Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - HOW TO BUILD CONFIDENCE | Powerful Motivational Speeches | Listen Every Day

Episode Date: August 3, 2022

"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval" - Mark Twain

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The hard thing prompted me to question and doubt, but also provided the pieces I used to build my confidence, little by little. It made me ask the tough questions, the ones maybe I didn't want to hear the answer to, but also gave me the power to transform those answers I didn't like. The hard thing meant forfeiting being the expert in my world in exchange for the role of student in a foreign arena.

It gave me new ladders to climb, new possibilities, new possibilities to reach for. It showed that true growth requires a willingness to be the beginner. It took some people out of my arms, my circle, my work, and in some cases my life altogether, but always seemed to open the door to those souls better aligned, to those conducive to the journey and the process. Let's remember what the hard thing is.

Beyond the pain, because we all know it does bring that, beyond the challenges, because there are certainly many. Beyond all that exists the hope and the change and the promise. Robert Frost says the best way out is always through. Through because it's the chaos, the haze, the darkness of night that shapes us. It's in being broken. that we learn to rebuild our world with the pieces, and perhaps most importantly. We learn that such a rebuilding process is possible to begin with,

that the now is not mandatory or permanent. The hard thing, as it turns out, is nothing more than a transaction. Turbulence for the view above the clouds, fear in the moment for confidence in the future. It's learning that although life sometimes appears to paint a picture of conformity and helplessness, there's always a path leading to the very place we need to go. It just asks we find the courage to walk it. Churchill has said the pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.

The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. And this beautiful message rings true. Because from the difficulty is the advantage. And sure, our first instinct is to see the problem. Our eyes tend to initially fix it on that which is unfortunate. But beyond that is where we get the most incredible things life provides, as if one is removing the shell or outer layer in order to get to the nutrients in the center, the initial

ingredients required for growth, the pieces necessary to experience life at its fullest. And so we must be reminded that those opportunities, they're not rare, they're not reserved for everyone but you. They just tend to disguise themselves as the things we're most inclined to disregard or walk by. But if one finds the courage to move into them, through them, If one can see the difficulty not as a deterrent, but as a bargain, they'll be given everything on the other side.

Reality is not changed with the magic wand or the granting of a wish. It's from staring down the heart thing and moving directly into it one little step at a time. There have been times in my life when I'd been down. I've been out, I've been afraid, I've looked up at the road ahead and been completely unsure. And I can say firsthand when you're going through a situation like this, that it essentially consumed you, right? It's all you see, it's all you think about, to the point where the good stuff, the opportunity all around you, it becomes transparent.

You see right through it. It's the negative. It's misfortune for a period of time that becomes your narrative. Becomes the story. What if this is forever? What if I'm not as good as I want to be or as they are? What if things don't work out? Never mind the fact that you've been here before and you've battled back.

Never mind how far you've come. No, that takes a back seat. to the discomfort that we feel right now, and that's the irrationality of the human mind we forget. We forget that the lows create the highs. That temporary isn't forever that you can't stand with any type of authority if you've never before fallen. Accomplishing anything is never just walking up and reaching a goal.

It's about getting back up over and over again. Taking the bad breaks in stride and seeing the losses for what they are necessary. What if I told you that the difficult times weren't just manageable, they were what you needed? Those moments when you felt helpless were a bridge to something better. A demonstration of just how capable you are and how strong you can. can be. Feeling lost, feeling defeated. Sure, it's unsettling. But it's also a reminder that you are exactly where you need to be. In one form or another, your struggle becomes your answer. Life isn't always calm seas and sunny skies, but if you let it, it will teach you to weather any storm to come out on top. Never lose sight of the opportunity, it's there.

Hiding behind the struggle immersed in the ups and downs, and when you know that you will not let yourself stay down, that you'll get up, struggle becomes a building block, not a weight around the ankles. With each stumble, you become taller. With each misstep, you step forward. The problem will never be tough times. times it will be refusing to find that next level for fear of their materialization.

