Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Make 2025 the greatest year of your life | New Year Motivation

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

Starting over is a quiet celebration of life’s endless potential. It’s not about dissatisfaction with the path we’ve walked but about embracing the deep knowing that chapters close so new ones can begin. We are a flicker of light in an infinite galaxy, shaping our story, venturing into the unknown, and finding meaning in each new journey. The ending is not the enemy; it’s the spark that illuminates what’s possible. This episode invites you to cherish the beauty of turning the page, stepping into untold stories and unfulfilled dreams. It’s a reminder that life’s seemingly small moments are often its most profound treasures, and the people and experiences we hold close are what truly matter. Starting anew isn’t an end—it’s the next great adventure waiting to unfold. Monday Motivation Newsletter: https://www.eddiepinero.com/newsletter Free Ebook: www.eddiepinero.com/ebook  YouTube: www.eddiepinero.com/youtube 

There's something incredible about the prospect of starting over. Not because you're unhappy with who you are. Or because each step that brought you here wasn't perfect in its own unique way. But because somewhere deep down, we can feel the infinite. We know that when it comes to what's possible, we are a flicker of light in a galaxy of stars, Waiting to take shape, find our way, to shine out across the very elements from which we came. See, beginning again simply means a new chapter.

It means the next adventure. It's places you've never gone, people you've never met. It's stories untold and dreams still dancing around in your head. There's an old Dr. Seuss quote, I remember as a kid. He said, sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. And turning the page on that chapter is, if nothing else, a temporary reminder that we are in the very moments we'll look back on and smile. It shines a spotlight on the people that mean the most. and reassures us that the small stuff just might be.

After all, life doesn't dwell on the heartbreak or the times we fell. But the times we got back up, the times we looked with confidence at the road ahead and smiled at the horizon. As each fleeting moment is discovered, For the very Here's to breathing in that ocean breathe

Laughing until your stomach hurts Here's to dreaming like there are no rules and living like there's no tomorrow To creating your masterpiece one word one note one brush stroke at a time To dancing when the music isn't playing and sharing your song when it is. Here's to seeing the beauty when most walk right by it. Being light in darkness and a voice in silence. Here's to living life on your terms. Paving your own path and writing your own story. The one where the hero doesn't stop until the princess is saved and the castle is taken. The one where reality is a reflection of imagination.

Because if you do these things, when you look back years from now, you'll have a lot to say. But I promise you, I wish, won't be one of them. Not because of what you were given, but because of what you... 80% of life is simply showing up. Because no matter what you do, and this is such an interesting truth, it's like, no matter how much you love what you do, there are days where you just aren't in it. You just mentally, maybe even physically, you're just not there. And those are the days when it's most important to start.

And the expectation doesn't need to be the world. The expectation doesn't need to be that it's something game-changing revolutionary, but the expectation has to be that you are the kind of person that even when you don't want to, you sit yourself in front of that computer and you just start typing. And maybe nothing comes from it, maybe something does, but you showed up.

You know, when it was most difficult, you showed up. And the interesting thing is that sometimes that situation is exactly when the best stuff comes. You know, believe it or not, when we don't want to be there, we're really using, you know, all the discipline we have left in our body to make it happen.

Great things come. from those moments. You know, it applies to every single thing we do, like all of these concepts. You know, we're all different. We're all, you know, in different worlds, with different narratives, different stories, different priorities. But, you know, that will always be a commonality. There are times when you don't want to do what you most need to do, and the ability to, and actually, I'm going to backstep, like, it is an identity thing. It is seeing yourself as that. you know, the person that makes it happen. The person that finds it within themselves to show up, to be there, to just do something to get the ball rolling.

Let's look at this one simple singular concept. You can always be doing more than you're doing. Whether you're sitting there or whether you are in a world of hurt, going through hell, there is a way to level up. There is a next level. There's something more. There is the next stair in the staircase. And sometimes we just simply need to be reminded that

because the default is comfortable. Even when you push yourself, you push yourself to a level you've never pushed before. Well, guess what? The ceiling becomes the floor. Your new normal, you adapt very quickly. And sometimes you need that whispering in your ear. Hey, you're comfortable.

