Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Break Free: Define Your Limits, Design Your Life

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

Sometimes, the biggest barriers in life aren’t external—they’re the walls we build within ourselves. In this episode, we’ll explore the “truths” we’ve accepted, the rules we’ve followed, and the limitations we’ve unconsciously placed on our lives. These invisible cages, often rooted in outdated beliefs or fear, can keep us from reaching our fullest potential. Today is an invitation to step back and examine your life from a higher vantage point. What assumptions have been holding you back? What might life look like if you let go of those self-imposed limits? It’s time to rewrite your narrative, break free, and embrace the expansive life that’s waiting for you. Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube 

Today, if you're willing, is a call to examine some of those truths and rules that you live by. Those things that you've deemed as fact, maybe completely unintentionally, that are a misrepresentation of truth and in the grand scheme of things keeping you from living your best life. Call them what you will. Man-made walls. Self-induced. limitations, however you want to identify it or recognize it, but it's not until you step out. And view it again from a higher vantage point that you realize maybe, just maybe, you've been caging yourself this entire time. You've been living a fraction of the life that you're capable of living. Someone sent me a soundbite. Jeremy Boring, who's the CEO of a media company, where he was saying, just generically,

be careful who you take advice from. Because, and I'm going to paraphrase a lot of this, but the idea should come through. He says, I get a lot of financial advice from people who don't have two pennies to rub together. And it's not that they aren't amazing friends with amazing intentions and, you know, I love them, but they don't have what I want.

So how would they be able to give advice? He says one thing I heard growing up was Jeremy, money doesn't grow on trees. He said, you know, it wasn't until much later that I realized hell yeah, it does. Wealth is created out of thin air. A lagging indicator to value add. There are infinite ways to generate it.

And so to think that there's a finite amount or that it's a time for money transaction, that's a limiting belief. Now ask yourself how many people believe that. And so it made me think a few things, prompted a few different thoughts. First, it's luckily an example of me hearing exactly what I needed to hear,

exactly when I needed to hear it. My team and I are behind the scenes looking to pivot and add more value in different ways. And so I'm so stubborn with my approach, I'd rather do nothing than, create new products or services or media for that matter that aren't aligned with our North Star. I have to be excited about stuff or it's a no from me. And so just re-centering the focus around the question of how do you best serve your audience? How do you add more value to the

marketplace? It's just great to hear that again. So that's one. And then two, because you know the I had to ask, well, what my, some other limitations in my life be? I haven't done this exercise in a while. Where am I building walls around myself? A few things came up. First, perhaps juggling personal relationships in the work that I love. There's room for that to be reimagined. I still think I need to kick the door open creatively.

I don't know how or what that looks like, but you know when just in your soul you feel like there's more. That needs to be unpacked. And then lastly, just the scope of what I'm doing. It's so easy to get comfortable and diminish what can be. And by the way, I don't know anyone who doesn't do this. It's a full-time job. You have to work to continuously push yourself out of your comfort zone,

to be bigger onto better thing. And so I have to hand this over to you, this simple question. What are some things that maybe you've accepted as just reality or the way things are? Some things you've deemed to be truth that are whole. holding you back that you can take a sledge hammer to. Are you willing to take a walk, spend some time alone with yourself, and examine what life could look like with those walls kicked down? Because we wake up and we do the same things and we see the same people and we go to the same

places. But there's no mandate that prohibits you from stepping outside of that, from going out into the world and demanding more of it. One of my favorite mantras, the world only gives you what you ask of it. So are you asking it for the right things? Are you asking the right questions? I hope this finds you at the right moment in time. The universal nudge reminding you that you have so much more control of your life than you think you do.

Never outsource that or concede to the whims of chance like a leaf blowing in the wind. If it's not ideal, make it ideal. If it's not yours, make it yours. Bring it home, take ownership. The world is meant for you if you choose to make it so. Marcus Aurelius wrote, Frightened of Change, but what can exist without it?

What's closer to nature's heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood as it was? Eat food without transforming it? Can any vital process take place without something being changed? Can't you see it's just the same with you and just as vital to nature? The only thing consistent about the world we live in is change. But it also happens to be one of the hardest things to wrap our heads around. We want consistency.

We want predictability. And this innate desire is often a tension with the action we need to take. Right? You can't stay the same and evolve. The Stoics often point to our impermanence as an incentive to grow. To live the lives we were meant to live. Because eventually the lights are going to turn off. And the question will be, what will you have done while they were on?

I was talking to an entrepreneur recently, working on a new startup just out of college. And I said to him, it's pretty amazing that you have the courage to do that, to take all those risks, to network, to hustle, to put yourself out there like you are. Be proud of that. As Jordan Peterson says,

it's not nothing, right? It's a big deal. And he said, thanks, man. I appreciate that, but it's just how I'm wired. This is not difficult for me. It's what I was destined to do. it feels right. And I thought, man, that's special, right?

