Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - I'M GOING TO WIN || Powerful Self Discipline Motivation || Start Your Day Right

Episode Date: December 2, 2022

"Win in your mind and you will win in your reality" - Unknown

Failure, by definition, a lack of success. The definition of success, the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. According to these very guidelines, failing is to be marching toward an end point and for one reason or another not getting there. Is failure a possibility? Of course it is. There are no definites in life. But failure is also self-induced. It is not an outside occurrence. It's not a coin flip or an event that we helplessly watch unfold before us. It's not up to chance.

Failure is a decision. The decision to end that same march that you once started. Just like putting on your shoes is a decision. Just like traveling or running or eating. These are decisions that we make. And when the word is all too, frequently brought up an everyday conversation, what's evident is that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to, quote-unquote, fail. It's spoken about as though it's

something that's projected onto us, as though failure is an illness or catastrophic event, something that emerges and subdues its victims. And speaking of it in such a way, misdiagnoses the problem. It's easy to say, so-and-so starts. a business and it failed. So-and-so didn't make the team, so they failed. But there's more here. One does not fail until they take a step back, look at the situation, and say that it's no longer worth it anymore.

You don't fail until the moment you raise the white flag and say, I cannot do this. Because if you're out there, if you're changing, adapting, stretching yourself in your abilities, if you're seeking help, mentors, learning, growing, embracing the struggle, being relentless in your effort,

no one can bring that word into the conversation. It cannot exist. If you are moving forward, you are not failing. You cannot be working towards something and failing at the same time. It is impossible. You can have your ups and downs. No one will refute that.

You can get knocked on your ass, have moments of fear and doubt, but that is growth, not failure. Growth is taking the uncomfortable and adapting to it, overcoming the obstacles that inevitably get in your way. Failure, on the other hand, is deciding that growth is no longer worth the sweat. Because I'll tell you what. there's always a way to win, and I truly believe that. Sometimes the cost is extreme.

Sometimes the price is more than everyone around you is willing to pay, but that's a conversation that you need to have with yourself. Just know that if you want it, somewhere there exists a solution, and knowing that is the beginning of greatness. It is the start of success. And as for that question, what if I fail? Here's some insight.

That thought is wasted time and it is wasted energy because as far as your goals go, you pull the strings. You are the writer, you are the director, and you are the actor. Failure only occurs when you write it into your script, when you choose it for an ending. and it is one ending.

One of many. It is one approach of many. Once you've started that, march towards what's important to you, do not let failure be the choice that you make. Choose growth. Choose the adventure. Choose the long way home.

Victory over defeat, the uphill climb over regret, choose to move forward when most wouldn't. It's the decision you'll always be thankful you made. I've come to accept the fact that I'm a loser. The more people say otherwise, the more I prove over and over again that it's just who I am. Stuck in my ways, an outsider, outcast, out of my mind, loser. See, it started with my old identity.

identity, who I used to be, I lost that. Then I lost those people that made me feel small, the ones holding me back. Bye. Would the street continue? You bet. Lost that need to please others. Hey, it turns out I know what's best for me better than they do. Lost the things being done out of obligation and not purpose.

Lost the wrong metrics I was using to measure success. Gone. I lost my way so that I might find something better. That was hard. Thought I might lose my mind, but I found it. Just lost my old way of thinking, and hey, that's a win. Lost yesterday, found tomorrow. Lost scarcity, but found abundance.

I lost two, the people who were more talented, better skilled, the ones who outclassed me, fine. Showed me what it took to win. I lost my heart a few times. That sucked, but it looks like it still works, so we're good. I lost my purpose. I lost my purpose to follow the shiny objects instead of the things that matter, but sometimes seeing what doesn't shine puts a spotlight on what does.

Keeps me swinging from star to star and, hey, I like it up there. I lose my discipline from time to time, but hey, regret hurts more, so I force myself to find it. As I write this out, speak it into existence, I'm losing track of time. All is forgotten. But I think that's how it should be. I hope I lose more tomorrow. Yeah, I lose a lot. Thank God.

I woke up last night, and I remembered my debt to you. Being that I stand by the promises that I make, I jumped out of bed, and I walked over to my desk, I turned on a light, and I began writing. At a minimum to explain myself, but at best case scenario, to provide some reassurance, that every storm ends, that nothing is forever, and that someday, without question, I'll make you proud. Things haven't been the easiest lately, and it's funny. Sometimes things seem so intuitive.

