Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - IT'S TIME TO CHANGE YOUR MIND - Motivational Speech Compilation

Episode Date: May 17, 2024

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube  In this episode, Eddie Pinero delves into the power of decisions and commitments in shaping your life. Discover how to find your North Star, embrace simplicity, and define your perfect day. Learn to create your world, find what truly lights you up, and move closer to your goals with every choice.  

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You can allow yourself to be distracted, or, as Robin Sharma suggests, You can do incredible things, but you can't do both. You can stay where the safety and security is, or you can risk what you have in pursuit of your dreams, but you can't do both. You can remain the character depicted in yesterday's story, or you can take those lessons, experiences,

and craft a new story. story. But you cannot do both. Life is a game of trade-offs. Where any decision to go in one direction is a simultaneous decision to not go in another. A commitment to X is necessarily a rejection of Y, at least in that moment, making this question all the more important. What is your North Star? I ask, because is everything you do is bringing you closer to or holding you back from capturing it. One of my lifelines over the years has been clinging to the quote or idea that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, consistently trying to arrive there.

Why? Because when things get complex in my life, I don't know what I'm choosing. Clutter means I've lost sight of what's necessary versus what's trivial. I become unclear on those critical trade-offs I'm making. And we've all experienced this, right? The simplest questions are always the hardest to arrive at. We can talk in circles about the details. But how often are we honest with ourselves about the why?

I remember job interviews in college going on and on about the books I read, the papers that written, current events. But then falling flat on my face when asked, so who's Eddie Panero? A dude doing an interview? Like, what do you want for me? My brain had never gone there. Or even less formal.

I'll never forget a friend of mine a few years back, asked me what my perfect day was. Just casually as we're driving. I said, I don't know, Tom. I've never really thought about that. He goes, then how are you ever supposed to have a perfect day if you don't know? And how simple? Simple and simultaneously incredible.

Who wants a life without perfect days? Right? Like what is all this for? The world is infinite. And you can be ruled by its variability and its complexity. You can run around adhering to all its rules, hoping you're doing the right thing, whatever that is. Or you can identify, carve out, and rule over your own little piece of it,

your own kingdom. You can choose you. If you take the time, If you take the time to uncover who you are, what lights you up. And then, as Emerson advocates, hits your wagon to that star. The best investment of our time is to truly understand and decide what we should be saying yes to. Because if we don't know what matters, then nothing does. Here's a famous dialogue from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

Alice, would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? That depends a good deal on where you want to get to, said the cat. Well, I don't much care where, said Alice. Then it doesn't matter which way you go, said the cat. Well, so long as I get somewhere, Alice added as an explanation. Oh, you're sure to do that, said the cat. If only you walk long enough. Beautiful passage.

If you don't care where you go, any road will take you there. And see, it's not wrong to not know. It doesn't make you bad or mean life is a waste of time. It just means you're taking a large portion of control, which is one of your superpowers and tossing it up into the ether. It means you are bowing to hope. And I know that no one here wants to live every day

merely clinging to hope. This is not a we'll see how it goes, channel, or podcast, right? This is about the little changes that take life from a six out of ten to a nine or a ten out of ten. It's about using what's around us to maximize the miracle we are living

and breathing every day. Again, life is complex. So for you to take the time and simplify to remove what's unnecessary, what in it is. advantage. Yeah, I could do this or that. I could go here or there. But guess what? I've spent the time thinking, asking myself the tough questions, and now I can be more deliberate in choosing my path so that I arrive at a correct destination, a destination that belongs to me, that means

something to me, that lights me up and excites me. That's living. And of course, this isn't a one-time lightbulb moment, a permanent move. No, and As we grow, we change. What we want shifts. Hey, sometimes the current path even reveals itself to be the wrong path. It's happened to me plenty. But when you're consistently in tune with what matters to you, who you are, you can make the adjustments.

