Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - DO IT FOR YOURSELF | Powerful Motivational Speeches | WAKE UP POSITIVE

Episode Date: March 15, 2023

“You don’t need to prove anything to anyone. Do it for yourself” - Unknown

We are the stories we tell ourselves. I used to tell the maybe someday story until I saw the value contained in the why not today story. I was a main character in the How Do I Not Mess Things Up story, until I pushed my way into the, how about capturing life's upside story. I believed wholeheartedly in the what will my friends, acquaintances, people I used to know think of me story.

Before I felt the freedom of the you don't live life for them, you live life for you, story. My scarcity story preceded my abundance story. My bowing before the odds story preceded my simply do not stop story. My, you don't deserve them story, preceded my, if you're not a net positive on my life, I don't want you around story. My, maybe I can be that impactful, add that much value, make that much money, have that much fun story. Proceeded my, I'm going to do all those things. Now how do I arrange these pieces to support my mission?

story. As I've grown and learned and changed, so of the stories that I've told myself. And I can look back and always draw a direct line from the stories I was telling and the life I was living. We get in life what we allow. And our narratives, our stories happen to be the gatekeepers. If you want to change the situation, change the story, right? If you're telling you. yourself the world is against you, you'll live like the world is against you. If you're telling yourself the world is conspiring to help you live your best, you'll find the opportunity where you otherwise wouldn't. And you'll find it, not through magic, but because you're looking for it. It's that simple. We don't look for things that go against our narratives.

We don't seek things out that we don't believe exist. Those internal stories prompt our action, and our action changes our reality. Since finding this a few weeks ago, it's become one of my favorite ideas. Alan Watts, speaking to a classroom of students, he says, when a flag is flapping in the wind, is it the wind or the flag that moves?

Neither. It is the mind that moves. Our minds are moving, they are internalizing, and painting the portrait that becomes our reality. If you don't like the reality you're seeing, guess what? It's not the world, it's how you're viewing the world, it's what you're doing about your world. And I understand how hard it can get, how we all oscillate between periods of struggle and contentment, How low the lows can feel, I get it. But the truth is the wrong stories will simply keep you down, hold you there.

They'll ensure blinders stay on as life rotates around you and the opportunity dissipates. We are the stories we tell ourselves. And that's beautiful news because it means the reflection in the mirror holds the key to transformation. Life can give you the details, the context, but it can't write the script. That, my friend, is all you. I was having dinner not too long ago with a friend of mine. I see him as somewhat of a mentor as well. He's a bit older.

He has a couple decades on me as an entrepreneur. And we were talking about personal development, different ways to invest in yourself, what has the most ROI kind of throwing ideas back and forth. And I started talking about different coaches I've linked up with some of my observations on that. And he jumped right into this story. He says Eddie, way back in the day, I paid a huge amount of money to spend the weekend with someone that I admired as an entrepreneur, as a business mind, with the intent to learn about him, his systems, his approach to his business and life, the whole thing.

It was basically an investment into my journey. And he went on to say, I arrived for the weekend. It didn't take me long to feel completely underwhelmed, completely let down. Everything about the guy in his organization was sloppy, nothing seemed to be methodical, very little was extraordinary or groundbreaking. He said, I couldn't believe it, you know, especially after tens of thousands of dollars spent. He spent a lot of money. Couldn't believe that someone, he looked up to it, so little to offer.

And I'm sitting there just kind of like wide-eyed. Like, oh, man, and almost instinctively, I said, man, you must have been so angry. And he goes, in this cheerful voice, oh, I wasn't angry at all. This is a direct quote. He says, it was the best money I've ever spent in my life. I said, oh yeah, how? He says it was that day I learned that, hey, if this clown can do it, if this guy can pull it off, what in the world is stopping me?

What's my excuse? Basically said that day has been directly correlated to the success he's had since. Wow. Right? To which I responded, hey, thank you for the theme to what will become this Monday's YouTube video, right? Because the world needs to hear this. message. So many of us need this. There's a tendency to put other people, people we don't know, people we know nothing about, right, on a pedestal and see ourselves as perpetual outsiders looking

in, this notion that they have what I don't. When so often that thing they have is simply, even solely self-belief. I know so many competent people. that second-guess themselves out of starting or growth or progress. They see their inadequacies as substantially greater than their strengths. They don't go because they contemplate. They don't speak because they internalize. They don't create because they worry. And it's like if you don't, someone else will.

And that's someone else could very easily be less suited for the day. job. But they did the thing that you wouldn't. The thing, as it turns out that matters most, they trusted themselves to give it a shot. They understood that nothing starts until one looks in the mirror and believes in the pair of eyes staring back. And I look back and it just all makes perfect sense. You know, I think of the frustration in my parents' faces when I was a kid and would say, I can't do that. It was the frustration of people who care deeply about me watching me get in my own way. Yes, you can, Eddie, you are the one stopping you.