Sometimes they make so much sense. And then sometimes it feels like you open up a novel right in the middle, and it's in a language you can't read. Life feels more complex than it really is, and I feel smaller than I really am, but don't be concerned. I've fought my way through worse. I promise you you'll be satisfied with the world. the result. And yeah, you might have noticed that sometimes I face the obstacle of

juggling two sets of standards. You know, two definitions of success, mine in the world. What I love and what matters to me versus what will increase my status, my standing in society. And honestly, it pulls me in two different directions sometimes. makes me think back to years past and that discomfort I've experienced, you know, standing on an empty foundation. But believing someday something meaningful would stand there. Realizing that when you put your head down and when you block out the noise, you can finally hear the most powerful voice of all your own.

That's why you take L's in the short term to acquire meaning in the life. long term. I've found that courage before. And I'll find it again any second now. Don't you worry? Sure. You know, you might have seen that every once in a while I forget about life's abundance. I mean, I just do. I know it's true, but it feels sometimes like the world pushes me to forget. You know, I start comparing myself to other people and I start thinking about what I could lose, what people might say about what could go wrong. And it's like, sure, I know I'm the gatekeeper to my mind. I understand that. In fact, I cherish the idea. But I guess sometimes doubt catches that geek keep her napping and slips through. I always catch him eventually, though. I've had

doubts before and really all I did was keep moving by them. Kind of like that time I went snorkeling in Key Largo, you had to make your way through this jellyfish field to see an underwater statue. My first thought was this is crazy. But then you move in and you realize they just exist. They don't have control or an agenda. And if you find the courage, they become meaningless. You can float right by them. So don't worry, I'll swim through and

you'll see me on the other end. And I will catch that view. Not for Facebook or for Instagram. Because in a way, I owe it to myself and I owe it to you. and I owe it to you. I didn't make these promises to run when things got challenging. I made them because they meant something.

And yeah, from the outside in, things are not perfect. I get that. I understand. But if you just hang tight, if you just remember that I've been there before, I've climbed out, I've come back.

In fact, the deeper, the valley, in the darker the night, the clearer the answer always becomes when I emerge. And it may be a journey, but however long it takes, I've gotten there. And I have to admit, yeah, it feels funny writing a letter to myself, but I need you now more than ever. You've always been my toughest critic, and I appreciate that, but now I need you to be my biggest fan. To remind me that life can be confusing and seemingly contradictory, uncertain, and even chaotic. But that doesn't mean I'm not right where I need to be, right where we need to be. And if you'll just believe in me, if you'll hop along for this ride, you'll see that as sure as I'm sitting here writing to you now, I will make you proud.

You're not here just to get by, to check a box. No, you're here for something different. Maybe it's your desire to chase down that sunrise while the rest of the world sleeps, to embrace the difficult, the inconvenient, in exchange for that little bit of glory you'll soon feel as you pour your morning coffee and start your day. Or maybe it's your fascination with the fact that every time you ask yourself, if there's more, if you have anything left,

the answer always seems to be yes. And maybe that's it. That what you're capable of in a world of finitude and constraint and limitation seems to be the only thing with absolutely no bounds. The human soul undergoes a sort of transformation, if you will. Every time we look around at what currently is and decide it will soon be the gateway to something more. And that's life's best kept secret.

The word decide. The idea that we choose whether to accept things as they are or to change them, that we have within us the ability to push further than we've ever pushed to find what was once only existent in our imaginations. And this will always be true. You get what you seek, what you're willing to endure. And while some see this tradeoff as too much, as a cost far too expensive. Others see it as the chance of a lifetime.

The opportunity to give some of you so that you can grow and improve all of you. See, each footstep is far more than a point on the earth. It's a declaration, a commitment to give more than most would give so that you can feel what only a few will feel. So remember that when things seem trivial, when it's easier to call it a day or turn it around,

that the simple act of continuing forward puts you in the minority. It's positioning you to experience life as it should be lived. You're here to both cherish the now and cash it in. Let the value of your courage compound. Let your resilience remind you just how much control you have and how much is waiting for you. If only you say yes when it hurts,

move forward when the path is unclear, believe when the possibility only exists in your head. You're here because while it may be easier to watch life go by from the cheap seats, the risk, the sacrifice, is worth being able to be able to be able to watch life go by from the cheap seats, The risk, the sacrifice is worth being able to look back someday down the road and know that at least you have the courage to play the game. Most often, our greatest source of pain comes not from the moment, but what we suspect that moment will mean.