You can be deliberate. No more shooting targets in the dark because life is too short. Our days numbered are arrows finite. Live life like each day means something. Because each day is transporting you to your something. Let's use the pieces around us to build our own skylines, etch our own stories into the sands of time. If a decision to do one thing is a simultaneous decision to not do something else,

make sure to have that North Star in scope so that you don't amidst that chaos of life. unknowingly turn your back on it. Ask yourself who you are. And be as patient as possible working for that answer. Because as far as I can tell, that information is the key that unlocks infinite possibility. It's knowledge that opens the door to life on your terms. We have so much to let go of.

of to dismiss. Ideas, narratives. They're not ours, not in our best interest anyway, yet we carry them around. Carry them around like we're perpetually tied to the lies they espouse, the fiction they propagate. We have to let go before we add a single thing, before we adopt another way it all has to go. I don't remember where I've seen it, but I know I have. Maybe cartoons when I was younger, but I'm imagining that character that is taking off their jacket or shirt, and there's always another one underneath it.

And they're like confused, frantically pulling off shirts and more and more keep emerging. They had no idea how many layers they were carrying around with them. And funny enough, 20 years later, I'd be thinking that, we are no different. There are so many layers and so many of them should be gone, should be left, should be confined to the dustbin of history. Those boundaries in your life, who set them? Who said this is as far as you can go? Who put that little fence around your world and ask that you stay obediently confined to its borders? Who said that what you have is all the

Who said upside is too dangerous? Who said life is about predictability and routine, so stop asking questions? No one. No one said those things. So hey, there's a start. Empty your pockets of the boundaries that are making life heavy. What about yesterday? Might as well take off that backpack. Tip it upside down. and pour out the yesterday. You made mistakes yesterday. Ah, but that's not today. You didn't like certain aspects of who you were yesterday. But that's not today either.

Your friends, maybe family, maybe others in your life knew you to be someone. Someone you don't think you are or someone you wish you weren't. Well, more breaking news, that was like. yesterday. Did you even realize you're still carrying around who you were yesterday on your back? Your next step has a lot to do with now and very little to do with yesterday. So embrace and wave goodbye to those calendar pages you've already turned. That's the best move for everyone. Oh, and those concessions you make, you didn't think I'd forget those. You can't forget those. Unshackle them from your ankle. Those things you say, eh, you're not

ideal, but it's easier to live a lesser life with you in it than it is to go through the trouble of pushing you away. Perhaps the people that darken your light, the actions that you know are not you, the time exhausted living for someone else, gone, gone, and gone, it has to go. And look, we all know life is tricky. It's hard to work. It's hard to walk away from things so ingrained into our daily lives for so long. But let's play a game. Let's pretend it was. Pretend life was that simple.

Things I need to leave behind. A, B, and C. Well, that's definitely simple. Perhaps not easy, but simple. And now, through this simplified lens, you have a target to aim for. Something to chip away at. You have your block of mark. marble. Now comes the process of chiseling a little bit at a time. And that's the goal.

Because to not carry these things ends up meaning everything. Space no longer occupied by the wrong things creates space for the right things. Knocking down what doesn't belong creates a platform to build what does. So onward we must go, not falling into the trap of pointing at externalities, blaming the world for our confinement, but instead understanding that we have been, perhaps without even realizing it, taking our confinement with us, in our pockets, on our back, trailing behind our every step, a subtle resistance. And when it goes, we can finally grow. We can become more. So what can you do now? to live a life that's more meaningful, that's more true to yourself?

Well, you can start by doing less of what weighs you down. What is the complex, but an accumulation of that, which is simple? What are big things, if not just a multitude, of little things? There's comfort in the understanding that all we have in life, all there is, is simplicity, easy to understand pieces. It's just that sometimes we stack them so high that they start to take a new shape. But like Greg McKeown references

in his book Essentialism, the power isn't always in acquiring answers. You already have them. They're in front of you. The power is in cutting away the things that don't need. removing all that stands between you and your ideal existence. And I think that's one of life's great misunderstandings. We don't need to find more.

We need to remove the excess until we're face to face with what matters. And to adopt this principle, it's nothing short of liberating. Chaos, confusion, disorder. They don't imply that you lack the right things. They suggest you haven't so. Unless you haven't stripped life of the wrong things, you have not simplified. A thousand miles is intimidating when you look at it holistically. It's a long journey.