Because for me, and we have very different businesses, but it's like content creation is what comes natural, writing, right? And all the other stuff can be a battle. It's pushing myself over and over again to do the uncomfortable things that I don't necessarily want to, but know that I need to. And I'm sure he has some version of that too in his own world. Obviously, we all do. It just so happens that the things.

that are easy for him and natural to him are difficult for me. Some of those things I have to really get myself amped up to do. Like I go speak at a two-day conference and I love it. The connections, the exchange of wisdom, meeting new people, seeing new faces. But that's some high energy stuff, right, being quote unquote on for that long. It's a muscle that I've worked pretty hard at. I've really focused on to grow. And when it's done, I have to totally decompress.

I go MIA and write about it for a few days afterwards. It's just how I am. But the point is, the point I'm trying to make, is the ability to do those difficult things came from that understanding that we aren't here forever. There's an impermanence tied to what we do. And to truly capture the beauty of life, we need to dive into that difficulty.

There's a lot of, you know, important stuff there. As Joseph Campbell notes, the cave you fear holds the treasure you seek. And sure, change is difficult. It will always be difficult. But it's intertwined, as Marcus Raleigh has mentioned, in growth. It's the bridge to everything that is more. It's learning to see staying the same as a wolf and sheep's clothing. The train's going to go by.

We can either hop on or we can watch it fade into the distance. as our own clocks tick away. Not to mention, and we've all felt this at some point, there's no better feeling than having stepped into what scared you most and used it as a slingshot to propel you towards the thing that means something to you. It's a beautiful feeling.

To revisit that quote, frightened of change, well, what can exist without it? So true. Life is either going to change around you, or with you. You can either watch it or step into it. And that's the idea worth holding on to. Don't deprive yourself of the true joy,

happiness, satisfaction of knowing you didn't sit back and watch life change from afar. You became an architect of that growth. The train of life is moving. The clocks of life are ticking. And to try and hold on to a moment in time is a fool's errand, right? ride the now like it's a wave.

Use the finitude of our time here as a reminder that in X many years, your time will have expired. And you'll have either climbed the mountain or stayed at its base worried. You'll have either followed your intuition or pushed it away in exchange for a temporary comfort.

And maybe that's it. We don't want predictability. We just think we do. We just want to bottle up some consistency amidst the world that's always moving. Not knowing that to move along with the world is the only way to find ourselves, to uncover what we were meant to do with our time and who we were meant to share our time with. At a certain point, the sun's going to set.

And you'll have to ask yourself, did you hide in its shadows or did you bask in its light? Let it lead you to new paths with new adventures. did you make an effort to step onto the stage that it illuminated for you? During your time here, the world changed. Did you? Use what you have where you are. A friend of mine at one point found himself in his mid-20s, fighting his way back from what he refers to as a pretty substantial setback that had occurred.

He was basically rebuilding his life. Okay, found himself. looking up at an enormous mountain to climb. Unsure what he would do for a living, how he would make ends meet, very much lacking direction. And as he pondered, he got a job as a pizza oven repair guy. Learn the ins and outs of the craft as he showed up every day, I still focus down the road, still contemplating

what would be the best move for his future. And as some time passed, he started to realize, He was mastering the very niche craft that he was showing up to do every day. Right? It was acquiring a very specific competency and quickly becoming great at it. After a little bit of time, he started thinking, hey, I could branch out on my own here. I could start my own pizza oven repair business. And he did.

And after not too long, hired an entire team to to work with him, then progressed into delivering and installing new ovens all over the country, and is currently working on some new technology as well to supplement the install and repair part of the business. The guy's doing incredibly well. And it's interesting because you're having a conversation with him about his success, and it's like, how on earth did you find yourself doing what you do? It's so specific.

And he'll tell you, you know, he worried, he pondered, he thought about business degrees and career trajectories and all that. But the difference was that he didn't take the moment for granted. He saw the value where he was with what he had. Where, you know, he could have seen it as a bridge job or a chapter in the story or however you want to describe it. He saw it as an opportunity. He saw the present as the answer. Show up and give everything you have to being great now. Because when you're competent in a craft and ambitious, as he is, that's a scary combo.

The world becomes yours. Use what you have where you are. And you will, because of this monstrosy, doors unlock that perhaps you never thought possible. There are pieces around you now that will push you to grow and evolve. The problem is we very often dismiss them. What my friend turned into an empire, a success story, could just as easily have been an obligation while he waited for the world to give him something different.