It's not the situation, but in how we perceive the situation. And this is an idea or a concept that I connect pretty directly with fitness or running, simply because that's where to me it's most apparent. It screams at me. So being that I run quite a bit, let's dive into that. Most days when I'm out for a jog or I'm running it strictly for endurance, you know, cardio base, chance to get out there and breathe or reset thing. But then there are times when I say to myself, this run's going to be a little different.

It's going to be dedicated to seeing what I'm made of. I'm going all out, going to push. And what I find is I gradually increase my speed over the course of the eight-mile route is that my brain likes to focus on what's ahead. It becomes fixated on how much is to come, consistently warning me about the distance yet to be traveled and asking whether I have enough left in the tank to get there. It's most extreme in the last mile or so when my body is most exhausted, when I'm pushing as hard as I possibly can. It's a straight shot. I'm looking up at the road ahead. My eyes are

constantly reminding my brain that I'm not yet done, that there's more, creating an association between more road and more hurt. In a way, creating a little cycle of panic that sometimes appears and hangs out as I'm simultaneously talking myself out of slowing down. Now is not the time to pump the brakes have come too far and the finish line is so close. But it eventually dawned on me

that while the adversity contained in this last stretch of the run is difficult, it's the idea that more weights ahead. That's what hurts the most. It's not the body, but the internal voice that's creating the discomfort. In fact, I bet I could run for hours and hours and hours at this speed if it were a life or death situation. If I had to, It's not the task laid out before me. It's my perception. And so this little line has helped me rethink and readjust my approach. Not just in situations like this, or when doing interval training or working out,

but when trying to do everything else associated with my life. Grow my business, build a brand, nurture relationships. Push boundaries in any other aspect of what I do. Three words. Stay within yourself. It goes to the idea that your job is so incredibly simple that it's almost insulted. Put one foot in front of the other. Sure, look up so you know where you're going.

But you don't need to analyze or interpret or dissect. There's no gap between there and here, then and now. There is only this moment. And so step. Again and again and again. When the brain starts thinking about how much is left to go, I've betrayed the mantra. Nothing external is allowed.

Stay within yourself. You have a job to do, and you're capable, beyond capable of doing it. But the external must be kept out. The distraction must be kept at bay. And sometimes when you get it right, you hit this stride, this pace that is equivalent to flying, a rhythm that's unparalleled. Stay within yourself. Step by step by step,

the air making its way into your lungs and then exhaled back out into the world when you simplify life down in such a way. Seemingly large things are exposed for what they really are, a mere commitment to do the little things consistently. It's funny to look back on all the places I've run over the years,

and identify or match the geography with the lesson, the routes with the epiphanies, the maps forever entwined in my life, what they gave me and what it meant as I took it all forward into the world. And here we are again, new chapter, new lesson. Then after the shoes come off, the rest of the day commences,

This little stretch, this last mile, plays the role of mentor. Eddie's simplification is everything, it says. The hard thing is not that hard because it's not that big. It's not that complex. Your monsters are self-created. Your hurt isn't a spotlight on the now. It's pointed at the road ahead. What if things go wrong?

It's asking how long can this be sustained? It's asking whether I have the strength to endure this. Every question breathes life into an adversary that has no business existing in my world. They're not helping me get to any finish line. In fact, they're that negative self-talk I try so hard to mitigate. Except here they are very good at disguising themselves as reality, as just facts of the case, but they are not. They don't belong anywhere near me or around me. Breathe and step.

In fact, I need to deconstruct the world around me down into one word now. And what you find when you remove the emotion, the excess, is the simplicity of the task at hand. Maybe not easy, but simple, and complexity is the enemy of progress. Right now may not be comfortable, but at least you're operating with clarity, and that is always enough to simply carry on,

to move forward, to stay within yourself. And that's what this is all about, asking the question, where are you letting what's down the road get in the way of what you're doing now? Where are you letting the pain of what's not yet here? The pain of roads not yet traveled. Keep you from doing something that is 1,000% in your wheelhouse that you are capable of. See, in this example, it's to breathe and step. It's to, in a sense, turn the mind off.

and go into autopilot, find the pace and hold the pace. But the question is, what is your last mile? What metaphorical race are you running? Have you identified, one, the finish line, and two, what needs to happen right now to get there? Forget about the gap right now. What is the simple solution? What is required of you in this?

moment and perhaps most importantly what needs to be pushed out and mitigated it's often true that we stagnate not because we don't have the tools or ability but because we're oversaturated with the wrong things the wrong routines the wrong thoughts the best way to break through that self-imposed wall to actually build walls that will prevent complexity from even attempting to rear its ugly head What is your run, breathe cycle? So stay within yourself because when you do, you see how strong you are. Stay within yourself because you are the author of your story.

