Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - I Wish I Knew This At 20 | Inspirational Speech

Episode Date: April 5, 2021

I wish I knew this at 20...

I was driving to Panera this morning to get a coffee, do a little bit of writing, and it sort of occurred to me that this is something that I feel like needs to be addressed that I really want to talk about for a couple reasons. One because it's everywhere in mainstream culture. It's so prevalent now on social media particularly, but also outside of social media. And also So it's something that I wish I knew when I was 18 or 19. It's something that I think we all have to learn. And I think the sooner we learn it, the better. So I grew up with an incredible family that loved me, and they still do, and care about me.

And I went into the world with somewhat of a sense of entitlement. Right? I always felt like I was special, like I deserved something. And it wasn't until after college. So, I mean, this is my early 20s that life slapped me in the face. Where I had this, this awakening, this idea, that where you went to school meant nothing. What you were told or what you've done in the past, means nothing. I stepped into the real world

where the playing field was even. I stepped into the world of meritocracy where what you have around you is directly correlated to the value you provide society. And that hurt.

The first time I experienced that I spent you know even even the job i took right after school right it was called the future leaders program where you know you're you're sort of treated in a way where the expectation is you're going to do big things in the company right it's like there's a management track lined up there was always this sense of entitlement right and then i leave that world and i create i wanted to make music and I spent three months making this album. Mediocre at best, right? It's not going to win a Grammy.

How could it? It was the first thing I'd ever made, right? But I remember just the feeling of completion, of satisfaction, finishing this thing, and taking it and mailing it to every radio station in Boston, dropped it off at every bar and club in Boston. I thought it was going to move mountains, right? And the reality is because the product wasn't good,

because I hadn't paid dues or spent time. There was no 10,000-hour rule in my world at that point. I got zero calls back. And I'm not talking one or two. None. My family bought copies. My grandmother bought like 20 copies. Thanks, Nana, I love you.

And my close friends bought some copies. And that was devastating to me. It was real world. It was life. My first taste of, you can say it a million different ways, of meritocracy, of the trials and tribulations, of trying to do something, trying to do anything. Life tells you no.

You have to create your yeses. And that takes a lot for us to do that. Again, that's not an easy thing. And so the reason I'm so concerned about it is because the culture now is suggesting that there's no value in being the hero. The attention and the currency is in being the victim. It's like, yeah, you've worked hard, you've achieved that. Well, guess what? I haven't because X, Y, or Z.

And that idea right there on its face, it mitigates our superpower, our greatest strength, our ability to look at the world around us and change it. You know, and it doesn't come from a place of me thinking that everyone has it the same. I want to differentiate that, right? I often refer to, I heard Will Smith say, you know, we all aren't dealt the same hand. We all start at different places, but it's always our responsibility to take the baton and move forward.

It's our responsibility to change it. And if you don't have that mentality, if you're waiting for someone else to give you a green light, for a permission slip. If you're blaming your situation on another group or the government or your boss or your family or anyone else in your life, you are cutting out your own legs from under you.

And I don't think that message is being echoed loud enough. It's just so much easier to close claim oppression in a million different ways. Right? That's our first instinct, by the way. You don't get the promotion. Your first thought is not, man, you know, those Saturdays where I was out, I should have done X, Y, or Z, no, it's, hey, they got the job, they didn't deserve it, my boss

doesn't like, like, our first instinct is always to project out. It's easier to be oppressed than to take control. And I would have liked to know when I was younger. Again, I think we're all naive in this capacity. It takes time to learn it. But I would have been substantially better off if I understood the toxicity in victimhood. If I understood what it meant. And again, every situation is different.

every person's different this is not to say that everything's you know even keel but it will always be true that your current situation can be improved it will also always be true that it won't improve until you start making improvements

there has to be some some level of individuality in your outlook. You have to see yourself as the center of your micro-universe. Without that, again, you're cutting out your legs from under you. So I just wanted to make that clear. I wanted to really push that out there. That when you see, what did I see during the pandemic? It was an author, basically she was like,

if like don't worry about doing anything during this tough time sometimes just getting through is enough and I totally get the sentiment it is one example of many where it's like what message are you conveying right yeah sometimes just getting through is enough but that's not how you change things Like, enough is finite. You know, you did not become a best-selling author by just doing enough. You didn't take that advice. Don't give that advice to kids. Right?

Or, you know, I just recently, it's a funny thing. I just moved into the world of TikTok, right? So I'm taking clips from some of my speeches that I'm uploading there. And, uh, wow. So I don't know if TikTok is an extreme as far as sample size, but everyone is offended by everything. It's like everyone is so delicate. Everyone thinks that, you know, they're the star of this play. And, you know, the world should conform and bend over backwards to their feelings.

And again, my mind goes to, ooh, that is so dangerous because guess what? That doesn't coincide with reality. You're going to get mowed down, right? The world will run you over. People don't open doors for you. People don't buy your CDs if they're not good, right? The reality is life is a tough place. And you have to work on yourself and you have to provide value and you have to give yourself permission.

if you're waiting in any capacity, if you're pointing out, instead of pointing in, life will pass you by. And not only will it be void of meaning and substance, but you will become bitter. You'll become delicate. You'll become angry.

Because it's much easier to stomp your feet and scream than it is to do the hard thing, right? Then it is to look yourself in the mirror, and say what's wrong, out of that, what do I have control over and how can I start today? Empower yourself. I promise you, that is the single most important thing you can do in your life. Empower yourself. Believe that you are the answer to the blank spaces, to the questions being asked, to the problems in your life.

and then once you've walked down that path, of course help is an important thing. A network, a community, reaching out when you need it is a beautiful thing. It's an important thing. But it starts with you. So when you're tempted, like I see so much,

you know, to be oppressed on a social network so that you get the sympathy likes and hearts and reshairs, That's a cancer. That's detrimental to what you want. That's detrimental to an evolution of you. Matthew McCona has this amazing quote. I'm sort of paraphrasing, but in his book Greenlights,

he says, the person I am and the person I aim to be sleeping the same bed at night. I love that idea. It's like you are both. You just have to push it. No one will make you evolve. And to say, oh, I can't because. X, Y, or Z and have people pat you on the head and say, yeah, right? It's because of them. They're the bad guys. Okay, fine. But then are you improving anything? Are you changing your situation? You're not.

And that's what it's about. You know, it's about taking those little steps into organized chaos, into a world of discomfort, into the unknown, picking up the pieces, reestablishing some substance and moving forward. You're doing it again and again and again and again. Throw it against the wall. See what sticks. Pick up the pieces. Throw it again. I promise you that will be the best advice you will ever take. If I knew that, you know, distributing that album, I wouldn't have seen it as, you know, a referendum on me as a person or a creator. It's like, no, it's the step you needed to take. It's reality telling you, hey, nice accomplishment, nice milestone. Now go get better.

Go do it again. It takes thousands of reps. It takes seeing finish lines before they're there. It takes believing something into existence. It's easier to blame. There's no value in blaming. The difficult thing is where the opportunity lives. So, hey, I hope you.

got value from this, let me know what your thoughts are. If you've seen it, if you've felt it, when you've felt, because again, we all feel it in some capacity, right? It's like it's the, it's first order thinking. We have to push it down and think long term. Think what's best. So share your experience. I'd love to hear about it. And, you know, keep making your magic. Keep believing in yourself. There's a lot there for you. If you want it, if you're willing to take it. Talk to you soon.