You can do a little bit more. You can always do a little bit more. There's no rule that says you can't be one second faster. There's no rule that says you can't push a little bit harder. And, you know, that message I keep in my back pocket. Because every time I draw from it, I improve. My life improves. And, you know, if you have aspirations,

which I know everyone listening to this or watching this does, right? That's why we watch this content. That's why I create it. That's why you guys do what you do. We want more. We know what we can get from life. We know that infinite pool of possibility to draw from. So why waste it?

And the more you get that reminder, no matter what you're doing, hey, there's more in you. Period. That will never be a false statement. There is more in you. And I'm really. implementing that right now into the creative aspect of my life. I went from one video every 10 days to one every day. And there's a growing pain and, you know, sometimes it's difficult.

Sometimes it's, you know, it's tough to be able to create at that level. But the reward is through the roof and, you know, the change, it occurs quickly. And I was talking to someone about it and he says, well, that'll be nothing when you're doing three a day. And it's like, that's the way you need to look at the world. There's always more in you, and if you don't remind yourself of that, it just goes untapped. Right? Like, again, I could easily see a situation where I just put out one video a day or one video every 10 days for the rest of my life. I'd never know.

I'd never know what that other door could unlock. So whether it's running, whether it's work, whether it's at home, whether it's a relationship, whether it's something you're building, whether it's something you want to create, whether it's something you want to stop doing. You can always be doing it a little bit better, a little bit faster. And that's what this video is about, and I hope you remember that. I hope this is that whispering in your ear that you need, you know, to remind yourself, hey, you know, I'm operating here at a fraction of what I could be doing.

I'm tiptoeing right now. I could be sprinting. So I want to start with a story about cliff jumping with my friends, maybe four years ago. Now we flew into Las Vegas. Spent some time in Vegas, and then we hit, like, national parks in Utah, and then Arizona went all the way up the coast. When we were in Lake Tahoe at the very end,

there was this spot to cliff jump. This really, really high peak. And, you know, it's notorious, and it was just like a scary thing. And I remember walking up, there were three of us. and two other people were there. It's like you have to hike up to it. It's kind of in the woods a little bit.

One of my buddies walked up and, you know, we thought he was going to jump right off. And he stood there and he looked down. And he looked down for, I don't know how long, a while, you know, ultimately jumped. As far as I knew, I wasn't afraid of stuff like that, right? So I walk out and I look over the edge. And I could not bring myself to jump.

Physically, I couldn't do it. Rationally, I couldn't speak myself or talk myself into it. There was no more rationality going on. It was just I was frozen in fear. And I just remember sitting there and looking down. And, you know, people would come up and ask about it. And they'd be like, you know, can I jump? And I'm like, go ahead, right?

Like it almost got to the point where it was hurting my pride. And I still couldn't jump. And I just stood there, and I stood there, and I stood there. You know, I forget how long it took. I don't really know, and time was probably felt insane in that moment, but eventually I did, and it was incredible, right? It was a forever long drop in just the adrenaline and the excitement, and you realize for a second, that type of thing, that's peak living,

and there's more of that out there in the world, and all of a sudden you want to capture it and obtain it, and you realize what you had been missing. You know, and then my friend came up after me. He stood there for just as long too, right? It's just a very weird thing, and it's hard to explain. There are so many situations that are this peak in our life, this cliff, that we're...

We know we need to jump from. We know the other side is better or we suspect, but we can't bring ourselves to do it. And this all came from a quote I found, from John Green, one of my favorite authors. In his book Paper Towns, it says, It is so hard to leave until you leave. And then it is the easiest goddamn thing in the world.

And that's right on the money. Right? Being on the edge of that cliff, it is terror, sheer terror. It is so hard to make that jump. And then you do, and it's like life opens up. And it's the same thing in this case, right? It's so hard to leave until you do. It's terrifying to uproot, to change, to go somewhere you don't know. But once you do, life opens up.