And sure, I think it's important for me to emphasize the point isn't to stay where you are forever, you're unhappy. Of course not. The point is that there's value in aiming to be exceptional at whatever it is you are doing, whatever you are committing to, even if it appears Monday. The point is that so much potential is sewn into our day to day, it just tends to blend in and not feel important, at least at first glance. You know, doors open for people who are great at what they do, When people who are great at what they do live with a curiosity, consistency, and intensity that others might not.

It's amazing how when we feel that we are gaining competence in something or excelling in something, it becomes enjoyable, which highlights the fact that, you know, so often our stagnation is a byproduct of us standing in our own way, choosing not to grow. I mean, I can't explain how trivial what I do now felt when I first started in 2014. Sharing my thoughts into a microphone, making little three-minute videos, uploading them to the internet, right? To an audience of my immediate family for zero dollars. You know how dumb my rational brain was trying to convince me that was? You know how easy it would have been to move on and simply look back on that period of time as my little YouTube experiment?

But again, there is this strange phenomenon that when you inject yourself into something and vow to get better at it, it lifts you up, it excites you, it brightens your world. I had, as I've talked about, so many times found that intersection of what I love and what adds value to others. And that was everything. And the solution appeared not because, you know, I bumped into someone that had some life-changing opportunity for me. It wasn't because I found this shortcut or secret formula. No, I just used what was already sitting in my little apartment on Comav in Boston. It's incredible how often our answers are right where we are. That's why, as I've progressed through this journey, I understand balance.

I understand the value of, sure, looking at that horizon, having big plans and ambition, but also cherishing the opportunity at our feet now, looking around. Because again and again and again, the opportunity is disguised as triviality, is that stuff we walk right by. Always remember that there's something around you that can be transformed into opportunity, even if it's small. And if you choose to look for it, you will empower yourself. everyday things.

I can throw off examples for days. The internet. Incredible resource. Leverage it. Whether it's connecting or sharing or creating or learning. Your day-to-day effort. Like my friend with the pizza oven, insulation repair company. That world doesn't exist if he doesn't take the little things incredibly seriously.

Show up to whatever you do with the table. tenacity that will propel you to new height, whether it's in that same field or it carries you over to another. Or utilizing your network, there are people you know today right now that can contribute to your momentum, seek them out. Time, the 30-minute blocks that we deem insignificant or downtime between one event and another. Think of the compounding of turning that into a, you know, a push-up session every day or your 30-minute audiobook time. And sure, All of these examples are sort of sporadic. They're contextually different.

But they have one very important common theme. And that's opportunity being squeezed out of resources that we already possess. It's instead of walking by the pile of bricks every morning, picking one up at a time and beginning to stack them. I'm a firm believer that the difference maker for so many, is not IQ. It's not going to this or that college. It's not your background. It's, did you recognize the opportunities surrounding you? Did you find the value or the excuse? Because both will always exist. And that's what we have to understand. The details around you can be your reason for staying

right where you are or for doing the unimaginable. So understand the power of you. So understand the power of of utilizing what you have where you are. Make a point to look for the tools within reach. They say what's trash or junk to one man can be treasure to another. We'll understand that your eyes are capable of seeing both. You have to leave them to the value. You have to become comfortable with pausing, letting the emotions subside and asking,

how can I win here now with the pieces that are available to me? Because they are available. And if you're willing to pick them up, you can undoubtedly, as Thoreau said, build your castles in the air. I learned recently how grateful I am for storms. Quiet skies don't show you how strong you are. Calm doesn't force you to love.

level up. No, it's when the ground shakes we learn to endure. We're forced to find within ourselves a resilience that was once tucked away. They say confidence is earned, and well, it's earned because when we walk through hell, we give our greatness permission to walk alongside us. We grow in proportion to the discomfort we allow in our lives. Our evolution is tied to the stressors we face, and When we don't know what to do, we have to look in the mirror and find solutions. When we don't know where to go, we learn to navigate foreign, even hostile terrain. When we allow life to push us, we learn to push back. If you want more, allow more to be placed before you.

A lot of us want to be slaying dragons. but never find the courage to approach the mountain where the dragons sleep. A lot of us want our blades sharpened but never approach the fire that would forge them. It's not discomfort for the sake of discomfort. No, it's discomfort so that your greatness receives the invite to materialize. It's discomfort so that you can teach yourself what you're capable of. when you stay safe you remain tied to reality as it is when you avoid chaos you never learn to shape it

and it's in shaping the turbulence that we become capable that we grow so remember that voice that voice telling you to step down to shy away from difficulty chaos and discomfort that voice is completely at odds with your potential. That voice wants to preserve.

It doesn't want conflict because conflict threatens the now. But a life fully lived takes the current state, it smashes it on the floor, and it rebuilds over and over again. A life fully lived is walking through the fire so that you are forced to become someone who can handle the flames. Be grateful for those storms. They give the excellence within you a face. They take you by the hand and show you what you've been capable of since the very day you were born.

