us is most unstable. But if you can find the courage to step back and see this for what it is, if you can hold on to the idea that this is happening for you. You'll come out of this a different person. You don't need to perform a miracle when you're at your lowest. No, the courage, the power, the strength is in showing up. You need to continue forward. Let go of the week, the month, the year.

Sometimes we are tasked with pushing through the moment, the hour, surviving the day. And sometimes there is nothing more courageous than that, nothing more powerful than seeing what it turns into down the road when we look over our shoulders and are grateful we never stopped. So yes, this season might seem like a non-stop barrage of obstacles and misfortune. Why? Perhaps because it's life allowing you to plant your seed now so that when spring comes around you are provided something you've never had before.

You arrive at that spot in the horizon you've been aiming at. And yes, the results might not feel like they're aligning with your output. Why? Perhaps because when the compounding reaches that magical point, that point of statistical significance, and the desirable things happen then, as quickly as the difficult ones do now, it'll all make sense. You'll appreciate it, value it, and be equipped to handle it.

And yeah, life might seem to be throwing you curveball after curveball. Why? Perhaps because if you can trudge forward now, when your body's tired while navigating the trials and tribulations of life, When you can bring greatness into existence under duress, just imagine what waits around the corner. Imagine how you'll perceive those seemingly impossible obstacles that slow everyone else down. There'll be nothing more than a cool breeze and a sunny day as you move towards your best self. Look, it's hard to understand when we are in it.

It's hard to make sense of the dark and the chaos and the hurt. hurt, but find a way to remember. No matter how hard it seems that this life is happening for you and not to you. This is the seed in the palm of your hand that will mean something that matters. So hold on. Hold on to see that seed begin to rise from the ground. Hold on to feel the warmth of the sun. Hold on through the storms of life they will be why when you look back years from now you'll have gotten from life that which was once merely a dream. Around 2011 I hurt my left arm and had to get surgery. So for a while I was pretty limited as far as what I could do with my upper body. And that's really when I fell in love with running. I started doing it almost every day.

Sometimes those long runs outside, clear my mind, sort of reset a little bit. And sometimes I mix it up. Hop on the treadmill and do my favorite workout, which was a pyramid, right, where you break 10 minutes into four segments, four, three, two, and one, increasing in intensity with each segment. And then you start over. And that's where this whole idea comes from. It's this treadmill workout that I want to talk about because there's a little ritual I picked up that I still implement to this day. And it was simple. At the very end of my workout or my run, I would always add 22 seconds. My lucky number twice, two and two. So for example, if I told myself, you know, the workout's going to be, you know, three, pyramid or 30 minutes, I would stop running at 30 minutes in 22 seconds. If I told myself it was

going to be an hour, I'd stop at one hour in 22 seconds, always tacking on that 22. And I don't really remember the first time I started doing it or even why. But like so many things, that 22 second period organically became a habit, sort of evolved to take on a life of its own and would come to symbolize for me a little challenge. The idea that, you know, the end is never really the end. And no matter how tired I was or how bad I wanted to stop, especially when you can see that finish line in reach, I could always squeeze out a little more.

But there's always something extra to give. And you could certainly go down that 22-second rabbit hole, right? Just 22 more seconds. And then you finish that and you realize you can do just 22 more and just 22 more. It's like this never-ending spotlight into how incredible we are as humans. That our stopping points almost always are constructed.

Rarely is there not an extra 22 seconds or 22-somethings we can endure. And not only that, I think there's a case to be made that our growth occurs in that final push. There's a ton of value, you know, hidden away in there. The stretching of the mind and body. The last rep that breaks down the muscle.

The last few seconds of that run that forced the lungs to work their hardest. Exhausting that last bit of energy and focus, you know, studying for an exam. Maybe that's where you confirm your comprehension and understanding of the subject matter. It's like when we are pushing our body, ourselves, just outside the limits we drew up, we are simultaneously expanding those limits. And so over the years, I've adopted that mentality. And I look at myself in the mirror now, and I can see it. I'm not the same person I was a decade ago. Those little decisions to add on 22 seconds, they stack up, and they stack up in a unique way.