It's incredible. The other side is beautiful. and it's waiting for you. All of this is coming to a single point, a rule that I used to guide my decision making. And the rule is simple. If you are not content where you are, that is your reason to jump.

Because on that cliff, rationality dissolves. The future is unknown, and it's scary. and how are you going to logically talk yourself into a scary unknown when you're at that point? You can't. It doesn't make sense. And I think that's why so many of us are scared to make that jump. And we ultimately turn back and we concede and go, okay, I'll just stick with what I have.

This isn't great, but it is what it is. I can't bring myself to make that jump. We're all there at some point. I've been there. I've been there with speaking big, big, cliff for me when I first started. Ultimately jumped and put me on a trajectory that changed my life, right? Same thing with making videos. Same thing with my first client. Like all these things, they're terrifying. And in the moment, you can't logically speak through them. So you just have to go.

And it's like, well, how do you logically, you don't? You just go. Because if the present, here's the rule, the present is not making you content. Go. Jump. right never forget that the path the the future is is comprised of a trillion paths and you can bend them and shape them and remake them and sometimes it won't work sometimes it'll you know blow up in your face but again you're still presented with an opportunity to adjust and remake and bend and re-approach and continue forward right the only way to lose is to stay on that cliff for the rest of your life And so if you needed some type of rationality, if you needed some type of reason, I'm hoping that maybe I can give that to you today. If you are not content where you are, jump.

Because somewhere along the way, you'll figure it out. Every time I've jumped, it's changed my life for the better. Maybe not immediately, but ultimately. And as I say, that's what life's all about. So, hey, I hope you got something from this podcast. If you did, please subscribe, rate review. Helps me get it out to the world. And, guys, I appreciate that.

And I will catch you tomorrow. Sitting in my office, dimly lit, head in my hands, disappointed. Mostly in myself for letting the opportunity escape. Because I had it. I could have held on. Instead, I watched it slip away, and in frustration, leaned back in my chair, looked up, noticed a little rectangle of light, subtly bouncing around on the wall. It had made its way from a small gap in the curtains, completely breaking the uniformity of darkness.

its presence, signaling just how much exists outside our periphery during those tough moments. Reminding me how much our darkest days only remain so long as we refuse to let light in and how periods of longing are unavoidable. But whether we lay down because of them or stack and stand. and upon them is up to us. Now I don't know why what we need is hardest to grasp during our times of greatest vulnerability. But I do know that we are capable of standing up,

of lighting a match amidst the shadows of life. I do know we are strong enough to take the curveballs and the complexity and not just exist. with them, but transform them into our stepping stones. So often the endings we didn't think we wanted become the beginning we didn't know we needed. It's not about being perfect. It's about getting up when your soul feels heavy and your body is weak, making your way to the window, opening the curtains,

and letting the light in. And the key to maintaining perspective to never relinquishing your control or composure is to understand that there is value in the seemingly valueless. That when we most want to hang our heads and retreat to a place of sorrow, we must hold on to the fact that somewhere underneath it all is the reason you will not only move on,

but emerge victorious. Rise from the ashes of despair stronger than you ever were. When light turns out the light and shakes your world at the foundation, it isn't to check your progress, but to remind you that you can be the light, you can withstand the rumbling underneath you. That we will never completely mitigate adversity. but we were given perhaps the greatest gift of all,

the power to decide what will become of it. What's the difference between simple and easy? Well, simple is straightforward, uncomplicated. Easy, on the other hand, means achieved without great effort. The difference between those two words is subtle, but essential to understand. One deals with the complexity of an outcome. The other, your will and determination to achieve that outcome. Becoming who you most want to be is simple. But becoming who you most want to be is not easy. Just like walking is simple, yet hiking up a mountain

is not easy. The procedure didn't change the context did. So let's talk about context. Let's talk about this cyclical nature of growth, because it's not that most people can't. It's that most people won't. It's not that most people don't get how. It's that they don't have a strong enough why. The path is laid out before you. You just have to be willing to walk down it.

