Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - letter to my younger self (a motivational speech about life)

Episode Date: April 21, 2025

In this episode, I write a letter to my younger self, discussing insights and ideas to help a younger me navigate life...More from Eddie Pinero:Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletterYour World Within Podcast: https://yourworldwithin.libsyn.com/Stream these tracks on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2BLf6pBInstagram - @your_world_within and @IamEddiePineroTikTok - your_world_withinFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/YourworldwithinTwitter - https://www.twitter.com/IamEddiePineroBusiness Inquiries - http://www.yourworldwithin.com/contact#liveinspired #yourworldwithin #motivation

Dear younger me, it's been a while. And over the course of these last seven years, there's been highs, there's been lows, there's been ups and downs, there's been moments of happiness and contentment and pure bliss, there's also been periods of loneliness and confusion and despair. Life is a roller coaster ride.

But this ride teaches you something, teaches you lessons that in my mind, They make up the difference between existing and truly living, between giving some of yourself to the world and giving all of yourself to the world. And so, Younger Me, what I want to do is share a few lessons that I've picked up since the last time we talk that I think you need. I think can be the difference in your journey. If you implement them, they will matter. They will differentiate you.

So take a breath, sit down, and listen to this letter. addressed to you. First things first is believe in yourself. And I know, I know it's easier said than done. But younger me, it is everything. Because here's the deal. Sometimes life feels like this, like chaos. It doesn't quite make sense. You have a vision of something beautiful and meaningful and worthwhile, but you look to your left and you look to your right and you see nothing but chaos. And that's hard. There's no one that's going to tell you that you're on track. There's no one that's going to put their arm around you and tell you your dream is real and it's amazing and it's happening. There's no one that will be able to see it the way you can. And that's a lot of weight.

But younger me, I need you to remember. Nothing makes sense until it's real and nothing becomes real until you build it. That means every step through the chaos and the destruction and the turbulence, it matters. It's building. It's accruing. You're bringing it to life.

And someday those very same people who told you it didn't make sense, we'll get it. And they'll come up to you, and they'll thank you for your dedication and your effort. And they'll ask you, hey, show me, how can I build something like this? And you'll smile and say, well, it starts with standing,

in a broken house, in a construction zone. It starts with pouring yourself into something that looks so broken, it's laughable from the outside. Younger me, if you have that kind of conviction and that kind of self-belief, there's nothing you can't do. Younger me, second thing I want to tell you is that life is messy. If you take flight, that means there will be crash landings. There will be turbulence.

There will be times where things feel shaky, but younger me, that's the name of the game. I used to think there were people out there and they had the answers and they had it right and they knew what they were doing. As time went by younger me, I learned a few things. First, absolutely no one on earth has any idea, what they're doing. And number two, there is no right way to do anything. And you might hear that and be overwhelmed. No, younger me. That's the magic. Life is not about following a formula or passing a test. It's about pushing yourself off into the world and making something of it. It's exploring. It's being a child walking around a living room and using the instruments in your

proximity to bang things, to make noises, to express yourself, to create beauty. There is no right way. And you'll be tempted, younger me. You'll look around and you'll see someone who did something and think, well, I need to be like that. You'll see someone who succeeded at X, Y, and Z and think, well, I need to follow their blueprint. Younger me, that is the path to be a B version of somebody else. To be yourself, you have to treat the world like it is a canvas. And you are a painter about to paint the most beautiful thing imaginable. I'm asking younger me that you be one of the people with the courage to pick up the brush and paint, to try things, to go into a world that is unknown and uncertain and scary and push boundaries because you'll fall, but when

you get back up and you shake off your hands and brush off your knees, you'll find magic that would otherwise have gone untapped. I know it can hurt. And I know it can be stressful, and I know it can be overwhelming. But that's not a bug, younger me. That's a feature. That's what it's all about. Ride that uncertainty to something meaningful. Next, we have enjoyed the present moment.

We're future-oriented. And that can be good. It's good to be ambitious. It's good to want things. It's good to push yourself into difficult situations, to grow. But younger me, all we'll have ever is the present moment. In fact, I heard a quote recently

where someone said, you could spend the next 20 years accumulating wealth, millions, dedicate your entire self to creating this world where you have everything you've ever wanted. But at the end of 20 years, you will absolutely no doubt give it all back to be where you are now.

There's nothing more precious than time. younger me and it's easy to never look around to never look at the ground at your feet there's beauty in the mundane things the things we take for granted the things we don't understand their value until they leave our lives their absence lets us know that hey that did mean something to me and younger me what I'm proposing is that you find gratitude and appreciation for those things before they're gone that you really cherish them while they're here. Because younger me, if you're always looking ahead, there will always be a hole in your heart.

If you're always looking ahead, fulfillment will be nothing more than a mirage. So younger me, smile and enjoy this ride. Younger me, this one's controversial. I've ebbed back and forth. You know, to and fro here, but this matters, younger me. Follow your passion. And I'll tell you what, there's a contrarian argument that says,

don't worry about your passion. Do what you're good at. Become skilled in something and learn to love it. And I get it. I understand it. Pragmatically, that makes sense. But Younger me, if you want to create from the heart, it's a little bit different.