Because it's not necessarily about the time. It's not the same benefit that, say, an hour every morning at the gym would bring. You know, obviously that would be incredibly valuable, but in a different way, I'm talking about mentally, an armor that we come to wear, an identity that gets materialized. It's how you see yourself and how you see the world. You understand how manufactured our parameters are. And I get it. stop somewhere, sure. But it's an acknowledgement that those somewheres are fiction. They are

arbitrary. You weren't made to exist within them, but to stretch them, to recreate them. And that's an endeavor that is always uncomfortable. But as far as I can tell, always worth it. The strength to go a little bit further than initially intended or did, designed is what will place you in a league of your own. And that's where I wanted to start, right, bringing attention to the idea that there's always an extra 22 seconds, and you are always capable of obtaining it. That is yours. Whether you choose to see it or not, it's an option, it's always an option, which sort of connects us to my next thought. If I know that's who I am, someone that fights for that 22 seconds,

if I know that's what I'm capable of, and that's what lights me up, what about those times in my life when I had no desire to reach for the extra 22? Because sitting here, I can think of plenty. I can think of times when there was dissonance between my identity and my actions. Here's a quick story. Right, this was a shift in my life and my understanding of reaching for that little bit more. When people ask me about my process, right, what I'm building or where I see myself in X number of years, I tell them I'm playing the long game, right?

Like, I'll sacrifice some short-term wins now to continue forward with a plan that I believe wholeheartedly will transform from linear to exponential, right? It's like Gary V's motto. You know, you're young, you have time. And impact is not about succeeding at 34. It's about flourishing at 45 and 55 and 55 and 65 and 75. Like, that's fun to me. That's the exciting game to play.

And it's methodical. The challenge is, you know, as you're locked into this big picture playing, you have to pass a lot of shiny objects along the way. A lot of, hey, look at them over there. Maybe I should be doing that too. That worked for her. Will it work for me?

Sometimes you forget to trust yourself and stay the course. And so a few years ago, I felt this pressure to pivot, to adjust focus. I'd been talking with some mentors of mine who were very successful in their individual fields and passions. And I thought, hey, you know what, it's time for me to start focusing less on the craft and more on monetizing the craft, right? The De Niro side of things, which is great and it's healthy, but here's the catch. As long as you're doing it in a way that aligns with who you are. And so a few months go by, and I found myself living in this overly sized and priced condo on the beach that I was going to use to impress clients. You know, making products that didn't excite me,

talking to people I didn't really want to be talking to, living a life that was not my own, I'd lost myself, right? My love is storytelling. It's capturing life's seemingly overlooked secrets. That's what I get excited about in the morning. That's the value I want to share with the world. And look, money is important.

It's necessary. It's freedom. But for me, it can't be. be about the money or I lose the drive. Right? And here's the point I'm making where it all comes together. What I found is that when you're a stranger in your own body, there's almost no incentive to push for that little extra.

It's like who cares about fighting for 22 seconds? I'm so misaligned. I don't even want to be here. Right? That is the red flag. That's the indicator that it's time to adjust. because if I'm someone who wants more, who pursues and acquires more, and I don't feel the urge to do so, you know, it's time to change.