But it's just a collection of steps and well, shouldn't we find solace in the fact that anyone can take one step? It's not a game of complexity. It's a game of understanding what's in front of you. what's in front of you is always manageable. So much of our stress stems from forgetting what that journey is made of. Whether it's a change in career, mastery of an art, some kind of personal transformation, the result we want.

When looking at it from the starting line, it's too complex to understand too many pieces stacked up. So let's break it down. Let's find the foundation. What's really there? What are the one, two, three things we need to do? What is that golden question? What matters? If you lose sight of that, then you will stumble through life.

I've learned this. I've lived it. The time I take to myself every day is invaluable to me because I ask myself those two questions. What matter? And what are the simple steps I need to take? What can I remove? I was talking about this during an interview this week, my personal growth.

And one of the most important aspects has been the understanding and the zeroing in on what's important. I used to take so much pride in composing the background music to these speeches, end-to-end. I used to love to be able to say I did it all. That was so I thought the great differentiator. But ultimately, I learned to take a step back and ask what matters here. What do you care about? It's the storytelling that I love. It's the impact. And let's be real. No one cares who wrote the background music.

It's holistically, how does the piece make you feel? Right? And this understanding allowed me to cut away. License the music. Save two days a week acquire clarity and realize my goal is not to be Mozart. My journey is to be one of the great communicators, storytellers of our time, and And if a day goes by where I'm not taking a little step towards that, it's the wrong move. Small example in the grand scheme of things, but right on point. It's the power in understanding what matters that makes a difference that allows you to grow, evolve. And I'm confident that this not only applies to long-term pursuits, but also our challenging time, to the dark moments, the periods of uncertainty. discontent. Same concept. Where do you want to be and how do you get there? What's the simple

thing you can do to close that gap because you are never helpless. You can always do something and my friends those little somethings ultimately evolve into everything. And when we put our phone away, step beyond the noise, spend time with ourselves, we can can see how much of life is running in place. Stacking and stacking pieces that aren't even part of the masterpiece we're trying to assemble. If you want answers, start with the understanding that they're buried under mountains of things you don't need. So cut away. Cut away the people and places and things that convolut your story.

Cut away the exhaustion of time that provides no value in return. Cut away the thoughts that make life more complex than your journey from where you are to where you'd like to be. As you stand right now, you have everything you need. And there's nothing greater than that, nothing more powerful than that understanding. So why not step outside the ground? complexity that you've manufactured that you're living in into a world of clarity, simplicity, and capture what matters. Ready to prioritize yourself in the new year?

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Dime's commitment to clean ingredients and sustainable packaging ensures every product is as gentle on your skin as it is on the planet. With thousands of glowing five-star reviews and a loyal community, the results speak for themselves. Revive your skin and give yourself the routine refresh you deserve by visiting dimebeautyco.com. That's dime beauty co.com. Your best skin awaits. Hey there, it's Ryan Sechrest for Safeway. Now through February 25th, stock up on your favorite self-care items and save up to $3. Shop in store or online for items like old spice deodorant.

Always ultra-thin pads, Gillette Fusion Razors, and refills. Old Spice, Total Body Spray, 10 packs Pearl, and Gillette Mach 3 razors and refills, and save up to $3. You won't want to miss out on these deals. Offer ends February 25th. Offers may vary. Restrictions apply. Visit safeway.com for more detail. As you open your eyes, your feet hit the ground, you step out of bed, maybe as you sit and reflect with your coffee at the kitchen table.

I want you to do me a favor. This is something that brings me substantial peace of mind. And I'm thinking it could be a value to you as well. I want you to take those things that you consistently think about, right? The ones that have been bothering you or troubling you consistently come up in your mind. The ones that you thought about yesterday and the day before and the day before, you know, the so-called problems. Not so positive narratives. Stories about why you can't.

And instead, think about each one's corresponding ideal, what the perfect situation would look like if you could turn each quote unquote problem around. The perfect story, the most exciting narrative. And then ask, what can you do today to move one step closer to the place you want to be? How can you make those ideal? real. And the reason this is valuable is because it reminds us that we are not powerless. Quite the opposite. It shows you how new and exciting and untapped your future is. This is your opportunity to remind yourself that you are not yesterday. You are not your past, you are not your mistakes. You're not any of those things, even though our minds often trick us into believing it's so.