Be you always. And you might hear that and think, well, that's obvious. That's simple. That's easy. Not if the world has something to say about it. In fact, Emerson is quoted as saying to be yourself in a world that's constantly trying to make you someone else is the greatest accomplishment. It's not always obvious, but rather the subtle erosion of ourselves. Perhaps not intentionally deciding to wear a mask. It's never taking the time to examine the reflection in the mirror and ask the right questions. Losing our intentionality means we end up wherever the wind blows us. And that could very well be a destination we aren't too happy with.

Now this next part will seem a little trivial and insignificant. But bear with me, right? Because sometimes the most important lessons are small, but they become a portal or a gateway to understand the bigger things, right? So for me, this started with a black t-shirt. Walking into a group meeting with some amazing people from all over the country and world doing different things and helping people in various ways.

And all of them, as I entered the conference room, happened to be wearing business casual, which is great, except I haven't worn a collar in a pretty long time. I've been doing my podcast, recording videos, building my businesses in a black t-shirt. And so that's how I walked into the room. And I found it interesting that almost immediately this self-talk emerged.

It's like you stand out right now. They're going to think less of you. Is this disrespectful? Is this showing that perhaps I don't care, right? All of these things. And so I left that day and I sat with the thoughts. They bothered me, so I wanted to spend some time with them. Here's where I landed, taking those same points one by one.

Number one, if they think less of me for being me, then that would be on them and not me. I'd gladly fight that uphill battle to earn people's respect in my authenticity. Number two, it's not disrespectful because I am happy to be there, proud to be there. I do take pride in my appearance. I just do it in my way. And number three, be you always. How you show up is what matters. Having the courage to live in a way that aligns with who you are and what's important to you.

And why do I say this? Because if we can grasp this idea with something as trivial and as small as a black t-shirt in a conference room, perhaps we can then push it into other areas of life. the bigger things, the more important things. Like who's in that room to begin with, right? Who are we surrounding ourselves with? How do we spend our time? There's two ingredients to this recipe.

One, who am I slash what matters? And two, how can I position myself so that that is the arena I'm operating in? Sometimes we don't do it because we're scared, but sometimes we don't do it because we never ask the right questions. When you can find and hold your authenticity, you feel it. and soul others. The question transforms from how can I blend in and not disrupt to how can I use the abundance

that surrounds me to live a life that's meaningful. There's a lot of us metaphorically walking around in collared shirts when they're not what we're meant to be wearing, right? A lot of us asking, how do I not screw this up? Instead of asking, how do I go get what's mine and do it in a way that matters to me? Be you always. And the closer you are to that, the more powerful you will be. It means understanding who in your life adds to that and who in your life detracts from it.

It means looking around and asking, am I doing this for me or for others? Said old airplane mantra, you have to put your mask on first before assisting others or no one gets saved. No one gets the value. In a way, life is a beautiful pursuit of simplicity. of really distilling your world down to what matters and pushing away the rest. Because like moths to a flame, the complexity and unnecessary minutia finds us. It latches on and becomes what we carry around.

I better not let go, says the lizard brain. This is how things are supposed to be. This is what everyone is doing. But when you find that clarity, truly capture it. Yeah, you earn the respect of others around you. in that metaphorical conference room, but most importantly, you earn your own respect. You, to a greater extent,

appreciate that face staring back at you in the mirror. Think about it this way. They do not build statues for those who blended in the best, who conformed. Right, no, we build statues for those who had the courage to live in their authenticity, to do things their way. Because we understand how unique,

how powerful, how difficult that is. Be you always. There's nothing more powerful than that. In a way, the world is a mirror that reflects how you feel. And if life is consistently mirroring back images that aren't ideal, perhaps it's time to chip away, not at the world, but at yourself. It's time to work.

And sometimes, that's roll up your sleeves and be better work. Let's get up a little bit earlier work. It's at the gym or study or give more work. But sometimes it's acknowledging that if in this chapter of your life, you find everything around you intimidating or too distant or out of reach, It's not because the world is too big, but rather you've let your own image get too small. It's the identity that needs the maintenance. We do things because we see ourselves as doers of those things.

Soccer players play soccer. Writers write. Painers paint. No one who's ever identified or introduced himself as a runner has ever broken a world deadlift record. No runners do runner things. Bodybuilders do bodybuilder things. People who view themselves as small do small things and people who see themselves as capable or strong, daring, adventurous,

larger than life, well, you get the point. We're out there over-analyzing all these details, trying to decipher code without realizing that we've already won or lost. You gave yourself permission to run 50 yards and then became Sherlock Holmes. trying to figure out why the world wouldn't let you reach Yard 51. We go as far as we allow ourselves to go. We do as much as we allow ourselves to do.