Will you? Step one, realize there's more. out there. It's not that what you're doing now isn't amazing. It's just that yesterday's act of courage is now today's status quo. What was the spectacular is now the mundane. What was once the ceiling you had to jump to touch is now the floor you walk on. So at the very least, it prompts you to ask, well, what's next? Simple. Not easy. Step two, the acquisition of courage. Yesterday's courage was a fight.

It took a lot out of you, and it's ultimately what got you here. But it dropped you at the curb, it waved goodbye, and went on its merry way, and here you are. You can stay here. A lot of people do. You can reminisce of the glory days, the old path, yesterday's triumphs. Or, you can do that perpetually uncomfortable. exercise of vulnerability. Stepping into tomorrow's unknown, reminding yourself that life's greatest rewards have a hefty

price tag and that price is discomfort. But I've already played this game, one might think. No, what you did was learn the rules. Now it's time to apply them to a new setting and around goes the merry-go-round. It might seem like a replication from the horizontal, but here's the secret. You can't see the vertical. You have yet to look down and see your ascent. See what you're becoming.

Just by staying on, holding tight, just by believing in yourself enough to begin again, you are fanning those tiny flames of courage in your soul that wait to be spread like a wildfire. Simple, but not easy. Step three, mistakes. Now, of course, it's not the mistakes themselves you fear. It's what you think those mistakes will mean. Ridicule, embarrassment, lack of direction or identity, losing what you have, but here's the catch. When you realize the upside is greater than the downside, you liberate yourself.

When you realize there's more to gain than to lose, your potential for greatness is born. How does one act on this? Mistakes. By making mistakes. By injecting yourself into the turbulence of progress. Our biology has not yet learned that the uncomfortable thing is the right thing. And that's why you get resistance. That's why it hurts.

And it's why few people will accomplish what you will. When it comes to your climb, every day is opposite day. When they run out, you're running in. When they play safe, you're running. You play for the victory to become who you might be you must learn how to get there mistakes are your curriculum simple but not easy step four trust yourself Okay sure no problem easy well yeah it's easy when you're getting what you want But evolution takes time and there's nothing quite like giving and giving and giving and not getting

There's nothing quite like stepping up to the plate again and again and again and bringing no runners home. So how does one find the strength to continue walking up to the batters box? Well, growth is exponential, and those swings and misses matter. The infield singles matter. Everything matters because it's all chiseling your future self out of stone. Nothing is dependent on the next at bat as much as all at bats in the aggregate. It's why success is so often considered to be sheer will, dependent not on the home run, but on the discipline, the self-belief, to keep walking up to the plate. Repetition and adjustment. Repetion and adjustment.

Repeat and refine, repeat, refine, those are the materials from which all things are made. Simple, but not easy. And then we have the finale. The ending, step five. Celebrate and adjust. At some point you'll be able to look over your shoulder and notice something that perhaps you hadn't before. Space.

Space between where you are and where you started. It's not sudden but gradual. And undoubtedly, with enough persistence, it will emerge. These moments, they are precious. They are times to acknowledge what you've accomplished, the sacrifices you have made. They are life's way of reminding you what you're. are building and who you are becoming. It's a time of celebration. Every little win means something. Every small victory matters, so relish in it. And then transform it.

Normalize it. Recognize that that mountaintop is your foundation now. Your starting point has changed and so have you. Which means so have your expectations. With an increase in ability comes an upgrade to what's possible. What's expected and look at that. We have arrived at a new step one. Realize there is more. This is the process for capturing that which life has to offer. If you can fall in love with that appreciate it, respect it, while simultaneously understanding it's not scary. It's dependent entirely on your ability to push forward forward. If you can understand that, there is nothing you can't do. Nowhere you can't go. Simple, yes, easy, no. But you're not in this for easy. You're in it for the journey, the growth, the adventure.

You're in it because it's not easy. You'll see in time, as will the world, that this decision to endure was simply the best one you ever made. Every single dream, vision, or idea in your life starts with a simple understanding. That it's obtainable. That you can make it real. That's the beginning of everything. Self-belief is the gatekeeper that stands between current and future. See, if you think of reality as these city walls you're living in,

And it's not crazy to think that there are going to be people that only know that existence within the walls, right? That's what they see, that's what most believe, it's how they live. It is only self-belief, a confidence in something greater outside those walls that opens the gate, that expands your reality. And if you don't believe anything good exists on the other side, why begin? If you don't think you're capable of getting there, why start? And this formula is simple, right?

