Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Making the Most of Life's Opportunity

Episode Date: May 12, 2020

When you take your test, look up from the starting line or sit down for the interview, you have already either won or lost. Your assessment is not a role of the dice, but a product of every second that lead to the present moment. The work, the dedication and the mindset have become the foundation you now stand on. In fact, making the most of your opportunity is a transfer of thousands of hours behind closed doors for 30 seconds of applause...as  your victory in and of itself wasn't the accomplishment, but the recognition.  

Welcome to Your World Within Daily. I'm Eddie Panero. In this episode, we're going to talk about how fleeting opportunity can be and how much more goes in behind the scenes than often meets the eyes. It's an interesting thing that some of life's most pivotal moments, right, our life-defining experiences, are these quick flashes, these very brief moments in time. And the buildup to this particular moment has been hours, days, months, sometimes years of preparation, of dedication, of hard work, all leading to this quick test assessment, window of opportunity. And that's it. That's your measuring stick. It's a very interesting aspect of life. And I'm going to talk about it today. I got an Instagram message from Paul. And I'm going to paraphrase a little bit here. But he says, as something I really like to hear from your podcast sometime is diving into the idea you mentioned your 10,000 hour video, that they only see 30 seconds, not 10,000 hours.

I'm having a medical exam in November, and I kind of have to work every day from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. But I'm motivated. I listen to your podcast. I take my running break, listening to your podcast as well. I'd really like to hear you break things up on this topic. Have an amazing day, my friend. Well, thank you for the message, Paul. And it's the reason I'm excited to dive into this is because it's one of those questions. It's universal. You know, the context changes from person to person, but we all deal with it. It's kind of an inescapable, if that's a word, I'm not sure, but experience we all go through.

Where it's like, boom, here's your window of opportunity. That will be your defining experience for now. the first time I went through this was or the first time I really understood it was in college as a member of the crew team. Kind of signed my name on a dotted line. I didn't really know what I was in for, right? But every day I would go up to the gym, right? We'd have workouts in the morning at like weight training and then some of the most grueling workouts I've ever experienced in the afternoon. and you learn to get accustomed to it, right?

You kind of build it into your life, but I'd never dealt with anything like that, like that type of workout. I played soccer, I played basketball, you know, skill sports or finesse sports, I don't know how you categorize them, but nothing like this. And so every day, all winter,

you kind of suffer through this workout regimen. And then spring comes, and you're sitting at the starting line with five other boats, right? The BUs, the Princeton's, the Northeasterns, the Georgetown's, you know, the Eastern Sprints Division, you have six minutes now to make your mark. That's it. Six minutes now is representative of three months worth of work and suffering and dedication and sacrifice.

And that to me was just such an insane thing. to grasp. But how is it any different from life? Because the reality is an opportunity is just a moment in time. I mean, that's all an opportunity can be. And what we learn is that moment is not the test. This is when you look in the mirror and you come face to face with what you've built, the foundation you've created. The test was every single day. The test was waking up at five. The test was the diet. The test was the strength training. The test was getting on the erg and doing those pieces every single day, working harder than you've ever worked. One of my captains at the time said every single day is like a sheet of paper. And I'll never forget that. You know, you can't see it

in the moment, but you stack that little piece of paper every day. And when you're at the starting line and you're looking to your left at Georgetown, and you're right at Northeastern, who has the bigger stack? This is simply where you cash in. And so Paul, you know, in his test in November, November is not the test. The test that you're either passing or failing is right now.

You know, the 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. as you put it, opening that book when it's the last thing you want to do. the discipline to win the day now. Because come November when you sit at that table to take that test or pull out the pen or turn on the computer, however it's done, you'll already have either one or lost. And that's the misconception about opportunities. The question is not now. The question is, what have you done? And that's the idea that he's alluding to.

That's the idea in the 10,000 hour rule. For some reason, I've talked about Michael Phelps a lot, oh, because he was in the 12-week year book. But again, the medal on the podium is recognition. That race was not won that day. That race was won way back. And when I look at my collegiate experience, it's funny because I attribute, you know, it was such an important time in my life. Made beautiful relationships.

I learned how to write essentially, but nothing is more important than my realization on that team because all of those little things that I didn't realize it at the time, they all carried over to life. And every day, you know, we come face to face with those six-minute races.

That's it, six minutes, boom, blink, over. And we think, this is it? This is the benchmark? This will define me? When in reality, all that's doing is calling attention to what you've built along the way. And when that moment comes, you'll be ready because you're not transforming, you're not doing anything

that you haven't done before. It's simply a continuation of who you are in the life you live. Thanks for listening, guys. If you enjoy this podcast, I greatly appreciate you to subscribe, to rate, It helps me get it to the world, and that means everything to me. I will catch you guys tomorrow.