We become who we allow ourselves to be. They're not saying the other variables don't matter. Of course they do. I'm saying over time those variables become blocks for us to build ourselves up or build walls around ourselves that keep us down. In one place. If the world feels blue,

land, give yourself permission to seek out the beauty. Be someone who finds joy in life. If the world feels lonely, give yourself permission to connect with others. Be someone who brings people together. If the world feels chaotic and confusing, give yourself permission to break it down. Be someone who turns big things into small, manageable things. If the world feels sad and disheartening, and give yourself permission to uncover what makes you smile. Be someone who in the darkness of night can find that light switch. Because for every reason to be sad, there's one to be happy. For every reason to be weak, there's one to be strong, so on and so forth.

Of course, it's not the easiest to remember when we look out and don't like what we see. But knowing that the solution is internal, knowing that you decide who you are, where you're going, and where you stop, as much as humanly possible, it puts fate in your hands, which is right where it should be. Stop protecting what you've built. Like what you've built is what holds the value. No, the value is in the builder, his or her knowledge and ability to build again and again if they so desire. On an episode last week, I talked about a conversation recently had at a mastermind in Santa Monica. I want to pass along one more piece of wisdom from that day that I found to be incredibly valuable. This was just a random comment made by someone in the group.

And so to kick off the scenario, someone asks everyone in the room, hey, but what if things don't work out? And it was more specific. I forget exactly what it was. what it was, something along the lines of what if the monthly revenue decreases, or, you know, what if, you know, my target or my intended outcome doesn't evolve or unfold the way I wanted it to, what then? Is it worth taking the risk? And this person stands up and says, listen, we need to stop looking at our businesses, like it is the only business, like it is something that needs to be

protected, that if it falls down or if it's taken away, it's over, it's the end of us. We are entrepreneurs, which means the power and strength is in our ability to build again, not the thing that's built. Right. Theoretically, we should be able to do this over and over and over again. And what we do, and obviously I'm paraphrasing all of this, right? But what we do is we put cages around ourselves and our potential. You know, we shackle ourselves to the current moment instead of taking the necessary risks

because we're thinking, what if we lose it all? Well, fine. It's the ability to build again. And I love the idea because, man, it's relatable to me. I have three businesses I'm growing right now, and every single one of them, I find myself playing conservative at times, not wanting to break the momentum or what's going. I've spent a decade building this.

And the most valuable thing I've acquired or produced is not the company. It's the ability to add value. That's what's been built. And even if the physical company disappeared overnight, no one can take what's been learned. I think it was in the book The Happiness Hypothesis, which was one of the first books I read

almost a decade ago prior to starting my personal brand and really beginning my journey. And the idea was, like, you could take everything away from the top, I don't know, 2 to 5%, maybe it was all the way up to 10. And they would reacquire it in the next 10 years. Because it's not the stuff they had that made the difference. It was their ability to acquire it.

Their understanding of the world, not looking at life through a scarcity mindset, but an abundance mindset, positioning themselves to build and grow. That's something that cannot be taken away. This is all a message that is hitting at the exact time I need to hear it, right? Be bold. No, that's not bold. That's maintenance. That's doing what you've always done. Plus, maybe a little extra here or there.

Right. Truly living is about uncapping yourself in totality. Really reaching. Because you know that it's not the entity that holds the value. It's the one or ones who brought it to life. It's crazy to me that even when you are aware of fear, when you understand our proclivity to play scared, right? You get it. It's something we need to look out for. Even then. do we still find in our own lives places where we're limiting ourselves? As if the fear just hides in the shadows, controlling the subconscious from a distance, like a puppet master. Strength, growth, evolution is the ability to find that fear and dismantle it. As was said to me a few years ago, most actions are reversible. Meaning you can make a mistake and it can be reversed.

It can almost always be fixed. or at least re-approach from a more intelligent angle. But what certainly cannot be fixed or changed or adjusted are roads never walked. Adventures never begun. And with a scarcity mindset, you spend your entire life in your corner protecting the little fragments of life you've collected along the way. That's it. But if you can flip that, if you can flip that,

If you can find a way to see the abundance, the value, the infinite opportunity, you realize it's not in those little fragments you've collected, but the understanding that you can always collect more and not only that, build something beautiful with them, not only acquire more, but use them to create a new reality. Bend and shape the word normal like it's clay. Like the world around you's not giving orders, but taking them. You hold the value, not what you've made. You. We've all heard give a boy a fish,

feed him for a day, teach him to fish, feed him for life. I'm going to give it my all, make it my priority to remember every step along the way that it's in my ability to fish that value exists. If I'm not able to catch anything on a particular day, life moves on and so do I. If what I've caught goes bad or expires, life moves on, and so do I. It's in the action. It's in the doing. That's not only why you can take the risk and shoot for the moon. It's why you must.