And I broke the lease, put everything I had in a car, went on a little three-month excursion, re-aligned. And if I'm not willing to suffer through that little extra, to go above and beyond, it's not for me. And so that's a big example, but it obviously manifests in smaller ways as well. Yes, you are someone who can and will chase down the beauty in life, who will transform that little extra into something meaningful, but you also have to position yourself and the world around you to make it possible. And when you don't feel that hunger inside, and this is the point you need to understand,

it's not you, it's not broken hardware, it's not the that you innately lack drive or confidence, it's that you need to rearrange this scenario. You need to find alignment. Because I promise you if you want something enough, you'll be willing to fight for it, to hurt for it, to break boundaries for it. But you must first make sure that you're pointed at something you want, something that moves you. And here's the part where I remind you of all those things you've already over.

overcome in your life. Of all the times you thought your tank was empty, but you found a way. All the times you were hurting but kept moving. All the times you were broken, but put yourself back together. We are not told in school or at work how resilient we are. We're not told that we often stop thousands of 22-second period short. We aren't told that we're living at a 30% capacity operating at a fraction of our potential we don't even realize the little miracles we've created along the way a strong purpose and a willingness to stretch yourself as you pursue it will change your life and that's not hyperbole that is fact if you want what you've never had then push yourself further than you've

ever gone and we're talking little stress expanding one step at a time, until you eventually look over your shoulder and see the miles you've traveled. Until you look at your reflection and see the evolution that has occurred. It was never just 22 seconds. It was a consistent and sustained shot

at the walls you placed around yourself for the opportunity to see them crumble. I'm going to make everything around me beautiful. that will be my life. Elsie DeWold. Changing for the better is not about the creation of miracles. It's about choosing to see the ones that already exist. Life is hard,

but coincidentally hard things tend to be the gatekeepers to the important one. We are let in when we bring ourselves finally to shake hands. with and embrace the very things we once saw as the problem. Whereas Ryan Holiday has famously put it, the obstacle tends to be the way. How funny, how counterintuitive, how upside down life can see. But I think that's it. Sometimes it's not even that we're looking at the wrong things. So we're looking at the right things the wrong way.

Avoiding the call to step further into the world and deeper into ourselves. Terrified of scraping our knees on the climb, we burden ourselves. With a much more painful choice of staying at the bottom of the mountain and looking up. But the scars we've collected and will continue to collect on the way up, They do not make you less than. No, they are what make you beautiful. You see yourself and those scars is imperfect. I see someone who has lived, who has taken risks, fallen, and bounced back.

I see character and wisdom and elegance and boldness. In an imperfect world, those quote unquote flaws and scars, may, funny enough, just be the closest thing to perfection we'll ever experience. It's from our courage to step out, our willingness to crack that we flourish. Living necessarily includes a deterioration over time. But a deterioration of the external, because the internal, the internal, it stays young. It's underneath that forever crumbling world around us that we find the divine. It is because of our scars, not despite them, that we grow our wings.

They aren't to be feared but coveted. You are more because of the mistakes you made, the challenges you face, the adjustments you had to see through. And I believe our value increases. with each tear and break, resembling the Japanese art of Kinsugi, where a pot that breaks and is put back together with golden lacquer

holds more value than the original unblemished piece. See, Wolf says, I'm going to make everything around me beautiful. And I think this simply calls for an optical, adjustment. A shift in relations between things and how you perceive those things. Me, I don't want the whitest, cleanest, newest shoes. As far as I'm concerned, there's very little beauty to preserve there. I want shoes with worn souls from the miles and miles they carried me. Holes from the distance I had to walk to find the people who add joy to my life. Cracks from running in the rain

while the rest of the world stayed inside. I want my imperfections to show that I lived while I was here. So from now on, let's stop conflating perfect and beautiful. Perfect is no sense. Perfect is no skin in the game. Perfect is standing forever in the doorway looking out. Perfect is dreaming and wishing and hoping but never leaving because leaving is where our vision brushes up against a reality we may see as too big. No, we want not perfect but beautiful. We want scars and flaws and lessons and loss. Because from those things as difficult as they may be, we're born again. Imperfection is life, and life is beautiful.

