Your World Within Podcast by Eddie Pinero - PROVE THEM WRONG | Powerful Motivational Speeches Compilation

Episode Date: July 6, 2022

"Let them doubt, let them talk down, let them laugh, let them believe you'll never be good enough or strong enough to win...Then let them watch you prove them wrong" - Anonymous

We spend a lot of time asking ourselves, what if things don't work out? What if I fall, fail, or miss the mark? What if I have to head home empty-handed? Diminished pride, defeated? But what if we've simply been asking the wrong question? Imagine flipping this script. What if everything worked out better than you could have ever.

imagined? What if you learn in going that you have barely scratched the surface of your potential? That you've been accepting too little, leaving too much on the table? What if you learn that you are powerful beyond all recognition? Not because someone told you so, no, but because the very steps being taken prove the point. What if the things that held you down can be dismantled, the thoughts that held you back can be demolished. Why is it? We don't ask more of those questions. Generally, you get what you look for.

What you ask of life is what you shall receive, or so the saying goes. So my thought here is perhaps we need to ask for more. Not of the world, but of ourselves. There's an ocean of opportunity before us, enough of this pointing out in wishing for more while we wade in water that is waste deep. First steps will always be believing that more exists. That the world might not be able to see it.

It might not exist to your left or right, but it exists in your head, and that is enough. That is where all great accomplishments start. It's the necessary beginning. And to disregard a perceived outcome because it's only a because it's only in your mind. It hasn't materialized yet. It's like disregarding a seed because it's not yet a tree.

The two are forever intertwined. They need each other. Simple formula. See greatness and move towards that greatness. Nothing else is relevant. And sure, you'll have your struggle from time to time, no question. But that's not failure.

That's what happens along the path to better things. That adversity is simply the price that must be paid for dreaming, for taking the ideal and bringing it to life, and at the end of the day, that price is a bargain. So ask yourself, what if things do work out? In fact, what if they work out better than I ever imagine? imagine what if the current norms can be transformed reality altered what if this is just the beginning of the best life has to offer you change the questions you

change the outcome and today feels like the perfect day for change this moment is a collage of your past the steps that brought you here the things that shaped you. It's a story comprised of what you choose to remember. And so I ask which memories get your attention. Or do you choose to shine that potentially life-changing spotlight? What are you looking back on? Do you remember those times you felt lost?

Those times life was turned upside down when you went into panic mode, when you were perfectly mapped out reality, was shaken at its foundation. Yet you got up and found steady ground, didn't you? Do you remember that? Do you remember when the things you thought were forever turned out to be as fleeting as a setting sun?

When you realized a life well lived would mean figuring out the vast majority of it on your own, relying on your courage and your strength. Yet you pushed into the dark of night and lit a path, didn't you? Do you remember that? Do you remember the hard hits? The blatant losses, the gut-punching defeats, when you looked in the mirror and thought, this reflection, it's just not who it needs to be.

This burden is too much to carry. Yet you got yourself together. You found faith in your earth. reflection and you not only carried that burden but you made something of it didn't you do you remember that what do you choose to remember and i'm not talking imagine or create or bring to life no which truths are you letting in how quickly we forget who we are how fleeting the recollection of our strength. See, if you take a single step back and examine, you'll see a breathtaking sample size of the demons already defeated. The mountains already climbed, the dragons already slayed,

and you stand here now, afraid and unsure, as if you haven't already fought through the depths of hell, as if you haven't already proven to yourself that you've been there, as if this moment is new to you. You have what you need. And that's not the law of attraction or conjecture or hopeful thinking. It's remembering what you know in your soul to be true. You are made for this road laid out before you. When the ground beneath us shakes, we crave stability. When the heavens open up and rain pours down and we run for shelter. When life presents us with vagueness, with flashes of possibility, we long for mastery. It's more instinct than anything else.

But could it be that that instinct that we run to like moths to a flame is leading us astray, that it doesn't have our best interests at heart? Would it be that we're so worried about protecting and maintaining an acceptable image for the world that we forget to build something internally that's worth protecting? What if that's shaking is what brings down the foundations that held us back? What if that rain washes away the limits of yesterday as we evolve into something more? And what if those flashes of possibility require of us not master, No, not yet, but a willingness to be the fool.