It's kind of like running around the same block over and over again. You become so accustomed to it that you forget you can take a right out of your street and go anywhere you want to go, see anything you want to see. Every morning is a fresh start. An opportunity to connect new dots. And you can point that compass, any direction you choose. You are shackled to nothing, bound by no one. And admittedly, that can be hard to hear.

I remember the first time I had that realization that most of my limits were self-imposed. That I was complaining about the work I did. The places I spent my time and who I was spending it with. It bothered me from the second I opened my eyes in the morning until I closed them at night until I realized that I had more control than I could even imagine. and that detaching from the past, yeah, it would hurt, it would be scary, sure, I would lose some things. But what a world to gain. What a story ahead.

For some reason, things seem so messy and complex that we overlook our ability to simplify and change them. If it doesn't bring value to your life, you have the power to fix it. And maybe not overnight, but human beings are resourceful, resilient. If you have an outcome in mind and you believe in it, a step in that direction every day will come to mean everything. It's defining. So no, this is not just an ordinary morning. This is the beginning.

This is where you are blessed with the opportunity to move away from the old. and towards the ideal. Don't stay down in the ashes. Use the pieces to build new things. Don't dwell on what hurts. Use the lessons to chart a course to happier days. Don't fixate on what's missing. There's an endless supply of what's not there.

Instead, rejoice over and capitalize on what remains. Don't take misfortune personally. Remember that life is neutral. It's you who has to decide whether to shrink in its shadow or grow because of it. Don't compare yourself to people around you. We only see highlight reals. We only see the best of our neighbors, but they have their demons, their problems, their struggles too.

Instead, compare yourself to who you were yesterday. That's the only worthwhile benchmark. Don't exhaust time wishing you had someone else's gifts or natural abilities. Sure, they have theirs, but you have yours too. Explore and go all in on your unique superpowers, because that's exactly what they are should you choose to bring them to life. Don't let the gravity of the moment keep you down. You might feel lost or defeated,

but it's not always about feeling good. Sometimes it's whether or not we can move forward when we don't. So step into that unknown, knowing sure, you might not be at your best, but that lives are often defined during our imperfect. moments. Don't waste energy on hope. The future is a construct, an idea that you have no control over, and that will make you its slave if you allow it to. See the value of right now. Right now, you have the power to change, adapt, evolve, to make things happen. Right now is all you'll ever have to control.

build, tear down, retreat, advance, follow or lead, everything is a choice. Life provides the components to go up or down, left or right. It's a perpetual fork in the road. Endless opportunities. But you are the architect. You decide what they become. You can be your greatest fan and also your biggest critic. In fact, not only is it healthy, it's necessary.

To be there for yourself, celebrate that commitment to show up, but also to hold yourself accountable for growth. Because to be great is to know there's more in you. To understand that there's greatness waiting to be extracted from the miracle that is you. Here are two words. I want to take a look at both of them. consistency and adaptation. Consistency first. Why?

Because consistency gets you in the door. It's the cost of admission. Consistency is you showing up for yourself. Day in and day out. Creating mastery and competence through repetition. Manufacturing a data. set that will be used to guide your journey, taking a once stagnant idea, and putting it into motion. Consistency is doing what you promised yourself you'd do when you said you'd do it.

Why? Because that's who you are. You create goals and then conquer those goals. When your head hits a pillow at night, you may be tired, you may have struggled, you may have swung and missed, you may be wondering how things unfolded the way they did, but you showed up. So celebrate that, celebrate yourself, be your biggest fan. Because the world can't take your will to step forward and cannot seize your consistency, not without your permission. So other than part one, let's call consistency the commitment to show up for you. Now the second piece, consistency's older brother adaptation.

See, that consistency, like we just talked about, it will get you in the door. It signs you up for the game. but it guarantees nothing. See where consistency puts that pen in your hand, paper in front of you, patch you on the back where consistency gives you a chance to write your story. One's level of success or achievement relies on their ability to adapt. To do the thing that's so hard for people to do, look in the mirror and ask, how can I be able?

better. I've been consistent for 30 days, sure. Here's what's right. Here's what's wrong. Now it's time to adjust. To be critical. To understand that expecting more of the self does not in any way diminish the task at hand. It gives you room to expand into that next version of yourself in a way that simply showing up doesn't. Without a willingness to adapt, you get Einstein's definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. You get day after day of wondering why this square peg won't just save us all the trouble and go into the round hole.