Let's not overthink it. We only move towards outcomes that we believe to be possible. And that's more important than ability, skill set, strength. I mean, you name it, believing in yourself trumps all that. Because the person with an inferior skill set, maybe an average natural talent, but they believe in something and they move towards it, they give everything for this idea, they know it to be true, will always be the talented person that's unsure, that procrastinates, it has one foot in and one foot out. And if you don't believe in yourself, you're building a city on sand,

because I'll tell you what, great things, they're great for a reason. They're in rare supply, they're limited, which means not everyone can have them. Which means those those who are great for a reason. Those who do have them have to fight for them, have to deal with being uncomfortable, have to give more, sacrifice more, pay a steeper price than the masses. And if you don't look in the mirror, stare yourself in the face and know you are one of those select few, what's going to happen when life kicks back in you? You'll fall. You'll resort back to what you know.

You'll flee the battle for safety, security. and comfort. But when you know your movie ends at the top of the mountain, when you know at the end of the day, you're going to cross a finish line or hold a trophy, your brain internalizes conflict differently, very differently. For someone with self-belief, obstacles don't make you wonder if you should keep going. Because you already know you have to keep going. I mean, come on, you haven't arrived yet. There's still a road to travel. No, in this situation, obstacles simply prompt you to ask how. How can I get through this?

And that's a small discrepancy that changes everything. Because at some point, you'll look to your right and you'll look to your left and you'll find very few people get to the how question. They all stopped at if. I wonder if I can do this. I wonder if I'm capable. Well, they'll never know. They'll never see that sunset beyond those metaphorical city walls because they never truly believed in themselves.

They never opened that gate. Look, I went through 16 years of education without a teacher or professor telling me, Eddie, 99% of life is just believing in yourself to figure challenges out as they come. To figure life out as it comes. That's it. Only X percent make it through law school, only Y percent succeed at this and that.

That's what you hear. But no, none of that matters. It's simple, it's simple, it's simple, most of the world quits when things get challenging. If you don't, if you have the courage to believe in trust in yourself, you'll succeed. Why? Because you won't stop until you find a way. That's the power of self-belief. It's not quantum physics.

It's not complex. You know, at one point, I didn't think I could make a living outside of a cubicle or office building. Then I saw others do it. And for the first time in my life, I believed it was possible. I changed my actions to support my beliefs. And here we are. At one point, I didn't think certain financial goals were reality. I didn't know about a free, flexible lifestyle.

I wasn't aware of the type of relationships that would change my life. Why? Because they existed outside those city walls. I didn't believe they were real. I didn't believe in myself to create them, to make them in my own life. But with the change in belief comes a change in reality. You will always follow through on who you believe you are. So let's go back to that mirror visualization. At some point today, look at your reflection.

and think about nothing but what I'm about to tell you. Everything you need, you have. I promise you. You are equipped to change your life, the lives of everyone around you, and the world in which you exist. So take that back. Feel it and never ask it again.

From now on, the question is how. Your fate is not a coin flip, it's a puzzle. It's about arranging the pieces. And those two eyes looking back at you are more than capable of figuring that out. Ask simply, do you want it? And if yes, open that front door, take that first step and inject yourself into a journey that will be unlike anything you've ever experienced before. A journey where you have the answers, the aptitude, and now the self-belief.

And when you find yourself in the lowest of lows or the darkest of nights, find solace in that fact that that will be more than enough to get you to dawn. I wonder how much of you has materialized. Like if what F. Scott Fitzgerald says is true, and our lives are defined by opportunity, even the ones we miss, then how much remains in the ether? And I don't think it's about playing a game of what if. You know, that would be endless.

It would be self-defeating. No one's perfect. I don't even really think it's about making a right turn instead of a left. Because as long as you're moving and moving with conviction, life ultimately brings you where you need to be. But more, my concern is the steps never brought to people. My ideas on the hatch, my opportunities I either knowingly or unknowingly left on the shelf. because it didn't seem real enough.