Regret is a choice. And for those who refuse to stay down, it will be a choice that they'll never know. Sometimes I wonder, why does this season of life feel like it's one undesirable outcome after another? What happened to the law of average? 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 do this? 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? Maybe, 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 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. 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 reaching 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 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. You were made to rise. To take your pain. and convert it to purpose, to take your struggle and transform it into meaning. In a world of concession of self-sabotage and defeat, you were made to rise. And so it's critical that you look around where you are now and adjust your lens.

It's critical that you see the present moment, not as an ending, the culmination of wrong turns or broken plans, but as the beginning of what all that will be turned into. This start of the next chapter, a new road because you were made to rise. Life has an interesting way of not pushing us to be more until our backs are against the wall until we've fallen or found ourselves where we don't belong, but it's down in the ashes that were presented this blessing, that were given the chance to be more than we've ever been. You weren't made to look around and call this diminished reality home.

No, you were made to rise. Life is about decisions, what to accept and what to cut over. away and it's in our moments of distress, we must find our calm. When we feel low that we must remember the heights we're capable of obtaining. Look, our greatest invitations, they often feel like defeat, like hopelessness, but see beyond that narrative. Look in the mirror and know that what looks back at you isn't the problem, it's the reason you'll succeed. Someday you'll see the present as the moment that made you, the days that

shaped you just as a sculptor arrives at his masterpiece. So stand up, brush yourself off and look up because that is where you're going. Now is where it begins. You weren't made to accept what is. You were made to rise when it matters most. When the odds are against me when precedent says no, there I will be. When the right path happens to be the lonely path, and victory is separated by a drop 1 million feet deep or a cliff 2 million feet high, there I will be. When they expect, failure, anticipate, defeat, celebrate each setback, there I will be. Standing tall and ready. When there appears no way in, when my demons push me out, when my senses advocate, retreat,

and the path forward is cloaked in doubt, there I will be, standing tall and ready. When I feel alone in my pursuit of tomorrow or tempted by the comfort of yesterday, when pride whispers of their relentless criticism and my legs cry out in exhaustion, there I will be standing tall and ready. When hell rains down, when faith lets up, when my reason for beginning is replaced by a million little reminders of all that can go wrong, There I will be standing tall and ready. When the sky looks like a ceiling, when the floor feels like home,

when every light dims and every fear illuminates, when eyes roll and doors lock, when the sun submits, the clouds emerge, gravity flexes and my knees tremble, there I will be. Never will I back down. Never will I cower or settle for the present when our future is limitless.

I will get back up until I've made my point, won my battle, secured my fight. The world is simple. Moving forward is not without its tests or lessons, but as long as I continue on, I evolve. With each step, I win. There's no running away or white flag or surrendering to the man in the mirror. The only conqueror capable of bringing me down, No, nothing will tell me what I can be.

I will always be there, standing tall and ready, not because it's their will, but because each day is mine and not theirs. Look, I'm tired, I'm worn, but I'm here. I'm ready for anything that waits ahead. 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 ultimately. an 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 likely scoffed at, ridiculed. But each mark gives meaning to the one before it. These marks, they become chapters, become narrative shifts, becomes 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 oblivious to the fact that you're making something meaningful. So here is my chance.

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 this 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 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 part of the masterpiece you've been longing. It's taking you exactly where you need to be. There's a quote attributed to Seneca that states no man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity, for he is not permitted to prove himself. Meaning it's in pursuing the difficult thing that we obtain meaning, recognition that we prove

ourselves, but prove ourselves to whom? This is the same Seneca who famously stated that we suffer more in imagination than we do in reality, that he is most powerful who has power over himself. And that's one of the beautiful things about stoicism. It makes us ask a very simple, but often overlooked question, who's really the adversary here? Who's the opposition we're dealing with? is we fight our battles. What is it that must be transformed? Is it the outside world? Or the way our eyes view the outside world?