Without a willingness to adapt, we move for the sake of moving and we work for the sake of working. And if we could find it within ourselves, to look at the data that's been acquired day after day and use it to help guide ourselves to that North Star, we'll find strength. To seek out the delta between where we are and where we want to be, that is power. But it calls for more than just showing up. It calls for looking around. It calls for observing and then adapting. So yeah, your greatest fan and your greatest critic. Be there for you, but don't let yourself get away with good enough.

Showing up is critical. It's powerful, but it's just the beginning. If your eyes stay open, if you're willing to both love yourself and improve yourself simultaneously, all the world becomes available to you. There are no mountains you can't climb or oceans you can't cross. And sure, the world will do what the world does. It will place challenges before you. But rather than those challenges being the reason you can't,

rather than accepting those challenges as a permanent reality, they become nothing more than the number. next puzzle to be solved, the next little adaptation that's required of you. You show up, you self-assess, you adjust, and carry right on towards that horizon again and again. So when you find yourself frustrated or up against that wall, remember, you are building your ideal reality. Proud of yourself for showing up, for being consistent. Because it's As dire as it might seem, you overcame a lot to get here. But also know that the challenged hand is not an indictment of you or your goals.

It's your chance to review the game plan and adjust. Your opportunity to do what so many fail to do, not shrink from the world, but adapt yourself to it. Grow because of it. Today is your opportunity to take what the world gives you and build something new. Ready to prioritize yourself in the new year, your skin is a great place to start. Dime Beauty, founded by a master aesthetician, is more than just a skincare company. With four skin-conscious categories, skincare, beauty, body care, and fragrance,

Dime offers simple, spa-worthy products that will help you enter 2025 with confidence. Whether you're revitalizing your regimen with nourishing products or building one from scratch, Dime makes it easy. The work system, our all-in-one best-selling routine, includes a cleanser of your choice, toner, serums, and moisturizers, taking the guess work out of skin care for your healthiest, happiest skin yet. Dime's commitment to clean ingredients and sustainable packaging ensures every product is as gentle on your skin as it is on the planet. With thousands of glowing five-star reviews and a loyal community, the results speak for themselves. Revive your

skin and give yourself the routine refresh you deserve by visiting Dimebeautyco.com. That's Steinbeautyco.com. Your best skin awaits. Hey there, it's Ryan Sechrest for Safeway. Now through February 25th, stock up on your favorite self-care items and save up to $3 shop in store or online for items like Old Spice Deodorant, always ultra-thin pads, Gillette Fusion Razors and Refills, Old Spice Total Body Spray, Tan Pack's Pearl, and Gillette Mach 3 Razors and Refills and Save Up to $3.

You won't want to miss out on these deals. Offer ends February 25th. Offers may vary. Restrictions apply. Visit safeway.com for more detail. Pressure, as in those burdens we sometimes feel as we navigate life, it's complex, it's powerful, but like all powerful things, also delicate. That same pressure that creates diamonds and create diamonds it does,

Well, it can also remind you that in the meantime, you are beneath the surface, buried away amidst that process of creation. In other words, pressure is a beautiful driver because it is, in many ways, a standard of excellence, of more. It pushes us towards a life of abundance like wind at our backs. But see, two things can be true at once. And it's impossible to look at the word more without acknowledging that in order for more to exist, something must be lacking in the present. And there lies the challenge.

Pressure gone too far becomes a feeling of inadequacy. The same driver to explore the depths of one's potential can also, if mismanaged, take them to the spiral of never enough. See, you are a brilliant human being with natural strengths and talents, and while certainly imperfect, we all have something to offer the world. This floating rock is a better place because you are on it.

And as we go about figuring out what it all means and how to bring it to life, we have to also understand the nuance. We want to get better every day, not because we lack value in the present, but because the journey is a remarkable adventure. Progress is happiness. Humans love and need progress. Growth and expansion and exploration inject meaning into life. They help us manufacture peak moments. And it's taken me a long time to understand that distinction. I want to be more, not because I'm inadequate in the present, but because against all odds I'm here. And what a gift to be able to push that pedal to the floor.

