Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - LION MENTALITY | Powerful Motivational Speeches Compilation

Episode Date: October 13, 2021

"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional." - Roger Crawford

There's an African proverb states every morning a gazelle wakes up and knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up and knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you'd better be running. Because stagnation is losing. Because wishing is a sealed fate. Because immobility is regret. As David Goggin says, you are either getting better or you are getting worse.

And in a world comprised of no full, finish lines that really simplifies the picture, doesn't it? Because this has nothing to do with yesterday. For the self-defeating stories you used to tell yourself, it's about what reality can become. And the best news you'll ever hear is that the steps that brought you to right now, they are not the same steps that will carry you forward.

carry you forward. Every single sunrise is a chance to chase down that which sets your soul on fire. Lion or gazelle, day or night, it is never too late to become what you have never been, to rewrite your story. Not for the doubters or the naysayers, but for you. See, they'll never They'll never understand that your progress is your happiness, why you'd endure the depths of hell twice to be five seconds faster, a little better, to build a little higher. It's not nuance. It is survival, woven into your DNA, and just as much a part of you as the heart in your chest. See, today is a currency. most valuable entity you possess.

Clay where dreams are molded, light that turns unknowns into outcomes, impossibles into stepping stones. It's why each step is so precious. Because each one is a bridge to a part of you yet to be explored. See, Nietzsche said it best, one must still have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing Star, it is why we build these metaphorical arenas. Because without them, there are no dragons to slay. There are no mountains to climb or armies to conquer. It is from chaos that order is born. Every crack of the sword brings understanding. When the sun comes up, there is no wishing for a better

world, there is creating in yourself the one who will make it better, the one who will lead, himself and others who will find amidst the horizon the existence of a world within. How do you visualize the road you're on with its twists and turns, smooth terrain, rough off terrain, straightaways, hills, what is it all mean? Do you find it odd that it gets more challenging as you get closer to your destination? The further along you get, the more tension life puts between you and the finish line. Almost like the universe is adamant about weeding out those who think they can skate by. What is the difference between saying you want it and really wanting it?

Perhaps it's a willingness to fight through a storm just for the opportunity to find calm and serenity in its center. This morning, as the sun was coming up, I went for a run. A nice five-mile run down the coast, and the way I planned it out was simple. 2.5 or halfway up in soft sand, and then I'd stop, and I'd turn around, and I'd run 2.5 back, but on the harder surface. easier to handle, almost like a reward for pushing myself on the way up. And things were going perfectly. I made the 2.5 mile run up. And when it came to stop and turn around,

I realized what should have been obvious from the beginning was high tide. Which means I didn't get that hard surface to run back on. Instead, not only was it softer than the way up, but I was running on a slope. And that just threw my mind for a loop, right? I'm embarrassed to admit, I was actually angry. You know, I pushed myself hard going up and wanted that breather. Almost felt like life pushed the finish line back 2.5 miles. And then trust me, as I'm writing this, it seems ridiculous to talk about.

But in the moment, just irrationally annoyed. That was the carrot that had been chasing the whole time. So I begrudgingly, you know, moved forward, kind of trying to figure out what to do, and ultimately just continued forward. and you know the the emotion subsided and as usually happens you pull yourself out of the weeds a little bit the big picture tells a different story different story means different perspective and that's what I came across right this idea or this question well why do we expect life to be flat ground why was that my assumption to begin with the easy to navigate path why is that the standard

And the more I thought about it, right, the more I wondered if that's the very reason why we underperform. It's the little spark that ultimately lights this wildfire of regret. Because when convenience is the standard, everything else becomes unfair, everything else is a burden. When the road should be flat, what are we to make of the hills in our path? Thinking life should be easy, it provides oxygen to a victim mentality. And sometimes it takes these little experiences for me to refocus on these subtle realities. The flat ground is not the standard, it is earned. It's a gift.

It should be cherished and appreciated because guess what? Life wasn't easy. It isn't easy and it never will be. But I believe the differentiator is knowing that. So I kept running on the slope, feet sinking into the sand. I got my teeth kicked in just a little bit longer and life didn't end. In fact, I think the mental aspect was tougher than the physical. We're only talking five miles here, but when the standard changes, so does the performance.

It's about just moving forward. And like poetry, with about three quarters of a mile left, right? The beach widened. It leveled out, the ground became harder. Each step became easier, and yeah, I was running. But in my head, it felt like I was lying on a bed of feathers. Because when you prepare to base life's demons, when you're ready for battle,

when you anticipate you'll have to give everything. Any adversary that falls short of that feels like wind behind your back. We can endure anything. The question is whether or not we can. put ourselves in position to. Mistakes, they don't define us. Heartbreak, it doesn't kill us. And criticism, it doesn't shape us. But I'll tell you what. The fear that they do stops a lot of people from becoming who they're capable of becoming. Panicking at the slightest sign of discomfort,

moving away from anything but the convenient when in reality inconveniences are the path. As Bryant-Holiday famously put it, the obstacle is the way. See, satisfaction, it doesn't even exist without a will to overcome. What meaning does the finish line have without miles of self-doubt and questions and fear and dragons being slayed while you prove to yourself over and over again that you know what I am more. And I can be more. And the crazy thing is that there's not even a stopping point here. This rocket will propel as high into the ether as you choose to take it.