What's really holding us back? The circumstances? Or our own personal thoughts about the circumstances? And I think this is where we misunderstand the challenges before us. I want to delve into this power of perspective to explain that we are the gatekeepers between ourselves and our ideal lives. And very often we do a good job of ensuring that gate stays closed.

We sabotage our own goals, our own dreams, our own happiness, while simultaneously pointing the finger at a million externalities. See, when we look at the difficulties of life, and there's no doubt that life can be a very difficult thing, it's easy to look at the world as this binary playing field, me versus the world. And in fact, we often visualize the world as the enemy pushing back against us, as if its motives were counter to ours. So many of these narratives, these stories, they actually say nothing about the outside world. I mean, we look deeper. It becomes apparent that they actually say a whole lot more about us.

It's the one viewing that gets to decipher what the circumstance means. And so all narratives are reflections of the observers. Jim Rohn used to tell a story about two brothers who had an alcoholic father. He'd come home drunk, he'd abuse his sons. They had a terrible childhood. And as they each grew up, and had a families of their own, their paths kind of diverged. One became abusive and the other was kind and loving and caring. And when confronted the now abusive brother stated, well, look, how can

you blame me? Don't you see how I was raised? But the kind, loving and caring brother stated, of course I'm like this. I could never put my family through what I went through as a child. circumstances, different lenses, interpretations, which means different real world result. And the idea here is to emphasize how one of the most important abilities a human being possesses is the ability to interpret the world around him. I think of us as subjects navigating a world of objects, as though the things around us don't have meaning until we place meaning upon them. That's what humans do. Create narratives out of objects. And that often overlooked seemingly insignificant ability places a lot of power in our hands.

Very rarely is it what we see, it's what we think and what we do about what we see. You ever hang out with people that just tend to be happy, upbeat, positive energy? I have a very good friend like that where his first inclination is always to find the positive. In moments where I've sort of trained myself to pause, take a second, sift through the emotion, uncover the value in a tough situation, refocus, and take a strategic step forward, I look over at him and he's already arrived there. He's been there for three minutes, right? Eliminated the negativity.

It's his first instinct. He's the metaphorical kid hopping around in puddles, whistling at the top of his lungs, while everyone else is hiding out from the rain or at least trying to find the courage to run out onto the street with. Then there are people who seem to always find the negative. It doesn't really matter what this situation is. Happiness is fleeting,

only to reveal the negativity that never seems to go away, right? The kind of person that if they won the lottery, their first thought might be, oh, no, but what if I lose it all? Both examples are people projecting themselves onto the world around them. The same way that smoke covers and consumes an entire room. It's not the room that's the culprit. Here's another example from Jim Rohn, since we're on a Jim Rone kick. He was making a similar point,

And this is all from a collection of speeches. He has on Audible comparing humans to oranges, which is probably not a comparison you've made recently. But he said, there's consistency to an orange and that it can be filled with one thing. When you squeeze an orange, orange juice is coming out. Period. It will never be apple juice or grape food juice. It will only emit what it has inside, which is orange shoes. And while here's the connection.

When life pressures us, challenges us, or metaphorically squeezes us, we only emit the emotions that are contained and available, that are alive and well within us. If there is no jealousy contained in our thinking, we're not going to project jealousy out into the world. If there is no hatred within us, we will not project hatred onto others. Why is that powerful? It's powerful. Because again, it's one of the most important things you can do. Certainly one of the most important things I've learned to do is take that finger pointing blame at the outside world, slowly turn it around and point it back at myself and ask what thoughts, what emotion, What ideas am I letting live inside my head? That's altering the narrative, the story I'm telling about myself,

and the world that I live in. And while one might think, well, that's uncomfortable, that's unfair, a little extreme, why should I point at myself? It's not my fault. I would challenge you, at least for the sake of the next few minutes, to see such a change as empowering, as your advantage. As the bridge from where you are to where you want to be. See, if you always have feelings of, let's say, jealousy around a particular person,

that feeling in your stomach like, oh, they have it all. They're ahead. They live how I want to live. They're this and that, and I kind of hate them for it. You're naively giving the external world the power. You're saying, I feel the way I do because of that out there. Some cosmic injustice. You are powerless.

because you're neglecting your personal agency as a factor. But when you turn that finger around and say, I only feel this way because I'm allowing myself to, then you can ask the question. So many never think to ask. Why? Why do I feel this way? Which lights a path to how can I fix it?

