Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - Powerful | 30 Minutes of the Best Motivation

Episode Date: March 6, 2021

You are more powerful than you know...

Fear is an integral part of life. It's a natural reaction to be afraid of something that we believe to be dangerous. In specific situations, it keeps us from harm, right? We don't put our hand near a flame for fear of being burned. And that's a good thing. That's its biological intent. It's part of the reason our species was able to evolve and flourish. But just as it helps us, it can be our biggest obstacle.

It becomes easy to see everything is that flame that will burn our hand. We fence ourselves in, we create a comfort zone, because a comfort zone is safe. And because of this, we miss out on some of life's greatest opportunities. Most things worth having live outside of our comfort zone, on the other side of fear. Everyone deals with being afraid. It's who we are. The difference lies in how we handle it.

Quoting Peter McWilliams, he says there are two types of people. People who experience fear while trying to grow themselves and expand their comfort zone. And people who feel fear just thinking about expanding their comfort zone. Never acting because they're scared of the unknown. It's the exact same fear that is felt by fear. both types of people, those who act and those who hide. The difference is that one grows and one doesn't. One creates a life of adventure, of passion, the other a life of regret.

It's funny because you start to hear these things. So much that they come across as cliche, right? Fear is the great barrier. How many times have we heard that? But when was the last time you woke up and did something about it, Made an effort to do exactly what you're afraid of. Put yourself on the front line. Put yourself out there.

These are the experiences that shape our character, where we prove to ourselves that, hey, maybe it's not so bad. Realistically, the worst that could happen is that you don't meet expectation. It's that you fall on your face. In which case, you pick up your pride, you look yourself in the mirror, and you get ready for round two. Because round two means you come back, more prepared knowing what to expect that's why it's been said that even if you fall on your face

at least you're moving forward eventually you'll adapt this new challenge will become part of you becomes okay it becomes comfortable and look just like that you've expanded your comfort zone now you can move on to the next chapter so remember the people you admire the people who have done great things lit the path for us. It's not that they weren't afraid, it's that they use their fear as a tool for growth. Not a crutch. It's part of the reason we have such awe and fascination with the great minds of history. Imagine Neil Armstrong looking back one last time before stepping into the spacecraft that would take human beings to the moon for the first time. Jackie Robinson, suiting up for

first game with the Dodgers. The American colonists signing the Declaration of Independence. We don't think about it often. But just imagine if these people gave into the fear they must have felt overcoming these obstacles. What would we have? How different would life be? So my ask of you is that you find a way.

You find a way to get to the other side of fear because that's where dreams become reality. It's where your world can change if you just allow it to. You visualize the road you're on with its twists and turns, smooth terrain, rough 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? Right? The further along you get, the more tension life puts between the more. 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, right? 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 about it. 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 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 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. 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 put ourselves in position to it. 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 Ryan Holiday famously put it, the obstacle is the way.

See, satisfaction, it doesn't even exist. exist without a will to overcome. What meaning does a 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 every single, Every ounce of your being, your soul, every fiber in your body to truly live. Sometimes it's not easy to see the finish line. To peer down that long, treacherous road ahead and feel completely confident that things will work out. You know, that success is waiting there for you in one form or another. Obviously there's no road signs letting you know that your progress is paying off.

There's no blatant indicator that you're on the right track. Essentially there's nothing, right? Nothing but the feet underneath you, taking you one step at a time to a fate that's completely unknown. And it's in this instance while looking destiny in the eye that you have to remember. Anyone can sail in smooth waters, anyone can dance when the music is playing. The great leveler, though. is how you live when it's not.

When you're listening like your life depended on it, but there's no song to be heard. How do you push forward? No one else can get you there. There's no shortcut to success. You'll find that the answer's in your chest. Because it's there, you'll find the melody that's been pumping through your veins

since the first day you opened your eyes. Helping you create your own music, your own song, your own voice. It's what has the power to get you through to the next level When your instinct tells you to quit That maybe it's just not worth it When most give up It's why you'll be able to hang on

Because the song will come The skies will clear The sun will rise But you have to know that And you have to know it now When all you have is ambition in a plan when it's just you, your song, and the road ahead. There's no concrete evidential triumph, but you don't need that.

Persistence during times of doubt, during improbability, that's what makes triumph so rare, so precious. It moves the strong-willed forward to bigger and better things. Things aren't handed to you, but they materialize over time. They transform from nothing to something. They emerge from hardship. of ideas that were perceived by others as crazy, as most achievements throughout the course of human history were.

Let people talk about odds, how difficult success is. They can't look inside of you. They can't hear your song. They don't know what you have. But they will find out later, when you've gotten past the mud, the dirt, the grind, the stuff that no one wants to endure. And you're singing your song to the world for yourself, but also for them, for those who need it, those seeking their own song.