And what if that willingness isn't an unfortunate dead end, but a beginning? In one of his lectures at the University of Toronto, Jordan Peterson said, if you are not willing to be a fool, you can't be a master. In the cycle that is self-discovery, that is growth, we have to at some point step into an arena that's foreign to us, that we don't yet understand. We have to be willing to operate with inadequate resources,

trusting that they'll be picked up along the way. And that's a lot to take in. It's painful to know that others are going to have knowledge and skills and competencies that you won't. That you'll willingly inject yourself into the bottom of some hierarchy with nothing more than aspirations. But that willingness is your vehicle. And what's clear is that everyone wants the moon, but very few people have the courage to start constructing that spaceship.

Very few have the courage to be the student. That's why our inclination is to quit when we can't snap our fingers and magically be on our way, when we can't leap past that wandering around the unknowns. The reality is we have to fight to scrap, to work, to work. obtain that sense of belonging in a particular competency. And just talking about it brings me back. It's an obstacle that we all face. It's super real to me. I remember being featured on a podcast where the host literally asked me, why should I listen to what you have to say? Right. Like, who are you? Why are you road mapping your journey? Right. I remember fighting for relevance in an

area in which, you know, at the time I knew almost nothing about. And I love how Peterson articulates this battle. He says at some point you'll want to make a change and you'll feel like an imposter. And guess what? You are, but you have to be. You'll ultimately feel worse if you don't do it. That's imposter syndrome. Feeling like a stranger in your own body. And guess what? It's not wrong. It's just a beginning. I like explaining it like jumping into a cold pool. It feels uncomfortable at first. It feels out of place. But then things normalize. They become comfortable.

And what's the other option? To fear that minute of discomfort and never jump in? It's what we need to tell ourselves when we want something but the climb seems too steep. That climb is manageable. You'll acclimate. The adversary's pushing beyond that fear of starting anew, taking your limited understanding, bringing it

to the base of that mountain, a new Goliath, and looking up with confidence. And the question is, can you be foolish enough to do that? And once you've made that ceiling, your next floor, will you be foolish enough to do it again and again and again? And breaking through that fear, knowing that stumbling around for a period of time doesn't kill you, it's required.

It's the inability to show weakness or appear vulnerable. That's what chips away at you for us. lifetime. If you want more, immerse yourself in that cycle of mastery. Start at the bottom and ascend. And when you approach the top, separate yourself and find another ceiling to chase. Replant a seed. Play the role of the fool again. This is the formula for growth, for prosperity, for fulfillment. This is the pathway to anything of substance. You take your ls, you embrace your critics, you swallow your pride, and move towards a tomorrow that far exceeds today.

As your reality changes, your perception changes, the company you keep changes, you'll start to see that what's around you is made by people who are willing to fail and fail often. Our world is one devised by those who could put pride on hold, By those who were humble enough to crawl through the unknown long before they ran anything. Who knew that before they played for any title or championship, they must first play the fool? How do 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 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. 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. 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 week. 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 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 problem. path. As Ryan Holiday famously put it, the obstacle is the way. See, satisfaction, it doesn't even 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 ounce of your being, your soul, every fiber in your body to truly live. There's a saying that will always be true. It will be true on your best days and your worst. It will be true after victory, and it will be true after defeat. It will be true when you have momentum and it'll be true when you're down on your luck doing everything in your power to create momentum. That saying is your future begins now.

Hey, on the surface might not seem like much. Sure, my future starts now. I know that. Everyone knows that. Well, if that's true, if everyone does in fact know that, why do we spend so much time stuck? reliving our past, unable to break free? Why do we remain terrified to change? Why do we feel such a connection to who we were, how others saw us? Why must we remain loyal to the character we've been playing in our mental autobiographies? See, here's the thing about the past and the future.

One is fixed, can't be changed, and the other, well, it's waiting for you to tell it what it is. One is expired time, one is planned to be determined. And it's interesting how we continue to conflate the time. Epicetus has said that the more things we value outside of our control, the less control we have. Well, I'm going to be the messenger here relaying the precious truth that yesterday is in fact out of our control. What can be controlled is where we go from here. The next step. Meaning today is not your failures.