See, the key to a better life is realized You don't have to be in the passenger seat pointing at and blaming the driver, complaining about the road being taken. No, you can get into the driver's seat. You can take the wheel. You can take control. Inherit responsibility.

And there's more at stake. There's greater vulnerability. But the upside is unfathomable. And I find myself thinking all the time, man, people are blaming the wrong thing. They're shifting blame to the wrong adversaries. The real villain here is not the driver or the road or the weather. The real villain is the voice in your head pleading with you not to take the wheel.

Pleading with you to ride shotgun and complain as the world passes you by. And of course it makes sense to qualify that with the inevitability that there are some things placed upon us that are just bigger than us that we can't control and you can make a list however long you want to natural disasters decisions and actions of others health problems we don't often get to choose the landscape so as the stoics would say understand that understand what you can't control and what you can because the beauty is that you can control how you navigate that landscape and that That is power. That is what makes the difference.

See the two brothers, I mentioned a few moments earlier, same landscape. Different navigational tactics. Different view of what it all meant. One took the wheel and one did not. So that's Seneca quote. That states, no man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. he is not permitted to prove himself. Well, it's perfectly clear, as far as I'm concerned.

The question is not whether or not to face adversity. I think we all understand that. What I hope we take from today is a better understanding of what the true adversity is. A better understanding of the fact that in front of us there is always an answer, key to every lock. Some people just don't think to look. They're so busy peering around every corner for external enemies and scapegoats that they don't give themselves permission to succeed.

Maybe unfortunate, but it's true. You can hit the bull's eye over and over again. But if it's the wrong target, it won't do much for you. You might as well have missed by 50 feet. And I think that is what we overlook. You can't always fix the outside world. You can't change the unchangeable, but you can always change yourself. You can always fix you. As Tolstoy said, everyone wants to change the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. You're capable of being both your greatest adversary and ally.

So choose wisely. Because the world around you will do nothing more than respond accordingly. to your decision. What motivates you? No, not when things are great. Not when you have momentum and you're feeling good, but what motivates you on your down days? When things are a little off, not going the way you want them to,

you took an L, angry with your progress, maybe even having a hard time remembering why you got into the game to begin with. What acts is your rope to latch onto and pull yourself back up to a good place? good place. Because after all, that's what it's all about, right? The difference between a good day and a bad day, it's nothing more than the thoughts

in your head. You're walking down the street. Something comes to mind that, you know, we've all been there. You're happy about it. You're excited about it. It kind of lifts you up for a second. You know, your day didn't change. Nothing around you changed.

Your mindset did. And that particular moment. That feeling is worth diving into because it's incredibly relevant when we're talking about big picture pursuits working towards something that is a long way away. I was just talking to a friend of mine lives in Nashville, incredibly talented guy,

and he's working like crazy to get his music out there. We were talking about our similarities as creators. You know, and the idea that no matter how much time you put into something, how hard you work, you never really know how the next song, video, speech, or whatever piece of content, you know, how it's going to be received. You just never know. And that can be tough.

But where we got to in the discussion, and this is really my message to you, that same rationale can and should also be the spark that keeps you moving. Because, yes, you're uncertain, but you are also always. always one creation away from your life changing. And that's the reality. We are all only one creation, decision, or action away from altering our current trajectory. And that, I'll speak for myself during my difficult times

is what I latch onto. That excitement contained in the infinite possibility ahead. Maybe I haven't seen progress for X amount of time, Guess what? That says nothing about tomorrow. And I've talked about that a million times. Tomorrow can change faster than we can blink. But you have to see that. Consciously, be aware. We all know how easy it is to look at our losses and think they're indicative of our potential or ceiling, but they're not. The loss is the struggle. They are the seeds to growth. And I wish every single person that's accomplished anything of significance had all their risks,

setbacks, periods of self-doubt, and struggle documented somewhere so the world can see that avoiding pain and loss is not the formula. It's knowing that pain and loss are part of the process and continuing through it. Not taking it personal. Failure is not personal. It's the water that makes the plant grow. See, 90% of the game is tricking yourself, positioning yourself to feel momentum. Feel that progress. The little steps in the long journey. You know, setting up appointments, projects, events, creating visible benchmarks, even when they're tiny.