Stay within yourself because all you need is now to push forward. Stay within yourself because that's, is where the power lives. Stay within yourself because the only way to lose is to let the external end. Stay within yourself because at some point that road will have been traveled down. The finish line will have been crossed. And it will have been precisely your ability to condense it all down into the simple, the ground under your feet that allow you.

you to get there. Life tried to pull you 1,000 different directions, tell you 1,000 different stories, but you pushed it all away, found that power within the moment, and stayed within yourself. There's a saying that will always be true. It will be true on your best days and your worst. It will be true after victory and it will be true after defeat. It will be true when you have momentum and it'll be true when you're down on your luck doing everything in your power to create momentum. That saying is your future begins now. Hey on the surface might not seem like much. Sure my future starts now. I know that. Everyone knows that. Well if that's true, If everyone does in fact know that, why do we spend so much time stuck, reliving our past,

unable to break free? Why do we remain terrified to change? Why do we feel such a connection to who we were, how others saw us? Why must we remain loyal to the character we've been playing in our mental autobiographies? See, here's the thing about the past and the future. One is fixed, can't be changed, and the other. well, it's waiting for you to tell it what it is. One is expired time, one is plans to be determined.

And it's interesting how we continue to conflate the two. Epictetus has said that the more things we value outside of our control, the less control we have. Well, I'm going to be the messenger here, relaying the precious truth that yesterday is in fact out of our control. What can be controlled is where we're going to be controlled is where we're going to be the message. is where we go from here, the next step. Meaning today is not your failures.

It's where you take those lessons. It's not your mistakes, but it's what the stronger you can now endure because of them. It's not the dreams you let slip away, but where your pursuit might take you now. And yeah, yesterday certainly contributes to your outlook as all information does. Its value considered, its impact assessed.

It guides you, but it's not you. And that difference is astronomical. There's a question about the role the past plays in our lives. It has to mean something, right? Your past is, in many ways, your story. It's why you think the way you do. It's contributed to your understanding of the world. It will always be a part of you, and I believe that.

But I also believe the past is a story. And just like reading one chapter in a book simply sets the stage for the next one without controlling its direction, so does every day that has led you up to now. Life gives us the tools to experience, to grow, learn, and then shed that which does not coincide with what's important. Your failures are not you. But they are precious in that they push you towards what you. like to be. See, you can experience something and not be that thing. As Kirkagard says, if you label me, you negate me. If you proclaim me to be X, you're essentially stealing

from me the infinite possibility that is the future. Yesterday has nothing to do with what I can become. And so taking it a step further, never mind being labeled by someone else, how How could you label yourself and see it as anything but self-sabotage? See, you're never defined by your past, but always learning from it. It's not who you are. It's the cheat codes for what you can be. Without that winding road of misfortune and mistakes, the incredible expansion we long for doesn't materialize.

Imagine if everyone who ever felt down in life felt like a loser who temporarily lost hope. Imagine if they looked in the mirror and said, okay, this is who I am now. There would be no triumph in the world because anything meaningful requires the resiliency to map our way from the hell that was our darkest moments to what will become our proudest moments. Destiny, destiny, destiny means that you separate the finite from the infinite. What you used to call yourself has prepared you to move towards the horizon. But what you used to call yourself is also as irrelevant now as those seconds

that you watch tick away. Seconds that maybe you're not proud of. Seconds that perhaps taught you about the world. Seconds that gave you a glimpse of what's possible unveiled the happiest of times, all of it. In its own unique way, it brought value, but none of it is your future. Why? Because back to that beautiful, all-powerful sentence, your future begins now. Your destiny is awaiting its marching orders, and all you have to

decide as you stand today is where that ship will sail. What's the difference between simple? and easy. Well, simple is straightforward, uncomplicated. Easy, on the other hand, means achieved without great effort. The difference between those two words is subtle, but essential to understand. One deals with the complexity of an outcome. The other, your will and determination to achieve that outcome. Becoming who you most want to be is simple. But becoming who you most want to be is not easy. Just like walking is simple, yet hiking up a mountain is not easy. The procedure didn't change the context did. So let's talk about context. Let's talk about this cyclical nature of growth because it's not that most people can't. It's that most people won't.

It's not that most people don't get how. It's that they don't have a strong enough. Why? If the path is laid out before you, you just have to be willing to walk down it. Will you? Step one, realize there's more out there. It's not that what you're doing now isn't amazing.