So here's to more scuffed shoes and scrape knees, to walking an imperfect yet beautiful. ahead. You can be your greatest fan and also your biggest critic. In fact, not only is it healthy, it's necessary. To be there for yourself,

celebrate that commitment to show up, but also to hold yourself accountable for growth. Because to be great is to know there's more in you. To understand that there's greatness waiting to be extracted from the miracle that is,

You here are two words I want to take a look at both of them consistency and adaptation consistency first why because consistency gets you in the door it's the cost of admission consistency is you showing up for yourself day in and day out creating mastery and competency and through repetition, manufacturing a data set that will be used to guide your journey, taking a once stagnant idea, and putting it into motion. Consistency is doing what you promised yourself you'd do when you said you'd do it. Why? Because that's who you are. You create goals and then conquer those.

goals. When your head hits the pillow at night, you may be tired, you may have struggled, you may have swung and missed, you may be wondering how things unfolded the way they did, but you showed up. So celebrate that. Celebrate yourself, be your biggest fan. because the world can't take your will to step forward and cannot seize your consistency not without your permission. So other than part one, let's call consistency the commitment to show up for you.

Now the second piece. Consistency's older brother, adaptation. See, that consistency, like we just talked about it, It will get you in the door. It signs you up for the game, but it guarantees nothing. See where consistency puts that pen in your hand, paper in front of you.

Patch you on the back where consistency gives you a chance to write your story. One's level of success or achievement relies on their ability to adapt. To do the thing that's so hard for people to do, look at the mirror and ask, how can I be better? I've been consistent for 30 days, sure. Here's what's right, here's what's wrong. Now it's time to adjust, to be critical, to understand that expecting more of the self does not in any way diminish the task at hand. It gives you room to expand into that next version of yourself in a way that. that simply showing up doesn't.

Without a willingness to adapt, you get Einstein's definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. You get day after day of wondering why this square peg won't just save us all the trouble and go into the round hole. Without a willingness to adapt, we move for the sake of moving and we work for the sake of working. But if we could find it within ourselves,

to look at the data that's been acquired day after day and use it to help guide ourselves to that North Star, we'll find strength. To seek out the delta between where we are and where we want to be, that is power. But it calls for more than just showing up. It calls for looking around. It calls for observing and then,

adapting. So yeah, your greatest fan and your greatest critic. Be there for you, but don't let yourself get away with good enough. Showing up is critical. It's powerful, but it's just the beginning. If your eyes stay open, if you're willing to both love yourself and improve yourself simultaneously, all the world becomes available to you. There are no mountains you can't climb or oceans you can't cross. And sure, the world will do what the world does. It will place challenges before you. But rather than those challenges being the reason you can't, rather than accepting those

challenges as a permanent reality, they become nothing more than the next puzzle to be solved, the next little adaptation that's required of you. You show up, you self-assess, you adjust, and carry right on towards that horizon again and again. So when you find yourself frustrated or up against that wall, remember, you are building your ideal reality. Proud of yourself for showing up, for being consistent. Because as dire as it might seem, you overcame a lot to get here. But also know that the challenged hand is not an indictment of you or your goals.

It's your chance to review the game plan and adjust. Your opportunity to do what so many fail to do, not shrink from the world, but adapt yourself to it. Grow because of it. Today is your opportunity to take what the world gives you and build. something new. That morning, as I looked out the window, I could feel my increased heart rate, a sense of both excitement and anxiety that you can only really understand if you've lived it. I was worried about what people might think, what I might lose, what life might have in store for me, because that was all I knew to focus on.

I'd programmed myself to do one thing worry. And when your one thing is worrying, it's inevitable that you see life through a lens of scarcity. Your setting is on maintain, meaning you protect the little you have as opposed to seeking more. You play defense to keep the world out as opposed to the offense required to bring the world in so that it may be reshaped.

That morning, cold, wet, gray, I was numb. But deep down, completely oblivious to me, there was a little fire too small to recognize. A spark of courage in its infancy. See, at that moment, if someone asked me, can you even be scared and courageous at the same time? I would have said those two words do not go together. Right? We're talking night and day, fire and water black and white.