Because when you feel like you're progressing, you're empowered. When you're empowered, you win. Remember this. The only way to lose. in life is to stop. It is to stop growing, stop progressing, stop failing, stop taking risks, that's it. And yeah, that might sound simple, might sound easy, right? Just don't stop. But it's not. And anyone in pursuit of something greater knows it's not. When you're beat down, when you've written 200 songs and none of hit, when you've spent money, you don't even have on a film or a video,

when it doesn't get good reviews. When you start a company or invest in a product that doesn't meet expectations, the act of moving forward, it feels impossible, but that is the magic. I had a coach that used to always repeat the saying, success is often simply hanging on when others are letting go.

Yes, you want to be great. You should. We all do, but being great comes with time, its skill, it's ours, it's commitment, moving forward takes no skill, no talent, just self-belief, and that can be accomplished right now. That is a win you can pocket right now immediately. And what I tell myself during those rough stretches, it is quite simple. Any future step could be the one that changes my life.

As long as I continue forward. I am one creation away from everything changing and so are you. something can come to life because of you. When you're digging deep, when you feel like all the work, the energy is not paying off, remind yourself that momentum, right, the wind at your back, the flipped switch that changes your life, as you know it, it is one step away. And when you fall short, it is one step away.

And when you fall short, it is one more step away. Because one of those steps will be it. One of them will open that door you've been passed. pounding on it and it won't be because you did the impossible. It will be because you convinced yourself to move forward when your doubt and your insecurity begged you to stop. You knew, you knew one of these at-bats would be the one to change it all and you didn't stop until one of them did. When our backs are against the wall, we're forced to become more. When the clock is ticking, we are tasked with finding answers, but how are

hide among us. It's in the darkness we find light and while lost we find ourselves. The paradox of life is that from our pain comes our purpose, our evolution, and our greatness. I love thinking back to about 2014, making my way around Boston, having just quit my job essentially purposeless, clinging to a YouTube channel and a podcast. podcast idea that I would name your world within. And why? Why do I think back? Why does this mean everything to me? Well, because at the time, I knew nothing. I understood nothing. Nothing about speaking or media, audio, video, nothing about running a business. But more importantly, I knew very little about life and what's truly required to progress in a world within.

infinite moving parts. I didn't know that my lack of understanding is what made everything feel overwhelming and complex, and that it was up to me to simplify. I didn't know the extent to which I'd have to befriend failure. And that was the most eye-opening realization. Because when you gravitate towards a risk-free existence and you box yourself in as I had for so long,

Of course, you don't get the upside, but you also don't fail as dramatically either. Life was a simple game of cause and effect. Do work, get result, not much room for more than that. And so stepping outside that box in the way that I did, change some rules. I learned some things. First, you can spend time on something. You can exhaust energy on something. and get nothing in the short term for your efforts.

And I mean nothing, unless you count getting your pride stomped on. Unless you count your friends disappearing when you need them most, unless you count self-doubt in a constant worry about not amounting to anything. I mean, these are very raw, very real human emotions. They tend to arise when we start something new, but in them is also the power. This is where the light bulb turns on and the path emerges.