It's just that yesterday's act of courage is now today's status quo. What was the spectacular is now the mundane. What was once the ceiling you had to jump to touch is now the floor you walk on. So at the very least, it prompts you to ask, well, what's next? Simple. Not easy. Step two, the acquisition of courage. Yesterday's courage was a fight.

It took a lot out of you, and it's ultimately what got you here. But it dropped you at the curb, it waved goodbye, and went on its merry way, and here you are. You can stay here, a lot of people do. You can reminisce of the glory days, the old path, yesterday's triumphs. Or you can do that perpetually uncomfortable exercise of vulnerability. Stepping into tomorrow's unknown, reminding yourself that life's greatest rewards have a hefty price tag, and that price is discomfort. But I've already played this game, one might think.

No, what you did was learn the rules. Now it's time to apply them to a new setting, and around goes the merry-go-round. It might seem like a replication from the horizontal, but here's the secret. You can't see the vertical. You have yet to look down and see your ascent, see what you're becoming.

Just by staying on, holding tight, just by believing in yourself enough to begin again, you are fanning those tiny flames of courage in your soul that wait to be spread like a wildfire. Simple, but not easy. Step three, mistakes. Now, of course, it's not the mistakes themselves, you fear. It's what you think those mistakes will mean.

ridicule, embarrassment, lack of direction or identity losing what you have, but here's the catch. When you realize the upside is greater than the downside, you liberate yourself. When you realize there's more to gain than to lose, your potential for greatness is born. How does one act on this? Mistakes. By making mistakes. By injecting yourself into the turbulence of progress. Our biology has not yet learned that the uncomfortable thing is the right thing, and that's why you get resistance.

That's why it hurts. And it's why few people will accomplish what you will. When it comes to your climb, every day is opposite day. When they run out, you're running in. When they play safe, you play for the victory. To become who you might be, you must learn how to get there. Mistakes are your curriculum. Simple, but not easy.

Step four, trust yourself. Okay, sure, no problem, easy. Well, yeah, it's easy when you're getting what you want. But evolution takes time, and there's nothing quite like giving and giving and giving and not getting. There's nothing quite like stepping up to the plate again and again and again and bringing no runners home. So how does one find the strength to continue walking up to the batter's box? Well, growth is exponential, and those swings and misses matter. The infield singles matter.

Everything matters. Because it's all chiseling your future self out of stone. Nothing is dependent on the next at bat, as much as all at bats in the aggregate. That's why success is so often considered to be sheer will, dependent not on the home run, but on the discipline, the self-belief, to keep walking up to the plate. repetition and adjustment repetition and adjustment repeat and refine repeat those are the materials from which all things are made simple but not easy

and then we have the finale the ending step five celebrate and adjust at some point you'll be able to look over your shoulder and notice something that perhaps you hadn't before space, space between where you are and where you started. It's not sudden, but gradual. And undoubtedly, with enough persistence, it will emerge. These moments, they are precious. They are times to acknowledge what you've accomplished, the sacrifices you have made. They are life's way

of reminding you what you are building and who you are becoming. It's a time of celebration. Every little wind means something, every small victory matters so relish in it, and then transform it. Normalize it. Recognize that that mountaintop is your foundation now. Your starting point has changed and so have you. Which means so have your expectations. With an increase in ability comes an upgrade to what's possible, what's expected. And look at that. We have arrived in a new step one. Realize there is more. This is the process for capturing that which life has to offer. If you can fall in love with that, appreciate it, respect it, while simultaneously understanding

it's not scary, it's dependent entirely on your ability to push forward. If you can understand that, there is nothing you can't do. Nowhere you can't go. Simple, yes, easy, no. But you're not in this for easy. You're in it for the journey, the growth, the adventure. You're in it because it's not easy. You'll see in time, as will the world,

that this decision to endure was simply the best one you ever made. You ever wonder how much of you has materialized? Like if what F. Scott Fitzgerald says is true and our lives are defined by opportunity, even the ones we miss, then how much remains in the ether? And I don't think it's about playing a game of what if. You know, that would be endless. It would be self-defeating. No one's perfect. I don't even really think it's about making a right turn instead of a left. Because as long as you're moving and moving with conviction, life ultimately. brings you where you need to be. But more, my concern is the steps never brought to paper. My ideas on the hatch, my opportunities,

I either knowingly or unknowingly left on the shelf. Because it didn't seem real enough. Like a Broadway play between my ears, that as a spectator I knew would end. After all, that's what stories do. How much of ourselves have we cast aside as simply the things we don't say out loud. At first, it's infinite.