Like a Broadway play between my ears that as a spectator I knew would end. After all, that's what stories do. How much of ourselves have we cast aside as simply the things we don't say out loud? At first, it's infinite. We've yet to be taught to limit

because limits aren't things, their ideas, and ideas must be adopted. That's why they say some of life's best things were done by people too ignorant to know they were impossible, too naive of the notion that they couldn't say them out loud. Then it's comparison. They have what I want. But it was meant for them and not me.

How delusional to think I could have it. How crazy to think that life has yet to be written. And I am an author. My date is with normalcy in the box where I keep those things we don't say out loud. And then we look around and we see highlight reels. We see awards and vacations and smiles. but we don't stop to think maybe they're just like me. Maybe they're people who struggle and question themselves and doubt the road ahead.

No, it must be the past diverged. They took happiness and I took those things we don't say out loud. And then there's everyday life when things don't go as planned. When the world presents curveballs and you haven't learned to hit off speed so you feel small and you feel inadequate and ill-equipped and you could reach out, but that's not cool. That's not right. That's something that you don't say out loud.

But we keep it in. all in and eventually becomes the if only's and I wish I had. It's the quiet envy gazing longingly towards those who just cared less, who realized maybe life's not as serious as we make it out to be, who turn thoughts to things, not by burying but by embodying them. And maybe that's the trick to unlock the gate, keeping your perceived reality from the possibility of a new one. The one you could create, if only you promoted your fleeting thoughts to forward progress.

See, dreams can fail to come to in two places in your head and outside of it. But at least outside it has a chance. At least outside, you can take the common, normal, everyday background and make it the backdrop to your movie, where you play a lead role. But it must be accepted and acknowledged, not thought of or even whispered,

but screamed so that the details and the trivialities that exist now work for you. That's right, they are now yours. Not because you thought about it. because you thought about it, but because you reached out a hand and you took. You asked the world for something. And in life, it will always be true

that you don't get what you do not ask for. So when you find yourself staring up a wall comprised of self-defeating narratives and manufactured limits, be ignorant, be irrational, be the reason your dreams have a chance. And when you look around, and you see more and wonder why you don't have it. Know that you can.

You're allowed to. If you sacrifice, you will. But you must believe you are worthy of it. Not in the back of your head where you keep your locker combo and movie quotes, but in reality where words bounce off lips. And when you feel like life is treating you unfairly, like they're happier or have it better, know that life is peaks and valleys,

not just for you but for everyone. in how you internalize that and carry on makes the difference. And when you feel lost or stuck, you are not hopeless, but in progress. Being broken down so that you can be reconstructed, stronger, better. Victory is not in hiding those struggles, but accepting them as the difference, as the reason you created the miraculous. Not because you had dreams. because you said them how loud.

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And me, Lucy. Each week we dive into a bizarre true crime topic, pair that topic with a wine, and get into all the dirty details. Wine and crime is dark, fun, feminist, and perfect for satisfying your one. morbid curiosities with a healthy dose of humor. Join us as we chug wine, chat true crime,

and unleash our worst Minnesotaan accents. Check us out at wine and crimepodcast.com and listen now wherever you get your podcasts. Why chase down the difficult things? It's certainly not being productive for the sake of being productive. It's not for the flex or the trophies. It's because meaning in life. is directly tied to conquering the unconquerable.

Harnessing the outside world. It's about seeing what we can become when we put ourselves in position to grow. The adventure of a lifetime that awaits anyone who chooses to accept. That's why. But it's not a one-and-done affair. That's the thing.