My grandfather's saying everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time. No one is that special. And I think it's a critical reminder. It's not to say that success isn't warranted, that people who have done great things aren't qualified or talented or haven't earned it. No, not at all. The opposite, in fact. Time plus effort, plus consistency,

tends to land people in pretty remarkable places. But it's like no one takes that path or starts that journey unless they see themselves as worthy of it until they give themselves permission. It makes you wonder how many people are simply too intimidated to lace up their shoes and walk out the front of it. door. Don't even give it the thought. Hey, that's someone else's reality. I'm confined to this space right here. Think back to the early days of any incredible transformation. I'm going to use

a pretty cliche example, but I think it will do a great job of demonstrating my point. Think back to Michael Jordan playing JV basketball in high school, his sophomore year because he didn't make the varsity team. Okay. And at that point, If he was looking for evidence as to why he wasn't quite good enough, there it was. He could have easily found it, not skilled enough, not quick enough, lacks vision. Certainly, as this coach pointed out, not tall enough, right? What in the world gave him the right despite his circumstances to think he was good enough to ultimately play at a high level? Who gave him permission to be that guy?

He did. And it's just that. We don't see or think about any of that now. We see the NBA legend, the greatest ever, forgetting that at one point he wasn't. And his life continuously consisted of crossroads where he had to bet on himself, times where instead of accepting outcomes

that weren't ideal, he sacrificed. He said, I do not accept that. He put in ours, which is a concept that we take for granted, right? People don't sacrifice unless they believe something will come from the blood, sweat, and tears. He believed that it would. You have to believe that it will as well. In fact, your life, if you started right now, made a little dot or mark on the present moment, and you could live two simultaneous existences at once,

one track where you saw yourself as something, extraordinary and sought to live that out. And the other track, where the same you saw greatness as some intimidating, larger than life, reality reserved for other people, the few. You viewed yourself as an outsider, average, incapable, undeserving. The difference between where those tracks would end up would be worlds apart. Again, because humans follow through on who they believe themselves to be, we don't do things unless we believe they're possible. We don't sacrifice unless there's some sort of delayed gratification.

We don't climb unless there exists a summit. What makes life both beautiful and mysterious is that we have to arrive at those outcomes before they exist. As Babe Ruth famously said in that article in the 1940s, it's hard to beat a person. who never gives up. And it's hard to beat them because they believe themselves worthy of what they are chasing. So when will you?

When will you find yourself worthy of that next level? When will you find yourself worthy of the financial success, the physique, the significant other, growth in your business? When will you let yourself be more or different or happy

or whatever it is that seems just outside, the story? scope of your reality. This world is built by people who understood what they wanted and granted themselves the freedom to pursue it.

No superhuman strength required to place greater value on yourself. No record-breaking IQ necessary to live life on your terms, just a choice. Truly a decision.

And sure, it will be strange. and awkward at first. You'll feel like an imposter in your own body at times. After all, getting what you've never had means doing what you've never done. But this is par for the course. This is life. And life cannot give you what you don't ask for. You can't arrive at a destination. You're not traveling. You can't be who you don't believe you're capable of becoming. So know that that aforementioned reflection in the mirror has a depth to it.

That must be explored. And that what separates immobility from infinity is the understanding that, hey, if it's possible, then it is most definitely possible for me. Ready to prioritize yourself in the new year? Your skin is a great place to start. Dime Beauty, founded by a master aesthetician, is more than just a skincare company.

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That's dimebeautyco.com. Your best skin awaits. When it comes to the almost 8 billion people on planet Earth, there's undoubtedly a bit of variance and the resources at our disposal, the influence we have. What we all share is the ability to rule over our own lives, our own thoughts. As Thoreau said, think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you. See, life moves quickly. And if one is unable to slow it down to examine the world around them, well, they'll find themselves a cog in the

wheel of their own existence, a pawn on the chess board of life. Because reality is a battle. A battle of self-interest that requires that we build walls around that which is precious, that we protect it at all costs. Your worldview is the foundation for everything of value in your life, yet it's constantly under attack. Attack from the negativity at the gate. The suffering, attempting to breach the walls, the outside influences, praying that you'll outsource your thinking, that you'll let them rule from afar.

To maintain control over your own outlook, it's no small feat. It's perhaps the most important battle of your life. It's the difference between intentionality and chance. The role of the ruler or the ruled. As the saying goes, if you don't build your dream, you will spend your days building someone else's. If you don't ask yourself what you want in life, those needs will ultimately be buried under nonsensical obligation that takes their place. Where there are vacuums in awareness that you will be filled, usually not by actors with the same interests as you. See, mistakes are not the problem.

No mistakes mean you're present, driving towards something, collecting data for this experiment that is life. It's autopilot that destroys. Like that frog put in a pot heating up so slowly it never knows to jump out. The external world becomes its demise. And this message isn't to instill fear or intimidate, it's to remind you to ask the question that so few ask. How is my life best lived and what can I do to bring that to reality?