It's where I learn that we only get what we want when we endure or what we don't. And what a foreign concept when you think about it, right? It's like, Eddie, take this mic. Go stand in front of this audience and pour your heart out. Your knees are shaking, chest is pounding, but dude, trust me. It'll be good for you. And funny enough, It was. It was because the fear in my stomach became the indicator that something new,

something exciting, something more was around the corner. Like Pavlov's dog hearing that bell, any time the fear kicked in, I could feel myself getting closer to something meaningful, to a higher version of myself. The pain is an invite. The sheer terror. And let's face it, that's what it feels like sometimes. It's an upgrade. Disguised is the monster that you think you should be running from. When it is, as I recently mentioned, the adversary you should befriend. We have to change our relationship with discomfort because our initial understanding, the one that comes stock in our minds, is never sufficient to build anything of significance.

Its default setting is to preserve the now, not expand it. And so just like those stock speakers that came in my 1999, Ford F-150 when I was in my early 20s, let's rip it out. Let's customize.

Let's upgrade the quality of the sound we hear and the things we say to our What an advantage it is to know that the hard things are what make us level up. To find that awareness. What a blessing that when life's difficulty startles and scatters the masses, you could be the one that remains. Standing tall, seeking out the advantage amidst the commotion,

every little act of courage becomes more and more than you. more and more meaningful, powerful. But we must lose ourselves to find ourselves. We must embrace our fears if we are to become courageous. We must fail in order to succeed. And sure, sometimes the price seems steep. But I promise not going costs more, wishing costs more. if only's cost more.

So maybe for you it isn't a YouTube channel or a speaking career. Maybe it's something totally different. But it is something. And should you bring yourself to pursue that which your heart pulls you to pursue, you'll have those moments of defeat, where you're mad at yourself for leaving the comfort and safety of your previous world. You'll have times where you have no idea what to do, where you feel alone or stuck or unsure. The difference will be whether you see this as the invite you've been waiting for

or the reason to turn around and settle for less. That's the question. How do you internalize all that emotion that will feel like it is consuming you? I couldn't believe how strong that temptation was to go back, nagging at me every day, just come off the edge, just be comfortable again. But as my old coach would say in college, when we're doing wall sits or something physically taxing, 15 seconds. You can do anything for 15 seconds. And isn't life just a culmination of 15 second windows? It's compartmentalizing the process.

It's turning the difficult into the advantageous. You have the ability to not think like everyone else. You have it within you to rewire your previous conceptions of the world, to see darkness not as your reason to hide from conjured up monsters, but as your invitation to become the light. Remember that the best way to be more is to have the courage to put your back against the wall and you won't want to in the moment

there will never be a perfect time but committing to that vulnerability will release from within you the power the strength the greatness that has been for so long tucked away by moving into the chaos you are simultaneously creating the You always dreamed of.

You're realizing the possibility that just needed the door left ajar to make its way into your world. There's a substantial disconnect between what we envision and what we actually experience. And we make the plan. We think it's perfect. We're ready to go. Sure, I have my race plan. I'm going to sprint the last month.

Yep, I know exactly what my career is going to look like. Here are the steps. I'll follow this plan in the morning, this one in the afternoon. But then you're in the midst of the battle, right? And when you're in the trenches, you quickly realize that you didn't take into account a variety of factors. And funny enough, these factors are what make victory so difficult to begin with. The required patience, the persistence, the insistence, the insistence, the insistence, the insistence, the instinct. the instinctual desire for routine, to know, to predict.

And sure enough, that time comes. You go to sprint the last mile, but you didn't realize you'd be fighting just to keep going, let alone increase your speed. The time comes to take that next step with your business, your career. You didn't realize the market wouldn't embrace your product with open arms. The time comes to put your plan for the day into action. You didn't realize you'd be pulled in 20.

different directions. See, the formula isn't as simple as we want to believe. Why? Because we attack armed with the wrong idea just as much as life is about executing a plan. It's also about taking the unplanned and making it work, the unexpected, life's curveballs. You know, they're not entities that lurk outside the scope of your game plan, they are your game plan. The idea is to be brave, not perfect. It's to be resilient, not flawless, confident, not complete. The best athletes don't train to be perfect. No, they train to tolerate discomfort because guess what, if you can't adapt, you die. If you can't adjust, you lose. Life will never conform to your plan and people don't want to hear that. They remain stubborn,

unchanged and what they're left with is resentment and the feeling that they've been slighted by life. The person who plans for the perfect race will always be outduled by the one who comes prepared to conquer its imperfections. The one who will reign in the unexpected, not bow to it or fault or in its presence, but own it. The pursuit of victory is not one from which we emerge unscathed. It's messy. It's humbling. If you can't embrace the idea of being knocked down, then get out.

