Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - KEEP DREAMING - Powerful Motivational Speeches

Episode Date: October 9, 2024

"The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying." — Roy T. Bennett Imagine a 2-year-old exploring the world, using objects in ways they were never intended—pure creativity, no fear of mistakes. But somewhere along the way, we lose that fearless curiosity. We stop seeing life as a playground and start fearing the cracks, failures, and imperfections. But just like kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, it's those cracks that make us unique, valuable, and whole. True living is about embracing exploration, failure, and learning. Are you living to preserve, or are you living to grow? Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube 

Imagine with me a toddler, let's say two years old, walking around a living room and picking things up. And the things that he or she's picking up, they're using for play. In other words, not the original use that these objects were designed for. Right? The kid is picking it up and inserting it into his or her own worldview the way that makes sense to the child. There's not courage involved there. That's innate. That's built into the kid, right?

Like our lungs breathing in oxygen. It's involuntary. Doesn't need to be taught. But somehow, there becomes a point when this is no longer the case. When the object's intended use and history takes center stage, and the launching pad that was once our imagination now exists, simply to stack supposed to's and obligations. After all, we no longer need living room tents,

flashlights or tire swings. For what? Our driver becomes not making mistakes, blending in, not failing, falling, or getting dirt on our hands. We won't hold life in the palms of our hands because we fear that life may crack. There's an ancient Japanese idea called Kinsugi

where when pottery is broken and altered the pieces are collected and it's put back together, glued with a golden lacquer. The most important part of this process is that the newly

constructed item has not lost but gained value. What makes this unique or special It's the idea that it is a celebration of life. It's the original object plus authenticity. It now contains pieces of you in your journey, in your world.

See, truly living is not following orders or blending in. It's not seeking to avoid scratches or cracks. No, it's stepping out into the world and exploring. Testing, trying, and yes, at times even, because it's in the reconstruction of these decisions that life becomes valuable. It's in failing and falling that we become strong. It's in loss that we find gratitude. It's in not knowing that we find meaning and ultimately wisdom.

This means doing what we did when we were two. Even if this go through requires courage we didn't need back then. See, when the default is to preserve, we must ask what it is we are preserving. And I'm not discrediting the original. Be grateful for the status quo, but pay homage to it by building on top of it, by breaking and reassembling the status quo so that it transforms for merely an object to a banner, to a flag, to a battle cry. world is yours. All of it, a canvas for your painting, a key to the door you want to walk

through. But there must first be a joining of that which surrounds you and well, you. Every day there is a specific decision you have to make. It's the first and it's the most important decision because from it you effectively roadmap your destiny. What I'm referring to is the choice to either have a positive outlook or to allow negativity and doubt to chart your course. It's a dilemma that truly is that simple. Every morning you choose how you want to view the obstacles ahead of you. And what you get out of life will be very different depending on your decision. There's an old Cherokee legend that touches on this conflict.

And in the story, there's an older man. He's talking to his grandson about life. He explains that inside all people there is this fight going on. The struggle consists of two wolves. One manifests itself through negative energy. He's anger, envy, sorrow, inferiority, all that is evil. The other is joy, compassion, faith, truth, all that is good. So he finishes explaining this.

The boy sits there, he thinks about it for a minute. He asks his grandfather, well, which one went? The grandfather replies, whichever one you feed. What we sometimes forget is that we are the soul makers of our own destiny. There are always going to be external factors. Whatever they may be, negative people, tough circumstances, maybe a lack of resources. They'll be there. But they cannot dictate your happiness or your success unless you let them.

Yeah, they may cause you to alter your approach. You might have to make adjustments. make adjustments. That's good. That's how we develop. That's how we improve. But no one and nothing writes your story but you. Your attitude, your emotions, they directly coincide with how you see the world. So anytime you feel discouraged, negative, envious, anything that's not positive, just stop. Don't waste your time with thoughts that aren't bringing you closer to your goal. There's just no value in it. Tony Robbins says this beautifully.

He says you have to be the guardian of your own mind. Allow in only what will help you. Because God knows the world will crush you if you let it. So take the wheel. What you need to do tomorrow when you wake up is look at yourself hard in the mirror. Make a conscious decision to feed the good wolf. You'll be amazed at how far it will take you.

