Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Breaking Through Indecision: The Power of Taking Action

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

When you don’t know what to do, ask yourself—if you had to act right now, what would your next step be? Indecision keeps you stuck, but action creates clarity. Stop overthinking. Move forward, learn, and grow. What’s one thing you can act on today? Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube 

So here's a pretend conversation. Follow along. I don't know what to do. Okay. But if you did know what to do, what would that look like? I don't know. That's an impossible question.

It's not an impossible question. If you did know what to do and you had to do something right now, what would that look like? I guess I'd start planning and making the necessary calls and buying or collecting the things I think I need to start. Beautiful. There's your starting point. See, here's the deal.

No one, and I mean no one, quote unquote, knows everything. Because very rarely are there objectively correct answers. In fact, I would even simplify it further. Life's not comprised of people who know and people who don't know. Life is comprised of people who act and people who don't act. People who wait and people who move into the unknown before they're ready and create answers. So let's take this further with a little anecdote. pretend there's a home builder, and you're looking at him, and you are asking, where's the family going to sleep?

Where are they going to eat? Where are the memories going to be made? When there's important conversations to be had, where are they going to be had? Where's the Christmas tree going to go? What's going to matter most? How is this house going to become a home? To which point, the home builder would say, wait a minute. minute. You're putting the cart before the horse. I don't know that. I don't know any of those things.

And I couldn't possibly know any of those things. But I can tell you this, here's the plot of land. Here are some bricks. And one brick at a time, I'll bring this home to life. And little by little, it will look more and more like a home. And someday, a family will be in the home. And someday those memories will be made just as they should, just as it feels right. But the entire process begins one brick at a time. I think we often forget that we don't need to build homes, right? We need to just metaphorically lay those bricks. The effort ultimately becomes the home. We don't run marathons, for example. We run one step at a time. The exhausted energy ultimately accumulates and pushes us beyond that finish line.

Similarly, we don't read books. We read sentences, which are a collection of words comprised of letters. We do that which is manageable. We do that which is right in front of us. And with consistency, it evolves into the meaningful. And so this seemingly trivial question, yeah, but what if you did know, what if you did have the answer? To me, it's everything because it reminds us that if we have enough to just start manufacturing momentum, then we have everything we need. Because life is created by doing. Knowledge is found by doing. Wisdom is acquired by doing. We have to go.

And history shows us over and over again that this is the case. You take some ideas out of the time. of thin air, right? It's Edison with the light bulb, iteration after iteration after iteration. It's Lincoln, the pain and suffering, you know, coming from failed political campaign after failed political campaign, just knowing something was there, but not how it would work out or how those dots would connect. It's jobs and was, you know, in a garage, building a Mac, having no idea what it would evolve into. One of my favorite books, Hatching Twitter, talks about the founders in a room

when it was a radio app. What's this going to do? They all have different ideas, different beliefs, different thoughts, but they just kept going. The power is in doing. It really is a miracle to go before you're ready. It's the only way. And again, I use these folks as a,

examples, not because they themselves are extraordinary, although certainly impressive people, but I use them to show the magnitude of what that action and self-trust became. We look around and see these things that have been embedded into our everyday lives, right? There's so much certainty tied to them now because we see them every day, their life. We often then assume wrongfully that these things were always definitive and clear, right, that they always belonged there, their fate was certain. Their existence signifies the opposite.

It's like sheer will to lay one brick down after another, to adjust, pivot, and evolve. Until that magic was created, until reality looked a little different than it used to. And so, again, this little mental adjustment, right, of, I don't have the answer, I'm not sure to, okay, but if I did, what would it look like? If I had to do something, what would that be?

That adjustment in mindset really is a gift because it pushes you through the door, right? There's an idea that almost all decisions are reversible. And when you think about it, very rarely do you do something that either one can't be changed if it's wrong or two, brings you to where you're supposed to. to be incrementally, right? It's like going solves itself. It's not going that you can't fix. It's staying in and looking at life through the window that kills you.

