Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Finding Your Purpose in Tough Times

Episode Date: April 23, 2020

In this episode I discuss: The question: How do you find your purpose in tough times? Understanding the complexity of purpose (passion vs purpose) Discovering your purpose and living a meaningful life Analysis of your current situation The process of getting from where you are to where you want to be  

Welcome to Your World Within Daily. I'm Eddie Panero. And in this episode, we're going to answer a listener's question about finding purpose and meaning in tough times. So without further ado, let's jump in. All right. So I appreciate all the questions and ideas and inquiries that came through yesterday. I'm going to do my absolute best to get through all of them, or at least, you know, mention them, allude to them on these, on these episodes here, some great questions. And I wanted to start with one from, I believe it's

Eric, E-R-I-C-H, if I'm butchering that. Apologies, brother, but he asked, would be interesting to see something about finding purpose and meaning in tough times. So finding purpose and meaning in tough times. And I spent a lot of time thinking about that. It's a very complex question, right? Anytime you're talking about, you know, the meaning of life, purpose, just understand that it's not a black and white yes or no thing, right? That the greatest minds to ever live and living right now, you know, continue to have that philosophical debate. But I'm happy to give my take and, you know, hopefully there's something you can take from it and use to improve your life. So when I see that question, right, finding purpose and meaning in

tough times, I see two different things. You know, purpose, which is a journey. You know, which is a It's self-discovery. It's understanding what makes you tick and feel alive and how you can add value to the world, all those things versus the externalities, right? The variables around you that, you know, either help or get in the way of what you're trying to do. So in other words, it's like saying, how do you learn how to play soccer in the rain? Well, you don't really, right? You learn how to play soccer. and then it's either raining, snowing, sunny, whatever it is, and you adjust your playing to the environment. So what does that mean in the context of this example? Well, I really, I broke it down into three things. I think this makes the most sense. One, finding your purpose. Two, understanding where you currently are, your current environment, is it conducive to your purpose or not?

And then three, transitioning, right, from where you are to where you want to be. So let's start with number one, finding your purpose. And again, this is a very, very loaded topic, but I'm going to pinpoint the things that I think are most important. When it comes to finding purpose, the first is the understanding that it's a journey. It's a process. It's really self-discovery. And one of the most useful explanations I've heard I read in one of Ryan Holiday's books. I don't remember which one.

Maybe ego is the enemy. And he talks about purpose versus passion, right? This is important for big picture because the reality is, if purpose is a journey, there's ups and there's downs and there's highs and there's lows. And having a purpose that your life revolves around means you care about it enough to get past the low points. That is the crux of, you know, entrepreneurship, of progress, of any pursuit. It's not the high points. They're easy. It's the low points, the tough times when people quit and when they stop.

So having a purpose, something you're invested in, you care about enough to keep going through those low points is everything. Where he says passion, on the other hand, maybe you're excited about it, you enjoy it. But when push comes to shove, do you care enough to pay that metaphorical price? Do you care enough to keep going? People that are only passionate with no purpose when, you know, when the going gets tough, they tend to drop off. So when it comes to finding that, right, the way I like to describe it is, you know, the chasing firefly metaphor.

You know, when you are young, you're a kid, and you're outside with your net, whatever it is, you're running around chasing these little bugs. You do not care about what anyone in the world thinks. You do not care about expectations, what you're supposed to do, what the world expects you to be. you're in this state of flow excitement and that's how i define purpose it's like finding your flow state that thing that you just you can be so entrenched and lost in that you forget to eat it's all you think about with value right if you can find a flow state something that you love and bring value to the world

that's where there's fireworks. And again, that only comes from self-exploration. Diving into things, testing things, exploring curiosity without expecting a result. This company was the culmination of a lot of little things that I allowed myself to explore without expecting much from them, just to see what I liked. It's the culmination of storytelling, creative writing, making music, taking the camera out, telling stories with visuals. All those things together, you know, sort of comprise the product that started everything for me.