I'll never forget. Listening to Jim Rohn, was taking a walk in the middle of the day. I needed to get out, decompress, rethink, re-aline. And this message came through my headphones. He said, we must all suffer from one of two pains. The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. And I needed that.

I needed that because sometimes we forget why. In the midst of the day-to-day, the trials and tribulations of life, we forget why we endure. And there's a strange dichotomy that exists. Because you know, you can't measure discomfort that hasn't arrived yet. You can identify regret that hasn't materialized. Yet in a way, you have to. You have to somehow make that tangible. You have to know that sacrifices of today deliver you from the anguish of I wish, or if only,

or maybe I could have. I've heard it said that humans' ability to delay gratification is what makes us so unique, incredible even. But that doesn't mean it comes easy. So as I walked, I became reacquainted with the trust that I had in myself in the future and the steps I was taking. It wasn't that I'd reached some grand finale, but that I gave myself permission to stop constantly expecting one. Worrying when things didn't go as planned. feeling disgusted with myself when I fell short.

This is, after all, part of a process. And if one stays the course, builds a foundation of discipline to guide them towards what they believe in, things will evolve. We feel uncertain because new things don't have a precedent, at least not a personal one.

And that feeling of, I wish I knew, or had some personal. It's real, it's common. But if minimizing regret is what means the most, then it also means that we must have the discipline to walk steadfast into the unpredictability of tomorrow. A long-term, sustained discipline.

And one of my favorite interviews, Brani Ware, who wrote the top five regrets of the dying, was talking about surrender and how she mentioned in her book, Letting Go. And I asked her, can you explain that? What's the angle? Because the way I look at life, there's always something you can do. You can always improve your situation somehow. And she basically said, it's not about what you can control, what you can do. It's about putting yourself in position to live the,

life you want to live and then letting go of that which you cannot control. It's about not worrying over external forces as you walk your path because all you can do in life is walk your path. And that became the marker or the question, am I walking my path? Right? Now look at it like this. First, a vision gives you direction. It keeps you excited, injects meaning into life.

Second, discipline keeps you moving. Becomes the tiny steps that transport you through your pursuit of meaning. And third, trust in the process. That you are here to give everything you have to give, and then the rest, as Bruni says, must be surrendered. But the reason I bring this up is because all of it fits together like a puzzle, like three pillars of a parthenon. And when people reach out to me all the time, they're upset that they're not as disciplined as they'd like to be. And they're listening to the speeches, they're watching the videos, they're absorbing the content, trying to improve.

But nothing seems to get the engine going. get the engine going and I'm wondering what is your North Star? What are you aiming for? Because as far as I'm concerned, it's impossible to be disciplined if you don't have a reason. You know, when Jim Rhone states that the pain is in ounces now, well, there's an implicit compared to what being asked, right? Compared to that top of the mountain that you'd presumably miss out on. So if the mountain top's not defined, you're on a fool's errand. That's why I had so much trouble with my old career, for example. It's hard to be disciplined.

There's no buy-in on the purpose. Using my previous metaphor, it's little steps, sure, but towards what? If you don't know, it's only practical then to look around and ask yourself, why am I taking them? Why not go drink with my friends? Why not stream this series on Netflix until 4 a.m.? Why not skip the workout? You can listen to people on YouTube, scream at you

to do more and be more and try harder all day, but without that piece, it will not get you very far. A vision, the discipline to pursue it, and a trust in the process. And you could say the same with someone who might have a clear vision, a dream, a perfect idea of what they want, but never take action, right? The discipline never materializes. Makes the endeavor just as meaningless.

Things don't change until you take that big picture, that vision, and you break it down into little things you can do every day. That's it. And isn't that amazing? The greatest, most influential people from the friends and family that inspire us to the greatest athletes,

and entertainers, to our greatest thinkers, creators, world leaders. All they do is a handful of things consistently every day in the direction of something that is meaningful to them. A process that has been talked about since the beginning of time. The compound effect, as Darren Hardy calls it. That breakthrough was huge for me. The realization that I don't need to leap any mountain. I just need to ascend one tiny rock at a time, and that is not a superhuman ability.