It's stagnation that you cannot change. But going, going, you can fix or adjust or pivot or evolve. going plants the seed. And I'm not saying, you know, this from a place of like, guys, I've cracked the code, it's easy. No. It's simple, but it's certainly not easy. In fact, I have to force myself to go. Through hesitation and internal resistance, you would not believe.

But what helps me is knowing, hey, your feet need to be moving. Scared, unsure, lost, whatever. Find a way. And the beautiful thing is through momentum, our issues entirely resolve themselves. When we're in motion, we are building, we are correcting, we are growing. Immobility is the enemy, not falling down. So sure, maybe you don't know what to do, but if you did, ask yourself what that might look like. There are two kinds of crossroads.

First, the external. The crossroads at life beyond your control places before you. The abrupt changes, the sudden twists, the tragedies, even the occurrences we don't quite understand, and so chalk them up as fate. And then there are the internal, the crossroads that you manufacture, the ones that are self-create, self-induced. The, you know what, I've had enough of this crossroads. The I deserve better crossroads. There's more out there and today I'm going to find it. Crossroads.

And I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. In fact, I think sometimes when we wait too long to manufacture our own crossroads, life steps in and gives us a little nudge. The universe pushes us towards that change like a wind at our back. It doesn't quite make things black and white. It doesn't always put a catastrophe in front of us. Sometimes it's the mere whispering that, hey, you're accepting more pain, more friction than you should be. It reminds us to take accountability, to take control of life, something that we seemingly forget more often than we should.

One of my favorite stories is Jim Rohn's famous epiphany or light bulb moment. The point where, you know, he basically realizes enough's enough, right? I'm creating a crossroads here and going down the road that I've known for a long time I should have walked down. And it all starts with a knock at his door. It's a Girl Scout, like trying to sell him cookies. He walks up, opens the door, and just desperately, with all the, of his being wishes he could buy cookies from this Girl Scout, but he can't because he's broke. He doesn't have the money to buy a box.

So to save face, he tells her, you know, I'm sorry, but another Girl Scout was just here. You know, you just missed her, and I bought a box of cookies from her. And she smiles, says thanks, walks away. He closes the door, and, you know, upon closing it, says, never again. never again will I have to turn a Girl Scout away because I cannot afford the cookies never again will I be in this place of lack never again right that's the beginning of a transformation he points to that moment is the day that changed his life he built a crossroads and changed direction in real time now is this an oversimplification sure

Massive transformations are complex, no doubt. They require a reworking of many things. But they all start with a decision, a decision to manufacture that change in your life, to take the road you are not currently taking, to walk down a new path. These decisions can hurt. They force you to become something you've never been,

to do things you've never done. That's no cakewalk. But it's a different kind of hurt. It's the short-term discomfort pushing against friction. It's the building of muscle, which is way different than the psychological hurt of knowing that you're out of alignment. Knowing deep down there's more in you and that it's fading away with each passing day. That's hurt. And we all know in some capacity that life doesn't always create something.

circumstances that move us. Life waits for us to move ourselves. It waits for the I've had enough moment. It waits for us to see the present, not as all there is, but rather a doorway to the next thing. There are two kinds of crossroads. And I'm a believer that a meaningful existence means not waiting for the external to push you, but allowing the internal to drive you. It's the classic stands or the stage, where do you want to be? You can sit and watch, clap when you're happy, boo when you're mad, but ultimately not be in control, or you can choose to perform,

to be on stage, to narrate, to choose your ending, elevate your character, become the hero of your story. And I say this as someone who, at points, has simply waited too long. Looking around, praying for the gust of wind that would propel me to the place that I needed to be. Essentially, you know, not understanding that life was waiting for me to greenlight my own journey. Life is about the turns we take at the crossroads before us. And so never underestimate your ability to create that intersection most truly.