One day you'll be able to tell them what it took, how it wasn't easy, but you knew that if you pushed hard enough, the stars would align. You heard the music before it played, and how sweet the sound. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It's from an old Chinese proverb, most people have heard it or have come across it at some point. And the meaning's pretty straightforward, right? It advocates having the courage to take that step towards a goal. And that's huge.

You know, making that decision to move forward towards something you want. But it's what happens immediately following that first step that I'm interested in. What happens when the journey's begun? And it's you and your goal. And all of a sudden you realize how long that road ahead really is. This is a turning point for a lot of people. And those who can succeed are able to take their daunting, intimidating goal or journey and see it for what it really is.

Just a bunch of small, manageable tasks strung together. You know, when you look at why people quit, a lot of the time it's because they were overwhelmed by their goals and ambition Let's say you have this wonderful plan in your head to climb a mountain. You're thinking about that feeling of being on top, looking down with pride. Every time you think about it, your heart starts racing, so you pack your stuff, you make your way down on the base of the mountain, and then you look up. Different ballgame, right?

Now the entire mountain's in front of you, and you realize that that's no small feat. That is when people walk away. When they aren't able to see a challenge as a sum of you, tiny steps. They see it as a crazy, impossible task. It's like saying you want to be the next Tom Brady or Kobe Bryant. It's a tall mountain to climb. It's like trying to hit a target from a mile away. But if you can identify and map out what you need to conquer in order to become a better basketball player or football player and begin taking those small steps, improving every day. That makes dreams real. That's what gives goals life.

the ability to see your objective not as a marathon but as a series of little 400 meter stretches stepping stones you know what your objective is today tomorrow the end of the week and the end of the year and completing them day by day these little victories that's what gives your dream life it's what gives you momentum

you feel good about the process and by the way when things blow up in your face which happens every so often on this little place we call Earth, you'll have that foundation and that sense of accomplishment to stay focused because your approach is tangible and it's realistic. This applies with everything. Losing a job, a breakup, failing a test. These things are monumental if you allow them to be.

They can turn into that unclimable mountain. Or they can roadmap a new path for you. And if you define what you want, you define something. success and begin stepping towards it one hour, one day at a time. You'll get where you want to be quicker than you thought. Dear Keeper of Dreams, I know who you are. I know everything about you. You disguise yourself as perfection.

You are the fear that does everything you can to hold me back, that begs me to be complacent. But I see through you. Keeper of dreams, you are the journey never started. Because when you look at the road ahead, you see struggle, you see impossible. You don't see the opportunity or the reward, but I do. Keeper of dreams, you are the voice in the back of my head that constantly reminds me conformity would be easier, that forfeiting greatness would lift a tremendous burden off

of my shoulders, but I live for that burden. Keeper of Dreams, you are the odds, telling me that I am only one in a world of seven billion, that someone else will achieve it, create it, make it happen. But if there must be one, it can and will be me. Keeper of dreams, you are the voice of supposed rationality, warning me that I'm wandering into an area I know nothing about, that I should wait, that I'm not an expert, that I'm not good enough.

But I have always believed that learning as you go is better than not going at all. One day, keeper of dreams, I will not know you. I will have left you behind. Outrun your grass. See, because what I'm trying to do doesn't leave me time for you. Greatness doesn't come from following the path made by the crowd. It comes from the relentless carving out of your own. Conformity gets you more of the same.

It's an exchange of dreams for the ability to feel like everyone else in line at the grocery store. Keeper of dreams, I appreciate the beauty in life too much. The pursuit of the things that will make every day better than the one. before it. I will never give that up. I want what seems unnecessary, over the top, out of the ordinary, keeper of dreams. Don't you get it? You will never win. I will give up my car, my clothes, every luxury in my life before I concede to you, before I give into what is easy. I may be in winter now, but spring is coming, summer is coming, and all I can think about is sitting on top of the

world and being so thankful that I left you because Keeper of Dreams, you can't keep mine. They are my oxygen. They are why I get up in the morning. So while I thank you for reminding me of what it takes to win in this world, smothered with mediocrity and insecurity, I'm dismissing you to somewhere else. Anywhere, but here. Because Keeper of Dreams, my ride awaits. I woke up last night.

and I remembered my debt to you. Being that I stand by the promises that I make, I jumped out of bed, and I walked over to my desk, I turned on a light, and I began writing. At a minimum to explain myself, but at best case scenario, to provide some reassurance,

that every storm ends, that nothing is forever, and that someday, without question, I'll make you proud. See, things haven't been the easy, easiest lately and it's funny. Sometimes things seem so intuitive. Sometimes they make so much sense. And then sometimes it feels like you open up a novel right in the middle and it's in a language you can't read. Life feels more complex than it really is and I feel smaller than I really am, but don't be concerned.