We've yet to be taught to limit because limits aren't things, their ideas, and ideas must be adopted. That's why they say some of life's best things. We're done by people too ignorant to know they were impossible, too naive of the notion that they couldn't say them out loud. Then it's comparison. They have what I want. But it was meant for them and not me.

How delusional to think I could have it. How crazy to think that life has yet to be written. and I am an author. My date is with normalcy in the box where I keep those things we don't say out loud and then we look around and we see highlight reels. We see awards and vacations and smiles, but we don't stop to think,

maybe they're just like me. Maybe they're people who struggle and question themselves and doubt the road ahead. No, it must be the past diverged. They took happiness and I took those things we don't say out loud and then there's everyday life when things don't go as planned, when the world presents curveballs

and you haven't learned to hit off. speed so you feel small and you feel inadequate and ill-equipped and you could reach out but that's not cool that's not right that's something that you don't say out loud but we keep it in like all in and eventually it becomes the if-only's and i wish i had it's the quiet envy gazing longingly towards those who just cared less who realized maybe life's not as serious as we make it out to be who turn thoughts to things not by burying but by embodying them and maybe that's the trick to unlock the gate, keeping your perceived reality from the possibility of a new one. The one you could create, if only you promoted your fleeting thoughts to forward progress.

See, dreams can fail to come to fruition in two places in your head and outside of it. But at least outside, it has a chance. At least outside, you can take the common, normal, everyday background and make it the backdrop to your movie, where you play a lead role. But it must be accepted and acknowledged, not thought of or even whispered, but screened so that the details and the trivialities that exist now work for you. That's right, they are now yours. Not because you thought about it, but because you reached out a hand and you took. You asked the world for something.

And in life, it will always be true that you don't get what you do not ask for. So when you find yourself staring up a wall comprised of self-defeating narratives and manufactured limits, be ignorant, be irrational, be the reason your dreams have a chance. And when you look around and you see more and wonder why you don't have it, know that you can, you're allowed to, if you sacrifice, you will, but you must believe you are worthy of it. Not in the back of your head where you keep your locker combo and movie quotes, but in reality. where words bounce off lips. And when you feel like life is treating you unfairly, like they're happier or have it better, know that life is peaks and valleys,

not just for you, but for everyone. And how you internalize that and carry on makes the difference. And when you feel lost or stuck, you are not hopeless, but in progress. Being broken down so that you can be reconstructed, stronger, better. Victory is not. Not in hiding those struggles, but accepting them as the difference, as the reason you created

the miraculous. Not because you had dreams, but because you said them out loud. There's a quote from George Eliot that states it's never too late to be what you might have been. And see, that ability to separate the stories of yesterday from the stories of right now will always be what determine your tomorrow. I'm still searching for the best way to really articulate this message, to emphasize just how precious this moment right now could be.

If only we decided to make it so. If only we recognize the power in choosing to begin again. Now, I understand the power of habits, how they define us, and how practically speaking, change isn't as easy as saying you're going to be something and then just becoming that thing. No, you have to build habits, your actions. They become your life, and there are plenty of resources on habit building. James Clear being one of my favorites and someone I point too often. One of his best quotes, he says, the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower. One day at a time, meaning little actions over time create big results.

But before any of that, before any steps, before any habits, before any action, we have to know that once a page is turned, it's gone. It becomes data to guide your next decision and that's all. It's understanding that yesterday is not you. Only a resource for you to look back on as you reflect on what worked and what didn't. What you loved and what you didn't love where you went and why it mattered. But you're not yesterday's losses or mistakes or tragedies. just like today's weather is ultimately independent from yesterday's. Sure, they may follow the same patterns, same rules, same guidelines.

And that's great. That's how we get the data that allows us to look back and calculate what's best for us. But ultimately today is a new day, a day with the potential, the capability of becoming something extraordinarily beautiful. And we may think, okay, I get it. Sure, I can become something new. All right, let's go. The question is, do you really believe it? Do you really understand how malleable you are,

how you can bend and fold and shape yourself into something new? Because the second you get that quick blast of motivation, right, that tiny bit of courage and dip your toe in the water, what happens? Life says not so fast. Your mind presses play on a giant projector showing the film of who you used to be, not who you want to be. Social media displays a seemingly perfect collage

of everyone around you pretending to live problem-free lives and prompting you to think, oh, this must mean I'm doing something wrong. wrong. TV, news, media, politicians tell you that life is too hard. You're too oppressed to find your way out of this. Of course, not without their help. So why try, one might think? Friends may disappear or worse. Criticize the fact that you've changed as if that wasn't the point of life in its entirety. In my message is this. Yes, change comes from habits.