And never underestimate your courage to take the turn that you. know when your soul needs to be taken. There's a saying that what you water is ultimately what grows. That where you place your attention ends up guiding your feelings, your perception, your actions and your life. Focus becomes identity. And change comes from bringing awareness to what we're focusing on. I remember when this light ball went off for me.

Like so many epiphanies, you know what happened. during a difficult kind of a trying time. It wasn't where I wanted to be. And I remember sitting down and asking myself, you know, dude, are you on your own team here? Are you helping yourself? Using the metaphor, the question was, am I watering the weeds in my life or the flowers?

And by the weeds, I mean, am I allocating energy to thoughts that are detrimental to what I want? Am I keeping myself in places I don't want to be? and in relationships that are counterproductive? Am I thinking about what can go wrong instead of all that can go right? Or am I watering the flowers, the positive, highlighting the possibility,

the things I'm appreciative for, the seeds, the potential that can grow a mile high? See, I've always known the value in choosing to see the possibility. But the million dollar question is, how do you remain aware? Because that's the thing about weeds, they're sneaky,

control of your life without letting you know they're doing it. So I'm thinking this through and it dawns on me. This is not complex. This is simple. It's one identifying where you want to be and two analyzing your actions based on those priorities, right? That's it. And so for every pillar of my life, health, relationships, career, finances, I made two dots. One for where I am and one for where I want to be. Everything in the middle is life, the ups, the downs, the joys, the sorrow. Everything in between is the path, the line. And it's simple. You start on point A, knowing that you can always get to point B.

That what you want exists. It's there. It's available. And your attention, all of your energy should be allocated to the thoughts that reinforce that truth. That's your path. That's what you believe. That's what's important. And it's going to happen.

Anything beyond or outside that line, anything that tells you you're not good enough, anything that accepts not achieving that priority, suggests it won't work out. That is where the weeds live. That is wasted space. Why exhaust that energy? To think, you know, I'm not good enough to get this promotion.

How does that help you get to your point B? It doesn't. Eliminate that thought, right? Point B always. exists. Just that notion pushes a lot of things to the side. You have to be good enough. You just need improvement. Maybe it's enhanced skills. Maybe it's more effort. Maybe it's changed approach. But tackling these things will water the flowers. It moves you along the path. And progress is happiness. For me, health is a big thing. I run all the time. But I'd like to be more fit. I'd like

to eat healthier. There's room for improvement. And I know it's possible. Because that is my point B. I know that saying I don't have time or I don't have the right body type or genes or trying to convince myself that fast food just this once will be okay. No, all of that stuff is watering weeds. It exists outside my path. My time should be spent realizing how incredible the human body is taking care of it, pushing it, being proud of it, taking accountability for it. That's me. I only get one of these things. Even if it's just a little at a time, that's the beauty, simply existing on a path and revolving around your ideals, your vision, your priorities brings about joy. Negativity, it truly is a learned thing. It's manufactured. All there

are in life are circumstances, circumstances that are neither positive nor negative, just pieces. And you decide what to do with them. Do you focus on the negative? You can. But that won't put you in a position to change your circumstances or bring about happiness. When you decide to, you decide to see the opportunity you free yourself from the shackles of fate because destiny never put you in the situation you did. But guess what? You can take yourself out of it. A field of sunflowers grew one root, one stem, one pedal at a time, the same field that was at one point nothing more than dirt and weeds. It was always possible and so is your ideal life. You just need to water the things that matter.

If you want to do yourself a monumental favor, labor start today. That thing you've been dreaming about, that ideal state, take one small step now. Because I promise you there'll be a point down the road where you thank yourself. It's just hard to see in the moment. In fact, it's funny how things only make sense in hindsight. You know, our greatest accomplishments are the result of those little unsure, sometimes uninformed steps we took years back.