It's where you take those lessons. It's not your mistakes. But it's what the stronger you can now endure because of them. It's not the dreams you let slip away, but where your pursuit might take you now. And yeah, yesterday certainly contributes to your outlook, as all information does. Its value, consider, its impact, assess.

It guides you, but it's not you. And that difference is astronomical. There's a question about the role the past plays in our lives. That has to mean something, right? Your past is in many ways your story. It's why you think the way you do. It's contributed to your understanding of the world. It will always be a part of you, and I believe that.

But I also believe the past is a story. And just like reading one chapter in a book simply sets the stage for the next one without controlling its direction so does every day that has led you up to now life gives us the tools to experience to grow, learn, and then shed that which does not coincide

with what's important. Your failures are not you. But they are precious in that they push you towards what you'd like to be. See, you can, experience something and not be that thing. As Kirkagard says, if you label me, you negate me. If you proclaim me to be X, you're essentially stealing from me the infinite possibility that is the future.

Yesterday has nothing to do with what I can become. And so taking it a step further, never mind being labeled by someone else, how could you label yourself and see it as a step further? It's anything but self-sabotage. See, you're never defined by your past, but always learning from it. It's not who you are. It's the cheat codes for what you can be. Without that winding road of misfortune and mistakes, the incredible expansion we long

for doesn't materialize. Imagine if everyone who ever felt down in life felt like a loser who temporarily lost hope. Imagine if they looked in the mirror and said, okay, this is who I am now. There would be no triumph in the world because anything meaningful requires the resiliency to map our way from the hell that was our darkest moments to what will become our proudest moments. Destiny, destiny, destiny means that you separate the finite from the infinite. What you used to call yourself has prepared you to move towards the horizon. But what you used to call yourself is also as irrelevant now as those seconds that you watch tick away.

Seconds that maybe you're not proud of. Seconds that perhaps taught you about the world. Seconds that gave you a glimpse of what's possible. Unveiled the happiest of times. All of it. In its own unique way, it brought value. But none of it is your future. Why?

Because back to that beautiful, all-powerful sentence, your future begins now. Your destiny is awaiting its marching orders and all you have to decide as you stand today is where that ship will sail. That to find ourselves requires we must first lose ourselves. is, I believe, life's greatest paradox, leaving that carousel of comfort, the predictability of what we know, the certainty of who we believe ourselves to be, for a promise with no real guarantee of being kept,

well, it's nothing short of irrational. Are the odds in our favor, perhaps not. But by stepping off, By placing our bets on a different track with a different prize, at a different time, we have increased those odds from zero to, well, I guess we decide. And see, the world teaches us that it's advantageous to spin. A spinning carousel is predictable. It can't be cheated.

There's very little room for loss or humiliation or setbacks or even life to get in the way. You know where you start and you know where you start, and you know where you end, and that's just the thing. This spinning world is so easy that people don't want to leave. In fact, it's not until you walk away from the crowd that you even face the unknown. And that's precisely why it's so hard to walk alone. It's hard, it's challenging because of the now. Not because the now can't be measured or understood, no, we get it.

But because there's this little whisper in the back of our heads that the now might go on and on and on forever, that that check will never be cashed, the summit never reached. No, just footsteps down a perpetually long, windy road. And that's, you know, when maybe, just maybe we miss that carousel. We miss the safety and security. And that's what sometimes makes it such a stressful thing. to walk alone. We think about all of ourselves,

our mind, our heart we've left behind along the way. Truths, we now have to face things. They never taught us on that carousel. We had to learn that we were wrong about who'd be by our side through it all. We could no longer hide behind the notion that when things got tough, someday everyone, everything would be there

would be the same. We learned to swim by jumping, into the deep end, seeing in real time that people only believe it already exists. What's put in front of them. That ideas are empty. That a dream is a language only spoken by its creator. And if you want it to mean anything, you must dedicate your life to translating it. We learn how much is backwards, how much of life is reactive. That success is being one of the few who don't react, but build a world to react to. And in the thick of it all to internalize the process because talking while talking does nothing,

plans are just potential energy confined to your pocket. You have to be okay growing that seed by yourself. Like a runner making her way past a crowd, right? The crowd sees calm, sees peace, sees the finesse of an athlete gliding over the pavement. They have no idea the war. being fought behind her eyes. The silencing of constant whispers to slow down to do less, the repression of pain that consumes her to such an extent it can't even really be pinpointed.