Life has a way of filtering out the timid and the unsure to identify those that really want it. As though it sees us sign that dotted line and asks, is that so? Let me remove that comfort and predictability. See if then it still sounds good. Let me place the value on the other side of the pain. See if you're still enthusiastic about the person. In fact, let me burn the map, dim the lights, add some obstacles along the way, see how giddy you are about all this now, and see the difference between those who make change

and those who dream about change comes down to one simple thing. How do you view the obstacles? Are they a problem? Are they an anomaly? red flag because if they are you've lost before you started but the ones who see adversity as simply the expectation the water that grows the seed the wheel that turns the car the switch that lights up the room well for them it's a little different they have armed themselves with adaptability see life is not smooth

sailing with aberrations in the form of rough waters No, it is a non-stop influx of trials and tribulations. You can't be mentally prepared to evolve if your expectation and your hope is always for calm. No, flip that on its head. The expectation is turbulence. Calm is a rare gift and as it turns out, you were built to endure. So when the waters are rough and the many turn back you, you push forward. Because this is not the world saying no, it's certainly not a referendum on you, it's

the cost of admission. A chance for you to prove yet again that where you place your focus to emerge victorious, if only the world could see, could understand that the challenge isn't the problem, it's the answer. If only everyone knew what you know, that the great tragedy isn't falling down, it's avoiding discomfort in order to preserve what mediocrity. Why do you want this? Because you know it's an option, it's there. You know that if you move forward when you're fearful, push harder when it hurts, find something in yourself when there appears to be nothing left, the game of life becomes one of unending reward, beauty, and prosperity.

For those few, it's simply knowing that you can have the world if you just give yourself permission to take it. Sometimes the most important things we do in our lives are the product of sheer. will. Of taking little nothings that surround us and making something out of them. In other words, the greatest opportunities, often the ones we need most, they simply aren't obvious. They're hidden.

Hidden behind what looks like difficulty, what appears to be hopelessness. The reason I place so much value on a single step forward when we're overwhelmed, or at a low point, is because a single step means you're in the game. You're giving yourself a chance to find and obtain those little hidden away pieces that can't be found when we stand still and dwell on a situation. Mobility is empowerment. And when we move forward only with what we have, we're continuously reminded that what we have is enough. We have the tools, the resources, and the ability.

We just have to somehow remind ourselves that with those tools, we are capable of building, of creating the incredible. So a quick story about what I believe is the best song ever written, certainly one of them. And it's a little bit older now, but in 1998, a band called The Goo Goo Goo Dolls released a song called Iris.

and that song changed my life. It was the first album I bought. It introduced me to music. I listened to it probably thousands of times. And even 24 years later, it gives me chills listening to it. And so I wanted to find out a little more about the song. And I came across an interview from Johnny Resnick, who is the frontman and songwriter for the band.

And in this interview, the interview, the interviewer is asking Johnny about the song, basic questions, how it came out, how he wrote it, and stuff like that. And there's a few points that I think are amazing. I want to share them with you. First is the state he was in prior to writing the song. He just came out of a divorce, personal life sort of in shambles, coming off of a bad record deal where the label from his previous album had done

what record labels are notorious for and ended up keeping the vast majority of the revenue. He had writers block, you know, just felt down, and it left his home to stay at a hotel in Los Angeles. Bottom line is it's not a dream scenario by any stretch of the imagination. And then gets a call from his manager about potentially writing a song for the City of Angels soundtrack. and he says he went and sort of auditioned with what he had, which was two lines of a song and a guitar with two broken strings. It was evidently good enough. He gets a nod from the label and starts writing.

And the verses, according to Johnny in the interview, they align perfectly with the movie, right? It's an angel willing to give up anything, even his immortality to be human so he could be with this, girl, right? And it's this deep dive into, you know, what it is to love someone so much, you give up everything for them. And then, and this is the icing on the cake for me, that's when it, like, I realized that I wanted to write about this. The interviewer says essentially, okay, Johnny, the verses aligned with the movie, but the chorus, this revolutionary, big,

beautiful, powerful chorus, it seems to take a left turn. Like, can you explain that to us? What were you thinking? And he just kind of pauses blankly for a second. And I'm thinking, no, don't you dare say what I know you're about to say. And sure enough, he does. He basically shrugs and goes, I don't know, the words just kind of worked. And, you know, I'm paraphrasing. That's not a direct quote, but that's the idea. You know, one of the deepest, most powerful, beautiful songs I've ever heard is patchwork, right? Even the song title, he says, was named after a country singer on the cover of a magazine laying next to him, Iris.