Decisions we made, quote, unquote, back then. And how powerful to think that one choice you make today can ultimately become your back then moment. Your inflection point that changed at all. You are constantly, always, every day, navigating a world that contains the pieces for creation. You're an architect, able to build at your discretion. In those current moments with a vision and determination, will they transform into the back-then moments that start everything?

One video, poorly edited, slapily put together, released to the world without aim or direction, was one of my back-then moments. A conversation I initiated with someone who has since changed my life. A back-then moment. Choosing to move or adjust or stop or start all back then moments. Those critical inflection points that change everything. The things we need most tend to not be a surprise to us. I think all of us, whatever they are in our own individual worlds, we're aware. We know what needs to be done.

The challenge is friction. in making it happen. Either we're scared in the moment or that road to the ideal state seems like a road too far to walk. We're so consumed by what we don't have that we never give those back-then moments a chance. We never initiate and let them materialize,

thinking that you have to know everything before you step out your front door. And this idea changed my life. You don't have to know how things will play out. When you're starting something meaningful, the fact that it feels right or interests you, alone can be enough, more than enough. It's a calling or invitation to move into the abyss.

That powerful proverb, so many of us have heard, the best time to have planted a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. It's like we need to start unrolling the red carpet because what we'll learn as it unfolds will change us. You know, we'll zig and we'll zag. We'll adjust, make mistakes. Sometimes have to backtrack and correct. But none of that happens without step one.

Right? Nothing happens until you give yourself permission to begin. There's a saying, do one thing every day that scares you. Why? Because you learn to see past the facade that is the fear of starting. You come to understand that without going, there's no change. Without change, things remain how they are, and in a world that only gives you what you ask for, what a tragedy to exit empty-handed. To have had so much opportunity and let it slip by. And this is a message of deliver.

a million different times in a million different ways, I do that because, one, it changed my life, and two, I still need it. I need the reminders. It's not like fear goes away. No, I do the thing I'm scared of. It would become normal, and without my knowing, I'd create a resistance to doing the next uncomfortable thing. That's the friction that will always have to fight. And it's a good fight to take on. You know, doing one thing every day that scares me reminds me to keep pushing. Not because of how it'll make me feel today, but because of what I'll become tomorrow. You know how rewarding it is for me to do things like speak on stage? Calmly, confidently tell a story or share my voice?

Fifteen years ago, I was so bad at that that it was just cringy, it was humiliating. But that's not the universe saying, no. That's the universe extending a hand and asking if I want it. Like truly want it. And if no, fine. But if yes, then what was required was for me to open that door and step out. Practice, be vulnerable. As years go by, those quote unquote back then moments made me who I am today.

And I can tell you that I'm proud and grateful that I stepped into that chaos. And everyone has some version of that. And it comes down to an understanding that someday you'll not only thank yourself, but be overwhelmed when reflecting back on your personal transformation. Sure, not a giant leap, but the courage to start in a million steps after that point. Some brought value immediately. some took a little longer, left you with wisdom. But it all meant something.

So remember, if you want to do yourself a favor, start today. Begin the beautiful journey of growth, of adjustment, of evolution. Who knows where it'll take you? There will be highs and lows and everything in between. But one thing that is for sure is you'll emerge a different person, A much different person than you would have been had you stayed. To life's adversity, thank you. To the challenges, the ones I hated in the moment, I am beyond grateful.

They became invaluable. Those moments that forced me to be more than I was. step out before I was ready so that I could arm myself for the path that was meant for me. Thank you to those times I was afraid. You taught me that the darkness is never as bad as our thoughts make them out to be. And when we learn to trust ourselves, we realize that fear becomes strength. Thank you to those times I felt. short of expectations, the times I didn't quite hit the mark. You taught me that it's not about me,

it's not personal, it's about taking that awareness and going at it again more intelligently. Thank you to the times I felt alone, the times I didn't get the support I hoped for or anticipated. You did two things. Reenforce the value of an effective commitment. team, but you also emphasize that if that candle is going to stay lit, it's going to be because I commit to keeping it lit. And when tempted to point out and blame the external world, I must pause, reassess and focus on the world within. Thank you to those times of stagnation, the valleys of despair, of uncertainty.