That is a single decision. So here the question isn't can you be more disciplined? Of course you can. The question is, which few things are most meaningful to you? Which will you be focusing on every day so that they expand and inject? value into you in the world. And then, lastly, there is trust, sometimes the most difficult, seeing the unseen, maintaining confidence in that which is unknown. An incredibly challenging expectation in an instantaneous world, a world where things are immediate, feedback is immediate.

Messages are sent across the planet instantaneously. Goods and services arrive within hours. We have forgotten patience because it is disintegrating before our very eyes. We are a society of now, but the best things in life they take time. They require that we hold up our end of the bargain and that we trust. trust life will fall into place. Belief in a process that will come to mean more than anything that arrives in 30 seconds ever could. A vision, the discipline to pursue it, and a trust in the process.

So perhaps you're overdue for your midday walk, your little excursion into the soul, to ask yourself, what is it you are moving towards? Why are you doing what you're doing? Does it mean something? And if not, perhaps some adjustment is in order. Perhaps you've lost sight of that North Star that lights up our lives and illuminates the way. Take solace in the fact that life is not as serious as we make it out to be. We don't live in a world of right and wrong, good and bad, yes and no.

But a continuum, an opportunity to seek out and find the beautiful ups and the meaningful downs to set our sights on the horizons that matter. See, when the little things feel too complex or burdensome, it's because the big things are misaligned. And that is a powerful idea to grasp. It's never that life is too difficult. It's that we have closed our eyes. So don't be fooled by those selling you reality as some problem,

some obligation that must be dealt with. No, today is the greatest gift of your lifetime. And the same will be true every day moving forward. And to echo Jim Rhone, absolutely it is a gift comprised of sacrifice. discomfort along the way, but that's a small price to pay for entry to the show, for the ability to embrace the mystery and embark upon the adventure when you're pointed to the right North Star, while the road, it feels less treacherous on your feet, the hills less strenuous on your legs, what we often deem to be a lack of

preparedness, ability, strength, well, might just be a lack of alignment. So adjust. Because this world, flexible and limitless, invites you to do just that. It invites you to explore until you've uncovered your vision. To pursue it like nothing else matters. To sidestep the obstacles, invert the setbacks, And lastly, to find hope when there appears to be none. To set your sails, walk your path, run your race and surrender to that which is beyond your control.

And you'll find that with a vision, with discipline, with trust in the process, there is no situation or circumstance outside the scope of what's possible. Einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. There's a distinct difference between today and tomorrow, the real and the so-called imagined. One has already been created, and the other is in desperate need of a creator. And see, until we learn that we can be proactive in this regard, imagination doesn't mean much. It's just a car without wheels. Plain without wings, it's more of an

escape than a bridge to something better. But once we realize how much control we have over tomorrow, we become, in our own right, creators. Not just we, we will be able to reading to read and react to stories already written and handed down to us, but possessing this incredible ability to pick up a pen and craft something new. Become agents of change. I recently came across an interesting article. Had some info that made me think. Basically it said if you take some domesticated animals like pigs or chickens and you place

them back into the wild, some of their previously repressed biological tendencies come right back into play. So, for example, chickens change their breathing habits, how they take care of their eggs, pigs regrow their hair and that mane going down their back, and these old repressed kind of hidden away genes are reselected for again over time. And the animals begin to reacclimate, as though that's. potential was never lost. It just needed to immerse itself in the right environment. And it's like, well, if we view ourselves in that same light, now we might ask,

what if we positioned ourselves to gravitate towards an environment that was best for us? What if I imagined a world? Not exactly like today, but one better conducive to me being me. a world where I'm set up to thrive. Where sure there will be bumps and bruises and losses and lessons along the way, but where I'm immersed in a journey towards a destination that excites me, that lights me up, can I find the courage to not only imagine that finish line, but also act accordingly, move towards it.

You know, I always say the hardest thing to do is to recreate outcomes that look different, from the current moment. Because while the current moment is all we know, it's all anybody knows. And by the way, it's all anybody wants to know, until something new is placed right in front of them at their feet, until proof exists.