I've fought my way through worse. I promise you you'll be satisfied with the result. Yeah, you might have noticed that sometimes I face the obstacle of juggling two sets of standards. You know, two definitions of success. Mine in the world. What I love and what matters to me versus what will increase my status, my standing in society. And honestly, it pulls me in two different directions sometimes. Makes me think back to years past and that discomfort of experience. You know, standing on an empty foundation.

but believing someday something meaningful would stand there. Realizing that when you put your head down and when you block out the noise, you can finally hear the most powerful voice of all your own. That's why you take L's in the short term to acquire meaning in the long term. I've found that courage before, and I'll find it again any second now. Don't you worry? Don't you worry? Sure. You might have seen that every once in a while I forget about life's abundance. I mean, I just do. I know it's true, but it feels sometimes like the world pushes me to forget.

You know, I start comparing myself to other people, and I start thinking about what I could lose, what people might say, about what could go wrong. And it's like, sure, I know I'm the gatekeeper to my own mind. I understand that. In fact, I cherish the idea. But I guess sometimes doubt, catches that geek keeper napping and slips through. I always catch him eventually, though. I've had doubts before, and really all I did was keep moving by them. Kind of like that time I went snorkeling in Key Largo, you had to make your way through this jellyfish field

to see an underwater statue. My first thought was, this is crazy. But then you move in and you realize they just exist. They don't have control or an agenda. And if you find the courage, they become meaningless. You can float right by them. So don't worry, I'll swim through and you'll see me on the other end. And I will catch that view, not for Facebook or for Instagram.

Because in a way, I owe it to myself and I owe it to you. I didn't make these promises to run when things got challenging. I made them because they meant something. And yeah, from the outside in, things are not perfect. I get that. I understand. But if you just hang tight, if you just remember that I've been there before, I've climbed out, I've come back.

In fact, the deeper, the valley and the darker the night, the clearer the answer always becomes when I emerge. And it may be a journey, but however long it takes, I've gotten there. And I have to admit, yeah, it feels funny writing a letter to myself, but I need you now more than ever. You've always been my toughest critic, and I appreciate that, but now I need you to be my biggest fan. To remind me that life can be confusing and seemingly contradictory, uncertain, and even chaotic. But that doesn't mean I'm not right where I need to be, right where we need to be. And if you'll just believe in me, if you'll hop along for this ride, you'll see that as sure as I'm sitting here writing to you now, I will make you proud.

Life's best kept secret? Simple. Show up. Show up when you're tired. you're down, show up after defeat. Show up when you're stressed, when you're worried. Show up when you don't feel like it. In fact, that's when it's most important to show up.

That becomes the great differentiator. See, a lot of us somewhere along the way we adopt this idea that winning is about the home run. It's stepping up to the plate and swinging so hard that the ball leaves the park and it never comes back. to Earth and while, yeah, that's a fantastic sentiment. And if or when that happens, that's great. But sustained success isn't one monumental occurrence. It's little victories, consistently occurring over and over and over. Very small.

In fact, to those walking by, they're probably too ordinary to be considered successful or acknowledged. They're too mundane. They're only victories because you decided they are. And when you think about it, the evidence is out there. Successful teams don't build game plans around the hellmary with no time left on the clock. No, they show up every day and master the task in front of them. They compound the opportunity available on a daily basis because it's there. And that puts them in a position to execute.

However the situation unfold. They showed up when it quote unquote didn't matter. And that, of course, means everything when it does matter. And something I remind myself every day and something I think everyone should hear, those waiting for life to hand out miracles will always be left behind by those willing to, well, show up. when it's not fun, not sexy or exciting, days when you're tired, when you're weak, when you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders because, well, we all know that happens. We all know how easy it is for that to be the excuse or become the free pass,

especially when you know in the back of your head this is practice, right? This is a rep. The world won't end if you sit this one out. But if you wouldn't sit out the real thing, the Super Bowl of your pursuit. Then we have to understand the value of the mundane staircase leading to that event. Each seemingly insignificant step is your Super Bowl. It's not that it's close to the same. It has to be the same.

It's the old saying, you play the way you practice, but turned way up. Now we're saying there is no difference. And when the lights are turned on and you're standing on that stage, it's not some new experience you have to figure out and navigate. It's the continuation of that staircase, of the old, of the familiar. You showed up then and you'll show up now. When you were unsure of yourself then, you didn't hide. You trusted yourself and now that same trust.

stands by your side. When you were tired, weak, when you had nine million things on your mind, you didn't fail. You blocked out the world and you found clarity and now that same clarity simplifies what lays before you. When you felt discouraged where the finish line felt too far away, you reacquired your meaning by simply executing, by being there. And now every part of you will execute here, just the same. So while it's their Super Bowl, their championship, their one shot, this is your every day.

It's your DNA. It's watching that ball roll down the hill that you created, pushed by momentum you brought to life. You'll do what you came here to do because you made that decision. Every step along the way, every single day leading up to now.