And yes, habits are small, daily decisions, but also creating that mental space to welcome in those new habits. To understand you're worthy of more. To understand right now is a beginning. That is both the greatest challenge and greatest accomplishment. Giving yourself permission amidst an endless array of adversaries. That's what makes or breaks you. Not how close you keep your running shoes to the door so that you see them and it triggers those AM workout sessions. No, that stuff's important, but does it matter if you don't see yourself?

As someone who's going to use those shoes as a tool to change into something new? to put them on when you don't want to, when you feel tired, when you're busy? Who are you going to choose to be? And can you hold on to that idea? See, I obviously enjoy motivation, right? I consume a video or an audio almost every morning. I feel like it gets me in the right headspace and then I get on with my work, right? And for the most part, it does a great job of communicating to us what we need

for that moment. It's like believe in yourself. Work hard. Don't you dare give up. Amen. But where it sometimes drops the ball, in my opinion, is the why. Why believe in myself? Why work hard? Why not give up? And the answer is because we are these incredibly gifted beings with the ability to change and adapt and grow, but are confronted with the world that wants to tell you no. Change is immediately met with resistance, as if it prefers life at rest. It begs for stagnation. And you, even thinking that you can rearrange the order of things, shakes life at its foundation. And when we feel that, there's a default uncertainty, a mini panic. How can something be right when it just feels like every move forward is a right hook to the face?

Like we're constantly pushing into the headwind. I'll never forget. It was almost two years into my journey as a speechwriter, a YouTuber, a content creator, right? Two years since I left my job. And I felt guilty taking an afternoon jog. It felt like a luxury I wasn't entitled to. Something that minimal, it took time for me to stop thinking about that and enjoy it. That's how crazy it was.

Something so tiny and insignificant. Now imagine the weight of the big things. With change, the hard thing is the right thing. That's a tough idea to put our hands on. around, to hold, to embrace. What we least want to do is so often what we need. But as Campbell says, the cave we fear holds the treasure we seek. As Peterson says, the dragon protects the gold. Jim Rhone, the winters of life give way to the springs and the summers. Nietzsche said there's no beautiful surface without a terrible depth to become who we might be hurts. And I'm not sure why it

has to be this way, perhaps a test to weed out those who don't really want it. Or maybe it's what we learn when we leave the pieces of ourselves we no longer want behind. Or maybe it's because without that fight, without that suffering, evolution just wouldn't mean as much. But the climb, it creates the view. Regardless the reason, I hope the point comes to and it comes through loud and clear. And not just now as your alarm clock goes off and you're looking for that extra push to get up, but tomorrow, in the morning after that,

when things become a little bit harder and the finish line feels a little less real, a little less visible. The person you hope to become is as real as the present moment. It's as real when you're excited and motivated as it is when you're discouraged and down. But look around you're just,

and understand that as counterintuitive, as crazy, as frustrating as it might be, the discomfort and uncertainty does not mean you are lost or you've wandered too far. It means you're right where you need to be. It's the little price to be paid every day for monumental change. So as you look out your front door,

know that more does exist. Know that it will demand more of you than you've ever given and know that you are capable of not only needing but exceeding those demands and that it will be the most rewarding, incredible, meaningful journey of your life. Yesterday I drove out a little bit into North Carolina, parked the car, found a path, and went on a long hike to take in some scenery, think about life holistically, kind of contemplate where I'd go from here and why it matters, which is always funny to think about, right?

The idea of having to carve out time amidst our frantic and often chaotic journey to get somewhere to, well, define where somewhere is. But I think about that a lot. Our days consist of so much running around that I can easily forget what even my calculated decisions add up to. Why? It's a simple enough question. Perhaps one I could ask more, why?

What's with this whole get comfortable with discomfort thing? Why do I place so much emphasis on the quote unquote path less traveled? Which is a term that one of my buddies was recently given me a hard time about using it all my speeches, right? It must mean something to me. It's got me here, but is here better than over there? After all, it's not out of the realm of possibility that I'm the one who's missing the mark. And it's okay to examine that possibility.

In fact, that's why I'm here. And I bounced this around in my head as I made my way up the trail and noticed as I looked around, everything just felt perfect. Have you ever had one of those moments where it just seems surreal? The morning was incredible. I loved the sound of the earth under my feet as I took each step, the chirping of the birds. In the early morning, the sun making its way through the trees. and I thought, it's amazing that you can live 20 minutes from this feeling and just never experience it.