I was recently in Dallas, visiting some old friends, and I was chatting with someone that I've been friends with for a long time. And he was mentioning that he's gone through some pretty big life. changes over the past few years and was excited about the fact that after a pretty rough stretch, he had recovered or found his workout routine again, sort of a revival in his old identity. Because for context, he'd always been a pretty athletic guy growing up. But just like it happened to anyone, you know, other things emerged and took priority, right? They swept in and, you know, kind of consumed him for a period of time. And I guess, you know, in a way, that part of him that used to fire on all cylinders was buried.

He lost him. And so anyway, we're talking, and he's saying that he had been a little down, you know, put on a little weight. And the struggle was, according to him, making time for fitness in his now incredibly busy life. He's got a toddler running around a very time-intensive job. on top of that, he's remodeling houses, he's doing a lot. And this is the part that stood out to me. He said, Eddie, I've tried everything. I went through, you know, quick phases where I was motivated,

but I couldn't, you know, maintain that consistency. I was working. And then after work, I'd be with my son, who was, you know, just too little to leave alone for 45 minutes. And this is what's funny because it sounds so simple, but, you know, he says, I found a gym with a daycare so I could bring my son and work out for 45 minutes. And that's when I was able to establish a routine.

And that one action or decision allowed my entire life to get back on track. Right? That was the rock I had to move, which is the phraseology that I want to focus on here. I think it's brilliant the way he said it. You know, basically once I could figure out how to work out on afternoons, when he's with me, I was able to make it go from summer. sometimes a thing to always a thing. That was again, the rock that had to be moved.

And now I can clearly see from the conversation, right? The guy's happier, feels better about himself. And you know how it is when you're in that space. It starts to carry over into all aspects of life. And I'm thinking, this is so powerful, right? I told him I'm going to steal this rock metaphor and share it on the podcast on YouTube because that, in my opinion, is the way to look. at meaningful change. He nails it. It's not what do I need to get or acquire or add, like,

you know, we tend to think in those situations. No, it's what's preventing me from leveling up. What do I need to move to get rid of? Where is the boulder I have to push out of the way? And sure, there's a temptation to perhaps oversimplify, but I think that's exponentially better than the alternative, which is making things unnecessarily complex. And in a way, that's what humans do best anyway, right? The world is infinite numbers and data points and variables. Humans just pick a few and create stories with them. So to me, there is value in truly simplifying and saying,

okay, that's where I want to be. What's the one thing I could remove that would free me up to start moving that way? Where is my rock that has to be relocated? And it's funny when we find those things, right? It's like turning on the light in a dark room. Everything begins to make sense. You feel momentum. You feel like you're in it.

And again, how you feel when you go to bed at night becomes your identity. It's not because you're solving the problem right away, but because you feel that progress. Progress equals happiness, right? Human beings are invigorated by meaning, the pursuit of purpose. When we're stuck, the painful part isn't necessarily being stuck as much as it's that we're not moving towards what matters. We need that growth.

And for my buddy to see that, it was moving the mental rock of, I can't have a good workout when I'm watching my son. Those two things are mutually exclusive. Remove that limiting belief and boom. And maybe in your particular situation, you know, there are numerous rocks that need to be moved. Incredibly plausible, right? But we can only move one at a time. And like dominoes, you have to push the first one down before the other start to fall.

So where can you push? Which I also like because it emphasizes the power and control we have in our own lives. Again, situations are messy and complex. I get that. But if you can simplify it down to what is one thing that's preventing me from going or changing or stopping or whatever it is for you, what's the big obstacle? Okay, there it is. Let's chip away. Let's move this thing.

It's as if your frustration over immobility is a dam. And what you need to do is add more water to the reservoir, but find out what you can remove to start letting that water flow. You want it to move freely. Because I believe life is a momentum game. It really is. You win when you feel like you're progressing, when you feel like you're taking steps. That's when you're excited.

That's when you jump out of bed invigorated. That's where you look for solutions. So look around you. There's always a step to be taken. In fact, I simplify to the extent that my mantra is, number one, know that change is possible. And number two, know that the next move is within an arm's reach of where you stand right now. Understanding and believing those two things is power.

Don't get disillusioned by how far the top of the mountain feels or how long you've been in one place wishing things were different. None of that matters. The goal is to manufacture momentum and that's what you do. So do it by initiating one small action that frees you up to start walking that way. And it's amazing when you're in motion, Things seem to make sense in a way that they simply didn't when you were stationary. That's why it's important to understand that you don't need to have all the answers.

