Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - FAILURE | Best Motivational Speeches Compilation for Success

Episode Date: December 1, 2021

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Our lives require failure. Like our lungs require oxygen. And when I find the world around me lacking in the resources that I need, it's because in so many ways I have forgotten to breathe. To step out my walls of comfort and breathe in lessons waiting to be taught by the greatest of teachers' life. Life, the unpredictable and often unremarkable miracle, the book that reveals itself through experience, that tells tales only in hindsight, our world is a book in which we choose our own ending, and so we must fail.

Because failing means living and we were meant to live. We must fail because every failure is the mark of a poet, an artist, or an author bringing this story one step closer to its resolution, continually walking up to a blank wall and making a mark, a single trivial mark, a mark that's misunderstood at best but lightly scoffed at, ridiculed. But each mark gives meaning to the one before it. These marks, they become chapters, become narrative shifts, become stories. Every failure you throw against this wall becomes part of a mural. It's an element of beauty before

the work can even be deemed beautiful. Yet we continually misunderstand. When you hang your head in disappointment, when you see only the smudge of paint you through against that wall, you are a oblivious to the fact that you're making something meaningful. So here is my challenge to you. I dare you in the midst of the Mona Lisa you are creating to see it before it's done. I dare you to be strong enough to fail, not just once, but over and over and over again.

I dare you to keep your eyes focused, locked in on what's in front of you. When everyone you know hides their failures, when they scream of every little wind for all the world to hear, I dare you to understand what they do not, to cherish your failures, to maintain trust in the unseen.

And when all you want is to get there, I dare you to see your greatness before you arrive. I dare you to look in the mirror and see the hero inside you right now. I dare you to do that. I dare you to take your struggle and see amidst the pain your purpose, your purpose that will lift you up when you've fallen and will carry you forward when you're lost. I dare you to see light when there appears only darkness, and when none presents itself, I dare you,

to light the spark, to be the answer you need. I dare you to stand up to the human tendency to embrace security over adventure and predictability over growth. I dare you to walk into the darkness of night knowing that today's unknown becomes tomorrow's foundation. And when it hurts, like truly hurts when you look around and can't remember why you,

you began or what's pulling you forward, I dare you to close your eyes and imagine looking back and thanking yourself for taking this path. Every low is a courageous step towards transformation and if you've forgotten that, I hope this reminds you why it all matters. I hope you remember why this mark, the one you're making right now, is a very part of the masterpiece you've been longing for. It's taking you exactly where you need to be. For a second, imagine that feeling in your stomach.

The nerves, the discomfort, maybe even the doubt as you walk up to do that one thing that scares you. It stretches you just a little bit further than you're ready for. And as you move towards that sort of dark, unknown, the mysterious discomfort, what's on your mind? Are you starting to rationalize? Maybe you're asking yourself, hey, why did I do this to begin with? Seemed like a good idea at one point. It seemed bold and adventurous.

But now it seems like the wheels have hit the road and the narrative is shifting in real time. So try and recreate that feeling for a second. Looking fear in the eyes. Capture what it means, physically, mentally. For me, it was public speaking. Half a decade ago, standing backstage, palms sweating, little voice in my head saying, hey Ed, a cubicle doesn't seem so bad right now, does it, genius?

Maybe, you know, for you in this scenario, it's that big test that feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Everything's on the line. Maybe it's something like starting a conversation with a complete stranger, interview for a job you want, starting line of a race, having the courage to speak your mind online. Maybe it's doing something your family doesn't quite get, or your friends won't understand,

cutting ties with what's comfortable, a decision to be what you've always wanted to be. There's a million possibilities. There's a lot of fear that we dance with on a day-to-day basis. But in that moment, as your feet start moving in the very direction that will bring your ideas closer to your reality, and you're hit with that same feeling, that wall that tells us something isn't quite right. That's what I want to discuss. Because it's hard to be met with this feeling and still move confidently in the same direction.

There's cognitive dissonance there. How can something feel wrong and be right? Should there be disconnect? You know, it's funny, I really enjoy reading quotes. And particularly, Lewis Carroll has resonated with me over the years. You know, things he said in his works, they're witty, they're funny, but they're powerful. And one in particular stood out to me. It's why sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

I just loved the concept, the idea of immersing yourself, you know, in the impossible, in the difficult, the thing that's not right in front of you, that sort of creating it as you go. So I got through the looking glass and adventures of Alice in Wonderland. It was an interesting read. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for everyone, but there was certainly one thing that popped out at me, that I found incredibly valuable.

And it was in Alice's journey holistically, right? So just she goes into this rabbit hole, and the world is basically upside down. Nothing is as it was before she jumped. Nothing really makes sense. And what you see is her progression as a character as she starts continually embracing the thing that feels abnormal, upside down and weird.