You reminded me that momentum has to be manufactured, and the answers we need are never big or complex. They are small and they are simple. We are always one step away from getting back on track. Thank you to the unexpected setbacks. From Out of Nowhere obstacles. You taught me that the trials and the tribulations, they are not the exception, they are the rule. That success isn't running from them.

learning to deal with them. There's a saying that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. Thanks for showing me to allocate my energy to the reaction. Thanks for the times I looked around and couldn't find a conceivable way. The times things seemed helpless and hopeless.

You taught me that even in our darkest moments there is an answer that I am capable. I am strong enough. And who would have thought that all these things, all these situations I would have loved to run away from were a gift more valuable than any other? Who would have thought that predictability and comfort were wolves in sheep's clothing?

That danger is never the obstacle. It's in thinking you've been slighted by life when the obstacle arrives. In reality, every setback is a chance to be more, to step into that future self, to live life. It is from our struggle that we acquire our strength, from our pain we find just how far we can go. So to these challenges that made me who I am, thank you for the insight, the lessons, and

the evolution. Thank you for showing me what no success could ever have shown. This morning I went down the street to go to this class. It's basically 45 minutes of body circuits in a heated room, which I love. I love mixing that in with the running that I do. And basically the thing kicks off. And somewhere in maybe the last third of the class, we were doing some weighted squats. And right at that point where you're in the thick of things, your legs start to burn, heart

rates elevated and you can start to, you know, really feel the temperature of the room. The instructor said something that I thought was absolutely incredible. She goes, and I'm paraphrasing, the discomfort that you feel right now is a privilege. It's a privilege to suffer through this. It's a privilege to be here working on yourself when most people are at home. it's a privilege to be in a position to move through the resistance you feel right now. And that message moved me. And how can you even think about discomfort after that perspective had been laid out? How can you see a few minutes of fatigue as anything other than the small price of improvement?

It's funny how the same things we consider to be torture or punishment, if they're externally required of us, they become empowering when we know that we deliberately chose them. And this feeling, it was definitely self-induced. It was chosen, right? I decided to be there in class that day. It was what I needed. To become just a little bit better,

to obtain just a little bit more. And what a privilege. I've learned over the years to manage pain. You have to. You have to immerse yourself in an often less than ideal short term so that you can bring about results of greater magnitude. I've always accepted this. I've always known it to be true. I believe, you know, in my own world, I've sacrificed accordingly.

But I don't recall the last time I was overtly thankful for the obstacles in my way. I don't remember the last time I saw my struggle, not as a necessary. burden, but a gift. There's something not thrown at me, but presented to me. Think for a second about the finitude of life. The one in four hundred trillion odds of being born, a number that I came across somewhere that I certainly can't validate, but I don't think you need to to get the point.

Right? The odds of being here are incredibly slim. Yet somehow we won. We all received winning lottery tickets. Here we are. On a strange planet with options to choose from, paths to decide between and a giant ticking clock. And given these circumstances,

aren't we doing a disservice to ourselves to not at least see what we're capable of? What we can do, build, create, and become? I certainly think so. And what is the cost of that evolution? It's discomfort. It's forging our future by walking through fire. It means intentional hardship.