I guess proof that a decision did not go, to do nothing, is still very much a decision. And in this case, would have been the less desirable one. I'm glad I went. My phone was in my backpack, and for the first time in a while, I didn't even think about it. My mind was stimulated. My senses were taking in something new, something different, something not my studio or laptop or social media analytics pages. In fact, all that stuff felt kind of trivial now that I was removed from it.

And I wondered, why don't I do this more? I thought popped into my head earlier that morning. I thought, hey, that's a cool idea. I just had to get through that initial pushback. The hesitancy of, well, what's the point? What's the desired outcome of a hike? And after all, this little jaunt is just going to distract you from your work and your progress. But at that moment, I think you have to just shut out.

reason for a second. You have to remind yourself that there's value, period. Otherwise, we open the door for rationalizing, we talk ourselves out of some of life's beautiful secrets. Sometimes you have to just go. And as I made my way down this trail further and further, I started to feel better. I felt reassured. Like I had something that I otherwise wouldn't have had, something that's my own. And maybe that is it. maybe that alone is the reason for everything. To collect those incredible things large and small that we might not have had. After all, isn't life just an accumulation of memories,

of experiences that are spread out like a choose-your-ending children's book? And with so much control over the outcome, I think that matter deserves my attention in order to acquire the good stuff, whether it's in a different location or kind of, or time in my life, I still learn again and again that to get that we have to leave some things behind. And that's the essence of life. You usually get out what you put in.

And I think about that a lot. I think about the forks in the road I've come across, those same ones, the life-altering decisions. I guess it's only human, you know, walking away from that promising career that I spent my whole life building towards. Every once in a while, sure, I miss the security. Leaving this city and the people that made my life what it was, it still haunts me from time to time, trading permanence and structure, for the freedom to condense my life's work into a laptop,

take it anywhere in the world, and empowerment can be lonely, right? And I guess I can't help that in the midst of those situations, the easy decision always feels like the wrong one. I've just been pulled by the upside. I gravitate towards this grandiose version, of what life could be on the mark that I hope to make. And to me, the scariest thing has always been not having the courage to see more,

to explore, the phrase, what if has always been my adversary, the monster in the closet, and it's a costly one to slay. But life is both suffering and infinite beauty. And it's like you have to choose where you're going to endure pain and why that matters, so that you can climb the mountain that means everything to you that makes life worth it.

In other words, meaningful discomfort now or painful regret later. And I strongly believe that life is about pursuing something meaningful. And even the triviality of a hike wants to remind me of this truth. I could be at home playing guitar, watching Netflix, relaxing.

I mean, that would have been easier. But there's only one way to catch that sunrise over the trees. And that way is not Netflix. All those beautiful views, they require an output of energy to reach them. They come with fear of something going wrong. And in doubt that perhaps the turn you made wasn't the best one, and that's okay. But I believe that happiness to be truly fulfilled requires trade-offs. And with each step, it becomes easier and easier to understand.

For the gym rat, it's the discipline and the belief, knowing that muscles break down so that they can be built up. For the relationship to flourish, it's overcoming disagreement, accommodating the needs of that person that you love, so that they can be the last thing you see before you fall asleep. For the free spirit, it's walking away from what you know in pursuit of something that excites and invigorates, even if you're not entirely sure what it means. It's about enduring one so that you can collect the other. Now, what you choose to endure and what you choose to collect is up to you, but that's what makes life such a beautiful ride. A roller coaster taking you through lows to reach highs into darkness to see how life changing the light is when it pushes its way through.

Little decisions that become the collage that explodes off the paper when you step back and look. That's what you get back when you make a little. point to see more. That's why my love affair with the trivial and the mundane lights my path. It's not just a little thing. It's a microcosm of my everything. It's my saying yes to the opportunity that we work so hard to ignore in an effort to avoid inconvenience. But a life worth living is not always convenient. You could even argue at times, it should be inconvenient. Because the higher the climb, the more we give of ourselves, the more precious the world looks from the top down.

In the challenging times, the things we sacrifice and leave behind, they're not so much a part of the picture as the paint on your palate. That in breaking down, you can now recreate using your own ideals, metrics, and guidelines, a world that you now have the ability to transform. That's why life, to me, is nothing more than color, decisions, nothing more than paint, steps, nothing more than brush strokes, and life, well, life is nothing and everything. which as the morning breeze reminds me is a decision that is entirely my own.