Also, help me realize what I don't like. I don't like the nightlife of playing music. I hate being out until 2 in the morning and sleeping until 10. I couldn't function that way. Well, I'm sure I could, but I'm not optimally. So it's really just pulling back the curtain, allowing yourself to, find what makes you happy. It's that simple. When you really, when you pull back the expectations and what the world wants of you and you just think, if I'm sitting here, this is a video game and I can go

anywhere I want and do anything I want to do, what would that be? What would that look like? That's pretty revealing. So that would be your purpose, right? And now, number two is understanding where you are. So let's say you understand your purpose. Understand now your current state. And that matters, right? Because it's people's current condition that keeps them from fully pursuing their purpose, from acting on passion. If you are, you know, you feel like you're drowning, you're not thinking about writing vocal harmonies or starting, you know,

that dream coffee shop you've always wanted to start, right? You're thinking about air. And that comes down to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. That's just kind of the 101. Before we think about self-actualization, realizing our full potential, what we could be, well, we need food, water, warmth, rest. We need safety, security. We need relationships, friends, people that have our backs. You know, these things are all essential. And then you can move on. So it's like you have to understand where you are in life, you know, what's conducive to your purpose versus what are the things that you're simply doing. because of that hierarchy of needs, right? They're providing certain things that you need. Because once you understand that, you can go into step three,

which is transitioning from where you are to where you want to be, cutting away the things that are not in line, or maybe transitioning them so that they align with your purpose, what matters to you. You know, it's funny, there's this myth of a jump. And I've used the term before metaphorically, right? Take the leap. but I'm generally referring to, you know, mindset, right, closing off any other doors or possibilities.

That is, you know, so say you want to be a small business owner, you know, boom, I'm a small business owner. That starts now. That transition begins now. I've made the jump. That's not saying sell everything you've owned, you know, take your kids college fund, put it all into this, you know, the business on the corner of the street that you've wanted to start. You know, if you're not pragmatic, reality will knock you on your ass. You need to be methodical with regard to your approach. But making that decision in your mind, the Stockdale paradox, it means you dream, you believe in the big picture, you trust yourself to get there, but you're painfully aware of the reality on the ground.

You understand the situation, you're pragmatic. Those are the people that win. Yes, this is what I am. I'm going to get there. I'm going to make it happen. But here's what's around me. Here's the current situation. And here's how I have to maneuver these pieces.

And so with regard to Eric's question, your purpose most likely is not changing because of this situation. Your purpose is your purpose. Your purpose is what makes you feel alive when you get up in the morning. The pieces around you are changing. So when we talk about tough times, absolutely. Highs and lows. This has been brutal.

Unemployment is astounding right now. But your purpose will always be your purpose. It's the pieces around you that, you know, we effectively need to maneuver. We need to understand that we will get through this. Human beings are incredibly resilient, tenacious. You have everything you need. Look at that big picture. Don't stop looking at it and believe in that target.

believe you are who you say you are, but be pragmatic in the approach because, you know, the rules have shifted a little bit. The game has changed. So we adjust, right? That's how we come out on top. I hope that was useful. That was a long-winded answer to that question. But it made me think. I really, really enjoyed it. And, you know, I appreciate it for anyone else that wants to, you know, ask questions. Again, it's at I am, Eddie Panero. You can shoot me a DM. You can, you know, tag me on Twitter, and I'll get back to you. So if you guys get value from this podcast, if it helps you in any way, I'd greatly appreciate you to rate and leave a review.

Really helps with the algorithm and me getting this out to more people, which is, of course, my goal. Or you could say my purpose. Truly grateful for that. Don't stop pursuing your purpose. don't stop being aware of where you are, the reality on the ground, and always know that you can get yourself from point A to point B. The world is a blank canvas and you will always be the one with the paintbrush. Have an amazing day, guys.