But with each decision to move forward, she completely redefines this insane world that wasn't particularly warm and receptive to Alice to begin, with. She stands up to a queen running around ordering executions. She navigates a world with new rules and guidelines. She transforms the boundaries that used to define reality. And what I think is valuable is that there really wasn't this boom transformative moment where everything changes. She just keeps subtly saying, yes, she keeps moving forward without knowing for sure how things will work out or unfold, as if she's supposed to. And she becomes so accustomed to superpowers.

that feeling of fear and uneasiness, that it almost becomes comical. She goes with it, it becomes the author of a new story. She becomes untouchable in this world. And my point here, and for those of you not a fan of Alice in Wonderland, I appreciate you hanging on, but where these dots connect is that it's actually a pretty simple idea.

Life unfolds in a way that is unimaginable. When we shift our thinking from, oh no, here comes that feeling, in my stomach again, my heart's pounding, my palms are sweating, so I've wandered too far. When you change that to, here comes that feeling in my stomach, heart pounding, palms, sweating, so here comes the beginning of something incredible, life ships. See, it's not running from that temporary feeling of fear and discomfort, but harnessing it. It's a weapon, it's a tool. Right? It fuels the rocket ship headed to the moon. It's the water. It's the water. It's the water. It's the

that that seed of opportunity is dependent upon. And sure, it feels new and unsettling, and yeah, it's uncomfortable, but so is, as we learn, everything good. And sure, you could turn back. You could avoid that manufactured conflict, confrontation altogether, but man, you have to be okay, never knowing

what those peaks could have been. You have to be content imagining a life of adventure, and not living it. And to me, that's a much steeper price. Because that feeling of fear in your stomach, it's temporary. It goes away. But the feeling of knowing you walked away when life held out its hand and offered you more,

that doesn't go away. And see, I look at it like this. Two things change every time you say yes. Every time you acknowledge the organized chaos and move forward anyway, You move both your internal and external worlds one step forward. Internal because life is your identity. And as has been said before, humans always follow through on who they believe they are.

I've heard actors saying the most important decision they make is the shoes they put on. Because it lays the groundwork for how you feel. You just feel differently about yourself in clown shoes than you would in basketball shoes, than you wouldn't dress shoes, you feel different about yourself in a suit than you wouldn't sweatpants. And this doesn't mean go reassess your wardrobe, but highlights how malleable identity is.

Yeah, we follow through on who we believe we are, but the powerful thing is who we believe we are is created every single day. Every time we use fear to propel us forward. Your subconscious goes, okay, that's who I am. Someone who does the uncomfortable thing, someone who is okay with fear, That's me.

Right? And that's the internal foundation that means everything. That's how identity is constructed. And if you stack that up with action every single day, you won't even be able to recognize yourself. That's the internal transformation. Then there's the external transformation. Every time you push through fear, you level up.

Not significantly. You aren't immediately transformed. In fact, sometimes you don't even notice. But the truth is, after you say yes, after you take that step, you're fractionally further than a few minutes earlier. Your relative ceiling is now the floor, and it's time to take another step. This is how you create distance over time. So when you hear the word fear, let's rewire that reaction.

Let's change how we think about it. Because it's not a monster in the closet. It's not some demons staring you in the face. No, it's a ticket to something more. something to be embraced and coveted, it's the next little step in your journey, and why when most of the world bows down to that feeling of discomfort or instability and stays the same, you will have moved forward. Not in a single leap, but a step.

A step that over time will become the reason that at some point when you look over your shoulder you'll find a life, a world, a reality that is unrecognized. in the context of where you began. It's why fear is not to be avoided or even tolerated, but sought out as the single variable that puts a pulse in your aspirations, gives hope to your dreams. The ideal life

is not predicated on the avoidance of fear, but the ability to harness and capitalize on its power. So imagine with me that it's a fall morning years from now. Right, the sun is shining through your window, you'd get out of bed just like it's any other day. Except this particular day would be different. It would be your last day on earth. So you'd walk outside and begin reflecting on life from day one to where you are now. And in that moment, my question to you is, what would you value most looking back?

I've always been intrigued by this question. Even though it's a tough one, I like it because it's a simple reminder of what's important. It brings much needed perspective. So what would that moment look like? Your last day, when you get to look back on everything you've done, right? The legacy you've made. You most likely won't focus on how tough the climbs were. You probably won't remember the battles and the struggles.

struggles. What you'll remember are the moments of victory, the times when you're able to do something significant to contribute to the world, to help and be near those who mean the most to you. What we learn as we get older as we progress through life is that failures dissolve. Right? They fade away. They provide us with the wisdom that we so desperately need, and then they disappear into the universe. It's the other piece that needs our attention. That quote we've heard a million times about regretting the things that we don't do more than the things we do. And how fear constantly gets in the way of our potential. So imagine, right, as you continue this walk outside that you think about your dreams, the things that fear kept you from becoming.