If you can think for yourself, you're never out of the fight. If you can think for yourself, you're always a decision away from advancement in the direction of that which matters most. So trust you to do what's right for you. In a world where no one knows what they're doing, I can assure you don't need external endorsements or stamps of approval. Take Robert Frost's road less traveled by and don't look back. Don't feel remorse.

That's where you're forced to find yourself, to ask the tough questions to embrace who you are. Because the crowd is antithetical to rationality. Not just because responsibility dissipates. Not just because human beings become essentially well-dressed chimpanzees, but because rarely on the micro level is the collective goal, your goal. Have the courage to see that. Have the courage to understand that life is not an instruction manual.

Everything around you you have in one way or another accepted. And in accepting it, you have chosen it. By not saying no, you have in fact said yes. So realize that the world around you doesn't change until your thoughts become the bridge that connects current to future, today to tomorrow. Until you realize life can't make you a victim or a pawn on its chessboard without your permission, whether implicitly or explicitly. No, you have the ability to think, control, orchestrate something greater than what's in front of you. Let today be your next courageous step in the direction of that reality.

In his play, measure for measure, Shakespeare wrote in 1603, a line that I think adequately sums up the reason so many of us fall short of what we are capable of becoming. He wrote, Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt. Our greatest tragedies and regrets in life tend not to be. mistakes. They're not when we try and we falter. Now the vast majority of the time they arise when we do not even attempt because fear is prevented that very first step. It's when we have that perpetual light shined on all that can go wrong while the upside and the opportunity sits in the dark, just out of frame. And in a world where you get what you focus on,

on to only focus on the worst possible outcome, it's a death sentence. It's debilitating. The way I see it, there are a million ways to improve something. There are infinite roads and paths and possibilities. None are certain, but what is? Here's the interesting thing though. The only certainty, the only thing that is for sure is that is that is that is that is that that if you don't go, you will not arrive.

One will never finish what they do not start. Listen to this quote from Thoreau. It's from his book Walden, which he wrote after about two years and two months of living in the woods by Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. He wrote, I learned this, at least, by my experiment, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dream, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,

he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary. New, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and, within him or the old laws be expanded and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense. In other words, the world does not dictate, it reacts. It becomes what we decide it will be.

And I was thinking about this recently. Have you ever thought about the utility of water? Just water. and how it is obviously essential for life. Specifically, humans can't live longer than about three days without it. Yet, we can also very easily drown into much of it. The same thing that's required for life can easily take life away. It all depends on how it's being utilized.

And so when I think about this, my mind goes to Shakespeare's message on our doubts, making us traitors if we let them. Or the rose passage about moving with conviction towards the things that matter, towards our dreams. And what I see is an intentional restructuring of the world around us. The idea that life can work for us or work against us. It can be our headwind or our tailwind, the reason we stay or the reason we leave, and who decides that.

You. You decide that. I often think back to my first creative project once I took the entrepreneurial route years and years back. I referred to the project as quiet desperation in reference to actually another thorough quote, most men lead lives of quiet desperation because I realized around that time how easily that could become reality and decided to do something about it. For me, it was a huge step out of the routine and the cycle. I finally, finally asked myself who I was living for. Where did I lose myself?

Or had I simply never bothered to find myself? And I don't know the answer to that, but I know at the time, if you asked me, you know, Eddie, what are you truly excited about? Probably be a lot easier for me to tell you about the things I didn't like. I was afraid of that I was unhappy with. That's what I saw. That's what I focused on.

And that's the point. Until then, I was immersed in Thoreau's dreaded common-hour thinking. And so used to it that I thought nothing of it. There was no next step or other side. And then I arrived at that moment. At that moment, I hope we all get to at some point. Realizing there's very little to lose and everything to gain. And it drives me crazy how hard we have to fight for this understanding.

How much easier life would be if it was intuitive, but it's not. It's a journey, a muscle that must be built, and so we must build. We have to prove to ourselves that what's big and intimidate, can be broken down, that what we visualize can materialize. That will always be true. But we need to make ourselves believe it. Identity is scripted, confidence is earned. Not once but every day, and we must understand

the pain associated with staying far exceeds. The pain associated with moving towards our dreams, our dreams. The former is destructive and the latter is what we need. They are not the same. So being as we choose what we see, how about a commitment? Not a commitment to be perfect. Not a commitment to have all the answers or avoid mistakes. No, how about a commitment to allow ourselves the courage to be imperfect? A commitment to go. when we don't have the answers, a commitment to see mistakes as a necessity instead of a catastrophe in this world of subjectivity. Make sure that movie playing in your head illuminates the opportunity,

not the loss, so that when you fall, the inclination isn't to run from the bad, but to look for the good, because I promise you you will get what you look for. That perspective will alter your actions, which will alter how you see yourself, which will alter the trajectory of your life. Let's leave that mediocrity, that common hour thinking behind as we head for higher ground. Commonality being average, it's a wolf in sheep's clothing. It seems simpler. Sure, it seems easier. But the ones immersed in that world, they're depriving themselves of the answers they desperately need. They're refusing the hand that is perpetually reaching out.