And look, it's not about running on slight inclines or sinking a few inches into the sand. It's not about being rejected, losing or castigated by seven billion self-interested souls. No. It's about not being scared to take the bridge that connects current to future. Complacency to recreation. The known to the seemingly impossible. You're made of so much more than you give yourself credit for. You are so much stronger than you think you are.

So for yourself and for the world, capture that. Own it. And redefine what it means not to simply exist, but to your core with every ounce of your being, your soul, every fiber in your body to truly live. It was never a runner until one day in grade school, I got running shoes and decided that I was. I never ran a successful business until I saw myself as an accomplished business owner. See, something I've realized through the years is that we are nothing more than the role we are playing. And every day, we are auditioning for a part.

I'll never forget years back listening to some actors doing a Q&A session and a film student asked one of them for some strategies and approaches to getting into character and one of the actors who volunteers to answer he looks down at his feet looks back up and says it all starts with the shoes that we wear

because from the ground up they define how we carry ourselves how we feel They allow us to embody a specific character and sort of move forward taking on that persona. What he had just done must spell out the relationship between identity, the story that we've convinced ourselves we should live by

and the actions that we take. Our lives are defined by the metaphorical shoes we wear. You can only be what you believe, you are and you will never believe it until you own it, live it. Even though you haven't identified as something in the past today is different, the script is new. Just like an actor is not confined to his previous role, why would you be confined to yesterday? That abstract idea we used to to bundle up recent events and make them tangible, just so that they can act like an anchor.

Oh, yesterday, I couldn't complete my workout, so I'm not a runner. Yesterday, I was shy at the conference, so I'm an introvert. Yesterday, I failed my math test. I don't do math. Look, my question is, is that right? Is it you? Or are those simply the shoes that you've chosen

to where, the role you were playing, because it never fails. If that's how you think of yourself, that is positively the result you're going to get. Wanting something better, positive change, greatness, it requires more than wishful thinking. It requires a deliberate shift in mindset, a change in character, becoming something new. Maybe you're a millionaire. Maybe you're a millionaire with no money right now. Maybe you're a millionaire with a hell of a lot to learn, but if you don't believe you are right now at this very moment, you will never be one. People always live up to the image that they have created of themselves, period. How you think of yourself is what you'll get. We are the majority of us playing the same role, the one we played yesterday and the day before and the day

before, but if you could just convince yourself to be something new, to wear the shoes, to sing the song and dance the dance, you'll evolve. You'll walk away from the fiction holding you back, just like the elephant tied to the plastic chair. You are not the problem. It's the shoes on your feet and the way that you think about them. And I suspect that it's time. It's time. for a new role. Of course they don't understand your vision. Of course it means nothing to them. That's how the world works. People need to see results, not ideas. They need to see to believe. In fact, everything you dream of believe in, it needs to be carved into existence. And the important thing worth noting here is that it's not

personal. It's not a reflection of you or your talent or your potential. The differentiator in life will always be one's ability to turn ideas into things. You have that power within yourself. Literally to change the world as we know it, that's not a question. It's not even far-fetched. You're capable. But we need to spend less time feeling like we're owed something for that exhausted energy. The world is a tough place. It rewards value. And sometimes it takes way longer than we like to see a return on that investment. As James Clear mentions, you put an ice cube in a room at zero degrees and you gradually turn up the temperature. You won't see it even begin to transform until you hit the 32 degree mark. That's not when the work begins.

Again, it's not indicative of everything, but that's when the effects of the work become visible. And getting to that point, it's one of life's greatest challenges. It's hard to give everything for something you can't collect when you go to bed at night. It's hard to be that patient. The only way to break through the noise to create something is to fully wholeheartedly believe in yourself. Believe in yourself to the extent that

that you can detach from the criticism. Detach from the facade of perfect lives on social media and the expectations you're immersed in. This isn't a race between you and the world. It's a battle of will between you and the voice that says there is no 32 degree mark. Removing that negativity, it's just as important as focusing on the positive.

Dreams live at that intersection of belief and action. And I've always wondered what people think they're gaining by shouting about how important they are, the things they're doing, or their plans. That does nothing. You need to know what you're doing, and that's all. Words mean nothing. Ideas or empty. Respect is earned by adding actual value. By making a difference.

So reallocate that energy into the gift you are giving to the people around you. That is a feat best. accomplished with your mouth, close, and your eyes open. Every day, every action unnoticed, effort unseen it stacks up to create something that will truly change.