And I'm a believer, Younger Me, that the things that change the world do come from the heart. There's a sense of curiosity and purpose and excitement. The reason that matters is because doing hard things rocks you to your core. It can break you. It tears you down. And you have to repeatedly build yourself back up. And Younger Me, if there's no love there, if there's no passion there, what's the incentive?

Younger me, I think you can change the world. That's not semantics. It's not conjecture. I believe that you can, which means, younger me, you better care about the path that you're walking. It means when you move into the storm, you better believe in that sun on the other side. Otherwise, younger me, the off-ramps become too appealing.

It becomes too easy to want to turn around to take shelter, to go in and wait until the rain stops. Younger me, I think your mission is different. I think what you're about to do means more. So younger me, they might laugh and scoff at the idea that passion runs the world, but I think the things that matter are born from passion. Younger me, if you don't know this by now,

I'm going to reiterate for you. Fear. Fear. That thing that stops us dead in our tracks, When our hands shake younger me, it's easy to see that as a stop sign, as something wrong. But I want to remind you

that that friction is what separates where you currently are from where you can be. Everything of value came through fear of being unknown and unsure. Every feeling of bliss was separated by a wall of uncertainty, of what ifs, of hey, this could go wrong. This could be terrible for me.

This could be the worst decision I've ever made. And theoretically, Younger Me, that's not wrong. But what if everything went right? Younger me, I need you to remember that. I need you to ask yourself that question. What if everything worked out? What if it went exactly how you wanted it to go? You can play defense your whole life.

You can live scared. you can run away from the worst case or you can step into something and chase the best case. A lot of people don't follow through on what they can be. Not because the world chained them down, younger me, but because they chained themselves down. They took themselves out of a game

with one second on the clock down by one. Not you. Younger me, when you're afraid, understand it, feel it, embrace it, but just know that it's not going to keep you where you are. It's something you're going to have to smile as you walk past and move on to better things. Younger me, this one's simple. But again, we come to this rule. The simple things are not the easy things.

Here's the deal, Younger me, you can always aim higher than where you're aiming. always there's an old rule in special operations that says when you think you're done you're only at 40% capacity younger me i heard that and i applied it to every aspect of life we stop long before we are done so younger me aim high there's a quote by thoreau he says if you've built your castles in the air good your work need not be lost Now put the foundations under them. Younger me, the ones who aim high, the ones who dream big, at least give themselves a chance. You can always do more.

You can always be more. And yeah, enjoy yourself. Love the process. Have fun on the ride. But inject meaning into it. A lot of people stop short. Again, younger me, don't be a lot of people. Point at the mountain top.

Number seven, younger me, don't hold on too long. There are people in our lives that don't serve us, that don't make our world better. They don't add, they take away. And younger me, it's okay to respectfully put up boundaries and let those people go. It doesn't even mean that they're awful people. It doesn't mean that in some way they didn't add value because every encounter and interaction technically does. But Younger Me, it's as simple as some people

are not forever people. And the sooner you understand that, the freer you are. The weights leave your ankles. The same way, Younger Me, that just because you've always done something doesn't mean you have to do it. Just because something's been in your life or a part of who you are since you can remember, it doesn't need to stay there.

Freeing yourself from the things that are not conducive to where you're going, Younger Me, means so much more than what you can pick up in a choir. Most of the time our struggles come from, not lack. They come from carrying around things that we don't need. And so Younger Me, this is a call for, you to have the courage, to when you look to your left and look to your right and see things that don't fit in the picture, that don't lift you up or push you forward, to smile, appreciate

the existence of what's around you, but to let it go. Younger me, for the finale, I'm going to leave you with a big one. It might not be what you think. It's not raw, raw. It's not go. Go get them. It's not step up, son. Younger me, it's be patient with yourself. Understand that to demand perfection is a fool's errand. Because life is an experiment. And to experiment requires risk. It's trial and error. It's a game of making mistakes so that you're that you can learn from mistakes. If you're scared to fail and break things, you'll never get that experience and that progress.

You'll never get the instruments or the pieces required to build that which is meaningful. Younger me, every single one of these lessons that I'm explaining to you, every single one of these points I've had to learn in different contexts over and over again. And guess what? As soon as I put down this mic and I go about my life,

I'll have to learn them again and again. Because the world changes around us. We adapt. We grow with it. Younger me, give yourself the grace to move with that current. To not be broken when things are hard or challenging, but to understand that you're doing the best you can. Understand that you're the type of person who tries things,

therefore falls, but always gets back up. Love yourself enough, Younger Me, to give you that gift. If you're not patient with yourself, if you don't protect yourself, if you don't love yourself, no one else is going to do it for you. So Younger Me, I hope you remember the turbulence is not the end of the world. In fact, statistically, no plane has ever crashed due to turbulence. It is the nature of flight, and you can endure. You will endure.

Our grandfather said when we were younger, you are always stronger than you think you are. Life may be great. It may be difficult. You may be in that valley in between. Wherever you are, understand that, one, you belong where you are, and two, you're strong enough to endure. If you remember those things,

younger me. The sky is the limit. And we meet again seven years from now. You'll see. You'll understand. You'll get it. We'll be in a different place. Different thoughts, different ideas to share. Maybe the same ideas in different contexts, but we'll have done so knowing that we lived authentically with our heart and we did everything we could to step into the world with courage.