And to not see that as the gateway to life's infinite opportunity is missing the mark. Why shouldn't you feel lucky about yourself transforming in real time? time. Why shouldn't you feel proud of paying a steeper price for a better view? Why shouldn't you be delighted to unpack the mystery and the adventure contained in life? This isn't something you have to do on your way to point B. This is something you get to do on your journey to become whoever you choose to become. So when the pressures of life press down upon us, test us, perhaps solely acknowledging its utility is insufficient. Maybe it's more. Maybe it's something that should be celebrated, adored. Today, it was a reminder to be thankful for the body that can endure the turbulence,

thankful for the mind that can manage and overcome the chaos. Thankful for the opportunity to be here to begin with and the freedom to choose the difficult thing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to live in such a way that as I place my head on the pillow each and every night, I'm grateful.

for the privilege. When you look at erosion, I like, say, dunes on a beach, what you see is something giving itself away little by little, deteriorating. Sure, there will be events that expedite the process, but generally speaking, it's lost a little bit at a time, day by day, right in front of our eyes. Until the time comes when we realize that what we have is no longer recognizable. It's sort of redefined. And I think in a lot of ways we find ourselves in a similar situation.

The concessions we allow every day slowly redefine who we are. You know, and it doesn't seem like much, that's the thing. It never does. quietly detaching from what you believe, taking on an identity that doesn't quite align with who you are, doing things, being places that causes something in your gut to protest, toning down the color in your life so that you blend in. These are not epic, monumental decisions.

It's the drawn out erosion of what makes you who you are. It's the chipping away of what makes you spectacular. See, the idea that now isn't permanent. So I'll just suck it up now. What's the big deal? I'll just settle for now. Let me tell you, if that's your rationale, you're forgetting how easily tomorrow becomes never

and now becomes forever. We operate under an illusion that things will become easier, that change will be less strenuous down the road. We'll make things right, get back on track, be happy then, but the harsh reality is that things don't get easier than they are at the present moment. It's quite the opposite. And to disregard or ignore this is to let yourself wither away at the hands of procrastination.

If you're planning to wait for that, get comfortable. and see conceding day in and day out, it alters your understanding of who you are and what you're capable of. Our actions reinforce our beliefs. Imagine a straight line, a simple straight line drawn on a piece of paper, right? You're in the middle. And on one end is who you are, in your heart, in your soul, and on the other end is everything you're not. every time you sacrifice your principle, your beliefs, every time you say that's not me but fine,

that's not where I want to be, but okay, it's only temporary, you take a little step toward what you're not. And another step, and another step, and one day you look in the mirror and you have no clue who's looking back at you. Because you've conceded one small decision at a time, you've given away your sense of purpose,

Sure, the situation is difficult, but the best things in life are the things that are not easy. You have to fight for those things. You have to stand up in the face of struggle, adversity, the narrative that others want to write for you. We stay within guidelines because we think the outside is scary. No, what's inside is scary. What's outside is what you need. And when you stop banking on the anticipated miracles of tomorrow and manage the reality of today, you succeed.

It's life's greatest test. Are you brave enough to be you? Are you strong enough to fight back when you're tempted to hide, to blend in? Every time you summon the courage to stay true to yourself. It gets easier, the difficulty lessens, you become free of the mental chains you've placed around your ankles. There are certain things in life worthy of compromise, but your identity, your journey, what makes you feel alive, that is sacred ground, that is worth defending until your last breath. No one can take that because it's yours, and when you look back on your life and the amazing people, people in it, a life live fully, will always supersede marching through your days, wearing a mask, and following someone else's agenda.

It's your life. It's your gift. Live it. Dream, visualize, execute. Dream as in stretch beyond the now. Let your mind wander beyond the confines of what it sees every day. Allow your world to be one not assigned to you, but designed internally and projected out. Visualize. Once you've latched onto something that matters to you, see it. Close your eyes and truly watch it come to life. Nothing is brought into existence without first living in the mind.

Nothing is built, if not a recreation, of an already existing model. The world will act like, like it's new, but it's not. It's just the first time they've put eyes on it. Lastly, execute. Allow yourself to be the messenger carrying correspondence from your mind to the space that surrounds you. Transport the brilliance from one world to another. Step by step, day by day, become the architect that shares new things with the world. Execution is often the difference between I wish and I did. There's a famous story about Jim Carrey in the way he manifested his acting career. First, it was a dream. It was something that pulled him in and that he believed in with all his heart.