When we turn our backs on the extraordinary, it is because fear has gripped the wheel, and we are now passengers along for the ride. But you have the ability to be more. You have the ability to move towards what matters to you. To take the steps one at a time, bear the discomfort one second at a time, acclimate one day at a time, this is a journey dependent entirely on you and your willingness to step out the front door. To finally see the things you previously disregarded. And when your eyes open, you'll see that you can be your ally or your enemy.

This can be the beginning of a new enemy. chapter or the continuation of a current one. This is your story. And by the way, that doesn't mean others wouldn't love to make it theirs. Wouldn't love to tell you that life is beyond your control. Wouldn't love for you to think that you are dependent on the outside world, that you need them and what they are willing to provide for you. But no, this is about you, understanding that the first step starts with you, your decision, that your autonomy, is a strength and a chance to begin again. Change the way you think and what you get changes.

It's not magic, but practical evolution. When we force ourselves to see the positive, when we look for a way, we find it. That's reality changing because you decided that it should. And that's what the power of perception is. nothing more than unlocking the gate that was previously placed before you. There's no better time than this very moment to walk through it and rewrite your story as it should be written.

Ready to prioritize yourself in the new year? Your skin is a great place to start. Dime Beauty, founded by a master aesthetician, is more than just a skincare company. With four skin-conscious categories, skin-care beauty, body. care and fragrance, Dime offers simple, spa-worthy products that will help you enter 2025 with confidence. Whether you're revitalizing your regimen with nourishing products or building one from scratch, Dime makes it easy. The work system, our all-in-one best-selling routine, includes a cleanser of your choice, toner, serums, and moisturizers, taking the guesswork out of skin care for your

healthiest, happiest skin yet. Dime's commitment to clean ingredients and sustainable packaging ensures every product is as gentle on your skin as it is on the skin. As it is on the skin, the planet. With thousands of glowing five-star reviews and a loyal community, the results speak for themselves. Revive your skin and give yourself the routine refresh you deserve by visiting dimebeautyco.com. That's dimebeautyco.com. Your best skin awaits. If there's time, then there's time to turn things around. If there is a tomorrow, then there is hope today. The only half to be is, in life are the ones we prop up and adhere to.

And how interesting that oftentimes we don't even realize we're the ones holding them up. There's a simple question that I like to ask as the sun comes up in the coffee bruise. Am I living today like it's an obligation or something more? Is it an automatic continuation of the past? or a methodical move towards a future that lights me up.

And these aren't small distinctions. Right? I've lived both ways. I've felt what it's like to feel both. I remember going to work and joking around that a flat tire would be a real treat. That's not accountability. That's not control. That's essentially living life as a jellyfish floating along with the tie. And while the lack of required output innovation and planning may have felt like a win in the moment or a burden lifted off my shoulders at the time deprived me of that which resides in the soul of every human being alive.

Purpose, personal agency. See, you can only go so far, so long being the spectator of your own journey. You can only go so long looking out the window before you wonder just what it'd be like to be behind the wheel. When we put our actions up against the question, why, it astounds me how many things are done because it's what we've always done. We act like we're expected to act. Think like we're expected to think, see who we're expected to see. but expected by whom? Some of my greatest breakthroughs in life emerged after being asked,

why by people I look up to or respect? Why have you accepted that? That's your income? Okay, great, but why? That's how you spend your day? I see how calm. And when one is tasked with looking at their own life through a magnifying glass, some hidden truths always emerge. It shines a spotlight in the corner of the room, illuminating those shadows where one can, if they look hard enough, make out the wolf in sheep's clothing that is the phrase, because that's how I've always done it.

We get in life what we accept. We are what we allow ourselves to be, and if we don't ask ourselves which mountain is worth climbing, which ocean is worth crossing, we simply float with the tide. We're at the mercy of the winds. We forfeit the mastery over our own lives that await if we're willing to take that wheel and navigate.

So here are a few things to take with you. First is you are bound by nothing. The parameters you exist between are of your making. You can get in that car and drive. You can walk away and begin something new. You can entertain that vision that's been conveniently tucked away in the back of your mind. Understand that to not go is fine,

but it's a decision. And perhaps a decision you'll wish you made differently. And second, difficult today liberate you tomorrow. It's easier to observe. It's easier to say how you wish things were. After all, stepping out into the fast-paced chaotic world is tough. It's scary, it's unpredictable, but it's where you find yourself and the path that's calling your name.

It's beyond the pins and needles, emerging as one jumps into the cold water, that they're able to find that evolution. If there's time, then there's time to turn things around. If there is a tomorrow, then there is hope. The little E on the car dashboard reminds me that I'm pointed east. As I sit at the red light, perpendicular to ocean avs, staring out at the water, this is it. This is as far as I can go.