It just kind of floats over her body. They'll never know that. And what we learn is that they don't need to. It's the truth. And see, it's also what makes it quite lonely to walk alone. alone, well, it's a lot of things. But it's never boring. It's never dull.

And if you can hang in there long enough, without even noticing, the headwind you've been fighting, it becomes a tailwind. And where we may have felt alone, the idea pops into our heads that maybe that's not quite right. If anything, the wind at our back is now momentum.

It's a partner along the way. That carousel, yeah, it's still spinning, but somewhere else. Some far off place beyond our field of vision. And no, things don't ever become easy. We wouldn't want that. But difficulty is interpreted differently now. Not a burden, but a cost. And one we'd gladly continue to pay.

And that space that once felt so empty, so desolate, so helpless. Well, now it's made up of people who see what you see, who hopped off their own carousels and wandered through the desert. They too navigated through the impossible and the never been done. It's funny how at some point we always find each other. And I suppose now, having traded the carousels from the carousels for the way, for the adventure, we can walk alone together. Us against the world, standing up in defiance of the odds, chasing that glimmer of hope,

all in on a pursuit to find what most won't and see what most can't, not because we were made different, but because we chase down the idea of different. It gets a tough rap walking alone. And in so many ways, it's a fight. It takes all of you. But you don't come out the same person you were when you step in. The same person you'd still be today had you stayed on that carousel. So if you are still spinning, step off.

And if you have, if you're still adjusting to the discomfort of reality. If you're making your way through the hell of uncertainty or questioning whether you have what it takes or have the strength to commit, I promise. In fact, you're right where you need to be. So don't be distracted by those screaming of their successes or communicating, capturing every small win as they make their way around the carousel. It's the quiet ones who change them. themselves, the ones who take life one step at a time, one battle at a time who redefine reality. And I'm sure you can't see it now. No one can.

No one can see the sun amidst the storm, but you'll emerge. Stronger than you ever were. You will navigate towards the ideal and away from that life you once settled for. It's a long path, but it's worth it. So get up and let your feet guide the... Let's go walk alone. So much of life comes down to control. Understanding what we cannot control

while simultaneously capitalizing and making the most of the things that we can. A constant awareness that's critical to, our evolution. Epictetus wrote, we must be at once cautious and courageous. Courageous in what does not depend upon choice and cautious in what does. This idea has been shared many, many times in many ways over the centuries. Another of which a lot of folks have heard is the serenity prayer, right? God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can. cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

But regardless of how it's said and who it's said to, the point is the same. There are things we cannot control that we must find a way to stop exerting ourselves, stop exhausting our energy on. They are, as the saying goes, what they are. These obstacles are immovable. And rather than continue to push and push and push with all our strength and energy, our time is best suited, learning to effectively navigate them. And then there exists those things that are in our control. I believe it was the power of now by Eckhart Tolle.

He said, and I'm paraphrasing, if something cannot be changed, stop thinking about it, right? The future represents anxiety. It's worrying about things that haven't happened yet. The past is essentially depression. It's worrying about things that already happened. We can't do anything about the past or the future. all we have is now.

And if it can be changed, then act now and bringing about a desired result. Take that first step. Create some semblance of momentum, no matter how small. But to worry about what is behind you or in front of you is actually insanity.

I remember loving the simplicity and pointedness of that message. Accept it, eliminate it, or adjust. yourself to it. Sometimes it helps when I think about things in metaphors, and I tend to do it often. This morning I was drinking coconut water, right, of all things. And I was thinking, man, it'd be nice.

You know those little pieces of coconut that float around in there? It's like, it'd be great if they were not in there, right? So I have this idea, just grab a strainer, pour it through the strainer into the glass. I'm leaning over the counter watching the pieces of coconut collect. in the strainer and I'm just thinking, sort of zoning out. Like, imagine if those were my problems, just being separated out of my life just like that, how nice it would be, captured in a little net, and then, you know, discarded, thrown away. But, you know, it didn't take me long to realize a couple things.