But time's job is to reveal, and it has shown that there is no courage without fear. there is no fire, no matter how bright or powerful, that doesn't by default bring about those mysterious shapes dancing in the shadows. If you want fire, great. But you must learn to dance with what hides in the periphery. You must learn to go where your impulse begs you not to. And so that morning, I went to dance with my demons. What if the one thing holding you back in your life was you?

And look, I know the world is a complex, multivariable, unfair, sometimes even cryptic place. I've never said anything to the contrary. But what humans do so well, sometimes for good and sometimes to our detriment, is see life through stories, ideas. And whether you know it or not, you are playing by a set of rules. Right now, as you take this in, you have defined a set of parameters and deemed them acceptable. Decided they are what you deserve. You've allowed for yourself a certain level of growth,

a certain amount of happiness, a certain amount of time to do it. to do what you love. A certain expectation around the role of work in your life, a certain window of income you've identified as reasonable. Overall, a certain feeling you get when you look in the mirror. And my objective is not to tell you that any of the above is good or bad. It's to remind you that they are all stories. Our current state is not etched in stone.

it's clumsily drawn on a dry erase board. Clumsily, because how could we know everything? We learn along the way in a dry erase board because there's never a moment in time in which you cannot begin again. Think about that. Never. Good, bad, or in between,

there is never a situation from which you, You can't emerge as something different, from which you can't choose to take a different path. Change the narrative around you, your relationships, your job, your goals. But like the elephant tied to the chair with the rope, one must learn that it is not the chair holding them back, but their perception, their understanding of a supposed role in the in life. So as I drove away that morning, I wasn't leaving a physical place, but a mental constraint. Turning my back on a manufactured idea about who I was and what life would allow. Not in a snap, no, not all at once, but an adventure that would begin pulling back the curtains one by one.

on all that I'd walked right by. See, the first step to getting more is understanding you've been accepting less. That is where new roads present themselves, and it is that new road that I want for you. That understanding that so much will be given to those with the courage to ask. So as you stand now, examine what you've been asking of life. My hunch is that perhaps it's not enough. Perhaps there's more. Perhaps a new chapter is waiting to begin,

and right now is when that first page gets turned. Joseph Campbell says that the cave you fear holds the treasure you seek. Why? Because to face the dancing shadows is to gain power over them. It shows our mind that reality is far less scary than our perception of reality, that no chain or lock or wall can be more debilitating than the mental constraints we create by ourselves in our heads. It shows that the man guarding the door can just as easily. be the one who unlocks it. And so what better a time than now

to turn that key? To step out and confront what was once nothing more than a vast emptiness. Jump into the cold water of opportunity that shocks us at first. Creates pins and needles and discomfort, but ultimately

provides a chance to acclimate to and navigate a foreign world. You, you just need to jump and not a mountain, but a foot. Enough to start earning that confidence, creating that self-trust, believing in yourself. So drive away. To the understanding that there is always another level if you want it. To the belief that nothing is outside the realm of possibility, those boundaries can be redrawn. To the idea that no one tells you who you are or what you're capable of, the world doesn't give orders, it reacts to who you decide to be.

To the awareness that possible victories always outweigh in magnitude the possible defeat. To the realization that who you were yesterday is in no way related to who you can be tomorrow, all chapters end and you decide when that happens. Everything else belongs in the rear view. Success is knowing this. It's believing it, holding on when others would let go, be reassured by the incremental nature of what's ahead. Zero miracles. Just the courage to be able.

Just push the ball down the hill. Give life a chance to help you create momentum. No more thinking, worrying, procrastinating, just go. It's incredible how fast things change when we grant ourselves that freedom, when we see all of the world is open to us. But will you open your mind to that opportunity? I've said this before and I'll say it again, nothing is sure in life. But you are guaranteed to lose if you don't go.

It's to let falsehoods and debilitating stories guide your way. So stop letting these narratives tell you who you are and create reality with your feet. Why? Because you can. Because you were meant for more. and because more starts.