That's patchwork, its pieces put together, right? And then, as I thought about it for a minute, it's like, of course it is. How perfect, how absolutely perfect, the whole thing. is an assembly and construction, a metaphor for the human spirit. Conceived when its author was down and out, taking L after L, called to present an idea,

didn't have some crazy budget or equipment to pitch this song, nope, move forward only with what he had in the moment. And that was enough. Then this song, a beautiful depiction of, you know, the movie's theme, elements of real life, his personal situation, what he goes through, maybe even components that mean nothing other than an ability to encapsulate a feeling or an emotion. Words that allowed him

to put a bow on all these little pieces himself and get it out the door. And millions and millions of people listened to that song and were changed by it. Not because of what it meant to Johnny, but because it gave them a chance to take it. And fit their own worlds and struggles into those same lines. It became a vehicle to inspire others to push forward. To find things in themselves they didn't know were there. This has become one of my favorite metaphors for finding the hero buried deep within yourself. Changing your life, changing your world, changing the world around you, the lives of others.

Can truly be, and in fact often is the result of just just moving forward with what you have, right? Realizing that even when the mountain seems too tall to climb, there is a way. We just require that mental shift. Listen to this question, right? Because I used to ask myself all the time, is this possible?

Can this be done? Well, then that becomes the question that I focused on. And everything that occurred around me became evidence that would either support, or invalidate that possibility. The second I came up against an inevitable barrier, I'd think, ah, maybe this is telling me the answer is no. Right?

Life will always be evidence for or against the questions that you choose to ask, which is why it's so important that you're asking the right questions. Because the second, you change that question to, look, I know this can be done, but how will I do it? you start looking at life as a puzzle that must be solved. That same obstacle that was once interpreted as a stop sign is now merely an indicator that the path exists, just perhaps somewhere else.

You've extended the pursuit. You've given yourself permission to keep looking, and it's because of these self-created expeditions that we find more in ourselves. You know, things won't always go perfectly, but when you look at those imperfections through the right lens, you see that this isn't about you. It's about that particular door being locked.

All you have to do is believe in yourself enough to move to the next one, to continue knocking until you find a door that opens, until you find that bridge to whatever comes next. And that's why I love that story about Iris, why I wanted to share it today, is crafted during times far from ideal, with resources far from abundant, with words far from perfect or related or self-explanatory. But you end up on the other side with this masterpiece. This song that certainly changed my life indefinitely impacted many others.

And it's like we have to realize when we're sitting on the edge of the bed, you know, maybe it's not divorce, or writer's block. But whatever it is, holding you back, that's not the end. It's your reason to keep going, to begin again. You don't have to know how things will be, but you do have to know how they won't be. They won't be like this, because you won't let them stay this way.

And maybe it's not two written lines in a broken guitar. Maybe it's moving forward when your strength is not at a 10 out of 10 out of 10. not at a 10 out of 10 when you don't really have that spark, or you're longing for some resources, some finances, wondering where they'll come from, but pushing forward one little step at a time until things start making sense.

And maybe it's not a combining and restructuring of song lyrics, using your personal experiences to fill the gaps on the paper before you. But it's trusting that your own story will ultimately tell itself if you don't put the pen down, that the heroes will rise, the villains will fall, and the adventure will continue on. After all, that's what life is. One giant adventure testing us, pushing us and transforming us when we're at our lows,

while reminding us during the good times, why we're lucky to have been gifted that same adversity We once looked at with contempt. Why we're lucky that when everything's made to be broken, as the lyrics suggest, we get to make something imperfectly beautiful with the pieces. 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, realign. 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 us. 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, When 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 predictability, 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.

Purpose, 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 Bruney 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. And I'm wondering, what is your North Star?

What are you aiming for? Because as far as I'm concerned, impossible to be disciplined if you don't have a reason. You know, when Jim Rohn 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 the direction of the 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. 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 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 world. 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 solid. 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 Rohn, 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. Well, 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 then 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