Second, he visualized. He'd drive around Hollywood at night, you know, after doing the comedy clubs, would park on Mulholland Drive overlooking the city, and would visualize being a successful actor, being presented with the best opportunities, playing the roles, getting the big money. He even went so far as to write himself a $10 million check for acting services rendered. Head in the clouds, feet on the ground principle. Because during this time period, he also worked and practiced and performed like a man on fire.

It looks to me, and I'm fairly confident Jim would agree with me, that it was the culmination of these steps that landed him, you guessed it, a $10 million check, for I think it was the mask, you know, down the road. I think a lot of people misunderstand what the law of attraction truly means. It's not that you close your eyes and what you want appears. It's that it's not possible until you dream it.

And it doesn't feel real until you see it. And it doesn't materialize until you build it. These three pillars create space for the evolution of your own personal journey. It's funny, in so many ways, like the little benchmarks I hit in life, they feel special to me, not because of, you know, how they feel in the moment. They don't feel new, but because in a way, I feel like I'm coming back to them. I accepted them as true years ago.

Now they're just being realized. the same way a builder agrees to the plans, then proceeds to bring them to life in 3D. When you believe it and see it in your mind, the day-to-day is just essentially making that model 3D. And I'm kind of realizing, you know, as I speak this into existence, that that's what we are.

3D printers, bringing our ambitions, our dreams into existence. If not in your mind, won't be printed onto the page of the page of it. of your life. Have you ever wondered how different life would be if you'd chosen another path? If you dreamed a little bigger, closed your eyes and saw something a little different. Well, two things can be true at once here. First, the past is gone and it's not coming back. But second, you have full control of everything that will come to fruition from here.

What you dream, what you see, and how you execute will determine what's sort of around you when you wake up every morning. So give yourself permission to dream big. Trust yourself to see it when no one else does. And believe in your ability to execute day in and day out. Life will look very different down the road than it does now. But you know that because it's already there when you close your eyes. Remove the lifelines.

Eliminate plans B, C, and D. Let the curtains close and the lights dim. See, the beginning of something new requires the ending of something current. So make life propel you into Chapter 2. Let the door slam and lock behind you throw away the key. With the boats burned and turning back off the table, we have to make it work. We have to figure it out. Well, how, we might ask, with only these pieces, with only this circumstance, with only these resources.

Well, it's funny how when walking away is no longer a possibility, so many other possibilities are born. When we're stuck between the wall and our demons, we roll up our sleeves and do that, which we have been, let's face it, running from. We fight. We become proactive. We take initiative. It was always there. We just never had to.

So if you can't do it on your own, make life make you. Because the bottom line is there are new horizons that await your own. arrival. They are always there, but they require you to make the trip, to look out over the vastness of what's before you and convince yourself that what's ahead can become your new normal. And oh, how I wish we weren't biologically preconditioned to preserve, to stay safe, to stay the same, how I wish we weren't constantly being pulled to stay right where we. are, our minds, they love it here. With the rest of the world, the change, the hope, the progress, all on the other side of that window, all outside, all foreign to us. You don't need any of that,

it'll tell you. Or maybe, after you conjure up a little courage, it might compromise. It might say, fine, it's worth a try, put one foot out the door, but don't forget, you can always come back to me. You can always retreat. It's warm here, safe here, it's predictable here. The mind wants you to know that when things get tough, mediocrity, and comfort are always right behind you, ready to embrace you with open arms. And it's for this reason that those boats must be burned, that the door must be locked, and that chapter must be closed.

The journey before you, it's going to be difficult. There's no question about that. Anything of value brings difficulty. And when faced with the adversity, the only way to defeat it is to know there is only one way. One option available to you. And that one option is forward. It's through.

