Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - DISCIPLINE YOUR THOUGHTS | Best Motivational Speech 2022

Episode Date: June 30, 2022

"It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been" - George Eliot

George Elliott has said, it's never too late to be what you might have been. And this is a message that I 100% stand behind. I will always believe that to be true. Why? Because you always have the now to start moving in that direction. And a skeptic or someone playing devil's advocate could say, yeah, well, not me, right? The timeline for me has expired. Or I missed the age requirement.

Maybe life circumstances have made Plan A impossible. It is quite literally too late. Okay. But here's what I believe we frequently misunderstand in this department. I think we misidentify what it is we really want. And sure, that sounds presumptuous for me to sit here and imply that maybe you miss the mark. How would I ever know what you want? Well, hear me out.

Because I think too often we confuse the vehicle for the destination. That thing we thought we wanted, in actuality, wasn't really what mattered to us. We wanted where it would bring us. We wanted how it would make us feel. We wanted what we'd become when we engaged in that thing. That thing was simply the ride to the destination, not the destination itself. And that's incredible news. because vehicles are interchangeable.

It's always possible to find a new route or new ride to this show. And this is why self-reflection is so important, because it's easy to get so caught up in the vehicle that we forget where we're going. For example, I get a ton of inquiries about keynote speaking, and that's fantastic. I think it's really cool that people want to do that and see me as someone to help guide them. But when I hear that question, I can't help it.

My first thought is always, okay, but why keynote speaking? And it's not personal. Why should always be the first question we ask? Is that truly the destination? Do you feel in your soul you have a story to tell? Do you get a high from the audience interaction? Is it how you feel you can best serve the community? Like, what is it for you?

Or maybe it was more of an arbitrary decision. decision, where what you're looking for is generating impact, adding value to others. Maybe it's some type of financial incentive. All these things are valid, and they could all come from speaking. My point here is not to tell you what you should or shouldn't be pursuing as your goal. My point is that we need to understand why. Because when we get to the core of what we really want, the best path to get there often looks way different than we thought it might. I use this example often, but perfectly relevant.

There was a point in time where I used to think songwriting was it for me, right? My heart, my plan. Until I realized pretty quickly that I could live without it, and that surprised me. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but that what really made me sad to let go of was the storytelling piece, the expression,

observing and philosophizing about life. And that when I took that emotive storytelling, I could bend it and reshape it a million different ways. That I actually loved the freedom of being able to express myself or make a point without being totally bound by rhyme scheme and rhythms. I found that point where I could help others in their difficult times,

maybe see things from a new angle by helping them to look at the world differently, right? The vehicle, in a way, was almost expendable. And that was a giant epiphany for me. You know, songwriting was not what I wanted. It was bringing me closer to what I truly wanted. That helps me reshape my plans, my approach, my strategy. And, hey, maybe you're different.

Maybe you are right on the money. Maybe you've thought this through and things couldn't be clear. But hey, people tend to speak from their experiences and, you know, that awareness to me was no small accomplishment. Getting there and understanding that, right? If that 1,000-foot view does anything, it exposes how multidimensional the playing field is. And how our proclivity is always to box ourselves in. Smaller, smaller, smaller, often leading us to walk by and miss quite a bit. It's also true that understanding what the destination is, making a point to really comprehend that,

doesn't mean you have to scrap what you're doing. It could simply lead to that light bulb moment. So now you go, oh, there are additional ways I can arrive at that destination. Maybe I've been so focused on a particular element of the journey, so tied to a particular vehicle that I've been limiting myself. It expands your options. In the book Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath, they talk about how one of the biggest problems we have in decision making is unintentionally narrowing the scope.

That we have numerous additional avenues available to us. But we don't see them because we become so fixated on a few choices. I think of that point often, you know, challenging myself as to why I'm doing what I'm doing, especially when activities are time intensive. You know, there needs to be a happy, medium, obviously. If you challenge every single thing you do, you'll be walking around in circles all day, but the ability, the power to drill down the question, what is it I'm really looking to obtain here is such a tremendous advantage. If you can get a true handle on that and you're

willing to expand your mind, open your eyes, think about the big picture. Reduce the attachment to that dreaded phrase, the way I've always done it. You get to live in a world of endless options. You see that your path is simply that, one path of many. In the business world, you hear stories about people all the time that were unable to separate the goal from the medium. Couldn't look outside the parameters they'd created for themselves, the blockbusters of the world. You know, when it should have been hold the vision but adjust the process and readjust over and over again. Our tendency is to hold on to that process so tightly that it becomes a weight around our ankles.

When it comes to relationships, right? People stay in toxic relationships all the time because that's the person. This is the group I hang out with. This is my network. Well, what are you looking to get out of a relationship or group or network? Because no, it certainly shouldn't be betrayal or chronic stress or limiting beliefs being imposed upon you. So if that's the case, detach and find a different way, a different person or a different group. Again, you're confusing the vehicle with the destination. Another example, college, right? Which for some people makes perfect sense for others. It doesn't.

I loved in Matthew McConaughey's book Green Lights when he realized, he wanted to be an actor, and to make his parents proud to do it was traditionally right if he went to acting school. Until he realized his most valuable experience was everything he was doing outside of school, but that the classroom was one vehicle of many to his ultimate destination was ultimately expendable. He had that foresight. Someone once told me, when I went to get my first car, that the buyer is in control because they have the greatest strength, a superpower the ability, if it does not serve you, to walk away, to change course. You can always do that.

So when you feel stuck or stagnant, try asking yourself, is this a vehicle problem or a destination problem? What is it that I want more than anything else? And what is it this journey is bringing me that gets me there? That gets me excited in the morning that inspires me to my core. Because I find that when you can detach the goal from the method, it often exposes some valuable information that helps you reestablish momentum. Maybe it's taking resources from one place and adding it to another. Maybe it's a slightly adjusted approach. Maybe it's cutting a few small things away.

Maybe it's a pivot. Maybe a total revamp. Who knows? But the idea is it's never too late to get where you most want to go. because when you identify the destination, when you realize what the finish line is, there are always numerous roads that lead you there. We just have to make sure we don't get so caught up in a particular path or exhaust so much energy trying to jam that square peg into the round hole

that we miss the infinite number of wide open doors, waiting for us to notice their existence and walk through. Hardy fiber cement siding handles conditions that can cause damage to vinyl. From fire to hail, Hardy siding stands tall through it all. Helping trade professionals look their best when they recommend Hardy siding and trim. See the proof at Jameshardy.com.