To squeeze from life as much beauty as I possibly can. The pressure doesn't say, because without it, you're less. It says, oh, but what a ride awaits if you're willing to step up and seek it out. I used to get so annoyed when I'd see stories or memes on social media that are anything along the lines of, you're special just the way you are. It felt tacky, it's lacking substance. And sometimes, to be honest, it just felt like a lie. But my thoughts on that have changed.

I don't think it's a lie. It's just an extreme in one direction. Just like never being good enough as an extreme in the other. Look, you're not perfect just the way you are. We're all flawed, and we all have room for opportunity. But you're also not void of value until you reach point X, Y, or Z. If we're going to grow, we need to understand why we're growing. My favorite thing about this platform, you know, over the years, has been trying to identify the obstacles in my life.

Understand them to the best of my ability, and then share that, hoping maybe there's a piece or two there, that's relatable, that you can take value from. But this topic in particular, I've never really felt like I've solved or been able to grasp. This constant weight or pressure, I'd consistently feel to do more. And I know others feel it as well.

I talk to them about it consistently. It can be almost suffocating. I do attribute a lot of good to it, right? It helps me get back up. It makes me want to be better, find new ways to share, add value to as many people as I can. When I have my down times, that pressure says, hey, man, you're made for more. Lift your head up and go. I wouldn't be where I am without it.

But then there's also the ugly side, right? Like I mentioned above, the cost of ambition is sometimes the inability to be in the moment. Always reaching for more is the younger brother of never. never being enough. It can be exhausting. And so what to do, what to do, right? The question that I've been playing in my head. And here's where I am in the present. I think this is an ever-evolving process. But as I mentioned above, I believe the answer is in why. The why is everything. There are no have-toes in life. Life is a collection of get-toes. We're not dipping into life's infinite abundance so that we fill holes within ourselves.

No, we're doing it to take in the show, to absorb, so that we can consequently add our verse to the play of life. As the saying goes, the ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for. And that's where the distinction lies, as far as I'm concerned. Where the ship is in the moment doesn't make it more or less beautiful or valuable. But to deprive that ship of open water, to deprive its sails of the wind, well, it just feels like a shame, like something's missing.

And so with all that said, here's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking that as I move towards those distant horizons, I need to remember that the journey comes with a few understandings. I need to know that at times it will feel exhausting. I need to know that while building, you can become so fixated on the plans that, sure, you'll forget about your progress. I need to know how easily the future can steal from the present. But also, I know that taking in the best life has to offer comes with the price tag, and being tired from time to time seems fair.

I know that the builder with the plans can ground him or herself by looking over their shoulder every so often and appreciating how far they've come. I know that the future is always out of reach, like that carrot hanging just beyond the grasp of the runner on the treadmill. But the gratification can be both delayed and current when we're pointed to the right North Star. So I invite you to reimagine the word pressure. Understanding the notion that you've already won the lottery.

You're here on earth against all odds with your strengths and the greatness that makes you you. Venturing deeper into life's potential, asking more of the world and from yourself is not to compensate for any. It's not an obligation. It's not even required of you. No, it's an extension of the human soul. The best of life. The magic all around us, an invitation to live fully. That pressure like water through a channel will flow in the direction you lead it.

It's nothing more than your vehicle to distance. to distant shores. Your process for crafting diamonds with the adversity most would refuse. That pressure doesn't always indicate where it's taking you or even guarantee that its destination will be preferable to where you are now. But it does promise quite the ride. And that, for me, is enough. The first step towards creating the life you want is taking responsibility for the life you have. What does this mean? Well, it's easy to accept the good things. The things you're proud of.