Changing your life or the lives of those around you means you have to literally look at the road before you and see outcomes that are not there. Then you have to believe in those outcomes. You have to drive towards those outcomes. Have conviction in your ability to overcome obstacles on your way to those outcomes. Truth be told, chasing your imagination is simultaneously one of the greatest burdens one can endure, as well as a key to that which makes life worth living.

There's something about being human that pushes us. towards hope, towards the possibility of a tomorrow better than today. And that's not to say, don't be grateful. It's not saying don't see the beauty around you or appreciate the world you live in. But I believe we're here to take that torch from yesterday and move it one step forward. Maybe it's in our own lives. A small step forward in our careers, a relationship. or our health.

Maybe it's improving the lives of those around us, family friends. Maybe it's something larger. Societal. Whatever it is, I'm convinced that true meaning in life is finding the courage to push one foot further down the path of possibility. To add one step to that ascending staircase,

knowing that it will allow us to someday look back today and be proud of what we faced and overcame. And as I wake up and I look around, I think to myself, that has to mean cherishing the ideas in our heads. It has to mean we understand the power of our instincts, of our beliefs, of hope. It means understanding that it justifies all the hardship that comes with taking those ideas and giving them life. Because everything around us was built with the courage to take little nothings and make them something. And when we're lost or feel alone or for one reason or another forget that,

we need to remember that right now is not forever, it can't be. It's a stepping stone to whatever you decide tomorrow is. And that goal isn't perfection. You don't need all the answers. You need the courage to take one little step in a new direction, to write just one sentence on a brand new page. Because that imagination is not fiction. It's not the delta between the possible or impossible. It's not there to entertain.

It's there because it's your map. And you may look at that map and think to yourself your loss. that it's unclear that the directions, well, they're incomplete at best. But what I can promise you is the pursuit of this world you've imagined. It will bring you greater satisfaction than anything else could. It will remind you why you're here and show you that life isn't supposed to be easy while helping you appreciate it for being that way. See, your imagination is your path to that ideal state.

where you can thrive, be you, push your boundaries and spread your wings, don't ever let the current state of today convince you that your hopes and your dreams for tomorrow are too big, that you've missed the mark or stepped out of the line. In a world of reaction, be one of the few who looks in the mirror and decides to live life proactively, take initiative. Be one of the few who stands whole. wholeheartedly behind that world they've imagined. Sometimes success is merely hanging on when others would let go. Not doing anything spectacular or out of the ordinary. Not leaping a mile or jumping over a mountain,

but simply carrying on. Thomas Edison has a famous quote that's really stuck with me over the years. He says many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up, right? How close they were to the finish line when they turned their back and said it wasn't worth it. It's really an interesting thing to grasp. Success is seeing what others can't. It's believing when others don't. It's taking the abstract, those visions, those pictures in your head, the make-believe in finding the courage to make them real. Bring them to life.

It's this constantly evolving process, and it grows a little bit every single day. Sometimes we feel that progress. We feel the momentum. We do something big, and it's exciting. And sometimes the progress feels small. And then there are times when we get knocked down and we don't see it at all. We feel like because we weren't validated that we lost, that we failed, that it wasn't enough. We forget that's part of the process, that progress is a journey.

And it goes when you go, and it stops when you stop. Just like that famous Dalai Lama quote, right? The only way to fail is to quit, period. No one ever stops because they can't. They stop because they decide to. They stop because they see that huge mountain and they think that's impossible. They forget it's only made of little rocks.

They stop because they get so disheartened by the distance of the finish line that they forget it only takes a collection of little steps to get there. You don't have to leap, the entire distance. You know, I've been there. This is me speaking from experience. It took me years to figure it out. And even now, life is rapidly evolving. I've poured my heart into things that, let's be honest, no one cared about. I've invested in opportunities that fell apart right in front of me. And each time it felt like the end of the world. I've been lost. I've been

unsure. Gotten up after things didn't go as planned and it felt like a loser. I had to look myself in the mirror and pick myself back up off the floor. But there's one thing that I kept doing that I never thought twice about. And that's continuing on. Whether life lifted me up or it beat me down. My plan for tomorrow was always the same. Get up and try again. Keep going. And as I sat down this morning with my pen and a piece of paper, I thought, what's the one thing I would want to be told if I started out again? What's the one thing that people need to hear most? And it's to simply keep going. Keep taking... Because one day the world will start to make sense. And you'll look around and you will be thankful for one thing. that when most would have stopped, you didn't. When the world said no, you said yes. There is nothing so powerful as a soul that refuses to back down. See, persistence is not an important thing or an essential thing. It's everything. So live as to see, not what can be lost, but what will be.