There are no more streets or towns or cities. There can't be any more stops along the way, just miles and miles of ocean. It's interesting for me to think about all the changes I've made. up to now, growing up outside of Los Angeles on the opposite coast, relocating again and again, sometimes very targeted methodical moves, sometimes just for the sake of change, but always moving, always going. There's a saying that wherever you go, you take yourself with you. You can change this scenario, the circumstances, the surroundings, but ultimately you can never outrun yourself. You are accompanying you on whatever journey awaits.

And it's often not until you run out of real estate until there's no more road or options that you're forced to look in the mirror and acknowledge that it is you who must change. It's you who must evolve and become that person that you need you to become. And that can be a scary thing. After all, anyone can get in a car and head east. Anyone can point the compass away from the chaos of now. Move away from their demons. But how many of us can find this strength to look those demons in the human?

demons in the eye. How many of us can make ourselves bigger than what attempts to weigh us down? All of us can, but how many of us do? Are we running to something or from something? Because there is a difference, and that difference is not small. One of my favorite speakers, Jim Rohn, when referencing our journeys through life, our push to make more of ourselves. He essentially said, it's not what you get at the other end. It's who you become along the way. I think like everyone, I've forgotten that from time to time over the years. Forgotten that value is not simply ingoing, but in becoming, in the courageous little steps that accumulate over time. Forgotten that the external world might inspire or excite,

that change might invigorate the soul, that the road untravelled might remind me of life's beauty, but these externalities are only as valuable as you allow them to be. There are only opportunities if you decide them to be so. Change inspires. But will you let it inspire you to do that thing you know you need to do, but are terrified of doing? In that road, it might remind you of life's beauty.

But will you let that reminder be your invitation to share your own beauty with the world? Whatever that means for you. Can you be that vulnerable? Can you take that leap in the story of your becoming? See, it is incredibly easy to look out at the world and pinpoint its flawed. All those little problems and imperfections, they tend to jump out at us. But can you identify what you, yourself, need? Can you be courageous enough to ask those questions of yourself?

What matters to me? What does a meaningful life look like to me? Where am I falling short? That is a conversation that needs to be had. And it needs to be had often. Otherwise, we will drive and drive and drive until we hit water in are forced to ask that question. Because it's interesting that when we don't pause and make the changes that need to be made, life has a way of ensuring that we do.

But when it's mandated by life, it tends to be a lot messier, a lot more chaotic. At least than when we make the decision ourselves. But either way, we cannot run forever. Either way, we must step into a new pair of shoes and learn to walk confidently with them into the night. There are plenty of little mantras floating around out there, little pieces of advice, and perhaps it's best for us to weigh them each individually. See what meets our needs and fits our criteria. After all, life is not one size fits all.

But one of my favorite among these is to do one single thing that scares you. thing that scares you every day and I'll tell you why. Because when we become conditioned to turning our backs on all the uncomfortable things in life, we cripple our prospects of a better tomorrow. It's synonymous with the seed refusing water, saying no to the very thing it needs most. And what should be noted here, one of the reasons it's so dangerous is that saying no is incredibly subtle. It's not some big event or explosion. There's no fireworks show that occurs every time you walk away from what you need. No, it goes unnoticed. And again, one of the greatest

challenges is quantifying that which we don't do. How do you measure that thing you walked away from? Well, unfortunately, you can't. You can't at least until you're staring out at the Atlantic with nowhere to run, no more escaping on the agenda. You don't know until you're forced to pick the pieces up and make something of them. And I say this, so that hopefully it can ignite that spark in your soul that you need most. Whether you previously recognized it or not. I say this to remind you how much bigger you are than your problems, how you have the ability to transform all that exists around you

when you transform yourself. There's a certain inevitability associated with how we see ourselves. And I believe this to be true at both the personal and the societal levels. Anyone can look in the mirror and see the past, where they've gone wrong, how inadequate and ill-prepared they are. But the courage to look in the mirror and see strength. To both identify and understand one's shortcomings,

but know that you have the power to do something about it. To know that the times you fell or didn't make the cut, they don't indicate that the endeavor was all for not or unequivocally wrong. No, there is so much good tied into your pursuit. So much beauty and courage. ingrained in your soul. But imagine. Imagine a life where you no longer run from the gaps, but close them.

Imagine finding it in yourself to begin that hero's journey. And where you used to run to protect yourself, now you take the offensive to grow yourself. Where you used to avoid the possibility of failure. Now you chase the possibility of failure. You can have that if you want to. You can be that if you choose to. And sure, you may never be able to outrun yourself,

but you can always adapt yourself to be that person you always needed you to be. Sometimes we just need the reminder that we are strong enough. We do have what it takes. takes. And that the thing that hurts us most in the short term not only saves us pain in the long term, but it becomes what we live for. It is where we find our meaning. And so perhaps this ocean before me is not there to remind me of my constraints that I have no road left, but a reminder of just how often we measure using the wrong metrics.