It's easy to move forward under the banner of victory. But what about the things that may not be under your control? things that happened unjustly or what about the things you did in your past that you're not proud of see if you're going to own the good you have to own the bad too because you can't change anything you can't alter the reality on the ground until you own it you can't make something better that you have not acknowledged and claimed to be yours see our inclination when we feel like we've been wronged by life is to shake our fists at the sky innately aware of the cosmic

injustice that has occurred. And I get it. We want to point out that injustice. Label it as an adversary, maybe even an excuse. It feels good in the short term. But ultimately, it's depriving you of your strength, the ultimate advantage, which is substituting. the word fault for responsibility. When you're fixated on the word fault, the emphasis is placed on finding the blame. It's replaying yesterday's movie. Responsibility, on the other hand, says regardless of how or why this came to fruition, it's mine to fix. Maybe it was brought forth by your doing.

Maybe it wasn't, but you'll learn and adjust in the present. That attitude will place you in position. to succeed in ways most couldn't even dream of. When others project out, it leaves you to find the solution. Where others assert blame, it pushes you to begin the process of building again. See, there's nothing so detrimental as one who, feeling slighted by life, doesn't start where they are to make the most of what they have. so angry and disparaged by the path that brought them to the present moment, that they forget

it's not the same path that will lead them forward from here. This moment is yours. And there's a lot packed into that statement. It means looking in the mirror, accepting the face staring back at you, letting go of what you cannot control, forgiving yourself and the world around you for what may or may not have happened yesterday. Look, you're here now. With all the opportunity in the world, everything in front of you, the question is, will you take it? Will you leave fault behind

so that you can accept responsibility for the greatest gift one can be given the chance to begin again? Find a way. Because first and foremost, there always is one. Find a way because you are more than strong enough. Because anything other than a solution or some semblance of progress means you gave in. Called it quits, threw in the towel, and giving in is not who you are.

Find a way because that dissonance. discomfort today, well it becomes our greatest source of pride tomorrow. The simple decision to carry on or stick it out now is so much more than it appears to be when under duress. Sure, it's easy to turn around, but everything, everything relies on your moving forward into that. darkness find a way because while we may think we want safety and need predictability our souls want adventure life's meaning is comprised of the mountains climbed and dragons slayed so step out and slay your dragon find a

way because an evolved self has to be earned Keeping promises to yourself is no small ordeal. Putting your head on the pillow at night, knowing you followed through on who you decided you would be. That's power. It creates a trajectory towards infinite possibility. It points you at the stars. Find a way because you must reinforce the fact.

fact that the world is clay to be molded, not a checklist. It's a game, not a chore, a gift, not an obligation. When you find a way, you become the ruler of your own kingdom. Look, there exists a way, a path. That's not the question. The question is one of effort. Is there a willingness to move beyond the parameters imposed upon you by others, by the past, by the thoughts that bounce around in your head? Is there a willingness to endure duress in the short term?

Is there a willingness to fall down now, to look dumb, to not always be perfectly packaged or assembled? Are you willing to endure that in exchange for the infinite? I remember hearing the mantra, there is always a way to get to your finish line. It's not can I? It's not, is it possible? No, it's how. How do I get there?

The dots exist. You have to be the one to connect them. You have to build bridges over the oceans of unknown, the valleys comprised of the unforeseen. Oh, there is a way. Remember that. Remember that it's not the destination that's in question, but one's willingness to knock and knock and knock until the right door opens. Remember that you have everything you need, that you are armed. with all that is required.

You were made to connect those very dots before you. You just have to decide what's more important to you. That feeling of reaching the top of the mountain or the feeling of its shade at the bottom. What will you give to be more than you've ever been? Do more than you've ever done. There is always away. Are you willing to find it? Every next level of your life will demand a different version of you.

Why? Because life is about reaching outside of your comfort zone, acclimating until you are comfortable and then repeating the process. Every time you leave the familiar you are granted a new set of armor. Jim Rohn said, if you want to have more, you have to become more. For things to change, you have to change. For things to get better, you have to become better. If you improve, everything will improve for you.

And every time we expand ourselves, we are forced to change in some way, evolve. So many of us fall into the trap of waiting for the perfect moment to jump. There is no perfect moment. Could there be? There's no perfect time to step out into a world you're not prepared for. But that's life. We jump and we grow wings on the way down. We step into the chaos and acclimate. By walking into the dark, we are forced to become the light. This makes staying where you are the most dangerous thing you can do. Let's use our imagination for a second. Let's say you reach for the next thing. You stretch yourself. Move towards.

something you really want and you fall short. Okay? Time to breathe. Reassess, step back for a second and re-approach a little better this time, a little wiser this time. As long as one remains engaged in this cycle, growth is inevitable. But now, let's say you never step in. Let's pretend the idea of moving into the unknown is too much, and you'd rather stay with the familiar, pain-free, you think to yourself. but you would in fact be wrong.