If you're too proud to acknowledge that your plans aren't an instruction manual, you will be defeated. They're saying that you can't control the wind, but what you can do, is adjust your sales. Yeah, be prepared, be skilled, be the best at what you do, but be flexible. Move with the elements, relish in the understanding that the obstacles will come and they will make you stronger.

Strong minds win because they don't succumb to events beyond their control, and that choice is always going to be there. You didn't plan for this, but the decision presents itself. Will it be the reason you fail or the reason you succeed? You're right where you need to be. Sure, you have your doubt. Perhaps you feel tired, alone, fearful. Maybe you're trying to make sense of a world that feels too complex.

Or all you see and here are reasons to turn back, to find shelter, to run. Don't. Regardless of how hard it seems, don't. You are right where you need to be. Turning thoughts to things, making life from dreams, what makes change so interesting. So powerful yet deceptive is that it comes to us in small doses. Not a tidal wave of transformation, but a slow. steady rising tide of progress. No one feels the tug of erosion yet it chips away. And so do you.

Removing piece by piece behold you. The world you're moving away from and piece by piece you unveil the promise of your becoming. You may not see the whole picture. You may not understand the whole story story but right now in real time it's being told and you are right where you need we just weren't equipped to understand what that looks like it's never been what you see that makes you uneasy it's what's missing that's what hurts the solutions you wanted the changes you expected the finish lines you

envisioned it's the wondering how long must I wait did I make a wrong turn is the joke on me but it's this line of questioning that causes so many to stop unaware of how close they were ignorant to the foundation they were standing on What you need is not a miracle. It's to simply carry on. To keep laying those bricks because not a one is wasted. And sometimes you don't realize you're on the 80th floor until you look down. That climb can be frustrating, exhausting.

It isn't always glamorous, but it's necessary. And strength comes from understanding that truth. You are right where you need to be. The world, it can't take what you refuse to give it, and self-belief is non-negotiable. It's off the table. Your most prized possession, so hold it tight,

because it'll be needed when the journey feels long and the road impossible. You'll know that you can always take one step forward, and that is the essence of life, of growth, of progress. Think about the steps, the lessons, the self-discovery that led you to this intersection of now and forever. This beginning of whatever you decide comes next. You are right where you need to be because you are armed with the decisions that brought you to today

and the courage to let them carry you into tomorrow. You could be anywhere. But you're here. And as you strap up and settle in, you'll see that right here is everything. You have to see it before they do. You have to believe it before they will. You have to be the architect of your plans and your goals because no one will build them for you. And that's just it.

in a world where victimhood is becoming currency and blame is becoming the norm. We have a choice. Create a temporary fleeting escape or create a life that matters. You know how much easier it is to project out at the world? To never have to look in the mirror and address the things you could. be doing better. You know how much easier it is to hate him or her or them over there, to make up stories and scenarios about how much different life would be if it wasn't for A, B, and C holding you back? I mean, short term, it's like winning the lottery, right? You don't have to take

any accountability. You don't have to have tough conversations with yourself. You don't have to reflect on the painful memories or decisions. No, you can put your feet up. Sit back, point at the world, and say, look what they made me do, if only. But here's what's not being said. Every time you point your finger away from your own chest,

every time you project blame, you're letting yourself down. Why? Because we only grow when we take, accountability. And yeah, accountability can be painful, uncomfortable. But in that discomfort exists the only bridge to a better tomorrow. That's it. You go to the gym, you put your muscles through stress, you break them down so that they can be built back up stronger. Personal responsibility cannot be the muscle we refuse to