In fact, it's impossible to have all the answers. The journey provides them. The path contains the secrets. Therefore, the goal should be to get yourself stepping down that path. No overly harsh out of this world unrealistic expectations. Simply be your own biggest ally here. Remove what you don't need and free yourself of that unnecessary minutia. It's go time.

I go back and forth often, as you've heard me do here, right? It's like, yes, life is messy, it's complex. That's true to culmination of infinite variables and data points. But guess what our job is? Guess what your power is to hone in on the select few of them necessary to tell your story. Human beings have survived for thousands and thousands of years because we are masters of simplification. Masters of ignoring what we don't need. And distilling the complex down into what's actionable.

And perhaps that's where you are now, what you need to do most. It's like, I'm not where I want to be. Okay, in simple terms, where do I want to be? What does my mountaintop look like? What am I doing now that's getting in the way? and what rocks do I need to move that will get me started down that path to something new. There are some pretty basic themes that consistently reemerge in most of my videos and podcast episodes. The idea of us having control, agency, the idea that fear can be an ally.

As Joseph Campbell states, the cave you fear holds the treasure you seek. The idea that you're not your past, right? And there are a few more. But essentially, today's episode takes them all and places them in the palm of your hand. It reminds you that in totality, this is all about you being the author of your story. And you don't need the whole book written, ideas, character development, and all that stuff will come into your head as you write as the pen hits the paper. You just need to find that starting point.

self-assess, identify that little piece of opportunity that was hidden beneath the excess and begin. A tree grows, not because it wants to, but because it was created to. It's a story about potential. Right. And about a decade ago, right when I started writing, speaking, creating content online, I came across that message, and it was transformative for me. The idea that human beings are the only life form that will do less than they possibly can. The full quote, by no surprise, Jim Rohn, he says,

every life form seems to strive to its maximum except human beings. How tall will a tree grow, as tall as it possibly can. human beings on the other hand have been given the dignity of choice you can choose to be all or you can choose to be less so why not stretch up to the full measure of the challenge and see what you can do

beautifully said right imagine every night of your life going to bed knowing that there was more inside of you imagine running a race knowing there were other levels that you could have reached for but didn't. Imagine looking back on a life of infinite possibility in knowing you created finite parameters. Now I'm not saying you have to live every waking moment obsessed with

always being better than you currently are, right? I'm merely asking you a question. Aren't you curious? Don't you want to know what that ceiling is, that space for which excellence has been reserved. I often think every time I hop on a rowing machine at the gym, that, you know, it highlights the gap in black and white between what I'm doing and what I'm capable of. Love-hate relationship with that machine. It brings me back to my college days,

the days I first learned to truly push myself. I get on it now for one-minute sprints as part of a sort of a workout program I'm doing. And I just think there's no evading that concrete, number the screen gives me exactly how many meters I went in 60 seconds right there right in front of me and then I ask imagine if the stakes were higher imagine if this wasn't just a workout imagine if someone said on sprint number four Eddie if this is not your fastest sprint of the day you lose X or why is going to happen to you whatever those very very very

variables may be. Eddie, if this isn't your fastest sprint, insert worst fear. What's going to happen? I'm going to break that record. I just am. My body is going to find a way. And that's what's interesting. That's the point. Okay. What this metaphor is not an indicator that you need to go around scaring yourself into personal best. But what it is is a reminder that there's always more there right in front of you if you want it. It's a pointing out that we all live somewhere under what our best could be.

And knowing that is such a powerful tool. It's powerful because there's no screen showing you the meters you traveled when it comes to where you are with your work, or your health, or your relationships. There are indicators, sure. But so much goes on measure.

How much did you do today? Did you feel good about your output? How good? Because there's always another level. And maybe the solution is more. Maybe the solution is an audit of time spent. Maybe it's adjusting your compass altogether, but there exists a best in you that is untapped.

Always. And the question remains, aren't you curious? Aren't you curious what that next? level looks like. That should make you feel good because your current circumstance is as permanent as today's weather. What you don't like can be changed. What isn't aligned can be adjusted. If it's not good enough, you can make it so. One of my favorite idea is life is a game of adjustment. The question's how far are you willing to push to grow, keyword willing. Some people decide to stop at point A. Others stop at point B, others point C.

And that's for them to decide. That's a decision, a personal decision they've made. But the million dollar piece of knowledge is that in all cases, that landing spot was a decision. It was not fate. It was not handed out by a stranger on the street. You choose how hard to pull and you decide which levers are worth pulling. See we are the only living beings capable of underperforming and that's amazing take that run with that because it also means we are the only living creatures capable of rationally looking around assessing the situation and saying I don't like this reality I'm going to rebuild my own. The world is yours. You just have to decide

Which world you are willing to accept? Which world are you willing to fight for? Which world are you going to call your own? 90 seconds is too much. It just is. I can't do 90 seconds. And I can't do 90 seconds because my brain can't compute 90 seconds. But I can do 30 seconds.

