Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - LISTEN TO THIS EVERY DAY | Focus Your Mind

Episode Date: May 19, 2023

"Action is the foundational key to all success" - Pablo Picasso

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. That's from George Patton, General in the United States Army, integral to the Allies victory in World War II. So why? What makes this statement so powerful? Well, it rings true because we have to move beyond the idea that we can manufacture greatness with one swing of the bat. one stroke of the pen. That if we wait for the right moment, perfection will come.

The light will turn green. The stars will align and the path will emerge. I feel like I could scream this from every mountain top and it wouldn't be enough. Life is not a perfection game. Life is an adjustment game. And I'll speak anecdotally here. In my experience, looking over my experience, looking over my shoulder reflecting, you know, those times that I'd clung to perfection, rationalizing my

immobility by saying, hey, you're not ready, this isn't good enough. I'd only have to dig a few layers down to see that my not moving wasn't out of some loyalty to excellence. No, I was standing still because of fear, a fear of going, of starting, a fear of the unknown. Perfection is the biggest It's a con there is. It's a scam. It says, wait here. Your perfect moment will arrive. Hang tight. The right time is coming. No, there are no perfect beginnings. There's merely the courage to move into something new or the regret that will ultimately come from wishing that you did. And sure, a part of it's almost counterintuitive. It's like, why isn't it beneficial to wait. Why would you want to take the leap before you're ready? Here's how I see it. One of the most important distinctions to understand is that between the thinker and the doer.

The thinker who ponderes, who reflects, who studies and studies and studies thinking he or she can create for him or herself a perfect jump-off point, thinking they can obtain for themselves all the necessary information, all the answers before they begin the journey. The truth is greatness is forged through repetition via wheels on the road, and yes, you are terrible at first, completely unsure at first. You get lost at first. But this becomes the knowledge that shapes the journey. When you go before you're ready, two important things happen.

First, after falling down and feeling embarrassed and insecure, you get back up, you look around and you go, wow, okay, I'm still here. That sucked, sure, but it wasn't as bad as my brain told me it would be. Next, you learn from the exchange. You can start doubling down on what works and eliminating what doesn't. And eventually, as you take this confidence and wisdom onto the next step, repeatedly, the curve becomes exponential. In doing, you begin stacking bricks, creating a foundation.

Those experiences that humbled you become what you lean on. They're what turn into the experience, the knowledge, the credibility. And see, thinking you can skip all that ugly stuff by waiting on the ledge for perfection to arrive in your hands, that will be your undoing.

That's just as crazy as a sailboat waiting for the wind to stop. It's like, no, you need that friction, that resistance to reach your destination. And no, we cannot control everything. Yes, there are powers beyond us. But if you go now, you learn to use and navigate them. The greatest gift we can give ourselves is permission to go. It's looking a year ahead and dreaming of the moment. we pause and say, wow, what a year, the twists and turns, the lessons, the highs, the lows, the peak moments all brought me here.

And how different here is from back there. How far I've come. Knowing, by the way, that life was never asking me for perfection, but rather a willingness to start, to dive in, to adapt along the way. I know a lot of people with businesses that exist in their minds, but not in reality. A lot of people in shape when they close their eyes, but not when they look in the mirror. A lot of people living their best lives when talking about the future, but not when they pull up to work on a Monday morning. We shorten the gap between our ideal existence and the present moment by going, by stepping now. even when we can't imagine how the process will unfold. Because let me tell you, life will bend and twist in ways you can't even fathom.

It'll take you places that ignite your soul, show you things you never dreamt of seeing. But you have to put yourself in position to receive that from life. The world wants to help people who help themselves. So give yourself the gift of progress. Of momentum, if a dream is only worth the action one is willing to take to bring it to life, let that action start now. Move beyond the illusion of perfection and towards the opportunity to take the imperfect every single day and transform it into greatness.

Every time your mind says you're not ready, let that be your invitation to step forward. See, life may not be a race, but that doesn't mean time will politely wait for you. We must say goodbye to perfection. As we evolve, as we grow. I can guarantee you it won't be missed.