One, such an idea would never happen. Life will always have some obstacle to place before us. That's what life does. After all, the word is predicated upon the avoidance of death. It's a struggle and a necessary one. Which leads me to the realization number two, we want hardship. You know, purpose and meaning. They're derived from our willingness to overcome adversity and transform because of it.

A life without struggle is a car without wheels. And sure, you might avoid the fender benders, but you're not leaving the grower. garage. So that's a thumbs down. So I thought, okay, well, what if I slightly adjust that thinking? What if it's a subset of problems that I can remove? That's when it kind of hit me, the opportunity at hand, right? Not the so-called problems, but my thoughts about them. There are the real difference maker here. The negative storytelling that can be removed, pushed through the again, not novel or groundbreaking. Like I said a few minutes ago,

this idea has been around for thousands of years, but sometimes things land perfectly, right moment, right time. And I knew what I needed to do was remove the worries and concerns pertaining to the events that I could not change, yet I exhaust my energy dancing around and around with my thoughts about them. You cannot change. You cannot change the future.

You can change right now, which ultimately becomes the future. And there's a difference. I had to, you know, pull that back in. See, I think most of our problems are derived from anger or emotional attachment to the immovable, the unchangeable. One of my favorite sayings is, you can't change the direction of the wind,

but you can always adjust your sails. And see, when you remove the self-tormenting you have going on about your past, things you wish you did or didn't do. When you remove the concern that the future won't be exactly what you want it to be, which tends to be where I lean of the two, you're left with one thing. The present, right? Clarity. You have officially empowered yourself because the things you allocate your energy to

can be changed, can be made better or adjusted. And that's really what it's all about. You can't change the fact that someone you loved or cared about let you down. But when you dwell on it, you're now giving up the present as well. You're preventing yourself from doing what is required of you now to make your life better. You can't control the fact that your company is reducing its size

and your department is being eliminated. Can't control. the fact that 8% get accepted to whatever you're applying to. Can't control the fact that you will be criticized for doing the unpopular thing, the thing that you believe to be right. And I say these things not to be a downer. I actually don't think there's anything sad about this. To the contrary. Now that you've accepted these truths, accepted this as reality, now you can move toward what's best for you. No more dwelling on the unchecked. No more fighting unwinnable wars. No, it's time to go put yourself in position to conquer

whatever mountain is next. By straining out the things that cannot be changed, you are left only with what can. You can't change your company's personnel reduction, but you can find something else, something better out there. You can set the stage for a new journey. You can't increase the acceptance rate, but you can increase your value. Go above and beyond. Put yourself in position to succeed. And if you don't, they're lost. Continue learning, continue growing, continue moving forward. You can't stop the world's criticism. But you can learn to toughen up emotionally. Learn to trust your intuition and decision-making.

Surround yourself with people you trust who lift you up. See, when you stop, wasting time and energy on the wrong things, you get the right things. Like Greg McEwen says in essentialism, it's now but we can acquire. But often what we cut away, removing the things that weigh us down, that we're dragging along with us everywhere we go, they don't need to be there. I say to myself often that I have everything I need. It's there.

Some of it's materialized. Some of it exists as a seed that I need to identify and water and nurture, but it's all right here, which means the problem will never be that I'm incapable. It will never be that I'm not good enough. No, when I'm in the wrong, it's because I've forgotten to see it. I've either become consumed with the wrong things or lost faith in myself to do the right thing. And knowing this has been a gift.

It's been tremendous. Help me even during the darkest moments to reacquire what matters most. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes days, even weeks or longer, but I get there. Eventually, I arrive and so can you. You have the ability to parse out why you feel the way you do. To categorize the thoughts in your head. Can I change it? No, okay, gone.

And with all that's left, begins the journey, the good stuff. The adversity and the problems that will make you who you are. And don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying it will be easy. But I'm saying it will be worth it. And that's critical to understand. Your world is there to maneuver and adjust to reshape. But its transformation depends on a laser-like focus on that which is malleable.

That's saying, do what you can, where you are with what you have. It will lead you to exactly where you need to be. Even if you don't trust the road before you, trust yourself to walk down it.