game. Find that light in darkness, even if it's a flicker, even if it's a spark. See, every loss makes you a little tougher and every instant of sadness uncover something beautiful. Every moment of fear teaches you to be a little braver. Every broken heart opens the door to a new connection. Instead of doubting yourself, feeling inadequate, and like, life's darkest moments, know that you need what you are going through. You are uncovering the little victories hidden in plain view, so when the world feels like too much and your patience is thin, be stronger than that voice in your head begging you to think small. Stand on every experience, the good and the bad, let it elevate you to a beautiful to

tomorrow. From this view, the sun is rising, perfect, just like the day before it. I see people coming and going, making their way into the world. I see the steam rising up from my coffee cup, disappearing into a sky much bigger than me. I see ticking clocks. I hear time's impatient song. song. An orchestra of chirping birds and crashing waves, I hear people comparing and contrasting as they make their way into the world. I hear the sound of my computer turning on. Each key, a tiny rocket ship, making my thoughts

tangible and taking them to galaxies undiscovered, I hear ticking clocks. I feel the tiny rocket ship. I feel times tough love, the coolness of the breeze against my skin. I feel people's uncertainty and their hope as they make their way into the world. I feel the paper between my fingers as I turn the page, converting stories to weapons tucked away for a future battle. I feel ticking clocks. is war, time is a mercenary. Working for you when properly compensated or against you when neglected. And the way I see it, there are two approaches to any predicament. Add your solution or subtract. Your problem. An invigorated soul has withdrawn. Detached from all that does not empower, walked away from everyone's standards and expectations but their own.

See, ticking clocks are individualized symphonies. They blend into the background and become the cadence to your triumphant march. When you have immersed yourself and that what you love, time is your heart beat. And when you have not, it's a subtle warning sign. Whispering of roads untravelled and gifts unopened. gifts unopened, singing reminders that you must realign, that time can't be stockpiled or saved, it's loyal to no person.

When you find yourself fighting to remember how precious the moment or beautiful the day, it's not a lack of time, but a lack of direction. You're fighting an enemy that would become an ally for the small price of passion and clarity. That's the North Star to be followed. Beauty, beauty is seeing ticking clocks. Not as a dwindling resource, but as a flowing river. And happiness is hearing ticking clocks. Not as a finite melody, but as the breeze that you are back as you float downstream.

And perfection, perfection is feeling ticking clocks. Not as an obligation or imposition, but as a once and a lifetime journey. A metronome for you to compose your masterpiece. Give a pulse to that which hides away in your soul waiting to emerge. It is anything and everything seeking your direction. One second, one thought, one breath at a time. There's a quote attributed to Seneca that states, No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity.

for he is not permitted to prove himself. Meaning it's in pursuing the difficult thing that we obtain meaning. Recognition that we prove ourselves. But prove ourselves to whom? This is the same Seneca who famously stated that we suffer more in imagination than we do in reality. That he is most powerful who has power over himself. And that's one of the beautiful things about stoicism. It makes us ask a very simple but often overlooked question,

who's really the adversary here? Who's the opposition we're dealing with as we fight our battles? What is it that must be transformed? Is it the outside world? Or the way our eyes view the outside world? What's really holding us back? The circumstances or our own personal thoughts about the circumstances. And I think this is where we misunderstand the challenges before us.