Perhaps I needed to see again that it's not where I end up, but who I become along the way. That when the internal self steps into the shoes it's been too intimidated to wear, that when the world within becomes the beacon you need it to be, the roads and the stops along the way, they matter a little bit less than the eyes that process it all, that decide what it means, how it will be utilized in the game of life.

And so, yes, the little E on the car dashboard, it says that I'm pointed east. But as I sit at this red light, perpendicular to ocean abs, staring out at the water, I know this is only the beginning. Sometimes I wonder why. Why does this season of life feel like it's one undesirable outcome after another? What happened to the law of averages? When is the wind? Where is the light at the end of the tunnel?

Why would I continue going in this direction? When it feels like that spot on the horizon I've been chasing has eluded me. Why? Why are my results not aligning with my output? It's hard to wake up and do this. It takes all of me to give this much. Sometimes I wonder where is the delayed gratification everyone speaks of? Where's the fruit of my labor, the arm on my shoulder that says this is why it was all worth it?

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

Why won't life let me shake this? Why? Just maybe. It's to show you how strong you are. What you can endure. Because deep down, in your soul, you know you are the 1%. Because if you can push through this, you can push through anything. And I don't know why.

why life gives us its lessons when it does. Why the world seems to stack it on when we're at our most vulnerable, when the ground beneath us is most unstable. But if you can find the courage to step back and see this for what it is, if you can hold on to the idea that this is happening for you, you'll come out of this a different person. You don't need to perform a miracle when you're at your lowest. No, the courage, the power, the strength is in showing up.

You need to continue forward. Let go of the week, the month, the year. Sometimes we are tasked with pushing through the moment, the hour, surviving the day. And sometimes there is nothing more courageous than that, Nothing more powerful than seeing what it turns into down the road when we look over our shoulders and are grateful we never stopped. So yes, this season might seem like a non-stop barrage of obstacles and misfortune. Why?

Perhaps because it's life allowing you to plant your seed now so that when spring comes around you are provided something you've never had before. You arrive at that spot in the horizon you've been aiming at. And yes, the results might not feel like they're aligning with your output. Why? Perhaps because when the compounding reaches that magical point, that point of statistical significance, and the desirable things happen then,

as quickly as the difficult ones do now, it'll all make sense. You'll appreciate it, value it. and be equipped to handle it. And yeah, life might seem to be throwing you curveball after curveball. Why? Perhaps because if you can trudge forward now when your body's tired while navigating the trials and tribulations of life, when you can bring greatness into existence under duress,

just imagine what waits around the corner. Imagine how you'll perceive those seemingly impossible obstacles that slow everyone else down. There'll be nothing more than a cool breeze and a sunny day as you move towards your best self. Look, it's hard to understand when we are in it. It's hard to make sense of the dark and the chaos and the hurt, but find a way to remember. No matter how hard it seems, that this life is happening for us. is happening for you and not to you. This is the seed in the palm of your hand that will mean something that matters. So hold on. Hold on to see that seed begin to rise from the ground.

Hold on to feel the warmth of the sun. Hold on through the storms of life, they will be why when you look back years from now, you'll have gotten from life that which was once merely a dream. Just go. Sure, things will feel strange at first. Abstract at first, wrong at first.

It's incredibly difficult to separate from the past. It's hard to detach from the deeply rooted biological whispering of, hey, at least you knew what to expect back there. But that whispering has preservation in mind, not happiness. And at some point, we need to stop preserving that which is not ideal. So go.

The walls that once existed, they'll crumble. And this will be startling at first. shocking at first, intimidating at first. It's incredibly difficult to watch foundational structures crumble around us, especially when you know you are the one that lit the fuse. It's hard to walk away from the faint murmur, stating, hey, this was your home. How dare you leave it? But those words, they have status quo.

in mind, not growth. And home is an idea you take with you. It's no set of parameters. Just go. The stories you told yourself, the narratives you thought were forever, will prove to be nothing more than the end of an underwhelming chapter. This will feel abrupt at first. Unfair at first will leave you deeply unsatisfied at first. It's incredibly difficult to realize that happily ever afters aren't linear, they're cyclical. It's hard to walk away from the voices pleading with you not to turn the page, stating that because their realities will remain the same, so must yours. But those aren't the characters with whom you'll emerge victorious. Some movies must be recast.

the setting reimagined the hero reinvented and so it should be known that your greatest strength is the little steps that you are capable of taking the little decisions

you are capable of making remember safety is not safe when it keeps you from what you need And the wrong nows have a tendency to evolve into the wrong forever. The small concessions, well, they become the big mistakes. So if it's a sign you're hoping for, let this be it. If there's a time you're waiting for, let now be that time.