See that discomfort, one step up, it would force you to evolve to see yourself as someone who steps into hostile territory and survives. And maybe it's not pretty, maybe it's not perfect, but you attack and you survive. And sure, the difference between where you are now and only one step up isn't much. But what about that second step or evolution? Because you'd miss out on that, too. And the third and the fourth and the compounding that would completely redefine who you are. From your self-identity to your skill set, from the mental to the physical,

you put the whole chain reaction on hold because why? You didn't want to take one step. You didn't want to be uncomfortable in the short term. But discomfort is not a punishment. It is a ticket to everything you could ever imagine. So when the crowd runs out, I challenge you to run in. And when the world goes left, I dare you to go right. Not because the masses are evil, but because human beings are wired to take the path of least resistance.

But you, no, not you. You're here to rise above the mental constraints that hold so many down. Because there is always another level. When you feel good, there is another level, and when you don't, there is another level. And see, our world has been defined, not by the best or the brightest, but the ones willing to throw themselves into foreign arenas and compete. To see adversity as the answer, not the problem. You want to change your world, then change yourself.

If you want to change yourself, then go where you are scared to go. where your heart beats and your hands sweat, turn and face the direction you know you should have been facing. This is about you. This is about what you can become by simply saying yes when most would say no. Today is yours. Not because it was given to you,

but because you looked through the haze and you decided it's so. Why is it that the average person seeks out the advice of what feels like a million people before consulting himself? Knocking, looking, hoping, is he looking for answer? Or looking for permission to be who he already knows he is? Is he looking for insight or just validation that his reflection is in fact okay? See, I think we all deep down know who. we are know what drives us and even if we don't know exactly what the destination looks like our hearts

know the direction best suited to begin the pursuit so how is it so easy to forget why do we get our antennas crossed see when life becomes about meeting requirements and fulfilling obligations checking off boxes and checking in on time we forget the basics we forget to let us live for ourselves. As if our job is to play a part, not direct the movie. And playing a part is living up to expectations. Directing the movie, well, that's creating your own expectation. This world, your world, it belongs to you. It's a world with both unimaginable happiness, bliss, moments of ecstasy, and the occasional suffering, chaos that we have to navigate through. But I think All of it comes down to whether you trust yourself to live it for yourself.

To remove the shackles, take the training wheels off, stop asking permission, and do what you've always known was the right thing. That part never changed. It just had to wait amidst all you're looking for external direction, for you to pause and find the internal courage. Freedom is not a life without chaos. It's trusting yourself to determine which dragons you will slay. It's not a life without battles. But fighting those battles that result in your liberation, dismissing the oppressors that build fences in your mind and chains around your soul,

I've thought a lot about the idea of a life well-lived, what it means, how it feels, and it seems to me it's about intentionality. Where are you going? It's not that you can escape suffering or eliminate fear. It's not that you'll avoid getting lost along the way, but it's the why. Why we endure these things makes all the difference. Is it for a better tomorrow or simply to get through today? And it's amazing.

Accidentally stumbling upon that which scares you and intentionally facing that which scares you are so different that their occurrence has triggered completely different neural networks in the brain. See, overcoming fear is ingrained. We want to grow. We want to evolve. We need more. The question is whether you will step out of the line that someone else made for you and live a life that is your own. And if it's crazy, great. Let it be crazy. If it's unique, perfect. Stand out. And if it scares you, my God, if it scares you, don't turn back. Don't you dare. turn back. Give yourself the most important permission one can give, the permission to follow your intuition and your curiosity into tomorrow. Let the stakes be higher, but the rewards be meaningful. Let the chaos be your own to tame and to master. Every twist, every turn becomes not only a part of you, but a chapter in the story of your becoming. And as the seed you've held in your hand for soul,

long finally meets the earth and grows so high that it connects you to the heavens. Remember that this is your life. It's your obligation to live it fully.