Because on your last day alive in the face of being, in the face of death, you'll probably realize that the worst possible scenario wasn't as scary as you thought. Study after study shows that the biggest regret of people with limited time left is living according to the expectations of others, not having lived a life that was true to themselves. We're fortunate enough to have that wisdom now. Why would we not act on it? Don't let yourself be the person who looks back and dreams about what if.

Do you dreaming in the present? We're all writing our stories, make yours a thriller, make it a bestseller, live now. Let that fear fade away because in a universe where your existence essentially equates to a drop of rain in a thunderstorm, what the hell is there to be afraid of? Be the type of person who finishes this walk outside with a smile, content with the journey, all the turns, the adventures, the small failures that shaped who you are, the successes that lifted you up. As the old saying goes, everyone dies, but few truly live. Living is easy. It's my inability to die.

that kills me. My hesitance to lock my old persona up and place it within the ship's cargo hold watch its sail away to some far off place. Maybe for a minute, maybe forever. But the bird has to be uncaged.

It must unlearn its constraints. It must metaphorically die to transcend that. which it knew itself to be. I think we all have wings. I think very few of us put them to use. And isn't that the challenge? Perhaps we're too busy living.

I've always had the ability. Now I've captured the fleeting awareness next. I must obtain the courage. Because the rule, the truth, the beacon of light to be followed is we're always one decision away from a totally different life. If dare I decide to take the mask off, that's been so effectively fooling others that I've begun to fool myself,

dare I decide to play new games with new rules to see life with new eyes, perhaps upside down. But when your sight is finally, finally set on infinity, when you're looking at the clouds while lying on your back, Who's right, them or you? Who gets the honor of deciding? And sometimes I wonder how far we need to walk to understand that the danger isn't stepping into a new pair of shoes.

It's thinking you need to walk the same path down the same street in the same pair of shoes you've had on your entire life. Strange, peculiar. according to previous cognitive mappings, but maybe they're crazy is your oxygen. Maybe crazy is pure. It's desirable. It's been the goal all along,

and where I thought I dedicated my life to its pursuit, I see how wrong I was. To think something new could emerge. No, not without the death of the old. Not without that caricature of myself, flipping away. Not without that ship taking everything,

every last thing. I want roots ripped from the ground. I want new heroes and new villains, new street signs telling of new roads, new tears from eyes stimulated by that which I've never

seen, the increased rhythm of a new heartbeat, in anticipation of all that lies ahead. New beginnings maybe for a minute or maybe forever I'll let you know once I learn to die it takes a million pieces coming together to tell a story a million parts to make up the whole every day that puzzle becomes a little more complete sacrifices are made with the hope that a picture will materialize,

that someday it will all make sense. It will add up. In your world, the next piece must be acquired because it's what you've grown to need. One last push and then you'll be inspired. One more tool and then you'll be ready to go. One more, just one more. But what if more was a myth?

What if your idea of necessary was wrong if you already had what you need? And the objective shifted, not from seeking your next answer or finding your next piece, but in rearranging the pieces that are already in front of you, playing the hand that you have. See, stagnation is a product of thinking that you are not yet ready, that you're not yet prepared someday, but not yet. And this can be an enemy because there will never be a perfect moment. A green light does not drop down from the clouds and let you know that everything is good. There will always be some doubt, some uneasiness.

And if there's not, then you're thinking too small. Everything that is required you already have. What makes or breaks a person is what they do with the pieces they already possess. There's no value in the waiting game. Postponing, rationalizing, contain very little benefit. The key is progress. It's been said that sometimes you have to jump and grow your wings on the way down. Trust that within you is everything you need.

You will grow, you will learn, you will evolve, but that doesn't happen standing still. Stop chasing every single thing you don't have. And start capitalizing on what you do. Regret will cling to those waiting for their perfect moment while you manufacture Mountain Top. Greatness comes from humble beginnings, from grunt work. It means you're the least important person in the room until you change that with results. See, ego tells us that we need success now.

It replaces action and progress with a false sense of reality. We fall to pretend stories and made-up visions of who we are, but they mean nothing. Talk means nothing. Even a child knows how to gossip and chatter. Anyone can do that. What's rare is silence. The ability to deliberately keep yourself out of the conversation and subsist without its validation. Silence is moving forward and creating every single day. Ego is the enemy of what you want and what you have, of mastering a craft. of real creative insight. Because it takes what's most important and deems it insignificant.

The struggle, the uncertainty, the doubt, the things that not only light the path to success, they are the very foundation success stands on. These things keep us humble. They make us students. They show us that the best never stop learning because with certainty comes the death of creativity. As Richard Feynman states, you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.

When you fall into the trap of seeing recognition as the goal or status as the finish line, you will fall short time and time again. Triumph lives in a purpose much larger than yourself, from a focus not on being but doing, on driving toward a target, revealing a simple question, are you doing what you set out to do. Are you willing to endure what most aren't? Put in the hours and hours that go unnoticed, the struggle that goes unrecognized,

and the incremental progress that goes unseen. Are you willing to let go of ego and become the best possible version of yourself?