There is no backwards or compromise. There is no safety. Not if you want from life that which is extraordinary. Not if you want the things we covet dream of, whether they're interpersonal, financial, career-oriented health-related, maybe you just know in your soul that right now ain't it? Any move to something better will present to you its obstacles. And my advice, if it's what you really want,

is to have decided before you started that, there is no other way. There's no negotiating with yourself. Because if you allow that door to be cracked, life will kick it open. So point the compass north and dismiss any notion that what's comfortable is more important than what's meaningful.

When you're cold, nothing is more appealing than that warmth. But warmth is deception, a short-term ploy for you to forget what really matters. an illusion. See cold subsides, but victory is forever. Knowing that you pushed forward when most wouldn't is forever. Transforming potential into strength when your knees shook is forever. So burn the boat.

For no other reason that there is no way forward so long as there remains a way of way back. Make life make you win. And where most would look around and see evidence of defeat, you'll find again and again in the same quote unquote evidence. The tools to build ladders to new beginnings and bridges to new worlds, there's a saying that I love that most of life's successful people were too ignorant of the odds to know their accomplishments were considered at one point impossible. And I love it because it highlights that there was never a fallback option, a concern for the statistics. There was no worry or exhausted energy on what if. Rather, it was constant building and adjusting, finding ways over, through, and around the walls that inevitably stand before us.

There was no way home. So they pushed forward. into their greatness. And so can you, whatever shape, form or color greatness looks like in your eyes, whatever mountaintop appeals to you, if you want it, if you're willing to decide before you go that you will one day stand amongst the cloud peering out at that world you deemed wasn't against you but for you, Anything is possible. Had a window seat on the plane a few days ago.

And during the descent, I watched as we lowered into a thin layer of clouds, which anyone who's flown before knows creates turbulence. The plane starts to shake. For a brief moment, can't see anything outside the window, only white. Hey, no matter how many times I watched this happen, and at this point probably in the hundreds, I can't help but feel a little uneasy. Heart rate increases a little bit.

It's just an uncomfortable thing. And here's the deal. Not only is a plane going through turbulence safe, a quick Google search will explain to you that no plane was ever brought down by turbulence. They were built specifically for that to endure it. And I know that, I understand it, I believe it. I guess that faint nervousness, I feel,

highlights the divide between my mental capacity to understand something and, you know, my physiological reaction to it. It shows, to put it simply, that often what's necessary will be uncomfortable. We'll get easier over time. But the point is there's a very real biological resistance associated with doing what's necessary. Even when we know the necessary thing is the right thing, even when we know we're capable of enduring the journey, right?

Just like that plane was built specifically to endure turbulence. Well, in your own world, so were you. And yeah, that world might shake. Yeah, you might look around and see an unknown providing no clarity or visibility. at least in the moment. But that feeling of discomfort should not be interpreted as negative. A sign to stop or turn back

as a signal that the world is too much. No, it's where you close your eyes and remind yourself how much you can handle despite life trying to make you feel to the contrary. You were built to overcome, made to push into uncharted territory, to take your losses and uncover the hidden away value within them. Sometimes to grow, it's required that we learn not to resist that trembling,

but to see it as the courage to say yes when it would have been infinitely easier to say no. And that's what this is about. Nothing groundbreaking, no secret formulas, just the reminder we often need but don't hear enough. That during the ascents and descents of life, and there are and will be many, know that you were built for the turbulent.

You can harness the chaos, you can get through to the other side. What's required is simply that you remember who you are and what you're capable of. Because again, when visibility is limited and our world's shake, it's easy to forget. You will not lose because of the challenge. You will win despite it again.

Again and again and again. And sure, stepping up to face that adversary, you may never detach from that nervous feeling in your stomach or the shaky hands, but that's okay. That's your indicator, that you're alive, that you weren't tricked into submitting to a very beatable opponent, that you didn't turn away from the things that meant the most. Thank you.