I want to delve into this power of perspective to explain that we are the gatekeepers between ourselves and our ideal lives. And very often we do a good job of ensuring that gate stays closed. We sabotage our own goals, our own dreams, our own happiness, while simultaneously pointing the finger at a million externalities. See, when we look at the difficulties of life, and there's no doubt that life can be a very difficult thing, it's easy to look at the world as this binary playing field, right? Me versus the world. And in fact, we often visualize the world as the enemy.

pushing back against us, as if its motives were counter to ours. So many of these narratives, these stories, they actually say nothing about the outside world. I mean, we look deeper. It becomes apparent that they actually say a whole lot more about us. It's the one viewing that gets to decipher what the circumstance means. And so all narratives are reflection. are reflections of the observers. Jim Rohn used to tell a story about two brothers

who had an alcoholic father. He'd come home drunk, he'd abuse his sons. They had a terrible childhood. And as they each grew up and had families of their own, their paths kind of diverged. One became abusive, and the other was kind and loving and caring. And when confronted, the now abuse, brother stated, well, look, how can you blame me? Don't you see how I was raised? But the kind,

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

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

Eliminated the negativity, it's his first instinct. He's the metaphorical kid hopping around in puddles, whistling at the top of his lungs, while everyone else is hiding out from the rain, or at least trying to find the courage to run out onto the street with. Then there are people who seem to always find the negative. It doesn't really matter what this situation is. Happiness is fleeting, only to reveal the negativity that never seems to go away, right?

The kind of person that if they won the lottery, their first thought might be, oh no, but what if I lose it all? Both examples are people projecting themselves onto the world around. the same way that smoke covers and consumes an entire room it's not the room that's the culprit here's another example from Jim Rohn since we're on a Jim Rohn kick he's making a similar point and this is all from a collection of speeches he has on Audible comparing humans to oranges which is probably not a comparison you've made recently but he said there's consistency to an

orange and that it can be filled with one thing. When you squeeze an orange, orange juice is coming out. Period. It will never be apple juice or grape food juice. It will only emit what it has inside, which is orange juice. And while here's the connection. When life pressures us, challenges us, or metaphorically squeezes us, we only emit the emotions that are contained and available.

that are alive and well within us. If there is no jealousy contained in our thinking, we're not going to project jealousy out into the world. If there is no hatred within us, we will not project hatred onto others. Why is that powerful? It's powerful. Because, again, it's one of the most important things you can do. Certainly one of the most important things I've learned to do

is take that finger pointing blame at the outside world, slowly turn it around and point it back at myself. And ask, what thoughts, what emotions, what ideas am I letting live inside my head that's altering the narrative, the story I'm telling about myself and the world that I live in? And while one might think, well, that's uncomfortable, that's unfair, a little extreme, why should I point at myself? It's not my fault.

I would challenge you, at least for the sake of the next few minutes, to see such a change as empowering, as your advantage, as the bridge from where you are to where you want to be. See, if you always have feelings of, let's say, jealousy around a particular person, that feeling in your stomach like, oh, they have it all, they're ahead. They live how I want to live. They're this and that, and I kind of hate them for it. naively giving the external world the power you're saying I feel the way I do because of that out there some cosmic injustice you are powerless because you're

neglecting your personal agency as a factor but when you turn that finger around and say I only feel this way because I'm allowing myself to then you can ask the question so many never think to ask Why? Why do I feel this way? Which lights a path to how can I fix it? See, the key to a better life is realizing you don't have to be in the passenger seat pointing at and blaming the driver, complaining about the road being taken. No, you can get into the driver's seat.

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

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

See, the two brothers, I mentioned a few moments earlier, same landscape. Different navigational tactics. different view of what it all meant. One took the wheel and one did not. So that's Seneca quote that states no man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself. Well it's perfectly clear as far as I'm concerned the question is not whether or not to face adversity. I think we all understand that. What I hope we take from today is a better understanding of what the true adversity is. A better understanding of the fact that in front of us there is always an answer, a key to every lock.

Some people just don't think to look. They're so busy peering around every corner for external enemies and scapegoats that they don't give themselves permission to succeed. Maybe unfortunate, but it's true. You can hit the bullseye over and over again. But if it's the wrong target, it won't do much for you. You might as well have missed by 50 feet. And I think that is what we overlook. You can't always fix the outside world.

You can't change the unchangeable, but you can always change yourself. You can always fix you. As Tolstoy said, everyone wants to change the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. You're capable of being both your greatest adversary and ally. So choose wisely. Because the world around you will do nothing more than respond accordingly to your decision.