If it's someday you are dependent upon, let today be that day, as doing nothing is in fact a decision, but only one of many. One path laid out before you, one single grain of sand, where the edge of today's world touches the shores of tomorrow's. Sometimes it's about the end. ability to stand up, face the horizon, and just go. Go because it's only upon going that you realize you're capable of the journey. You finally see in yourself the strength you've longed for. It's in going that you realize yesterday's situation wasn't even really the problem. It was your fear of the unknown.

of leaving that situation. It was living with the devil you knew. Instead of potentially having to face the devil you didn't. That's what happened to your wings. They just felt safer tucked away. But it's ingoing that we acquire perspective. The tragedies, the devastation, the things that kept us awake at night, they really weren't that bad. But how are we to know? When you build walls around yourself, what's within them becomes your entire world. It's in going that you create yourself. And while everything you need is already beating in your chest,

the great unknown before you is the water to that seed, the key to that door, what you fear is exactly what you need. And so the beautiful dance through, Life goes on. Not beautiful because of its elegance, it's rarely that. But beautiful because of its promise, its malleability. Beautiful because we get to move without answers in order to find answers. Beautiful because what we become is directly proportional to what we're willing to endure.

And that means that the universe doesn't judge. It doesn't know us by our failures or our mistakes, but by our courage. Our courage to face all of these things and move forward anyway. To relentlessly explore the resilience of the human spirit, an infinite light in an otherwise finite world, a bridge that is built beneath our feet in real time. What a weight off of our shoulders. to know this. We don't have to get it right. We just have to step out the door trusting that we will pick up enough pieces to put together something meaningful.

We just have to go. And then the world it opens up. Just like that. Leave the old, embrace the new, simple you think to yourself. Well yeah, of course the best things in life are always simple, always have to been always will be, we just imagine them to be difficult. We have a knack for making simple decisions into complex matrices of cause and effect. Pros and cons, wins and losses, we learn to think for years until we finally come to the brilliant realization that happiness, that meaning that a life well lived comes when we think less. Ready, fire, aim, there is no perfect path, just an adjusted course, an endless series of change, of learning that falling is just a road sign indicating where we need to go next. You can't plan

for that. You can't chart a course that doesn't exist. No, you leave who you were yesterday behind and you set sail. They'll ask you, where do you see yourself in five years and you'll think who knows? But not here. It couldn't be here. It must be somewhere evolved. Where pieces of the world shaped your outlook and became the armor that you now wear. New game, new rules, new expectations, new people, new places. And what really changed?

changed. Well, how you view yourself. It's funny how it all works, how things come together when we look over our shoulders, like it was meant to be, as if this had to be the way things are. No, you could very easily have stayed dreaming, looking out that window, wishing you could leave, hoping for answers that didn't exist. And so the complex now feels as simple. as we meant it to. We move forward, not knowing, but trusting, and we look back with the sense of understanding and a confidence that was built over time. In the game of life, there are people who go and people who stay,

people who build and people who don't. And I'm not saying everything will be perfect or everything will immediately snap into place. How could I? But what I am sad is that in moving forward we pull back the curtain on the opportunity that is available to us. We move from the physical limitations of the bodies we walk around in and towards the infinite power of the mind that powers them.

We become who we were always meant to be. How do we know what that is? Well, not until we look over our shoulders, of course. So go. Go make your mistakes. Go learn your lessons. Feel your moments of pain and your moments of bliss. Your times of doubt and your times of certainty.

Because in doing so, you will have done the very thing so few people get to do with their limited time on this planet. Truly live. So go. Just hold the vision, but trust the process. an idea that should act as our North Star, right, as we make our way through life, it proposes believing in a goal, but at the same time understanding that its manifestation will be unpredictable, challenging, it may not unfold the way we thought it would.

To me, though, the most challenging aspect of personal growth, of building the things that matter, creating realities we dream of. It's the mandatory dance we must do with time. The patience that's woven into the equation, it's the empty spaces that we tend to use for manufacturing doubt and disbelief when life has given us nothing to react to. It's like we create monsters in our heads. And it's really an incredible thing when you think about it.

I look back on the past decade of my life in the hardest parts, and some were excruciating. They were pain derived from what I knew I hadn't yet accomplished. It was a feeling like I wasn't moving fast enough. Like the winners in life had that over there, and all I had was this over here. Completely nonsensical narrative, but one that certainly felt real. Discomfort. from the delta or the gap between what I wanted and what I had, a feeling that would randomly dip in and out of my conscious mind,

as I sort of chipped away at my goals day in and day out. And I started to wonder, how can I better position myself to grow, to maintain that ambition, but also to do it with less anxiety, right? As I stated a few seconds ago, hold that vision, but perhaps improve my trust and relationship with the process. My ability to immerse myself in various pursuits without dwelling on the fact that I hadn't yet arrived. Because look, I know this game.

We all know this game. There's always going to be another finish line to cross. That's a great thing, but can also, when we're not looking at it correctly, be to our detriment. There are always higher numbers to achieve. Again, incredible opportunity, but with the wrong perspective, dangerous. If you can't find a way to appreciate the now while you climb, you will be forever lost. There will always be a hole that's never filled.