There's too much at stake. It can't be the thing you avoid. Why? Because it's what injects meaning into our lives. I'll never forget in the eighth grade, and I bet every single person in that class still to this day remembers. My teacher, Mr. Bettencourt, walking up to the front of the classroom, he had his hands in a bowl shape and was holding it up to the ceiling, explaining to us that you can't go through life, asking the world to give you its scraps. That if you sit and you wait,

and you hope and you blame, you will lose. That's the recipe for bitterness and resentment. Think of it like a fork in the road. Where our two options are vastly different. You go left at the fork, and you enter a world of escapism, refusing to confront your problems. Finding reasons you can't do that which you know you need to do.

Hating others, those who have built, grown, or created themselves. Or you go right at the fork. You learn to do the hard thing, to humble yourself. To take control of your life and your world. When things aren't the way you want them to be, you look around and you immediately ask, things outside of my control may have been. brought me here, but what can I do to fix it?

Those of you have been listening to me for a while, you probably know my favorite articulation of this idea was explained by Will Smith. Basically, he said, look, you can't control where you start and how true that is, right? Life's not fair. Some people are born into more resources and opportunity. Some people find themselves in social situations that aren't ideal, and that list is. can go on and on and on, right? Human beings are all different, so there will always be discrepancy.

But, and this is Will Smith's point, where you go from here will always be your responsibility. What happens next is all you. You choose whether to complain, shake your fist at the sky and blame the world around you or pick the pieces up and move forward. And like I said a minute ago, don't be fooled by the temptation to latch on to that fleeting moment of relief, of running from accountability. The only way to win in the long run is to face your demons.

It's that whole saying, when you're riding shotgun, you can dispute the route all you want, but ultimately it's the driver who's in control. When will you take the wheel in your own life? Ensure the stakes become higher. Now it's on you. Now you can get lost. Now you're responsible for the maintenance.

Now if you don't end up at the right place, or I don't know, you're late to a destination, it's your fault. But now you can also be the one overseeing the journey. Now it's yours. And that's power. And as our world becomes more and more one of escapism, it's becoming more prevalent, easier to avoid or not fix something but tweet about it. How easy it is to not confront our problems, but rather open Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and mindlessly scroll. How easy it is to leave that message on red and go about our lives because that's easier than saying what needs to be said.

Strength is being the one amidst all this escapism and avoidance to confront what must be confronted. Whether it's an interaction with someone else or that hard conversation with yourself, a personal change that must take place. Life is such a gift, it's such an opportunity. But we have to move through it with our eyes open. We have to see things that matter and gravitate towards. truths that will shape us. Like Mr. B said, over 20 years ago now, we can't ever fall into the mentality of holding

our hands up to the sky and asking life to give us anything. We can't only point it ourselves when things go the way we want them to go. No, let's be about accountability, empowerment, understanding that if I don't like What's around me, the transformation starts now and it starts with me. That wasn't perfect. I never will be, but I can learn, I can evolve, and most importantly, I have everything I need to make that happen. It's all awareness. The victimhood idea is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and I know that may seem harsh, maybe even lacking empathy.

But dropping that narrative was truly the best thing I've done in my heart. thing I've done in my life and I know countless others who would say the same. You can't be both a perpetual victim and be in control. No, life is tough. It knocks us down and at times it brings us to our knees, but this is a reminder that you cannot stay there. It's a reminder that those who contributed to the situation are now minor detail and background noise.

It's a reminder that the path forward is about You. It's about you pushing all that aside and asking yourself what's required to move in the direction that I most want to go. Because you are that powerful. You are strong enough to make that move. And there will be a point where you look around you and the circumstances of change. The people are different. The environment is different. You're different. And you'll smile at yourself knowing it's not. because of what the world provided it's not because of what anyone gave you it's not because of what people out there did or didn't do no it's because when you were at your lowest when life was presenting curveball after curveball when you looked around it maybe even thought to yourself there's no way forward here you found a way to get up and create something

new.