And I can do 30 seconds. Forever. As we navigate our day-to-day, it's hard to see that because so often our day-to-day lacks clarity. So what can we do about it? Well, we can place ourselves in situations where we are reminded. One of them, I've talked about before, being the cold plunge, immersing yourself in cold water. We're sure, there are health benefits. some of which are debated and disputed, but I certainly notice value in that department. But to me, that's not the biggest value at,

not even close. To me, it's simply the daily reminder that I can do hard things, that it's who I am. We need to reestablish that consistently. Confidence is earned. And I know in my life, I must earn it repeatedly.

And when I'm immersed in the cold and shivering, there's always a point in my mind, however brief, that I'm thinking I want out now. The other day, I was at this point, looked at my watch 90 seconds left, and that day in that moment, it felt like an eternity, just too much. And those of you who are endurance athletes, for example, you know that when your body's operating at max capacity, you're suffering, you're exhausted, 90s. seconds is truly a lifetime. When you look at it like that, it's too much discomfort for a minute and a half. Your heart starts beating. Your mind starts worrying, right? So what do we do about it?

We look at it a little differently, because from a different angle, you can skip it. You can do 30 seconds. The brain can grasp and digest 30 seconds. You can do anything for 30 seconds. Okay. So you start counting. All of a sudden, 30 gone. Now what? Well, you just did 30. You see how quick that went? Do another 30. Okay. Done.

Just like that. Now what? 30 more. But this is the last 30. You don't even feel anything on the last 30, right? Come on. Adrenaline's going. You can feel the finish line.

This is free time. This is a gift. This is cruise control. And now, done. You didn't have to do 90 seconds. You only had to do three by 30. and anyone's saying, come on, man, that's the same thing. Yeah, it's the same when you're not under duress,

but it's a miracle when you are. So why is running life? Why is cold plunging life? Why is putting your body through stress or difficulty life? Because you remember that, life is taking big, difficult, seemingly complex things and breaking them down into manageable tasks. That is life.

The pieces are always manageable. Now the monster we allow the pieces to become when we stack them up and give them an invisible face, that's not so manageable. That's self-sabotage. And so to arm yourself with the understanding. that all big things must be broken down is to green light the extraordinary. On day one in 2014, a YouTube channel with zero subscribers growing to help over 100,000 people a day. That's a 90 second cold plunge. Unfathomable, unthinkable, impossible.

But one video weekly, at least for nine years, that's a 30 second cold. It's very doable. Standing in front of the mirror, practicing storytelling, speaking, it's 30 seconds. Reaching out to others to learn to get better, 30 seconds in cold water.

It's like you look back and you see that you endured that 90 second plunge simply by breaking it down. That's all growth is. That's all evolution is. evolution is, finding the smallest piece possible in making it action. And then watching that transform, multiply, compound over time. In one of my favorite books, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, this reminder comes through

beautiful. Louis Amperini, an American prisoner of war in Japanese internment camps during World War. He basically experiences unimaginable hell in suffering. He watches his friends die, he's beaten, he's starved, he comes close to death himself, and at the end when he's rescued, and I'm paraphrasing, but I remember this part incredibly vividly. He's asked if he could do that again, and he states he'd rather die. He's turning around and viewing it holistically like that is too much.

It's unfathomable. That pain is bigger than one can even comprehend. But taking something like that, day by day, step by step, he did the unthinkable. He survived. In breaking the 90-second task down into 30-second pieces, he walked away. In breaking the seemingly insurmountable down into the manageable, and looking at each individual step as a moment. a superpower he emerged. You talk about perspective. His experience was as challenging as it gets.

My cold plunge is laughable in comparison, but my mind doesn't know that. It's up to me to reinforce it. Building a business is nothing in comparison to Louis Zamperini, but my mind doesn't know that. Healing my shoulder and getting stronger in the gym is nothing in comparison, but my mind does not know that. It's looking at the mountain and reminding myself, Eddie, you can't leap those. I've seen you jump, buddy. But the good news is no mountains need be left here. We ascend this thing one rock at a time and mark my words, you conquer those manageable tasks day in and day out. You will find yourself. So when you feel stuck, or too small for the task at hand.

Remind yourself, you're looking at a 90-second block here. Break that down. Ask yourself what your 30 is. Ask yourself what you can create that's manageable. It will create your momentum, that will shoot you into a trajectory, that will allow growth and position you someday to look back over your shoulder and go, wow, I endured all that.

A transformation too big to understand. understand on day one. It's a beautiful thing watching all those little steps add up to create the extraordinary.