I think we need to be better about supporting ourselves along this journey. No one can be there for me like I. I can. And I think that's true for everyone. We need to be our greatest allies. So I brought this question up, as I tend to do, with a few of my friends, right, with different perspectives. They look at the world a little differently. And basically ask, you know, how can we get out of our own ways? Is there a lane to both be tenacious in our pursuit of evolution to continue doing the things that excite and challenge us while also being a little easier on ourselves, trusting that dance we do with time as the process unfold. And so I present this question to one of my friends

sitting across me at the table and he thinks about it. He says, Eddie, well, that's what's got you where you are. That feeling like there's always more. It's the reason for the success you've had and the success you'll have in the future. It's what will push you. It's why you will succeed. People that accomplish things are never satisfied. Jordan was never satisfied. He was never happy. And in that context, greatness and happiness are not compatible. And, you know, I took it in. I certainly appreciated the perspective, right? In many ways, I think he's right. Sort of reminded me of the idea behind Tim Grover's book, Relentless, that it's an obsession that must take place. It doesn't leave room for much else, right? Incredibly valuable to understand, if anything,

just to see, just to grasp what it means to achieve in a world of obstinate. But truthfully, I wasn't entirely satisfied. How can we better visualize the process so that we're more powerful allies to ourselves? That's what I wanted to understand. And a short time later, I'm at the kitchen table, kind of going over some analytics for social media, YouTube channel, podcast, stuff like that. And my father, who happened to fly in from Boston, he's at the kitchen table with me. me, we're having some coffee, and I made a comment about the trajectory of the numbers.

You know, I forget that particular week. Maybe it was higher or lower than expected. I don't really remember, but he made this comment about the patience that I've had with the channel over the years. Just an offhand remark. You know, he said, the numbers are like the SMP 500, right? The stock market. There are days when it drops. There are days when it rises. But over the long haul, it's steadily pointed up and it continues to point up. And I found that so interesting. You know, I harp on the small things a lot on this channel, the little breakthroughs that paved the way for larger transformation,

ideas that change the way we look at things, which ultimately change the way we act, which change the results we get, and this happened to be one of them. You know, it hit me just right. What is perhaps the most important, important piece in the famous book, The Intelligent Investor. What is the idea that made Buffett a billionaire?

It's that you invest in things you believe in and you remove the emotion. You hold the dips, right? When the stock market takes a hit and everyone's panicking and acting emotionally and selling, you don't sell. You buy more, right? When the world emotionally rushes out, you rush in. And when the world emotionally rushes in, you step out. Well, in life, there will be days when your metaphorical stock drops, at least you feel like it does.

Right? Those YouTube numbers, perhaps numbers in the old bank account, maybe fitness goals fall flat. Maybe you're just not seeing a return on investment. But we are never defined by the events of the day. Even the worst of days, they're merely a small part of a much larger pattern. And the truth is, sometimes success is so small, you can't see it. Of course, you're going to be anxious if you think every day should be comprised solely of mountaintops and finish lines, if you're always looking, comparing, contrasting.

But sometimes success is 0.0001% better. Sometimes success looks like the S&P 500 taking a hit, dropping for a day, a week, or a month. Sometimes growth doesn't look like what we want growth to look like. But just like intelligent investors, you are putting your money in the belief that at a certain point, down the road the value will be higher then than it is now. And this idea has been everything to me, particularly on the days when it feels like things are going backwards,

over periods of time where I feel like I've been standing still, where the voice in my head is present. presenting all kinds of scenarios that I could have been better or done more, and maybe so. But these times are nothing more than data points. They are steps along the way. And knowing this, it essentially frees me from the delusion that growth is always visible, that I can always look around and see visible triumph. It allows me to march towards my goals and my dreams, having a renewed relationship with each step.

You know, there's a saying that we need to keep our head in the clouds and our feet on the ground. Life is a continual juggling of extremes, and I think this gets it right. Our strength is in the ability to take those steps, each one a message to the universe that we are stronger than we were yesterday. But what makes our journeys truly divine is that they aren't comprised of or built with those steps like a house of carts, where one wrong move or some delay will cause the whole thing to fall to come crashing down. No, what makes the journey divine is the infinite number of paths that can bring about its materialization. There are no wrong paths. Some arrive sooner, some arrive later, some mid-jurney,

causes to realize that the compass wasn't even pointed in the right destination, right? They change what it means to arrive. But the point is every step is required, every step is a miracle, but the power is not contained solely in one step. But rather, what we choose to make of all the steps combined, the dips, the lows, and the losses only have significance if we give them significance. Otherwise, they're just a few stops along the way to something beautiful. So why exhaust energy on data points that haven't arrived yet, on destinations in the future?

Destinations that we trust ourselves to figure out anyway. Our emphasis should be on the present moment, on gratitude. for the fact that we get to wake up and choose the pursuits that we've chosen. In some days, those pursuits will feel like the miracles that they are. We'll see the finish lines, the mountaintops. We'll feel triumphant. And some days, those victories will be hidden in plain view, but they are there nonetheless. As we make our way into the great unknown that is life, piecing each second, each minute,

each hour together to become the path leading us where we need to be most.